Prâslea the Brave and the Golden Apples
Encyclopedia
Prâslea the Brave and the Golden Apples is a Romania
n fairy tale
collected by Petre Ispirescu
in Legende sau basmele românilor
.
s, but he never ate them, because every year, the apples were stolen as they became ripe. None of his guards could catch the thief. His oldest two sons tried, one year after the other, but fell asleep near midnight. The next year, the youngest son
, Prâslea, tried. He set up two stakes to prick him if he ever started to lean in his sleep. At midnight, he heard rustling and shot an arrow. In the morning, a trail of blood led away, and the apples were ripe.
The king was pleased, but Prâslea wanted to track the thief. He and his brothers followed the blood to a ravine, where the older two brothers tried to have the others lower each one of them, grew frightened, and came back. Prâslea had them lower him. He found a copper castle. There, a lovely maiden told him she was a princess, and that the ogres (Zmeu
) that had kidnapped her and her two sisters had wanted to marry them, but the sisters had put them off with demands. He fought with the ogre there and killed him; went on to the second castle, of silver, and killed the second ogre; went on the third castle, of gold, where the ogre thief was, and wrestled with him as well. It was a longer fight, and Prâslea called on a raven to drop some tallow on him, in return for three corpses. This strengthened him, and he fought on. Then both the ogre and Prâslea called on the princess there to give them water; she gave it to Prâslea, and he killed the ogre.
The princesses showed him a magic whip that made golden apples. Each of them took one. Prâslea brought the princesses back and sent them up. The older two told the brothers that they would marry them. Then Prâslea sent up a stone with his cap. His brothers dropped it, to kill him, and married the older sisters.
Prâslea saved some eaglets from a dragon
, and their mother, in gratitude, carried him to the other world. There, he found that the youngest princess was being pressed to accept a suitor. She said that she would accept only if she received a golden distaff and spindle that would spin of themselves, because the ogre had given her one. Prâslea went to work for the silversmith who had to do this and brought out the one the ogre had given her, using the golden apple. The princess then demanded a golden hen with golden chick, and when he produced it, insisted that he be brought before her, because he had to have the golden apple. They recognized Prâslea. He and his brothers went outside and shot arrows into the air. The brothers' arrows hit and killed them, but Prâslea's hit the ground. He married the youngest princess.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n fairy tale
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 Petre Ispirescu
Petre Ispirescu
Petre Ispirescu was a Romanian printer and publicist.-Biography:Born in Bucharest, his parents wanted him to be a priest and he was entrusted to study with a monk at the Metropolitan Church, after he studied with a priest at the Doamna Bălaşa Church....
in Legende sau basmele românilor
Legende sau basmele românilor
Legende sau basmele românilor is a collection, in several volumes, of Romanian folktales, first published in 1874 by Petre Ispirescu.-Contents:...
.
Synopsis
A king had a magnificent garden with a tree that bore golden appleGolden apple
The golden apple is an element that appears in various national and ethnic folk legends or fairy tales. Recurring themes depict a hero retrieving the golden apples hidden or stolen by a monstrous antagonist...
s, but he never ate them, because every year, the apples were stolen as they became ripe. None of his guards could catch the thief. His oldest two sons tried, one year after the other, but fell asleep near midnight. The next year, 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....
, Prâslea, tried. He set up two stakes to prick him if he ever started to lean in his sleep. At midnight, he heard rustling and shot an arrow. In the morning, a trail of blood led away, and the apples were ripe.
The king was pleased, but Prâslea wanted to track the thief. He and his brothers followed the blood to a ravine, where the older two brothers tried to have the others lower each one of them, grew frightened, and came back. Prâslea had them lower him. He found a copper castle. There, a lovely maiden told him she was a princess, and that the ogres (Zmeu
Zmeu
The Zmeu is a fantastic creature of Romanian folklore and Romanian mythology. Sometimes compared to other fantastic creatures, such as the balaur or the vârcolac, the zmeu is nevertheless distinct, because it usually has clear anthropomorphic traits: it is humanoid and has legs, arms, the ability...
) that had kidnapped her and her two sisters had wanted to marry them, but the sisters had put them off with demands. He fought with the ogre there and killed him; went on to the second castle, of silver, and killed the second ogre; went on the third castle, of gold, where the ogre thief was, and wrestled with him as well. It was a longer fight, and Prâslea called on a raven to drop some tallow on him, in return for three corpses. This strengthened him, and he fought on. Then both the ogre and Prâslea called on the princess there to give them water; she gave it to Prâslea, and he killed the ogre.
The princesses showed him a magic whip that made golden apples. Each of them took one. Prâslea brought the princesses back and sent them up. The older two told the brothers that they would marry them. Then Prâslea sent up a stone with his cap. His brothers dropped it, to kill him, and married the older sisters.
Prâslea saved some eaglets from a dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
, and their mother, in gratitude, carried him to the other world. There, he found that the youngest princess was being pressed to accept a suitor. She said that she would accept only if she received a golden distaff and spindle that would spin of themselves, because the ogre had given her one. Prâslea went to work for the silversmith who had to do this and brought out the one the ogre had given her, using the golden apple. The princess then demanded a golden hen with golden chick, and when he produced it, insisted that he be brought before her, because he had to have the golden apple. They recognized Prâslea. He and his brothers went outside and shot arrows into the air. The brothers' arrows hit and killed them, but Prâslea's hit the ground. He married the youngest princess.
See also
- The Nine Peahens and the Golden ApplesThe Nine Peahens and the Golden ApplesThe Nine Peahens and the Golden Apples is a Serbian epic poetry. It was published for the first time as a fairy tale by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić in 1853. Later on it was published as a Bulgarian fairy tale by A. H...
- The Greek Princess and the Young GardenerThe Greek Princess and the Young GardenerThe Greek Princess and the Young Gardener is an Irish fairy tale collected by Patrick Kennedy in Fireside Stories of Ireland. Joseph Jacobs included it in More Celtic Fairy Tales....
- The Golden MermaidThe Golden MermaidThe Golden Mermaid is a German fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Green Fairy Book, attributing it to the Brothers Grimm, but there are noticeable differences between it and the common Grimm version of The Golden Bird.-Synopsis:...
- The Story of BensurdatuThe Story of BensurdatuThe Story of Bensurdatu is an Italian fairy tale collected by Laura Gonzenbach in Sicilianische Märchen. Andrew Lang included it in The Grey Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
- The Rider Of Grianaig, And Iain The Soldier's SonThe Rider Of Grianaig, And Iain The Soldier's SonThe Rider Of Grianaig, And Iain The Soldier's Son is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as Donald MacNiven, a lame carrier, in Bowmore, Islay; the story was written down by Hector MacLean on 5 July, 1859...
- The Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of LifeThe Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of LifeThe Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of Life is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.-Synopsis:...
- The Blue MountainsThe Blue Mountains (fairy tale)The Blue Mountains is a fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book, but provided no bibliographical information.-Synopsis:...