What came of picking Flowers
Encyclopedia
What came of picking Flowers is a Portuguese fairy tale
. Andrew Lang
included it in The Grey Fairy Book.
picked some jessamine and vanished. The woman bewailed this so long that her son, just a boy when his sisters vanished, grew up to be a man. He asked what had happened, and his mother told him of his sisters. He asked for her blessing and set out to find them.
He found three big boys fighting over their inheritance: boots with which the wearer could wish himself anywhere, a key that opened every lock, and an invisibility cap. The son said he would throw a stone and whoever got it first would have all three. He threw it and stole the things, wishing himself where his oldest sister was. He found himself before a strong castle on a mountain. His key unlocked all the doors. He found his sister richly dressed, and having only one unhappiness: her husband was under a curse until a man who could not die, died. Her husband returned; the son put on his cap, and a bird flew in and became
a man. He was angry that she had hidden someone from him, but the son took off his cap, and their resemblance convinced him that they were indeed brother and sister. He gave him a feather that would let him call on him, the King of the Birds.
The next day, he saw his second sister, whose only trouble was the spell that kept her husband half his day a fish. Her husband, the king of the fish, gave him a scale to call on him.
The next day, he saw his youngest sister, who had been carried off by a monster, and was weeping and thin from its cruelty, because she had refused to marry it. Her brother asked her to say she would marry it, if it told her how it could die. When she did, it told her that an iron casket at the bottom of the sea, had a white dove, and the dove's egg, dashed against its head, would kill it. The brother had the king of the fishes bring him the box, used the key to open it, had the king of the birds bring him the dove after it flew off, and carried off the egg. The youngest sister asked the monster to lay its head in her lap. Her brother smashed the egg on its head, and it died.
His two brothers-in-law resumed their shape, and they sent for their mother-in-law. The treasures of the monster made the youngest sister rich all her life.
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 Grey Fairy Book.
Synopsis
A woman had three daughters. One day, one picked a pink rose and vanished. The next day, the second, searching for her sister, picked a rose and vanished. The third day, the thirdRule 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...
picked some jessamine and vanished. The woman bewailed this so long that her son, just a boy when his sisters vanished, grew up to be a man. He asked what had happened, and his mother told him of his sisters. He asked for her blessing and set out to find them.
He found three big boys fighting over their inheritance: boots with which the wearer could wish himself anywhere, a key that opened every lock, and an invisibility cap. The son said he would throw a stone and whoever got it first would have all three. He threw it and stole the things, wishing himself where his oldest sister was. He found himself before a strong castle on a mountain. His key unlocked all the doors. He found his sister richly dressed, and having only one unhappiness: her husband was under a curse until a man who could not die, died. Her husband returned; the son put on his cap, and a bird flew in 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 man. He was angry that she had hidden someone from him, but the son took off his cap, and their resemblance convinced him that they were indeed brother and sister. He gave him a feather that would let him call on him, the King of the Birds.
The next day, he saw his second sister, whose only trouble was the spell that kept her husband half his day a fish. Her husband, the king of the fish, gave him a scale to call on him.
The next day, he saw his youngest sister, who had been carried off by a monster, and was weeping and thin from its cruelty, because she had refused to marry it. Her brother asked her to say she would marry it, if it told her how it could die. When she did, it told her that an iron casket at the bottom of the sea, had a white dove, and the dove's egg, dashed against its head, would kill it. The brother had the king of the fishes bring him the box, used the key to open it, had the king of the birds bring him the dove after it flew off, and carried off the egg. The youngest sister asked the monster to lay its head in her lap. Her brother smashed the egg on its head, and it died.
His two brothers-in-law resumed their shape, and they sent for their mother-in-law. The treasures of the monster made the youngest sister rich all her life.
See also
- The RavenThe Raven (Brothers Grimm)"The Raven" is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, number 93 in their collections.It is Aarne-Thompson type 401, the girl transformed into an animal.-Synopsis:...
- The Three Princesses of WhitelandThe Three Princesses of WhitelandThe Three Princesses of Whiteland is a Norwegian fairy tale, collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. Andrew Lang collected it in The Red Fairy Book....
- The Death of Koschei the DeathlessThe Death of Koschei the DeathlessThe Death of the Immortal Koschei or Marya Morevna is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki and included by Andrew Lang in The Red Fairy Book...
- The Fair FioritaThe Fair FioritaThe Fair Fiorita is an Italian fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in Italian Popular Tales. Italo Calvino included a variant of it, The Princesses Wed to the First Passer-By, in his Italian Folktales.-Synopsis:...
- The Giant Who Had No Heart in His BodyThe Giant Who Had No Heart in His BodyThe Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe.George MacDonald retold it as "The Giant's Heart" in Adela Cathcart...
- The Dragon and the PrinceThe Dragon and the PrinceThe Dragon and the Prince or The Prince and the Dragon is a Serbian fairy tale collected by A. H. Wratislaw in his Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources, tale number 43...
- The Sea-MaidenThe Sea-MaidenThe Sea-Maiden is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as John Mackenzie, fisherman, near Inverary. Joseph Jacobs included it in Celtic Fairy Tales.-Synopsis:...
- The Young King Of Easaidh RuadhThe Young King Of Easaidh RuadhThe Young King Of Easaidh Ruadh is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in his Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as James Wilson, a blind fiddler, in Islay...
- The Three Daughters of King O'HaraThe Three Daughters of King O'HaraThe Three Daughters of King O'Hara is an Irish fairy tale collected by Jeremiah Curtin in Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland.-Synopsis:A king had three daughters. One day, when he was away, his oldest daughter wished to marry. She got his cloak of darkness, and wished for the handsomest man in the...