The Little Green Frog

Fun fact: Doing a Google search for “The Little Green Frog” turns up a ton of random frog drawings. Adding “Illustrations” or “Fairy Tale” to the search turns up drawings for The Princess and the Frog. I know that illustrations exist for this fairy tale, because I have two of them in my The Yellow Fairy Book, but Google would not show any of them.

To make a long story short, this is the only frog picture I have for you today. And...it really has nothing to do with the fairy tale (of course, neither did any of the others I found!). I just thought it was cute.

I hope everyone is doing well today! I’m super excited, because in this post I get to talk about a fairy tale I truly love. The Little Green Frog is a French fairy tale. I’m not sure when it was written or who created it, but it was collected by Andrew Lang in his The Yellow Fairy Book. The story is particularly interesting to me because of two things.

Firstly, the characters in The Little Green Frog actually have names. This might not seem too strange to you, but if you look back through my last several blog posts, you’ll notice that I haven’t named too many characters. A lot of fairy tales don’t bother giving their dramatis personae names. They are often just referred to by their rank or species - for example, a peasant, a prince, or a little white cat. While named characters are present in several fairy tales, they are more uncommon than their unnamed colleagues.

The second thing I really love about The Little Green Frog is its similarities to The Princess and the Frog. Both have a character who has been transformed into a frog; only true love can save this character. The difference that really piqued my interest in the story is that The Little Green Frog is about a female who has been transformed into an amphibian. I love finding fairy tales that reverse the gender roles of other fairy tales!

Now that I’ve told you my favorite parts, I suppose I should tell you the full story!
Once upon a time there were two neighboring kingdoms. Each of these kingdoms was ruled by a king. One was named Peridor and the other Diamantino. These kings were cousins, and were protected by fairies.

It can be hard for royalty, who is used to getting its own way, to remember to be kind. This was the case with both kings, but Diamantino was the worse of the two. He was quite hurtful to his wife Aglantino, and the fairies eventually killed him because of it. Diamantino had a daughter, Serpentine, at the time of his death, but she was so young that the fairies took her to raise her, leaving Aglantino to rule as regent in her stead.

At the same time this was happening, King Peridor was being quite thoughtless to his own wife, Constance. To punish him, the fairies made her die. It was only after her death that Peridor realized how badly he had treated Constance, and how much he missed her. Despite his grief, he remained a fair and good ruler, and he raised his son Saphir by himself.

Saphir grew up to be a kind prince, well-educated in all subjects by a vast army of tutors. When he was fifteen the fairies began to meddle with his life. There was a room in his castle that Saphir was quite fond of, and it was here that the fairies placed a magical mirror. It took several days for Saphir to notice it, but when he did he could not be torn away from the room. Within the mirror was not his reflection, you see, but a beautiful maiden. As he watched her she would move about her room; it was quite like viewing her through a window.

The young prince quickly lost his heart to the girl in the mirror, and the next three years of his life were spent admiring her. During this time King Peridor became ill with grief over his wife’s death. By the time Saphir was eighteen, Peridor was nearly bedridden.

Saphir was stricken with worry for his father, but he felt another strong emotion at the same time. The girl in the mirror had recently received a mirror of her own - one that looked just like his. Saphir was never able to make out who it was that she saw within it, but the figure was undeniably male. The poor lovestruck prince was filled with jealousy because of this.

One day, King Peridor decided that he was going to die. He was alright with this; it would allow him to see his wife Constance again. Until the time of his passing, Peridor closed himself off in his bedchambers, asking only that the windows be left open to allow him a slight breeze of air. As he lay in his bed, something flew through the window!

It was the most magnificent bird the king had ever seen, with a tail of blue and gold. There were rubies and diamonds upon it, and on its head the bird wore a crown. I imagine it looked something like this:

King Peridor gazed at the bird, and the bird gazed back at him. As it watched him he began to feel stronger and more alive. This continued until the king felt quite himself again.

At that point he stood and began to try to catch the bird. It evaded his every move, eventually flying out the window. The king ordered his servants into his room and told them of the bird, asking them to find it. They attempted to do so, but to no avail; the bird was gone.

In its absence King Peridor began to feel weak once again. He set a reward for the capture of the bird, one high enough that every peasant left the fields to try to find it. Their efforts were in vain, and the bird remained free. The king was soon bedridden once again.

Prince Saphir was quite worried for his father - enough so that he quite forgot about the maiden in the mirror. The prince decided to set out on his own quest for the bird, hoping to succeed where so many others had failed. He ignored the protests of his courtiers and left the castle, determined to find the cure for his father.

Saphir searched all of the usual hideouts for birds without any luck. He was discouraged by this, but continued on his search nonetheless. One day he stumbled upon a deep, shadowy forest. Within this forest was the richest grass and the most vibrant flowers Saphir had ever seen. He decided that this was the place where the bird would make its home, and swore not to leave the forest until he had searched every inch of it.

Later, after a long day’s search, Saphir was racked with thirst. He happened upon a little pond and knelt to take a drink from it. As he pulled out his drinking cup (because princes are apparently fancy and too good to drink from their hands) a little frog hopped into it.

Saphir was quite annoyed by this - he was thirsty, and the frog was in the way of his drink! He brushed it out of the cup and lowered it towards the water...only to have the frog hop into it again! Saphir was quite angry, but found himself surprised as the frog began to speak to him. It told him to quench his thirst and then lie down and listen to the frog’s words, because it knew where the bird was.

The prince did as he was told and listened to the frog. She told him of a nearby castle, and made the prince promise to do exactly as he was told. When he agreed, she gave him a tiny grain of sand and told him to plant it outside the gate of the castle - this would open the gates and make the inhabitants fall asleep. He was then to go to the stables, find the most handsome horse, and ride it back to her. Saphir was warned to not deviate from her instructions in the slightest.

The prince set off and soon came upon a magnificent castle made of precious stones and metals. He obediently planted the grain of sand outside the gates and watched as they swung open. True to the frog’s words, all of the castle’s residents were fast asleep. Saphir quickly headed for the stables and found the finest horse there. He was just about to mount it when he saw a magnificent saddle near it. Not thinking, the prince seized the saddle - and the denizens of the castle immediately woke up!

Saphir was led before the king of the castle, who took pity on the boy and let him go. Quite ashamed, the prince returned to the frog and was berated fiercely by her. After a time her wrath lessened and she agreed to give him another chance. Saphir was given a tiny grain of gold this time, and told to plant it just as he had the sand. He was then to avoid the stables and head instead for a bedchamber within the castle, where he would find a lovely lady. Saphir was to carry her back to the frog, and not do anything she had not told him to do.

Once again the prince set out. He planted the grain of gold and went through the open gates, carefully avoiding the stables. Saphir was quickly able to find the bedchamber the frog had spoken of, and the maiden on the bed within. He woke her and convinced her to come with him, though she insisted that she be allowed to dress first. Not seeing any harm in her request, Saphir agreed...but the moment her hand touched her dress, the castle inhabitants awoke!

For the second time Saphir was dragged before the king of the castle, who was quite angry with him this time. The fairies intervened and softened his heart, so Saphir was allowed to leave once again. He knew that he needed to return to the frog, but was quite afraid to do so; after all, he had now disobeyed her twice.

Saphir eventually worked up the courage to return to the frog, and found her even more angry than she had been before. He apologized profusely and tried to explain, but she remained furious. Eventually his humbleness led the frog to give him one last chance. She warned him that she would not help him again if he should fail.

This time Saphir was given a grain of diamond. The frog told him to avoid the stables and the bedchamber, and to go instead to the garden. There he would find a tree made of gold with emerald leaves; atop it would be the beautiful bird. He was to cut off the tree branch and carry it and the bird back to her - and nothing else!

The prince left the frog and headed for the castle. He planted the diamond grain outside of the gates and walked through them as they opened. Ignoring the other buildings, Saphir headed straight for the garden. There he saw the tree and the bird, just as the frog had said he would. The bird remained asleep even as Saphir cut the tree branch off. The prince noticed a golden cage that would carry the bird, but took care to ignore it and left the castle.

Saphir headed for the frog’s pond - but once there, he was shocked to see a quaint castle and a beautiful woman. All thoughts swiftly fled Saphir’s head as he recognized the woman as the maiden from his mirror.

At his exclamation she blushed, but assured him that it was really her. She revealed that he was the man she had watched in her own mirror, and that she had been just as shocked to see him as he was her. Saphir slowly regained his composure and thought to ask the woman where the frog who had helped him was.

At this she blushed once again, and explained that she had been the frog. The fairies who had raised her and transformed her into a frog, and told her to give directions to the first person to come to her. She had been mortified to see Saphir, since she was in the form of an ugly frog, but had done her utmost to help him. Serpentine then inquired as to why Saphir wanted the bird.

Her face fell as he explained the king’s illness. Saphir wanted to know what was wrong, but Serpentine was slow to answer. She eventually told him that she had no memory of her parents, and that for all she knew she was a lowly commoner. To hear that Saphir was a prince was heartbreaking, as she could not allow him to marry below his stature.

Saphir protested and declared his love for her, but Serpentine would not hear of it. She was determined that he should marry an equal.

They might have continued like this for quite some time, were it not for the fairies. One arrived in a chariot along with a beautiful woman, much to Saphir and Serpentine’s surprise. The fairy introduced the woman as Aglantine, Saphir’s aunt, who hugged both of them. They then gathered in the chariot and set off for Saphir’s castle.

The king was on the roof, watching what the doctors believed would be his last sunset. As soon as they were within range the beautiful bird took off from the chariot and flew to the king, who was immediately cured. The fairy and her party arrived shortly thereafter. Much to King Peridor’s joy the bird was transformed into Queen Constance, who had never really died. Serpentine was revealed to be the daughter of Aglantine, and therefore a princess. She was overjoyed at this news, and she and Saphir arranged to be wed.

This is one of those rare fairy tales that ends with: and they all lived happily ever after.

I hope you guys enjoyed the story! I love that the fairies didn’t really kill Constance, and that Serpentine wasn’t even confused to be turned into a frog. One wonders what being raised by fairies would be like...were transformations common in her childhood?

As always, questions or comments can go below or be emailed to me. I want to know - would you guys like me to keep doing fairy tales for a while, or would you prefer I switch back to mythology? Please tell me your preferences, and I’m totally open to requests!

I’ll be back next week with a reader’s request. The fairy tale is called One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes, and is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. I’ll see you guys then!

The Tinderbox

Greetings once again, readers!

I have another fairy tale for you this week. This one was requested by another reader (and my mom); since I adore the tale, I was happy to get to write about it! Finding pictures to add to the blog made it even better.  I highly recommend Google-ing "The Tinderbox Illustrations" if you're interested.  I chose my favorites to include here, but there were a ton of great ones!

This week's story is called The Tinderbox. It was written in the 1830’s by Hans Christian Andersen, who also wrote The Snow Queen, amongst other tales. Andersen loosely based The Tinderbox on a Scandinavian folk tale called The Spirit in the Candle, but he also incorporated elements from other fairy tales. With that out of the way, let’s jump into the tale!

Once upon a time there was a poor soldier returning home from a war. Along the way he happened to meet an ugly witch. She told him what a fine looking soldier he was, and that he ought to have money. The soldier rather agreed with her - who wouldn't?  The witch then told him that the tree she was standing in front of was hollow inside. If he would agree to go down into it, he would become rich beyond his wildest dreams.

When the soldier asked how that was possible, the witch explained. Below the tree there are three rooms. In the first waits a dog with eyes as large as saucers. The witch said she would give the soldier her checkered apron; if he spread it out and placed the dog upon it, it would remain docile. A chest within the first room was filled with copper, and the soldier could take as much as he liked.

In the second room a dog with eyes as large as wheel mills sits. The same trick with the apron will work on him, says the witch, but the chest that he guards is full of silver. Once again, the soldier can take as much as he likes.

The third room has yet another dog - this one with eyes as large as the Round Tower of Copenhagen. He won’t attack if the soldier puts him on the apron, and the chest that he guards is full of gold. The soldier is welcome to take as much as he can carry, and then return to the witch.

Of course, the soldier is not a stupid man. He asks the witch what she wants in return for this information. She smiles and replies that she wants none of the money. However...in the rooms is a tinderbox that her grandmother dropped when she was there. The witch would like the soldier to retrieve it for her while he is down the tree. He may have all of the riches of the rooms, but he must return the tinderbox to her (a la Aladdin?).

The soldier agrees, climbs the tree, and is lowered inside by the witch and a rope. Within the first room he sees the dog with eyes as large as saucers.  The soldier spreads out the witch’s apron and carries the dog onto it. He then opens the chest the dog was guarding - sure enough, it is full of copper! The soldier fills a bag, takes the apron, and moves on to the next room.

Within is the dog with eyes as big as wheel mills. Though a little horrified, the soldier once again spreads out the apron and moves the dog. The chest in this room is full of silver, so the soldier dumps out all of the copper he had grabbed and fills his bag with silver instead.

Inside the last room is the dog with eyes as big as the Round Tower (those rooms must have really high ceilings!). The soldier stares at him for a while before moving the dog onto the apron. To his joy, the chest is filled with gold, just as the witch said. He dumps out his silver, loads the bag with gold, and then proceeds to stuff his boots, pockets, and hat with it as well.

The soldier heads back to the entrance and asks the witch to pull him out. She asks if he has the tinderbox - with the thrill of wealth, the soldier had quite forgotten! He searches through the rooms and eventually finds it. When he returns, the witch hauls him out of the tree.

The witch immediately asks for the tinderbox. Suspicious (after all, it is more valuable to her than wealth), the soldier asks her why she wants it. The witch refuses to tell him, so he threatens to chop off her head if she doesn’t come clean. At this the witch screams and tells him it’s none of his business - so, naturally, the soldier chops off her head.

He then continues on his way into town. Once there, the soldier goes to the finest inn and orders their best room. He has his favorite meal, and goes out shopping for new clothes the next day. The soldier quickly makes his name known around town, and begins to be invited into the high circles of society. While there he hears rumors of the princess - a beautiful woman who is kept locked inside a castle. Only her father can enter or leave; the king keeps her locked up because of a prophecy that she will marry a common soldier.

The soldier is understandably intrigued by this, but no amount of gold can get him inside that castle. Giving up, the soldier continues to live the high life. He also makes sure to give lots to the poor, having been one of them not so long ago.

Unfortunately, the soldier soon blows through all of his money. He is forced to move out of his expensive rooms and rent a dark attic instead. All of his rich friends forget about him, and the soldier is left by himself.

The night is dark (and full of terrors?), and the soldier wishes he had a light. It is only then that he remembers the tinderbox. He digs it out of his pack and strikes a light. To his shock, the dog with eyes the size of saucers appears before him! He is even more surprised when it speaks, asking what its lord commands.

The soldier's shock soon wears off, and he tells the dog to go and get him money. It disappears, and quickly returns with a sack of gold in its mouth!

Now the soldier can have as much money as he desires. He returns to his high life and is welcomed once more by his friends.

One night the soldier remembers the stories of the princess. He strikes the tinderbox and tells the dog that he wishes to see her. The loyal hound heads off to the castle, enters the room of the princess, and carries her away on its back.

When it brings her before the soldier he is so overcome by her beauty that he kisses her. The dog then returns her to her room at the castle.

The next day the princess is having tea with the king and queen. She tells them of a strange dream she had - of being carried off by a dog, and being kissed by a soldier.

A lady-in-waiting is assigned to sleep with the princess, and to see if her dream is reality. That night the soldier sends the dog to bring the princess to him again. The lady follows her, and sees the house she is taken to. Thinking quickly, she marks it with a chalk X and leaves.

The dog returns the princess to her room, and then heads back to the soldier. Along the way he spies the X on the door. Realizing what it means, the dog proves himself smarter than the lady-in-waiting - he makes chalk X’s on all of the doors in town.

When the king and queen go out the next day with their guards, they see that all of the houses have been marked. Unable to determine who keeps kidnapping the princess, they return to the castle. The queen, who is quite clever, makes a small bag out of silk and fills it with fine grain. She then cuts a tiny hole in it and gives it to the princess to wear as a necklace.

When the dog carries the princess away that night, it fails to notice the tiny trail of grain being left in her wake. The next day the king and queen follow it to the soldier’s house. He is arrested and sentenced to be executed the next day.

In all of the confusion of being arrested, the soldier forgot his tinderbox at home. Stuck in prison, he has no way of escape. In the morning he is waiting to be hung when a young boy walks by his jail cell’s window. He tells the boy that he will pay him if he will run and get the soldier’s tinderbox. The boy complies, and manages to get it back to him before he is led to the gallows.

The whole court has gathered to see the soldier executed. Just before the noose is put around his neck, he asks the king for one final request - a pipe of tobacco. Seeing no harm in this, the king agrees. A pipe is given to the soldier, and he pulls out his tinderbox to light it. The soldier strikes the tinderbox three times -

- and all three of the dogs appear!

The soldier asks the dogs to not let him be hanged, so they fall upon the court and fling them into the air. When the people hit the ground they break into pieces. Not even the king and queen are spared!

The commoners are so terrified by this that they beg the soldier to stop the dogs, promising to make him king if he does so.  The dogs stop at his immediate command, and the soldier is crowned. The princess is brought out of her castle and married to him. The deaths of her parents don’t seem to distress her - but, then again, they did keep her locked up all her life. She becomes queen, and the dogs sit at the front table of the wedding feast.

The Tinderbox is such a strange and wonderful tale! I love the blending of multiple fairy tale elements. The witch at the beginning is quite similar to Jafar from Aladdin; the princess being kept locked up is rather a lot like Rapunzel. The dogs and their eyes, though...I have no idea where such an idea came from! Maybe they were the inspiration for the TY Beanie Boos?

I hope that you enjoyed the story! Please feel free to comment below or email me with any questions, comments, or pictures of dogs with ridiculously big eyes! I’ll be back next week with The Little Green Frog - it’s sort of like The Princess and the Frog, only in reverse. See you then!

The White Cat

Greetings, everyone!

Before we start, I’d like to welcome all of my new readers! (And welcome back all of the old, of course!) I was quite surprised to have several hundred pageviews this weekend. It’s lovely to have you here, and I hope you stick around!

Today we’re covering my favorite fairy tale: The White Cat. The White Cat is a variant of a German fairy tale called Puddocky. In Puddocky, many of the characters are frogs. These frog characters became cats when a French woman named Madame d’Aulnoy retold the story in the 1600’s. Her version contained a more detailed backstory for the princess, as well as more elaborate and ornate descriptions of clothing, buildings, etc. It is this story that I’m going to tell, though The White Cat that I am familiar with is a version collected by Andrew Lang.

(Andrew Lang was a collector of fairy tales in the late 1800’s. He had a collection of books called the Fairy books that each contained dozens of fairy tales and folk tales. If you’re lucky, a used bookstore might have paperback versions of these. The White Cat story that I know was contained in his Blue Fairy Book; it used to be available as a hardback through Barnes & Noble, but I’m not sure if it is anymore. You can also check ebay, but be warned: old versions of the Fairy books can go for hundreds of dollars. However, if you’re interested, the paperback versions tend to sell for fairly cheap.)

Now that that’s done, let’s begin! Below is the cover image for The White Cat. The artists who illustrated it also did drawings for several other fairy tales, which I find to be absolutely beautiful.

Once upon a time there was a king who had three sons. They were each intelligent and courageous, and when they had grown the king began to fear that they would attempt to seize his throne. To assuage his fears, the king decided to send his sons on pointless tasks that would occupy them and keep them far away from his kingdom.

The king gathered his three children together and assigned them a quest. The king said that he wanted to retire to the countryside once one of them took his throne; of course, it would be lonely to be there alone, so he wanted them to each find him a little dog. It had to be beautiful and small. In one year, the king would choose the tiniest, prettiest dog from those his sons brought to him, and the son who had brought it would be named king.

The princes were quite surprised by this quest, but they agreed to go forth and find a dog for their father. The sons were each quite good-natured and loved one another. The eldest did not even argue that the kingship was his by birthright. Instead, they held a large party with all of their friends and then set off separately, with the promise that they would remain friends no matter who won the crown.

It is the adventures of the youngest son that The White Cat focuses on, and so it is his story that I shall tell you. For a time he traveled far and wide, finding a multitude of dogs that he thought suitable for his father. Each time he bought a dog, thinking it the prettiest or smallest of all, he would find another even tinier or more beautiful! The son would then find a home for the dog he already owned and buy a new pup.

This continued for some time. Then, one night, the prince found himself entering a large forest. (Because where else would you go to find a dog?)  He became quite lost, and was even more turned about when a great storm began. The prince was able to see a light somewhere far in the distance, and he followed it through the forest in hopes of finding shelter.

Imagine the prince’s surprise when the light led to a grandiose castle! The walls were of delicate porcelain, and they had been painted with all of the stories of the world. The prince dearly wanted to stay and look at them, but he was soaked to the bone and the storm showed no signs of letting up. He rang the doorbell (hung upon a chain of pure diamonds, of course) and the doors immediately swung open.

The prince had another surprise when floating disembodied hands came through the door, gently grabbed him, and began to push him inside. (I’m picturing the Addams Family...who knew Thing had others like him?) The hallway he entered was carved of precious stone; as he stood there, voices just as disembodied as the hands told him not to be afraid of the hands, who were there to do his bidding.

Now quite unafraid, the prince allowed the hands to escort him through the castle. Each room was carved of a different precious stone, and many rich things lay within - enough to bewilder even a prince, who had grown up amongst such things! He was taken to a room where a fire was lit, and the hands changed the prince into rich clothing.

Clean and quite recovered from the storm outside, the prince was escorted once again by the hands. They took him to a room with a table laid for dinner for two. The walls of this room were covered in paintings that told the stories of Puss and Boots, and other cats of note. As the prince was marveling at this, a door opened and in came almost a dozen cats, each carrying musical instruments and sheets of music! They set up and began to play, mewing and drawing their claws across the strings of their instruments.

The prince, of course, blocked his ears to drown out the noise.

Once more the door opened, and in glided a beautiful little white cat, escorted by two bodyguards. She greeted the prince and introduced herself as the queen of the cats. To the prince’s relief, she also told the musicians to stop playing, since the prince was unable to understand their songs.

The white cat seated herself across from the prince, and dinner was served.

To the prince’s relief, his meals were said to be cooked in a kitchen separate from the one that had prepared the white cat’s mice and rats. In fact, his food was quite delicious, and the prince very much enjoyed himself. He and the white cat chatted as they ate, and he found her company quite enjoyable. Eventually the prince noticed a locket that she wore upon one wrist. The prince asked to see what was inside, and was shocked to find a portrait of a man who looked just like him! The white cat seemed saddened at the image, so the prince refrained from asking her about it.

After dinner the white cat took the prince to another room, where a group of cats put on a theatre performance for them. Then the white cat bid him goodnight, and the prince was escorted back to his room by the floating hands.

The next day the prince was taken on a grandiose hunt put on by the white cat and her court. Upon returning to the castle the prince was given a drink; within it was a magic potion that made him forget all about his father’s quest.

Fortunately the prince was well taken care of. For nearly a year the white cat kept him at her castle, where she doted upon him and made many forms of entertainment available. The prince was quite content, and would likely have stayed there forever. As the deadline for the king’s task was approaching, the white cat called the prince to her and reminded him of his mission.

The prince was horrified. He had only a few days left to return home, and he was sure that his brothers had by now found beautiful dogs! The white cat reassured him and told him that she had a pretty little dog he could bring to his father. She handed him an acorn and told him that the dog was contained within, but that he must not open it until he was at his father’s court.

Of course, the prince thought she was mocking him. What dog could possibly fit inside an acorn? The white cat merely smiled and held the acorn up to his ear, where the prince was able to hear a distinct bark. Amazed, the prince thanked her for her gift. He offered to bring her back to his kingdom, but the white cat sadly declined.

With little time left, the prince mounted a horse provided by the white cat (a magical wooden horse, of course.) and raced off to meet his brothers. He brought with him the tiny acorn, along with a turnspit dog (a dog bred for servitude. It essentially ran upon a hamster wheel that was hooked up to a cooking appliance - called a turnspit - that was designed to cook meat) as a decoy.

When the prince caught up with his brothers they were glad to see him...though they laughed at the dog he had brought. Each brother had a lovely, little dog with them. They shared a chariot on their ride to the castle, and the turnspit ran behind it and got all covered in mud.

The court was thrilled when they saw the dogs the two eldest brothers had brought with them. The king could not decide which was prettier, and the brothers were already working out a deal to split the kingdom between them when the youngest prince stepped forward. He held out the acorn and opened it before the king. Within the acorn was a tiny cushion, and upon that cushion there was a miniscule, beautiful dog. It began to dance before the king, who was speechless.

The youngest prince was obviously the winner of the king’s contest, but the king was still loath to give up his throne. Instead he sent his sons out once again, this time in search of a piece of muslin so thin and fine that it could be drawn through the eye of a needle. In one year, the brother who returned with such a piece of fabric would be crowned king.

Having already traveled for a year, the older brothers were somewhat dismayed by the king’s request. They agreed only because it gave them another chance to win the crown. For his part, the youngest prince did not complain, and instead rode straight back to the castle of the white cat.

The cat, who had not been expecting his return, was asleep in a little basket - but she woke when the prince came in, and asked him why he had returned. The prince explained his situation to her, and despaired of ever finding a piece of muslin so fine. The white cat told him not to worry, as she had some very fine spinner cats in the castle who might be able to manage the task.

The year passed much as the one before had, with entertainments and wonderful times. The prince began to try and guess who the white cat was, and how it was that she could speak. In response she would only shake her head, and reply that she could not tell him.

Eventually the year was almost up, and the white cat told the prince that it was time for him to return to his father’s castle. This time she gave him an escort of a hundred chariots and a thousand guards. His own chariot was made of gold and drawn by horses trapped out in diamonds. The white cat gave the prince a walnut, and told him not to open it until he was before the king.

The prince thanked the white cat for her kindness, and told her that he would stay with her forever if she would ask it of him. She shook her head and told him to go, so the prince kissed her paw and set off.

At the court, the two eldest brothers had already arrived and were showing off their pieces of muslin. They had tested them before bringing them home, and had found that the cloth could pass through a needle if its eye was large enough. Unfortunately, the king was prepared for this and had ordered a needle brought that had the smallest eye possible. The brothers were quite upset about this and were beginning to complain when the youngest prince arrived with much fanfare.

The prince greeted his family, who were amazed at his escort, and then took the walnut from his pocket. He opened it before his father, only to find a hazel nut within. The prince opened this too, but found a cherry pit inside. By now the court had begun to laugh. Confused, the prince cracked the pit and found a kernel. Within that was a grain, and in that was a millet seed. As the king chuckled, the prince began to question if the white cat was making fun of him.

At this he felt a cat scratch his hand. Thinking it was the white cat telling him to open the millet seed, he cracked it open and found a piece of muslin. The prince pulled it out, which took a while - the fabric was 1500 feet long! (The story gives the measurement as 400 ells. An ell is 45 inches. 45 inches x 400 = 18000 inches. 18000 inches / 12 = 1500 feet. Regardless of what measuring system you use, that is a LOT of cloth!) The muslin was woven with many colors and patterns, and was absolutely magnificent. At the sight of it the king and the two other princes grew pale, for they knew that it was unquestionably the finest fabric in the world.

However, the king still wasn’t ready to give up his throne. He turned to his sons and told them that he had one final quest for them. Whoever could return in one year with the most beautiful princess for a bride would be crowned king - for, of course, the new king must be married.

Once again the prince did not argue, but instead hopped back in his chariot and took off to see the white cat. This time she was expecting his return, and had the path strewn with flowers for him. The prince told her of how he had fairly won the crown, but that his father still refused to part with it. Upon hearing of his latest quest, the white cat told him not to worry. She and her court would keep an eye out for a lovely princess.

The year passed enjoyably, though the prince had begun to try harder than ever to figure out who the white cat was. She still refused to tell him, and the prince was no closer to answers than he had been when the year began. The day before the princes were due to present their brides, the white cat told the prince that she could give him a lovely princess to take home. However, the prince had to do whatever she told him for this to happen.

When he agreed, the white cat told the prince to cut off her head!

(Don’t ask me why, but this actually isn’t that uncommon for fairy tales. Animals are often beheaded at their own request in order to help their humans. It’s quite strange and gruesome, but it happens a lot...)

The prince, of course, refused. By this time he had spent nearly three full years with the white cat. He was quite fond of her, and the concept of killing her was horrifying to him. He begged her to ask something else of him, but the white cat shook her head and insisted. Eventually the prince was forced to comply. Unable to watch, he struck the head off of the white cat (I told you, horrifying!)!

And then...something happened. From the beheaded white cat sprang a beautiful human woman! The prince was so astonished by this that he could do nothing but stare...and, while he stared, the doors to the chamber opened and in flowed a huge number of knights and court ladies, all of them carrying the skin of a cat! They surrounded the woman and congratulated her on having returned to her human form. She allowed this for a short time before asking them to leave she and the prince alone.

Once the room was empty, she explained her backstory to the prince. Her mother had traded the princess to a group of fairies in exchange for some of their fruit. The fairies raised the princess in a tall tower, and were quite kind to her, but she was never allowed to leave. One day a prince happened upon her tower and the two began to chat. He returned every day, and she eventually agreed to marry him. She was in the act of escaping when one of the fairies happened to come by to visit. The prince was killed, and the princess was transformed into a white cat, along with all of her parent’s court. The servants of the castle were simply transformed into hands.

The princess’ curse could only be broken if a prince who looked exactly like her former love would fall in love with her, the princess explained. The prince was quite overjoyed at this news, and declared his love for her immediately. The princess, who returned his affection, agreed to marry him. The two set off for the king’s castle in a splendid company studded in jewels and precious metals.

As you might imagine, the former white cat was more beautiful than either of the princesses that the prince’s brothers had brought home. Luckily, she had a solution that left the whole family happy. The white cat possessed a total of six kingdoms. She offered to give the king a kingdom in addition to his own, and to give one to each of the brothers; this would still leave she and the prince three kingdoms to rule over.

With this deal, there was a grand triple marriage. The princes set out to rule their respective kingdoms, and they all lived happily ever after.

Oh my goodness, I forgot how long this fairy tale is! If you love details, I recommend reading the original version. I cut out most of the descriptions, which are immensely rich and complicated.

I hope you enjoyed the story of The White Cat! It is probably my favorite fairy tale. I adore the fact that it has a male protagonist; many fairy tales do, but you don’t see many of them in modern adaptations. Being a cat lover, I of course love the concept of a whole court of cats! I also find the similarities to Beauty and the Beast and Rapunzel fascinating.

If you have questions or comments, please feel free to post below or email me! I’ll be back next week with another fairy tale!

New Post Tomorrow

I'll have my post about The White Cat up sometime tomorrow.  I apologize for the delay; I had stomach surgery over the weekend and am still recovering.

Beauty and the Beast

Hello again, readers! I hope everyone had a lovely Easter weekend!

This post I’d like to talk about one of my favorite fairy tales: Beauty and the Beast. Most of you are probably familiar with the story, but modern adaptations of it vary greatly from the original tale. For instance, Disney’s addition of Gaston to the movie (which is my second favorite Disney movie, if anyone is interested), or the fact that most films have Belle as an only child instead of having sisters. The core elements remain the same, but minor details are changed with every retelling. As such, I’d like to talk about the original story. Beauty and the Beast was written in the 1700’s by a French woman named Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. The tale is as follows:

Once upon a time there was a wealthy merchant who had three daughters. The youngest of them, Belle, was the most beautiful and pure of heart. One day when the sisters were all fully-grown the merchant lost his ships at sea - and with them, his wealth. Used to living the high life, the sisters are suddenly forced to move to a farm and do manual labor. Belle bears this with remarkably good grace, but her sisters hate the work and complain all the time.

Eventually Belle’s father hears that one of his ships has appeared in port. He decides to travel back to the city to see if any of its cargo is intact. The father asks his daughters what they want him to bring back from the city. The two eldest ask for jewels and rich clothing; Belle requests a rose, since their farm has none.

When the father arrives at the port he is dismayed to find that all of the ship’s goods have been seized to repay his debts. Left with no money and nowhere to stay, he sets out to return home. Along the way he becomes lost in a great forest; seeking shelter from a storm, the father stumbles upon an enormous castle. The doors all somehow open as he approaches them, and he heads inside to find the master of the house. Instead the father finds a dining room with a rich meal laid out. When no one arrives, he eats the meal and spends the night on the couch.

The next morning the merchant has another meal and sets out to leave the castle. As he approaches the gate he notices a large, beautiful rose garden. Remembering Belle’s request, he cuts one of the roses to take home to her - only to be confronted by a hideous Beast!

The Beast is furious that the merchant has betrayed his hospitality by stealing one of his roses. He threatens to kill the man, but the girl’s father explains that he only picked the rose to fulfill a promise to his daughter. His explanation calms the Beast, who agrees to let the father return to his daughters and give Belle the rose...but only if the father will come back to the Beast’s castle.

When Belle’s father agrees, the Beast sends him back to the girls with saddlebags full of jewels and rich clothing. The Beast also forces the merchant to promise not to tell Belle of his agreement to come back. Of course, Belle eventually pries the story out of him when he returns home. Determined not to let her father go back to the Beast, Belle goes in his stead.

The Beast welcomes Belle to his castle, and proves to be quite civilized. He holds long conversations with her each day, gives her fine clothing, and declares her the mistress of his castle. Every night they share a meal together, and it is here that I must attach a picture.

This was one of the first illustrations of the Beast. Isn’t he adorable?!

*Ahem*, anyway! Each night after dinner the Beast asks Belle to marry him, and each night she declines. After her refusal Belle goes to bed, where she dreams of a handsome prince who asks her why she won’t marry the Beast. Belle responds that she only loves the Beast as a friend. Convinced that the Beast is holding the prince prisoner, Belle searches for him during the day, but never finds him.

Eventually Belle becomes homesick and begs the Beast to let her see her family. He agrees, but asks that she stay no longer than one week. When Belle agrees he sends her off with a magic mirror, which lets her see the Beast’s castle, and a magic ring that will instantly return her to the castle if she twists it on her finger three times.

Belle quickly arrives at her home and is overjoyed to see her father and sisters. Her sisters are shocked to see the finery Belle is dressed in, and quickly become jealous of her life at the castle. When they hear that Belle has promised to only stay with them for a week, they cajole her into staying for one extra day. The sisters hope that this will cause the Beast to become angry with Belle and kill her.

When the eighth day of her visit arrives Belle feels terribly guilty. She looks in the magic mirror to check in on the Beast - only to find him lying half-dead from heartbreak. Belle immediately uses the magic ring to return to him. She professes her love for him and begins to weep over the Beast. At her declaration he turns into the handsome prince from her dreams!
The prince explains that he was cursed by a fairy after he refused to let her take shelter from the rain. The curse would only be broken if he could find true love despite his ugly exterior. He and Belle marry, and they live happily ever after.

There you have the original story of Beauty and the Beast! I hope you enjoyed it. I’m actually a little disappointed that so many of its adaptations don’t include the sisters - in many ways, they’re more hateable than Gaston!

Beauty and the Beast has quite a few similarities to mythology. I’ve talked before about the Greek story of Hades and Persephone, and the Mesopotamian one of Ereshkigal and Nergal. In both cases, “Beauty” (who is a guy in the Mesopotamian myth) is sent to the Beast because of “her” father. The Beast turns out to not be as terrible as previously thought, and the myths end with Beauty and the Beast ruling together from their palace (at least for half of the year, in the case of Persephone). I love the similarities between the mythology and the fairy tale, but also the differences!

As far as modern adaptations of the story go, oh goodness...I have so many that I love! Robin McKinley is one of my favorite authors, and whenever I’m having a hard time I read one of her books. She has actually written two Beauty and the Beast stories, each of them quite different from one another. My favorite of the two is Rose Daughter, but Beauty is very nearly as good!

On the movie side of things, of course there’s Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”. While I still haven’t read the book Beastly, I do enjoy the movie adaptation - it’s a modern take on Beauty and the Beast, and while it takes some liberties with the story, it’s worth it for Neil Patrick Harris alone! There’s also a fascinating film called “Blood of Beasts” which my dad and I found on Netflix and absolutely adored. It is a tragedy, but it’s really interesting to see a Viking take on Beauty and the Beast!

I hope you guys enjoyed this post, and I hope I’ll see you again next week! My next post will be about The White Cat, which is probably my favorite fairy tale. As always, please comment below or email me with anything you want to talk about; I’m still taking requests for fairy tales you want me to do a post about!

One last thing: There was a TV show called “Beauty and the Beast” that starred Ron Perlman as a leonine Beast. While the show got too strange and depressing for me to finish, I did dearly love his take on the Beast; mostly I just love his appearance! So here, because it seems appropriate for this post, is a picture of him.

See you next post!