Lovely Ilonka
Encyclopedia
Lovely Ilonka is a Hungarian fairy tale
collected in Ungarische Märchen. Andrew Lang
included it in The Crimson Fairy Book.
One day he met an old woman and asked her about the three bulrushes. She asked him to stay the night and in the morning, she summoned all the crows in the world, but they had not heard. Then he met an old man, who also had him stay the night. In the morning, all the ravens in the world had not heard. He met another old woman, and she told him it was well that he greeted her, or he would have suffered a horrible death. In the morning, she summoned magpies, and a crippled magpie led him to a great wall behind which were the three bulrushes.
He started to take them home, but one broke open. A lovely maiden flew out, asked for water, and flew off when he had none. He split the second, and the same thing happened. He took great care of the third
, not splitting it until he had reached a well. With the water, she stayed, and they agreed to marry.
He took her to his father's country, where he left her with a swineherd while he went to get a carriage. The swineherd threw her into a well and dressed up his daughter
in her clothing. The prince was distressed but brought back the swineherd's daughter, married her, and received a crown, becoming a king.
One day, he sent a coachman to the well where Ilonka had been drowned. He saw a white duck, and then the duck vanished and a dirty woman appeared before him. This woman got a place as a housemaid in the castle. When she was not working, she spun: her distaff and spindle turned on their own, and she was never out of flax to spin. The queen, the swineherd's daughter wanted the distaff, but she would sell it only for a night in the king's chamber. The queen agreed and gave her husband a sleeping draught. Ilonka spoke to the king, but he did not respond, and she thought he was ashamed of her. Then the queen wanted the spindle, Ilonka decided to try again, but again the king slept.
The third
time, the queen made the same agreement for the flax, but two of the king's servants warned him, he refused everything, and when Ilonka appealed to him, he heard her. He had the swineherd, his wife, and his daughter hung and married Ilonka.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
collected in Ungarische Märchen. Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
included it in The Crimson Fairy Book.
Synopsis
A prince wanted to marry, but his father told him to wait, saying that he had not been allowed until he had won the golden sword he carried.One day he met an old woman and asked her about the three bulrushes. She asked him to stay the night and in the morning, she summoned all the crows in the world, but they had not heard. Then he met an old man, who also had him stay the night. In the morning, all the ravens in the world had not heard. He met another old woman, and she told him it was well that he greeted her, or he would have suffered a horrible death. In the morning, she summoned magpies, and a crippled magpie led him to a great wall behind which were the three bulrushes.
He started to take them home, but one broke open. A lovely maiden flew out, asked for water, and flew off when he had none. He split the second, and the same thing happened. He took great care of the third
Rule of three (writing)
The "rule of three" is a principle in writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader/audience of this form of text is also more likely to consume information if it is written in groups of...
, not splitting it until he had reached a well. With the water, she stayed, and they agreed to marry.
He took her to his father's country, where he left her with a swineherd while he went to get a carriage. The swineherd threw her into a well and dressed up his daughter
False hero
The false hero is a stock character in fairy tales, and sometimes also in ballads. The character appears near the end of a story in order to claim to be the hero or heroine and is, therefore, always of the same sex as the hero or heroine. The false hero presents some claim to the position. By...
in her clothing. The prince was distressed but brought back the swineherd's daughter, married her, and received a crown, becoming a king.
One day, he sent a coachman to the well where Ilonka had been drowned. He saw a white duck, and then the duck vanished and a dirty woman appeared before him. This woman got a place as a housemaid in the castle. When she was not working, she spun: her distaff and spindle turned on their own, and she was never out of flax to spin. The queen, the swineherd's daughter wanted the distaff, but she would sell it only for a night in the king's chamber. The queen agreed and gave her husband a sleeping draught. Ilonka spoke to the king, but he did not respond, and she thought he was ashamed of her. Then the queen wanted the spindle, Ilonka decided to try again, but again the king slept.
The third
Rule of three (writing)
The "rule of three" is a principle in writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader/audience of this form of text is also more likely to consume information if it is written in groups of...
time, the queen made the same agreement for the flax, but two of the king's servants warned him, he refused everything, and when Ilonka appealed to him, he heard her. He had the swineherd, his wife, and his daughter hung and married Ilonka.
See also
- The Enchanted CanaryThe Enchanted CanaryThe Enchanted Canary is a French fairy tale collected by Charles Deulin. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.-Synopsis:A lord was the fattest lord in Flanders. He loved his son dearly. One day, the young man told him he did not find the women in Flanders beautiful; he did not wish to...
- The Love for Three OrangesThe Love for Three Oranges (fairy tale)The Love for Three Oranges or The Three Citrons is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in the Pentamerone. It is the concluding tale, and the one the heroine of the frame story uses to reveal that an imposter has taken her place.It is Aarne-Thompson type 408, and the...
- The White DuckThe White DuckThe White Duck is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
- Black Bull of NorrowayBlack Bull of NorrowayThe Black Bull of Norroway is a fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in More English Fairy Tales.The language, including references to bannocks, would indicate a Scottish story teller, in this instance, Kenny Norman Macleod....
- East of the Sun and West of the MoonEast of the Sun and West of the MoonEast of the Sun and West of the Moon is a Norwegian folk tale.East of the Sun and West of the Moon was collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe...