The Griffin (fairy tale)
Encyclopedia
The Griffin is a German fairy tale
collected by the Brothers Grimm
in Grimm's Fairy Tales
.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 610, Fruit to Cure the Princess; and type 461, Three Hairs from the Devil. The Brothers Grimm noted its similarity to The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs
.
The opening type is seldom a stand-alone tale; it combines with others, such as type 461, as in this, or type 570, the Rabbit Herd, as in The Three May Peaches
, to form a complete tale. The opening also features in Jesper Who Herded the Hares
.
sons sent the oldest, Uele, with a basket of apples. He met a little iron man
who asked him what was in the basket and said "Frogs' legs." The man said that so it was, and when he reached the king, it did contain frogs' legs. The king drove him out. The peasant sent his second son, Seame, who answered "Hogs' bristles", made the same discovery and received the same reception.
The youngest son
, Hans, who was rather a fool, begged to go too, until his father let him. When he met the iron man, he said the basket contained the apples which the princess would eat to make herself well. The iron man said that it was so. The basket held apples when he reached the castle, and the princess was cured.
The king, however, refused to let them marry until he had a boat that traveled over dry land and sea. Hans went home and told his father. His father sent Uele to the forest to make such a ship; the iron man came to him and asked what he was making; when Uele said "Wooden bowls" that was what he made. Seame suffered the same fate, but when Hans told the iron man he was making a ship that would travel over land and sea, he made such a boat.
The king set Hans to watch a hundred hares in a meadow all day. Hans did so, not losing any. The king sent a maid to beg one from him, for guests. Hans refused it, but said he would give one to the king's daughter. Then the iron man gave him a whistle that would summon any hare back. Hans gave the king's daughter a hare but then whistled it back.
The king sent Hans to fetch him a feather from the griffin
's tail. On the way, a lord of a castle asked him to ask the griffin where was the lost key to his money chest; another lord, how their ill daughter could be cured; a giant, why he had to carry people over a lake. At the griffin's castle, he met the griffin's wife, who warned him that the griffin would eat him, but at night, he could pull out a feather, and then she would get the answers for him.
Hans did as she said, and when he pulled the feather, the griffin woke. The wife told him that a man had been there and gone away, but told her some stories first. She repeated them, and the griffin said that the key was in the wood house, under a log; that a toad had made a nest of the daughter's hair, but she would recover if they took the hair out; that the giant had only to put someone down in the middle of the lake and he would be free. Hans left and told the other lords what he had learned; they gave him rich treasures. When he reached the king, he claimed the griffin had given them. The king set out to get some, but he was the first man to reach the giant, who put him down in the lake, where he drowned. Hans married the princess and became king.
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 by the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
in Grimm's Fairy Tales
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Children's and Household Tales is a collection of German origin fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the Brothers Grimm. The collection is commonly known today as Grimms' Fairy Tales .-Composition:...
.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 610, Fruit to Cure the Princess; and type 461, Three Hairs from the Devil. The Brothers Grimm noted its similarity to The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs
The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs
The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 29. It falls under Aarne-Thompson classification types 461, "three hairs from the devil", and 930, "prophecy that a poor boy will marry a rich girl."...
.
The opening type is seldom a stand-alone tale; it combines with others, such as type 461, as in this, or type 570, the Rabbit Herd, as in The Three May Peaches
The Three May Peaches
The Three May Peaches is a French fairy tale collected by Paul Delarue. He collected more than thirty French types of this tale, which is known in Europe, North Africa, and Asia as far as India.It is Aarne-Thompson type 570, the Rabbit Herd....
, to form a complete tale. The opening also features in Jesper Who Herded the Hares
Jesper Who Herded the Hares
Jesper Who Herded the Hares is a Scandinavian fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Violet Fairy Book.The motif of herding hares is a common fairy tale theme. Another tale featuring it is The Three May Peaches...
.
Synopsis
A king's daughter was ill, and it was foretold she would be made well by eating an apple. The king declared that whoever brought the apple to cure her would marry her. A peasant with threeRule 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...
sons sent the oldest, Uele, with a basket of apples. He met a little iron man
Donor (fairy tale)
In fairy tales, a donor is a character that tests the hero and provides magical assistances to the hero when he succeeds.The fairy godmother is a well-known form of this character...
who asked him what was in the basket and said "Frogs' legs." The man said that so it was, and when he reached the king, it did contain frogs' legs. The king drove him out. The peasant sent his second son, Seame, who answered "Hogs' bristles", made the same discovery and received the same reception.
The youngest son
Youngest son
The youngest son is a stock character in fairy tales, where he features as the hero. He is usually the third son, but sometimes there are more brothers, and sometimes he has only one; usually, they have no sisters....
, Hans, who was rather a fool, begged to go too, until his father let him. When he met the iron man, he said the basket contained the apples which the princess would eat to make herself well. The iron man said that it was so. The basket held apples when he reached the castle, and the princess was cured.
The king, however, refused to let them marry until he had a boat that traveled over dry land and sea. Hans went home and told his father. His father sent Uele to the forest to make such a ship; the iron man came to him and asked what he was making; when Uele said "Wooden bowls" that was what he made. Seame suffered the same fate, but when Hans told the iron man he was making a ship that would travel over land and sea, he made such a boat.
The king set Hans to watch a hundred hares in a meadow all day. Hans did so, not losing any. The king sent a maid to beg one from him, for guests. Hans refused it, but said he would give one to the king's daughter. Then the iron man gave him a whistle that would summon any hare back. Hans gave the king's daughter a hare but then whistled it back.
The king sent Hans to fetch him a feather from the griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
's tail. On the way, a lord of a castle asked him to ask the griffin where was the lost key to his money chest; another lord, how their ill daughter could be cured; a giant, why he had to carry people over a lake. At the griffin's castle, he met the griffin's wife, who warned him that the griffin would eat him, but at night, he could pull out a feather, and then she would get the answers for him.
Hans did as she said, and when he pulled the feather, the griffin woke. The wife told him that a man had been there and gone away, but told her some stories first. She repeated them, and the griffin said that the key was in the wood house, under a log; that a toad had made a nest of the daughter's hair, but she would recover if they took the hair out; that the giant had only to put someone down in the middle of the lake and he would be free. Hans left and told the other lords what he had learned; they gave him rich treasures. When he reached the king, he claimed the griffin had given them. The king set out to get some, but he was the first man to reach the giant, who put him down in the lake, where he drowned. Hans married the princess and became king.
See also
- The Fool of the World and the Flying ShipThe Fool of the World and the Flying ShipThe Flying Ship or The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship is a Russian fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book and Arthur Ransome in Old Peter's Russian Tales....
- How the Hermit helped to win the King's DaughterHow the Hermit helped to win the King's DaughterHow the Hermit helped to win the King's Daughter is an Italian fairy tale, collected by Laura Gonzenbach in Sicilianische Märchen. Andrew Lang included it in The Pink Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
- The King Of Lochlin's Three DaughtersThe King Of Lochlin's Three Daughters"The King of Lochlin's Three Daughters" is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in his Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as Neill Gillies, a fisherman near Inverary.-Synopsis:...