The Bird 'Grip'
Encyclopedia
The Bird 'Grip' is a Swedish fairy tale
. Andrew Lang
included it The Pink Fairy Book. It is Aarne-Thompson type 550, the quest for the golden bird/firebird; other tales of this type include The Golden Bird
, The Greek Princess and the Young Gardener
, How Ian Direach got the Blue Falcon
, The Nunda, Eater of People
, and Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf
.
said that he had to fetch the bird 'Grip', and continued on instead of remaining at the inn.
He stayed at a house in the woods where he heard shrieks in the night. In the morning, he asked about the shrieks. A girl told him that they came from a dead man, whom the innkeeper had beat and killed for not being able to pay the bill, and whom he refused to bury without the money for the funeral. The prince paid his bill, but was afraid to stay longer, so he asked the girl to help him escape in the night. She told him the host kept the key to the stables under his pillow, but she would help him if he would take her with him. He did so, and got her a place at a good inn before he went on.
The youngest son then met a fox, which told him it could help him. When they got to the castle where the bird was, the fox gave him three grains: one for the guardroom, one for the room with the cage, one for the cage itself. Then he could take the bird, but he must not stroke it. He obeyed with the grains, but when he decided to stroke the bird, it woke and screamed. He was captured. In prison, the fox appeared and told him to answer "Yes" to everything at the trial. He was asked whether he was a master thief and he answered yes. The king offered to pardon him if he carried off the world's most beautiful princess, from the next kingdom.
The fox gave him three grains again: for the guardroom, the princess's chamber, and her bed, and warned him not to kiss the princess, but he failed again at the kiss. Again at the trial, he was asked whether he was a master thief and he answered yes. The king offered to pardon him if he carried off the horse with the four golden shoes, from the next kingdom.
The fox gave him three grains again, for the guardroom, the stable, and the horse's stall, and warned him against the golden saddle, and that this time, the fox would not be able to help him if the boy failed in his task. When the boy saw the saddle, he reached for it, but something struck his arm, and he led out the horse without it. He confessed to the fox, who said that it had been he who had struck his arm. Returning to the princess's castle, he confessed that he would gladly take her to his father's castle on the horse, and so the fox gave him the grains again, and this time he carried the princess off. He asked the fox if he could try the bird again, and this time, he succeeded in catching the bird.
The fox then warned the boy against ransoming anyone with the money. The prince rode on and discovered that his brothers had gone into debt at the inn and were to be hanged. He paid off the debt. His brothers
, jealous, threw him into a den of lions and took the bird, the horse, and the princess, threatening to kill her if she did not say they had won them. They told their father that their youngest had been hanged for debt. But the bird did not sing, the horse would let no one in the stall, and the princess wept unceasingly.
In the lions' den, the prince found the fox; the lions did not harm him, and the fox led him out, saying only that sons that would forget their father would also betray their brother. The fox asked him to cut off his head. The prince tried to refuse, but the fox insisted that he would kill the prince if he did not. The prince did, and the fox told him that he was the dead man
whose debts he had paid.
The prince disguised himself as a horse-shoer and went to the castle. He put shoes on the horse with four golden shoes, and hearing the bird Grip would not sing, declared that it lacked something and if he could see it, he could learn what it was. He called the bird by name. It began to sing, and caused the princess to smile. The king's sight recovered, and he recognized the horse-shoer as his youngest son. He banished the older sons, but the youngest married the princess and lived happily ever after.
, for it to be a ghost is unusual. This is the grateful dead
, a common folklore motif, found also in Fair Brow
.
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...
. 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...
included it The Pink Fairy Book. It is Aarne-Thompson type 550, the quest for the golden bird/firebird; other tales of this type include The Golden Bird
The Golden Bird
"The Golden Bird" is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, number 57, about the pursuit of a golden bird by a king's three sons.A French version, collected by Paul Sébillot, is called The Golden Blackbird. Andrew Lang included that variant in The Green Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson folktale type 550,...
, The Greek Princess and the Young Gardener
The Greek Princess and the Young Gardener
The 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....
, How Ian Direach got the Blue Falcon
How Ian Direach got the Blue Falcon
How Ian Direach got the Blue Falcon is a Scottish fairy tale, collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands. He recorded it from a quarryman in Knockderry, Roseneath, named Angus Campbell....
, The Nunda, Eater of People
The Nunda, Eater of People
The Nunda, Eater of People is a Swahili fairy tale collected by Edward Steere in Swahili Tales. Andrew Lang included it in The Violet Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson type 550, the quest for the golden bird/firebird.-Synopsis:...
, and Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf
Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf
Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.It is Aarne-Thompson type 550, the quest for the golden bird/firebird...
.
Summary
A king lost his sight. An old woman said that the song of the bird, 'Grip', would restore it. The king's eldest son offered to fetch the bird, from where it was kept in a cage by another king; but on his way to fetch the bird, he stayed at a merry inn, where he enjoyed himself so much that he forgot about his journey. His two brothers followed; the second also stayed at the inn, but the youngestYoungest 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....
said that he had to fetch the bird 'Grip', and continued on instead of remaining at the inn.
He stayed at a house in the woods where he heard shrieks in the night. In the morning, he asked about the shrieks. A girl told him that they came from a dead man, whom the innkeeper had beat and killed for not being able to pay the bill, and whom he refused to bury without the money for the funeral. The prince paid his bill, but was afraid to stay longer, so he asked the girl to help him escape in the night. She told him the host kept the key to the stables under his pillow, but she would help him if he would take her with him. He did so, and got her a place at a good inn before he went on.
The youngest son then met a fox, which told him it could help him. When they got to the castle where the bird was, the fox gave him three grains: one for the guardroom, one for the room with the cage, one for the cage itself. Then he could take the bird, but he must not stroke it. He obeyed with the grains, but when he decided to stroke the bird, it woke and screamed. He was captured. In prison, the fox appeared and told him to answer "Yes" to everything at the trial. He was asked whether he was a master thief and he answered yes. The king offered to pardon him if he carried off the world's most beautiful princess, from the next kingdom.
The fox gave him three grains again: for the guardroom, the princess's chamber, and her bed, and warned him not to kiss the princess, but he failed again at the kiss. Again at the trial, he was asked whether he was a master thief and he answered yes. The king offered to pardon him if he carried off the horse with the four golden shoes, from the next kingdom.
The fox gave him three grains again, for the guardroom, the stable, and the horse's stall, and warned him against the golden saddle, and that this time, the fox would not be able to help him if the boy failed in his task. When the boy saw the saddle, he reached for it, but something struck his arm, and he led out the horse without it. He confessed to the fox, who said that it had been he who had struck his arm. Returning to the princess's castle, he confessed that he would gladly take her to his father's castle on the horse, and so the fox gave him the grains again, and this time he carried the princess off. He asked the fox if he could try the bird again, and this time, he succeeded in catching the bird.
The fox then warned the boy against ransoming anyone with the money. The prince rode on and discovered that his brothers had gone into debt at the inn and were to be hanged. He paid off the debt. His brothers
False hero
The false hero is a stock character in fairy tales, and sometimes also in ballads. The character appears near the end of a story in order to claim to be the hero or heroine and is, therefore, always of the same sex as the hero or heroine. The false hero presents some claim to the position. By...
, jealous, threw him into a den of lions and took the bird, the horse, and the princess, threatening to kill her if she did not say they had won them. They told their father that their youngest had been hanged for debt. But the bird did not sing, the horse would let no one in the stall, and the princess wept unceasingly.
In the lions' den, the prince found the fox; the lions did not harm him, and the fox led him out, saying only that sons that would forget their father would also betray their brother. The fox asked him to cut off his head. The prince tried to refuse, but the fox insisted that he would kill the prince if he did not. The prince did, and the fox told him that he was the dead man
Grateful dead (folklore)
Grateful dead is a folktale present in many cultures throughout the world. The most common story involves a traveler who encounters a corpse of someone who never received a proper burial, typically stemming from an unpaid debt. The traveler then either pays off the dead person's debt or pays for...
whose debts he had paid.
The prince disguised himself as a horse-shoer and went to the castle. He put shoes on the horse with four golden shoes, and hearing the bird Grip would not sing, declared that it lacked something and if he could see it, he could learn what it was. He called the bird by name. It began to sing, and caused the princess to smile. The king's sight recovered, and he recognized the horse-shoer as his youngest son. He banished the older sons, but the youngest married the princess and lived happily ever after.
Motifs
While the hero in these stories is normally aided by a talking animalTalking animal
A talking animal or speaking animal refers to any form of non-human animal which can produce sounds resembling those of a human language. Many species or groups of animals have developed forms of Animal Communication Systems which to some appear to be a non-verbal language...
, for it to be a ghost is unusual. This is the grateful dead
Grateful dead (folklore)
Grateful dead is a folktale present in many cultures throughout the world. The most common story involves a traveler who encounters a corpse of someone who never received a proper burial, typically stemming from an unpaid debt. The traveler then either pays off the dead person's debt or pays for...
, a common folklore motif, found also in Fair Brow
Fair Brow
Fair Brow is an Italian fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in his Italian Popular Tales.Italo Calvino included a variant from Istria in his Italian Folktales. He noted that the grateful dead man was a common medieval motif.-Synopsis:...
.
See also
- The Water of LifeThe Water of Life (German fairy tale)The Water of Life is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 97.It is Aarne-Thompson type 551.John Francis Campbell noted it as a parallel of the Scottish fairy tale, The Brown Bear of the Green Glen.-Synopsis:...
- 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 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:...
- Laughing Eye and Weeping EyeLaughing Eye and Weeping EyeLaughing Eye and Weeping Eye or The Lame Fox is a Serbian fairy tale collected by A. H. Wratislaw in his Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources, number 40. Andrew Lang included it in The Grey Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
- The Little Green FrogThe Little Green FrogThe Little Green Frog is a French literary fairy tale, from the Cabinet des Fées. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
- The Brown Bear of the Green GlenThe Brown Bear of the Green GlenThe Brown Bear of the Green Glen is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as John MacDonald, a "Traveling Tinker." He also noted the parallels with The Water of Life....
- 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:...