Molly Whuppie
Encyclopedia
Molly Whuppie is a Scottish fairy tale
collected by Joseph Jacobs
in English Fairy Tales. A Highland version, Maol a Chliobain, was collected by John Francis Campbell
in Popular Tales of the West Highlands
. Jacobs noted the relationship between the two tales, and an Irish variant, "Smallhead," and concluded that the tale was Celtic in origin.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 327B, the small boy defeats the ogre
-- although, unusually, it is a girl who defeats the ogre. Others of this type include Esben and the Witch
and Hop o' My Thumb
. Other tales using these motifs include Jack and the Beanstalk
and Boots and the Troll
.
In the Maol variant, three daughters left their mother to seek their fortune. She baked three bannock
s and offered each of them the choice between the larger portion and her curse, and the small portion and her blessing. Only Maol took the blessing. Her older sisters did not want her, and tried to keep her away three times
tying her to a rock, a peat stack, and tree, but her mother's blessing let her follow them, so they went on together.
They came to a house and begged to be let in; the woman warned them that her husband was a giant
and would eat them. They promised to leave before he came, but no sooner had she given them something to eat than he arrived. She told him that they were three little lassies and he was not to hurt them. He ordered them to stay the night, and share his three daughters' beds. He put gold chains about his daughters' necks, and straw chains about the lassies'; or chunks of amber about his daughters' necks and horsehair about the lassies'. So Molly, the youngest switched them. In the middle of the night, the giant beat his daughters to death, or sent a servant to bring him the blood of the strange girls to drink because there was no water, and the servant killed them. Molly woke her sisters, and they ran away. In the Maol variant, they had to cross a river to escape the giant.
They ran on, to a king's palace, or to a great farm. Their story impressed the king or farmer, but he said if she stole the giant's sword, from the back of his bed, he would marry his oldest son to her oldest sister. She went and hid under the bed. When the giant went to sleep, she stole it. It rattled when she went over the threshold, and the giant chased her, but she escaped over the bridge of one hair. The king married his oldest son to her oldest sister, and then told her if she stole the purse the giant kept under his pillow, he would marry his second son to her second sister. Once again she hid under the bed and stole it while he slept, but he woke and chased her, and she escaped over the bridge of one hair. Her second sister was married to the king's second son.
Then the king said if she stole the ring the giant wore on his finger, he would marry his youngest son to her. She went off, hid under the bed, and grabbed the ring, but the giant caught her. He asked what she would do, if he had done to her what she had done to him, and she had caught him. She said she would put him in a sack, with a dog, a cat, a needle, thread, and shears. Then she would hang the sack on the wall, go to the wood for a thick stick, and come back and beat him dead. The giant declared that he would do just that. When she was in the sack and he was gone, Molly began to say, "Oh, if ye saw what I see." The giant's wife asked her what she meant, until she asked if she could see the same. Molly cut her way out with the shears and sewed the wife into it. The giant came back and began to hit her, and the dog's barking and the cat's meows were too loud for him to hear his wife's voice, but he saw Molly running off with the ring. He chased her, but she escaped over the bridge of one hair, married the king's youngest son, and never saw the giant again.
, The Red Ettin
, The King Of Lochlin's Three Daughters
, The Adventures of Covan the Brown-haired
, and Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box
.
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 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...
in English Fairy Tales. A Highland version, Maol a Chliobain, was collected by John Francis Campbell
John Francis Campbell
John Francis Campbell , Celtic scholar, educated at Eton and Edinburgh, was afterwards Secretary to the Lighthouse Commission...
in Popular Tales of the West Highlands
Popular Tales of the West Highlands
Popular Tales of the West Highlands is a four-volume collection of fairy tales, collected and published by John Francis Campbell, and often translated from Gaelic as well. Alexander Carmichael was one of the main contributors...
. Jacobs noted the relationship between the two tales, and an Irish variant, "Smallhead," and concluded that the tale was Celtic in origin.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 327B, the small boy defeats the ogre
Ogre
An ogre is a large, cruel, monstrous, and hideous humanoid monster, featured in mythology, folklore, and fiction. Ogres are often depicted in fairy tales and folklore as feeding on human beings, and have appeared in many classic works of literature...
-- although, unusually, it is a girl who defeats the ogre. Others of this type include Esben and the Witch
Esben and the Witch
Esben and the Witch is a Danish fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Pink Fairy Book. A version of the tale also appears in A Book of Witches and A Choice of Magic, by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is Aarne-Thompson type 327B, the small boy defeats the ogre.-Synopsis:A farmer had twelve sons, and...
and Hop o' My Thumb
Hop o' My Thumb
"Hop-o'-My-Thumb", also known as "Little Thumbling" , is a literary fairy tale by Charles Perrault . At the age of 67, Perrault decided to dedicate himself to his children and published Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals , with the subtitle: Tales of Mother Goose...
. Other tales using these motifs include Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk is a folktale said by English historian Francis Palgrave to be an oral legend that arrived in England with the Vikings. The tale is closely associated with the tale of Jack the Giant-killer. It is known under a number of versions...
and Boots and the Troll
Boots and the Troll
Boots and the Troll is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norwegian Folktales.-Synopsis:An old man died. His three sons set out to seek their fortune. The two older would have nothing to do with the youngest son, whom they said was fit for nothing but...
.
Molly Whuppie
In the Molly variant, a couple had too many children, so they took the three youngest into the forest and left them.In the Maol variant, three daughters left their mother to seek their fortune. She baked three bannock
Bannock
Bannock has more than one meaning:* Bannock , a kind of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying* Bannock , a Native American people of what is now southeastern Oregon and western Idaho* Bannock County, Idaho* Bannock, Ohio...
s and offered each of them the choice between the larger portion and her curse, and the small portion and her blessing. Only Maol took the blessing. Her older sisters did not want her, and tried to keep her away three times
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...
tying her to a rock, a peat stack, and tree, but her mother's blessing let her follow them, so they went on together.
They came to a house and begged to be let in; the woman warned them that her husband was a giant
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
and would eat them. They promised to leave before he came, but no sooner had she given them something to eat than he arrived. She told him that they were three little lassies and he was not to hurt them. He ordered them to stay the night, and share his three daughters' beds. He put gold chains about his daughters' necks, and straw chains about the lassies'; or chunks of amber about his daughters' necks and horsehair about the lassies'. So Molly, the youngest switched them. In the middle of the night, the giant beat his daughters to death, or sent a servant to bring him the blood of the strange girls to drink because there was no water, and the servant killed them. Molly woke her sisters, and they ran away. In the Maol variant, they had to cross a river to escape the giant.
They ran on, to a king's palace, or to a great farm. Their story impressed the king or farmer, but he said if she stole the giant's sword, from the back of his bed, he would marry his oldest son to her oldest sister. She went and hid under the bed. When the giant went to sleep, she stole it. It rattled when she went over the threshold, and the giant chased her, but she escaped over the bridge of one hair. The king married his oldest son to her oldest sister, and then told her if she stole the purse the giant kept under his pillow, he would marry his second son to her second sister. Once again she hid under the bed and stole it while he slept, but he woke and chased her, and she escaped over the bridge of one hair. Her second sister was married to the king's second son.
Then the king said if she stole the ring the giant wore on his finger, he would marry his youngest son to her. She went off, hid under the bed, and grabbed the ring, but the giant caught her. He asked what she would do, if he had done to her what she had done to him, and she had caught him. She said she would put him in a sack, with a dog, a cat, a needle, thread, and shears. Then she would hang the sack on the wall, go to the wood for a thick stick, and come back and beat him dead. The giant declared that he would do just that. When she was in the sack and he was gone, Molly began to say, "Oh, if ye saw what I see." The giant's wife asked her what she meant, until she asked if she could see the same. Molly cut her way out with the shears and sewed the wife into it. The giant came back and began to hit her, and the dog's barking and the cat's meows were too loud for him to hear his wife's voice, but he saw Molly running off with the ring. He chased her, but she escaped over the bridge of one hair, married the king's youngest son, and never saw the giant again.
Commentary
The motif of the mother's blessing for less food or her curse for more is a common British folktale theme: Jack and his ComradesJack and his Comrades
Jack and his Comrades is an Irish fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs, listing as his source Patrick Kennedy's Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts.In the Aarne-Thompson categorisation system, it is "type 130", i.e. "outcast animals find a new home"....
, The Red Ettin
The Red Ettin
The Red Ettin or The Red Etin is a fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs. It was included by Andrew Lang in The Blue Fairy Book.-Synopsis:Two widows lived in a hut, and one had two sons and the other had one -- or a single widow had three sons...
, The King Of Lochlin's Three Daughters
The 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:...
, The Adventures of Covan the Brown-haired
The Adventures of Covan the Brown-haired
The Adventures of Covan the Brown-haired is a Celtic fairy tale translated by Dr. Macleod Clarke. Andrew Lang included it in The Orange Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
, and Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box
Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box
Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box is a Gypsy fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in English Fairy Tales. He listed as his source Francis Hindes Groome's In Gypsy Tents....
.