Almondseed and Almondella
Encyclopedia
Almondseed and Almondella is a Greek fairy tale
collected by Georgios A. Megas in Folktales of Greece.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 1641 Doctor Know-All. Other tales of this type are Doctor Know-all
and The Charcoal Burner
.
s. He decides to become a seer
. One day, the king's servants come, asking whether the queen will have a boy or a girl; the seer reads through his book, muttering "Boy, girl, boy, girl..." until they tire of it and leave. The queen has twins, a boy and a girl, and the servants tell the king. The king, whose coffer has been stolen, sends for the seer to learn about the theft. In a room, he asks for almonds; the first night, he says, "This is the first", meaning the first night, but one of three thieves is eavesdropping and thinks it means him. He runs to his confederates. The second one arrives the next night, and when the seer says, "The second has come", meaning the night, the thief takes it to mean him. When the third thief hears him the third night, they beg for mercy and show him where they have hid the coffer. The seer presents it to the king. They then walk in the garden, where the king picks an almond from a tree and asks the seer what he has in his hand. The seer's name is Almondseed, and his wife is Almondella. He speaks of Almondsell, whom Almondella let fall into the king's hand, but the king takes it for the almond and its tree, and gives him gold.
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 Georgios A. Megas in Folktales of Greece.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 1641 Doctor Know-All. Other tales of this type are Doctor Know-all
Doctor Know-all
Doctor Know-all is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 98 in Grimm's Fairy Tales. It is Aarne-Thompson type 1641 about being in the right place at the right time. Another tale of this type is Almondseed and Almondella.-Synopsis:A peasant named Crabbe saw how well a...
and The Charcoal Burner
The Charcoal Burner
The Charcoal Burner is a Norwegian fairy tale, collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe.Published in the book Norwegian Folk Tales 1 ISBN 82-09-10598-1...
.
Synopsis
A poor man sees a black hen, tied to the weaver's, and hears a woman calling for help because her black hen has been stolen. He pretends to learn where it is by reading in a book, and she gives him two piastrePiastre
The piastre or piaster refers to a number of units of currency. The term originates from the Italian for 'thin metal plate'. The name was applied to Spanish and Latin American pieces of eight, or pesos, by Venetian traders in the Levant in the 16th century.These pesos, minted continually for...
s. He decides to become a seer
Clairvoyance
The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
. One day, the king's servants come, asking whether the queen will have a boy or a girl; the seer reads through his book, muttering "Boy, girl, boy, girl..." until they tire of it and leave. The queen has twins, a boy and a girl, and the servants tell the king. The king, whose coffer has been stolen, sends for the seer to learn about the theft. In a room, he asks for almonds; the first night, he says, "This is the first", meaning the first night, but one of three thieves is eavesdropping and thinks it means him. He runs to his confederates. The second one arrives the next night, and when the seer says, "The second has come", meaning the night, the thief takes it to mean him. When the third thief hears him the third night, they beg for mercy and show him where they have hid the coffer. The seer presents it to the king. They then walk in the garden, where the king picks an almond from a tree and asks the seer what he has in his hand. The seer's name is Almondseed, and his wife is Almondella. He speaks of Almondsell, whom Almondella let fall into the king's hand, but the king takes it for the almond and its tree, and gives him gold.