The White Snake
Encyclopedia
The White Snake is a German fairy tale
included in the complete volume
of the Brothers Grimm
, tale number 17. It is Aarne-Thompson type 673.
receives a covered dish every evening. A servant is curious one night when he retrieves the King's dish, he discovers a coiled white snake under the cover. The servant takes a small bite and discovers that he can now understand and communicate with animals.
Shortly afterwards the servant is accused of stealing the Queen
's ring. He is given one day to prove his innocence or submit to punishment. After having given up, he sits awaiting his demise when he overhears a goose
complaining about a ring stuck in her throat. The servant leaps up, grabs the goose and hurries to the kitchen. When the cook slits the goose's neck, there is the missing ring. The King apologizes and offers the servant land and riches. The servant declines accepting only a little gold
and a horse
on which to see the countryside.
On his journey to a town the servant first encounters a number of animals in distress, including three fishes out of water, ants at risk of being trodden upon, and starving raven
fledglings in a nest. In each case the servant heeds the call for help, and in each case the grateful animals respond with "I will remember and return the favour".
In the town the King has announced that he wishes to marry off his daughter, but any suitor must agree to complete an arduous task to the end or be put to death. After one glimpse of the beautiful girl, the young man agrees. The King tosses a golden ring into the sea and tells the young man to retrieve it. He also adds that the young man must either bring the ring back, drown retrieving the ring, or be drowned upon returning without it.
Immediately three fish appear floating a bit of seaweed
ahead of them, and on the seaweed rests the King's ring. Astonished, the King agrees to the marriage of his daughter to the young man. However, the daughter sets him upon another task of refilling sacks of grain
that she has spilled in the grass. The young man is discouraged because he believes it impossible to gather all of the grain from the ground and he lays down and falls asleep shortly. When he wakes, he looks over at the sacks that were empty the night before, they are now filled with grain with not one grain missing. The Ant King had had all of the ants working all night to fill them.
However, the daughter is still not happy and sets the servant off to find an apple
from the tree of life. After many days, he collapses under a tree, but then an apple falls onto his hand. He looks up to see the three raven
s, now grown, who have gone and fetched the apple for him. Overjoyed, he returns to the King's daughter and she finally agrees to marry him. They share the apple from the tree of life and live happily together to an old age.
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...
included in the complete volume
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Children's and Household Tales is a collection of German origin fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the Brothers Grimm. The collection is commonly known today as Grimms' Fairy Tales .-Composition:...
of 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...
, tale number 17. It is Aarne-Thompson type 673.
Synopsis
A wise KingMonarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
receives a covered dish every evening. A servant is curious one night when he retrieves the King's dish, he discovers a coiled white snake under the cover. The servant takes a small bite and discovers that he can now understand and communicate with animals.
Shortly afterwards the servant is accused of stealing the Queen
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
's ring. He is given one day to prove his innocence or submit to punishment. After having given up, he sits awaiting his demise when he overhears a goose
Goose
The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....
complaining about a ring stuck in her throat. The servant leaps up, grabs the goose and hurries to the kitchen. When the cook slits the goose's neck, there is the missing ring. The King apologizes and offers the servant land and riches. The servant declines accepting only a little gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and a horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
on which to see the countryside.
On his journey to a town the servant first encounters a number of animals in distress, including three fishes out of water, ants at risk of being trodden upon, and starving raven
Raven
Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...
fledglings in a nest. In each case the servant heeds the call for help, and in each case the grateful animals respond with "I will remember and return the favour".
In the town the King has announced that he wishes to marry off his daughter, but any suitor must agree to complete an arduous task to the end or be put to death. After one glimpse of the beautiful girl, the young man agrees. The King tosses a golden ring into the sea and tells the young man to retrieve it. He also adds that the young man must either bring the ring back, drown retrieving the ring, or be drowned upon returning without it.
Immediately three fish appear floating a bit of seaweed
Seaweed
Seaweed is a loose, colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae...
ahead of them, and on the seaweed rests the King's ring. Astonished, the King agrees to the marriage of his daughter to the young man. However, the daughter sets him upon another task of refilling sacks of grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
that she has spilled in the grass. The young man is discouraged because he believes it impossible to gather all of the grain from the ground and he lays down and falls asleep shortly. When he wakes, he looks over at the sacks that were empty the night before, they are now filled with grain with not one grain missing. The Ant King had had all of the ants working all night to fill them.
However, the daughter is still not happy and sets the servant off to find an apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
from the tree of life. After many days, he collapses under a tree, but then an apple falls onto his hand. He looks up to see the three raven
Raven
Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...
s, now grown, who have gone and fetched the apple for him. Overjoyed, he returns to the King's daughter and she finally agrees to marry him. They share the apple from the tree of life and live happily together to an old age.