The Gnome (fairy tale)
Encyclopedia
The Gnome is a German fairy tale
collected by the Brothers Grimm
in Grimm's Fairy Tales
, tale number 91.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 301A, The Quest for the Vanished Princesses.
said that their father loved them too much for that. When they ate, they sank underground. The king offered them to whoever saved them.
Three huntsmen set out. They found a castle with no one in it but food set out, so they watched and then ate, and agree that they would draw lots; one would stay and the other two would search. The eldest stayed, and a mannikin begged for bread. When the man gave him some, the mannikin dropped it and asked it to give him it again. He refused and the mannikin beat him. The same thing happened to the second huntsman. When the third one stayed, he did take up the bread, but refused after the mannikin dropped it again and beat him. The mannikin got him to stop by promising to show him how to get the king's daughters again. He showed him a deep well without water, warned that his companions meant him and so he had to go alone, and vanished. The third told the other two, and they went to the well. The eldest and next both tried to be lowered, but panicked; the youngest went down and found the king's daughters being held captive, one by a dragon with nine heads, one by one with five, one by one with four. He killed the dragons and had the king's daughters lifted in the basket. Then he put in a rock; his brothers cut the rope and took the princesses back to the king.
The youngest found a flute. Playing it conjured up elves, who brought him to the surface. The princesses told the truth, and the older brothers were hanged, but the youngest son married the youngest princess.
; in The Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of Life
, the hero is also thrown down by the rival.
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 the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
in Grimm's Fairy Tales
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Children's and Household Tales is a collection of German origin fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the Brothers Grimm. The collection is commonly known today as Grimms' Fairy Tales .-Composition:...
, tale number 91.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 301A, The Quest for the Vanished Princesses.
Synopsis
A king owns an apple tree, and whoever picked an apple from it he would wish underground. His three daughters looked to see if any fell, and after a time 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 their father loved them too much for that. When they ate, they sank underground. The king offered them to whoever saved them.
Three huntsmen set out. They found a castle with no one in it but food set out, so they watched and then ate, and agree that they would draw lots; one would stay and the other two would search. The eldest stayed, and a mannikin begged for bread. When the man gave him some, the mannikin dropped it and asked it to give him it again. He refused and the mannikin beat him. The same thing happened to the second huntsman. When the third one stayed, he did take up the bread, but refused after the mannikin dropped it again and beat him. The mannikin got him to stop by promising to show him how to get the king's daughters again. He showed him a deep well without water, warned that his companions meant him and so he had to go alone, and vanished. The third told the other two, and they went to the well. The eldest and next both tried to be lowered, but panicked; the youngest went down and found the king's daughters being held captive, one by a dragon with nine heads, one by one with five, one by one with four. He killed the dragons and had the king's daughters lifted in the basket. Then he put in a rock; his brothers cut the rope and took the princesses back to the king.
The youngest found a flute. Playing it conjured up elves, who brought him to the surface. The princesses told the truth, and the older brothers were hanged, but the youngest son married the youngest princess.
Motifs
The rescue of the princesses and the throwing down the cliff by his rivals appear also in The Story of BensurdatuThe Story of Bensurdatu
The 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:...
; in The Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of Life
The Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of Life
The 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 hero is also thrown down by the rival.