Katie Crackernuts
Encyclopedia
"Kate Crackernuts""Kate Crackernuts" (or "Katie Crackernuts"} is a Scottish fairy tale
collected by Andrew Lang
in the Orkney Islands
and published in Longman's Magazine
in 1889. Joseph Jacobs
edited and republished the tale in his English Fairy Tales (1890). The tale is about a princess who rescues her beautiful sister from an evil enchantment and a prince from a wasting sickness caused by dancing nightly with the fairies. The tale has been adapted to a children's novel and a stage play.
tries, they enchanted Anne's head into a sheep's head. Kate wrapped Anne's head in a cloth, and they went out to seek their fortunes.
They found a castle where the king had two sons, one of whom was sickening, and whoever watched him by night vanished. Kate asked for shelter for herself and her "sick" sister, and offered to watch. At midnight, the sick prince rose and rode off. Kate sneaked onto his horse and collected nuts as they rode through the woods. A green hill where the fairies
were dancing opened to receive the prince, and Kate rode in with him unnoticed. The second night is passed as the first but Kate found a fairy baby in the hill. It played with a wand, and she heard fairies say that three strokes of the wand would cure Anne. So she rolled nuts to distract the baby and get the wand, then cured her sister.
The third
night, Kate said she would stay only if she could marry the prince, and that night, the baby played with a bird, three bites of which would cure the sick prince. She distracted the baby with the nuts again to get it. As soon as they returned to the castle, she cooked it, and the prince was cured by eating it. Meanwhile his brother had seen Anne and fell in love with her, so they all married — the sick brother to the well sister, and the well brother to the sick sister.
, author of The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, notes that "Kate Crackernuts" belongs to the "do or die" strain of fairy tales: a heroine is given a task to perform, and, if successful, she wins a prince, but, if unsuccessful, she loses her life. The tale touches upon the wicked stepmother theme but never fully develops it, and the green hill may be related to the Venusberg
of Tannhauser
, or another site of pleasure. Unlike many popular tales, which are known from reworked literary forms, "Crackernuts" is very close to the oral tradition. It combines Aarne-Thompson types 306, the danced-out shoes, such as "The Twelve Dancing Princesses
", and 711, the beautiful and the ugly twin, such as "Tatterhood
".
The fairies' forcing young men and women to come to a revel every day and dance to exhaustion, and so waste away, was a common European belief. The actual disease involved appears to have been consumption (tuberculosis
).
This tale is the closest analogue to The Twelve Dancing Princesses
, but reverses the role, in that the heroine goes after the dancing prince, and also the tone: the princesses in The Twelve Dancing Princesses are always depicted as enjoying the dances, while in the much darker Kate Crackernuts, the prince is forced by the fairies to dance to exhaustion, and is an invalid by day.
Though the stepmother acts the usual part in a fairy tale, her part is unusually truncated, without the usual comeuppance served to evil-doers and the stepsisters show a solidarity that is uncommon even among full siblings in fairy tales.
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 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...
in the Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands
Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
and published in Longman's Magazine
Longman's Magazine
Longman's Magazine was first published in November 1882 by C. J. Longman, publisher of Longmans, Green & Co. of London. It superseded Fraser's Magazine...
in 1889. Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs was a folklorist, literary critic and historian. His works included contributions to the Jewish Encyclopaedia, translations of European works, and critical editions of early English literature...
edited and republished the tale in his English Fairy Tales (1890). The tale is about a princess who rescues her beautiful sister from an evil enchantment and a prince from a wasting sickness caused by dancing nightly with the fairies. The tale has been adapted to a children's novel and a stage play.
Plot
A king had a daughter named Anne, and his queen had a daughter named Kate, who was less beautiful. (Jacobs' notes reveal that in the original story both girls were called Kate and that he had changed one's name to Anne.) The queen was jealous of Anne, but Kate loved her. The queen consulted with a henwife to ruin Anne's beauty, and after 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...
tries, they enchanted Anne's head into a sheep's head. Kate wrapped Anne's head in a cloth, and they went out to seek their fortunes.
They found a castle where the king had two sons, one of whom was sickening, and whoever watched him by night vanished. Kate asked for shelter for herself and her "sick" sister, and offered to watch. At midnight, the sick prince rose and rode off. Kate sneaked onto his horse and collected nuts as they rode through the woods. A green hill where the fairies
Fairy
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
were dancing opened to receive the prince, and Kate rode in with him unnoticed. The second night is passed as the first but Kate found a fairy baby in the hill. It played with a wand, and she heard fairies say that three strokes of the wand would cure Anne. So she rolled nuts to distract the baby and get the wand, then cured her sister.
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...
night, Kate said she would stay only if she could marry the prince, and that night, the baby played with a bird, three bites of which would cure the sick prince. She distracted the baby with the nuts again to get it. As soon as they returned to the castle, she cooked it, and the prince was cured by eating it. Meanwhile his brother had seen Anne and fell in love with her, so they all married — the sick brother to the well sister, and the well brother to the sick sister.
Commentary
Maria TatarMaria Tatar
Maria Tatar is an American academic whose expertise lies in children's literature, German literature, and folklore. Tatar is the John L. Loeb Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures, and Chair of Folklore & Mythology at Harvard University...
, author of The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, notes that "Kate Crackernuts" belongs to the "do or die" strain of fairy tales: a heroine is given a task to perform, and, if successful, she wins a prince, but, if unsuccessful, she loses her life. The tale touches upon the wicked stepmother theme but never fully develops it, and the green hill may be related to the Venusberg
Venusberg
Venusberg may refer to:* Venusberg , in Teutonic myth, a subterranean temple of Venus* Venusberg, Saxony, a municipality in Saxony, Germany* Venusberg , a 1932 novel by Anthony Powell...
of Tannhauser
Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser was a German Minnesänger and poet. Historically, his biography is obscure beyond the poetry, which dates between 1245 and 1265...
, or another site of pleasure. Unlike many popular tales, which are known from reworked literary forms, "Crackernuts" is very close to the oral tradition. It combines Aarne-Thompson types 306, the danced-out shoes, such as "The Twelve Dancing Princesses
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
"The Twelve Dancing Princesses" is a German fairy tale originally published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812 in Kinder- und Hausmärchen as tale number 133...
", and 711, the beautiful and the ugly twin, such as "Tatterhood
Tatterhood
Tatterhood is a fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe.It is Aarne-Thompson type 711, the beautiful and the ugly twin...
".
The fairies' forcing young men and women to come to a revel every day and dance to exhaustion, and so waste away, was a common European belief. The actual disease involved appears to have been consumption (tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
).
This tale is the closest analogue to The Twelve Dancing Princesses
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
"The Twelve Dancing Princesses" is a German fairy tale originally published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812 in Kinder- und Hausmärchen as tale number 133...
, but reverses the role, in that the heroine goes after the dancing prince, and also the tone: the princesses in The Twelve Dancing Princesses are always depicted as enjoying the dances, while in the much darker Kate Crackernuts, the prince is forced by the fairies to dance to exhaustion, and is an invalid by day.
Though the stepmother acts the usual part in a fairy tale, her part is unusually truncated, without the usual comeuppance served to evil-doers and the stepsisters show a solidarity that is uncommon even among full siblings in fairy tales.
Adaptations
- Katherine Mary Briggs adapted the story for her children's novel Kate Crackernuts.
- The tale was adapted for the stage by American playwright Sheila CallaghanSheila CallaghanSheila Callaghan is a New York City-based playwright and screenwriter who emerged from the RAT movement of the 1990s. Her work is considered to be part of the downtown theater scene, and is known for its unusual use of language and narrative structure...
as a contemporary rave fable.