The Small-tooth Dog
Encyclopedia
The Small-tooth Dog is an English fairy tale
collected by Sidney Oldall Addy in Household Tales and Other Traditional Remains.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 425C. Others of this type include Beauty and the Beast
and The Singing, Springing Lark
.
Ruth Manning-Sanders
included it in A Book of Magic Animals
.
was attacked by robbers. A dog
came to his aid and then brought him to his home until he recovered. The merchant offered to give him many marvels
, such as a goose that laid golden eggs, but the dog said that he wanted only the merchant's daughter. The merchant grieved, but he had agreed. He went home, and when a week had gone by, the dog came for the daughter. It told her to get on his back, she did, and it carried her to his home.
After a month, she wept because she wanted to visit her father. The dog said that she could, if she stayed no more than three days, but asked what she would call him there. She said, "A great, foul, small-tooth dog," and he refused to take her. She begged and said she would call him "Sweet-as-a-Honeycomb," and they set out, but on the way, when they came to a stile, he asked what she would call him, and she said "A great, foul, small-tooth dog," and he carried her back. A week later, they went again, and she called him "Sweet-as-a-Honeycomb," at the first stile, but "A great, foul, small-tooth dog," at the second, and he carried her back. A week after that, they set out again, and she called him "Sweet-as-a-Honeycomb" at the stiles. When they reached the merchant's home, he asked again, and she started to say "A great -- " but thought on how kind he had been to her and said, "Sweeter-than-a-Honeycomb". He got up on his hindlegs, shed his coat, and became
a handsome young man, and they 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...
collected by Sidney Oldall Addy in Household Tales and Other Traditional Remains.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 425C. Others of this type include Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale. The first published version of the fairy tale was a rendition by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, published in La jeune américaine, et les contes marins in 1740...
and The Singing, Springing Lark
The Singing, Springing Lark
The Singing, Springing Lark or The Singing, Soaring Lark is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, appearing as tale no. 88.It is Aarne-Thompson type 425C. Others of this type include Beauty and the Beast and The Small-tooth Dog....
.
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...
included it in A Book of Magic Animals
A Book of Magic Animals
A Book of Magic Animals is a 1975 anthology of 11 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. This book was first published in the United Kingdom in 1974, by Methuen & Co...
.
Synopsis
A merchantMerchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
was attacked by robbers. A dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
came to his aid and then brought him to his home until he recovered. The merchant offered to give him many marvels
Marvels
Marvels is a four-issue comic book limited series written by Kurt Busiek, painted by Alex Ross and edited by Marcus McLaurin, and published by Marvel Comics in 1994....
, such as a goose that laid golden eggs, but the dog said that he wanted only the merchant's daughter. The merchant grieved, but he had agreed. He went home, and when a week had gone by, the dog came for the daughter. It told her to get on his back, she did, and it carried her to his home.
After a month, she wept because she wanted to visit her father. The dog said that she could, if she stayed no more than three days, but asked what she would call him there. She said, "A great, foul, small-tooth dog," and he refused to take her. She begged and said she would call him "Sweet-as-a-Honeycomb," and they set out, but on the way, when they came to a stile, he asked what she would call him, and she said "A great, foul, small-tooth dog," and he carried her back. A week later, they went again, and she called him "Sweet-as-a-Honeycomb," at the first stile, but "A great, foul, small-tooth dog," at the second, and he carried her back. A week after that, they set out again, and she called him "Sweet-as-a-Honeycomb" at the stiles. When they reached the merchant's home, he asked again, and she started to say "A great -- " but thought on how kind he had been to her and said, "Sweeter-than-a-Honeycomb". He got up on his hindlegs, shed his coat, and became
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...
a handsome young man, and they married.