The Knights of the Fish
Encyclopedia
The Knights of the Fish is a Spanish fairy tale
collected by Fernan Caballaro in Cuentos. Oraciones y Adivinas.
Andrew Lang
included it in The Brown Fairy Book.
Another version of the tale appears in A Book of Enchantments and Curses
, by Ruth Manning-Sanders
.
When the boys were grown, they decided to travel. At a crossroad, they parted ways. One found a city grieving, because every year a maiden had to be offered up to a dragon, and this year the lot had fallen on the princess
. He went to see where the princess was, and then left her to fetch a mirror. He told her to cover it with her veil and hide behind it; when the dragon approached, she was to tear the veil off.
She did, and the dragon stared at his rival, identical to him. He threatened it until he finally smashed it to pieces, but as every fragment reflected him, he thought he too had been smashed. While it was still baffled, the knight killed it. The king married him to his daughter.
The princess showed him all over the castle, and he saw a castle of black marble, and was warned that whoever went to it never returned. He set out the next day. When he blew his horn and struck the gate, a hideous old woman finally opened the door. Echoes warned him off. He lifted his helmet, and the woman let him in because he was so handsome. She told him that he would marry her, and he refused. She showed him over the castle and killed him by dropping him through a trap door.
His brother came to the city, and was taken for him. He kept quiet, so he could help his brother, and told the princess that he had to go back to the castle. He demanded to know what happened to his brother, and the echoes told him. He stabbed the witch. She told him that she would not tell him because she was dying; then she told him how to save her life, with plants from the garden. Then she told him the way down, and he found the bodies of his brother and all her other victims, whom he restored with the same magic, and also a cave full of the maidens killed by the dragon, whom he also restored. The witch was so annoyed that she died, and the castle fell down.
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 Fernan Caballaro in Cuentos. Oraciones y Adivinas.
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 Brown Fairy Book.
Another version of the tale appears in A Book of Enchantments and Curses
A Book of Enchantments and Curses
A Book of Enchantments and Curses is a 1977 anthology of 13 fairy tales from around the world that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is one in a long series of such anthologies by Manning-Sanders....
, by Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders was a prolific British poet and author who was perhaps best known for her series of children's books in which she collected and retold fairy tales from all over the world. All told, she published more than 90 books during her lifetime. The dust jacket for A Book of Giants...
.
Synopsis
An industrious but poor cobbler tried to fish until he was so hungry that he thought he would hang himself if he caught nothing. He caught a beautiful fish. It told him to cook it and then give two pieces to his wife, and bury two more in the garden. He did this. His wife gave birth to twin boys, and two plants sprang up, bearing shields, in the garden.When the boys were grown, they decided to travel. At a crossroad, they parted ways. One found a city grieving, because every year a maiden had to be offered up to a dragon, and this year the lot had fallen on the princess
Princess and dragon
Princess and dragon is a generic premise common to many legends and fairy tales. It is not a fairy tale itself, but along with Prince Charming, is a repeated cliché...
. He went to see where the princess was, and then left her to fetch a mirror. He told her to cover it with her veil and hide behind it; when the dragon approached, she was to tear the veil off.
She did, and the dragon stared at his rival, identical to him. He threatened it until he finally smashed it to pieces, but as every fragment reflected him, he thought he too had been smashed. While it was still baffled, the knight killed it. The king married him to his daughter.
The princess showed him all over the castle, and he saw a castle of black marble, and was warned that whoever went to it never returned. He set out the next day. When he blew his horn and struck the gate, a hideous old woman finally opened the door. Echoes warned him off. He lifted his helmet, and the woman let him in because he was so handsome. She told him that he would marry her, and he refused. She showed him over the castle and killed him by dropping him through a trap door.
His brother came to the city, and was taken for him. He kept quiet, so he could help his brother, and told the princess that he had to go back to the castle. He demanded to know what happened to his brother, and the echoes told him. He stabbed the witch. She told him that she would not tell him because she was dying; then she told him how to save her life, with plants from the garden. Then she told him the way down, and he found the bodies of his brother and all her other victims, whom he restored with the same magic, and also a cave full of the maidens killed by the dragon, whom he also restored. The witch was so annoyed that she died, and the castle fell down.
See also
- The Gold-ChildrenThe Gold-ChildrenThe Gold-Children is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 85. It is Aarne-Thompson type 555, the fisherman and his wife, followed by type 303, blood brothers.-Synopsis:...
- The Enchanted DoeThe Enchanted DoeThe Enchanted Doe is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone.-Synopsis:A king wished for a child; to incline the gods toward him, he was charitable to beggars. When he had spent all his money this way without having a child, he shut himself...
- The Two BrothersThe Two BrothersThe Two Brothers is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 60. It is Aarne-Thompson type 567A, the magic bird heart, and type 303, the blood brothers.-Synopsis:...
- The Three Princes and their BeastsThe Three Princes and their BeastsThe Three Princes and their Beasts is a Lithuanian fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Violet Fairy Book.-Synopsis:Three princes had a stepsister. They all set out one day, hunting, and were going to shoot a wolf when it offered to give each of the princes a cub if they did not. The same...
- The Three DogsThe Three DogsThe Three Dogs is a German fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Green Fairy Book, listing his source as the Brothers Grimm. A version of this tale appears in A Book of Dragons by Ruth Manning-Sanders....
- 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:...