The Golden Mermaid
Encyclopedia
The 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
.
s were stolen every year. He sent his older two sons out to find the thief. The youngest
begged to go too, but he had always been thought a fool, so the king was reluctant. In time, he agreed, but gave him the worst horse.
He met a wolf and offered it his horse. The wolf ate it, offered to be his steed, and told him that the apples were stolen by a golden bird belonging to an emperor. It bewitched the guards and warned him to, while stealing it, not touch the walls, but the prince failed, and was captured and sentenced to death. The wolf magically turned
itself into a king and visited the emperor. He suggested that because the prince was not a bold robber but a miserable thing, he could set him to perform a bold feat for him. The emperor decided to send him after a golden horse belonging to a neighboring emperor.
The prince and the wolf went, and the wolf bewitched the guards. The prince went after the horse, but a gadfly stung it, and it touched the walls. The prince was again sentenced to death, but the wolf again became a king and persuaded the emperor to send him after something. The emperor sent him after the golden mermaid
.
The wolf turned itself into a ship full of goods. The prince got aboard and sailed; when the mermaid saw it, it tried to lure him, but at the wolf's orders, the prince said that the buyer must come to the seller. She came on board, and the prince seized her.
They went back to the emperor, who realized that magic was involved. He gave over all rights to the mermaid and gave the prince the horse as well. The mermaid rode the horse and the prince the wolf back to the other emperor. This emperor was also impressed and gave him the golden bird.
The wolf left him before he returned to his father's kingdom. His brothers found him and killed him, taking the golden bird and the golden horse, but the mermaid would not leave him. Weeks later, the wolf found her, and told her to cover his body with leaves and flowers. Then the wolf breathed on him, and the prince was no longer dead but sleeping. The mermaid woke him, and they went on. The king heard his tale and summoned his brothers, who were so startled to see him that they could not think of a lie and told the truth. The king banished them, and the prince and mermaid married.
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 in The Green Fairy Book, attributing it to 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...
, but there are noticeable differences between it and the common Grimm version of 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,...
.
Synopsis
A king's 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 were stolen every year. He sent his older two sons out to find the thief. The youngest
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....
begged to go too, but he had always been thought a fool, so the king was reluctant. In time, he agreed, but gave him the worst horse.
He met a wolf and offered it his horse. The wolf ate it, offered to be his steed, and told him that the apples were stolen by a golden bird belonging to an emperor. It bewitched the guards and warned him to, while stealing it, not touch the walls, but the prince failed, and was captured and sentenced to death. The wolf magically turned
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
itself into a king and visited the emperor. He suggested that because the prince was not a bold robber but a miserable thing, he could set him to perform a bold feat for him. The emperor decided to send him after a golden horse belonging to a neighboring emperor.
The prince and the wolf went, and the wolf bewitched the guards. The prince went after the horse, but a gadfly stung it, and it touched the walls. The prince was again sentenced to death, but the wolf again became a king and persuaded the emperor to send him after something. The emperor sent him after the golden mermaid
Mermaid
A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...
.
The wolf turned itself into a ship full of goods. The prince got aboard and sailed; when the mermaid saw it, it tried to lure him, but at the wolf's orders, the prince said that the buyer must come to the seller. She came on board, and the prince seized her.
They went back to the emperor, who realized that magic was involved. He gave over all rights to the mermaid and gave the prince the horse as well. The mermaid rode the horse and the prince the wolf back to the other emperor. This emperor was also impressed and gave him the golden bird.
The wolf left him before he returned to his father's kingdom. His brothers found him and killed him, taking the golden bird and the golden horse, but the mermaid would not leave him. Weeks later, the wolf found her, and told her to cover his body with leaves and flowers. Then the wolf breathed on him, and the prince was no longer dead but sleeping. The mermaid woke him, and they went on. The king heard his tale and summoned his brothers, who were so startled to see him that they could not think of a lie and told the truth. The king banished them, and the prince and mermaid married.
See also
- The Bird 'Grip'The Bird 'Grip'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,...
- 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:...
- How Ian Direach got the Blue FalconHow Ian Direach got the Blue FalconHow 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....
- Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray WolfTsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray WolfTsarevitch 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...
- The Nunda, Eater of PeopleThe Nunda, Eater of PeopleThe 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:...
- Prâslea the Brave and the Golden ApplesPrâslea the Brave and the Golden ApplesPrâslea the Brave and the Golden Apples is a Romanian fairy tale collected by Petre Ispirescu in Legende sau basmele românilor.-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:...
- Snow WhiteSnow White"Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm...