The Lost Children (French fairy tale)
Encyclopedia
The Lost Children is a French fairy tale
collected by Antoinette Bon in Revue des traditions populaires.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 327A. Another tale of this type is Hansel and Gretel
; The Lost Children combines with that type several motifs typical of Hop o' My Thumb
, which is typical of French variants.
. Toinon took them and left them there. They tried to find her, and then tried to find their way out. Jean climbed a tree and saw a white house and a red house. They went to the red one. The woman there let them in, but told them to be quiet or her husband would eat them. She hid them, but her husband was the Devil and could smell them because they were Christians. He beat his wife and put Jean into the barn to fatten him up before eating him, making Jeanette bring him food. The Devil was too fat to get into the barn, so he ordered Jeanette to bring him the tip of Jean's finger to test how fat he was; Jeanette brought him a rat's tail. The third
time, he noticed the trick and pulled Jean out. He made a sawhorse to lay Jean on to bleed, and went for a walk. Jeanette had Jean pretend not to understand how he was to be put on the sawhorse. The Devil's wife showed them, and Jean tied her on and cut her throat. They took the Devil's gold and silver and fled in his carriage. The Devil chased them. On the way, he met various people -- a laborer, a shepherd, a beadle, some laundresses -- and asked whether they had seen the children. The first time he asked, they each misheard him, but then told him they hadn't, except for the laundresses, who told him they crossed the river. The Devil could not cross it, so one laundress offered to cut her hair to let him cross on it, but when he was in the middle, the laundresses dropped it, so he drowned. The children got home and took care of their parents, despite what they had done.
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 Antoinette Bon in Revue des traditions populaires.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 327A. Another tale of this type is Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic hag living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children...
; The Lost Children combines with that type several motifs typical of Hop o' My Thumb
Hop o' My Thumb
"Hop-o'-My-Thumb", also known as "Little Thumbling" , is a literary fairy tale by Charles Perrault . At the age of 67, Perrault decided to dedicate himself to his children and published Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals , with the subtitle: Tales of Mother Goose...
, which is typical of French variants.
Synopsis
A couple, Jacques and Toinon, were very stingy. Their children -- Jean, who was twelve, and his sister Jeanette, who was eight-- suffered because of this, and finally they decided to lose them in the forestEnchanted forest
In literature, an enchanted forest is a forest under, or containing, enchantments. Such forests are described in the oldest folklore from regions where forests are common, and occur throughout the centuries to modern works of fantasy...
. Toinon took them and left them there. They tried to find her, and then tried to find their way out. Jean climbed a tree and saw a white house and a red house. They went to the red one. The woman there let them in, but told them to be quiet or her husband would eat them. She hid them, but her husband was the Devil and could smell them because they were Christians. He beat his wife and put Jean into the barn to fatten him up before eating him, making Jeanette bring him food. The Devil was too fat to get into the barn, so he ordered Jeanette to bring him the tip of Jean's finger to test how fat he was; Jeanette brought him a rat's tail. The third
Rule of three (writing)
The "rule of three" is a principle in writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader/audience of this form of text is also more likely to consume information if it is written in groups of...
time, he noticed the trick and pulled Jean out. He made a sawhorse to lay Jean on to bleed, and went for a walk. Jeanette had Jean pretend not to understand how he was to be put on the sawhorse. The Devil's wife showed them, and Jean tied her on and cut her throat. They took the Devil's gold and silver and fled in his carriage. The Devil chased them. On the way, he met various people -- a laborer, a shepherd, a beadle, some laundresses -- and asked whether they had seen the children. The first time he asked, they each misheard him, but then told him they hadn't, except for the laundresses, who told him they crossed the river. The Devil could not cross it, so one laundress offered to cut her hair to let him cross on it, but when he was in the middle, the laundresses dropped it, so he drowned. The children got home and took care of their parents, despite what they had done.