The Three Princes and their Beasts
Encyclopedia
The Three Princes and their Beasts is a Lithuania
n fairy tale
. Andrew Lang
included it in The Violet Fairy Book.
The oldest prince found a den of robbers. With the aid of his beasts, he killed all of them but one, who feigned death. He and his stepsister lived there. The next day, he went hunting. The surviving robber forced the stepsister to bring him magical potions that healed him, and had her trick her brother into letting her tie his hands behind his back. It was a test of his strength, and took three cords to do it; on the third, the robber appeared, brandishing a knife. The prince tricked him into letting him blow his horn. The animals came and killed the robber. He chained his stepsister to the wall to let her repent, and put a great bowl before her, telling her he would not see her until she filled it with her tears.
He went on and came a town where the princess
was about to be handed over to a dragon. He went to the seashore where she was to be handed over, and with his animals killed the dragon. The princess had him come into the coach to drive back to the castle and gave him a ring and half her handkerchief. But the coachman
and footman killed him to claim they had killed the dragon.
The animals gathered around the body, until the wolf had an idea. It killed an ox and set the fox as a guard over it. It caught a crow, and the lion told it they would not kill it if it got them the waters to revive the prince. It did so, and the prince went to the town. The princess was to marry the coachman, but the prince proved himself the dragon-slayer by the ring and the handkerchief, so the coachman was thrown in prison, and the prince married the princess.
One day, he went hunting and lost his way. He asked a witch if he might stay the night, but she claimed to fear his animals and asked to touch them with a rod. He agreed, but it turned them, and him, into stone.
The youngest brother returned to the crossroads and saw that ill had befallen his oldest brother. He went down that road, and the people of the town took him for their prince. The princess knew he was not her husband and begged him to find him. He went, found the same witch, and suffered the same fate.
The middle brother returned to the crossroads and saw that ill had befallen both his brothers. He went down the same road as his oldest brother, and again only the princess knew who he was. He went out to search, found the witch, but told her that only he could strike his animals. She gave him the rod, and he touched the fox with it, and he saw it turned it to stone. Then he threatened her with his animals unless she restored his brothers, so she did so and they returned to the town, where the princess knew her own husband.
and The Blue Belt
, where the treachery comes from his mother.
The rescue by the other brother is also common, though it is generally only one other, as in The Enchanted Doe
, The Two Brothers
, The Gold-Children
, and The Knights of the Fish
.
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n fairy tale
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 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 thing happened with a lioness, a fox, a hare, a boar, and a bear. Then they came to a crossroads. The oldest told his brothers to each mark a birch there: if they returned and saw blood flowing, they would know that brother was dead, but if milk flowed, he was alive. Then they asked their stepsister which one she wanted to go with, and she went with the oldest.The oldest prince found a den of robbers. With the aid of his beasts, he killed all of them but one, who feigned death. He and his stepsister lived there. The next day, he went hunting. The surviving robber forced the stepsister to bring him magical potions that healed him, and had her trick her brother into letting her tie his hands behind his back. It was a test of his strength, and took three cords to do it; on the third, the robber appeared, brandishing a knife. The prince tricked him into letting him blow his horn. The animals came and killed the robber. He chained his stepsister to the wall to let her repent, and put a great bowl before her, telling her he would not see her until she filled it with her tears.
He went on and came a town where 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...
was about to be handed over to a dragon. He went to the seashore where she was to be handed over, and with his animals killed the dragon. The princess had him come into the coach to drive back to the castle and gave him a ring and half her handkerchief. But the coachman
False hero
The false hero is a stock character in fairy tales, and sometimes also in ballads. The character appears near the end of a story in order to claim to be the hero or heroine and is, therefore, always of the same sex as the hero or heroine. The false hero presents some claim to the position. By...
and footman killed him to claim they had killed the dragon.
The animals gathered around the body, until the wolf had an idea. It killed an ox and set the fox as a guard over it. It caught a crow, and the lion told it they would not kill it if it got them the waters to revive the prince. It did so, and the prince went to the town. The princess was to marry the coachman, but the prince proved himself the dragon-slayer by the ring and the handkerchief, so the coachman was thrown in prison, and the prince married the princess.
One day, he went hunting and lost his way. He asked a witch if he might stay the night, but she claimed to fear his animals and asked to touch them with a rod. He agreed, but it turned them, and him, into stone.
The youngest brother returned to the crossroads and saw that ill had befallen his oldest brother. He went down that road, and the people of the town took him for their prince. The princess knew he was not her husband and begged him to find him. He went, found the same witch, and suffered the same fate.
The middle brother returned to the crossroads and saw that ill had befallen both his brothers. He went down the same road as his oldest brother, and again only the princess knew who he was. He went out to search, found the witch, but told her that only he could strike his animals. She gave him the rod, and he touched the fox with it, and he saw it turned it to stone. Then he threatened her with his animals unless she restored his brothers, so she did so and they returned to the town, where the princess knew her own husband.
Motifs
The betrayal by a female relative is also featured in The Prince and the Princess in the ForestThe Prince and the Princess in the Forest
The Prince and the Princess in the Forest is a Danish fairy tale. It was collected by Evald Tang Kristensen in "Eventyr fra Jylland". Andrew Lang included it in The Olive Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
and The Blue Belt
The Blue Belt
The Blue Belt is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr. It is Aarne-Thompson type 590.-Plot summary:...
, where the treachery comes from his mother.
The rescue by the other brother is also common, though it is generally only one other, as in The Enchanted Doe
The Enchanted Doe
The 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 Brothers
The Two Brothers
The 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 Gold-Children
The Gold-Children
The 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:...
, and The Knights of the Fish
The Knights of the Fish
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....
.