Part Two

The Folktale from Ireland to India

II – The Complex Tale

7. Faithfulness

B. Faithful Sister

Of tales concerned primarily with the experiences of faithful sisters, the best known are undoubtedly Little Brother and Little Sister (Type 450) [126] and The Maiden Who Seeks Her Brothers (Type 451). The latter story forms the basis of three of the tales in the Grimm collection. [127] In spite of the minor variations of treatment thus indicated, the tale-type is well defined in all its major incidents. A number of brothers (sometimes seven, sometimes twelve) have a younger sister. The boys are compelled to flee from home. In some versions the parents have promised to kill the sons if a daughter is born to them; the brothers discover this and when the mother lets them know by a sign that a girl has been born, they leave home. Sometimes the reason for the flight from home is the fear the boys have for their father or stepmother. The next stage of the story is the transformation of the brothers into ravens. This occurs sometimes because of a wish of the father or stepmother and sometimes because their younger sister has plucked twelve (seven) flowers from an enchanted garden. The sister knows of the transformation and undertakes to find them. She asks her direction of the sun, moon, and stars, and finds the brothers on a glass mountain. [128] In some versions she succeeds in disenchanting them there, but in others she is compelled to remain speechless for a certain number of years and to make shirts. In these latter versions the speechless girl is seen by a king, who marries her. On the birth of her children, they are stolen, and she is accused of killing them. [129] The conclusion [p. 111] of the story is perhaps its most characteristic part: as she is about to be executed, her period of silence elapses; the raven brothers fly down and are disenchanted and all is cleared up. Sometimes the disenchantment of the brothers takes place when she throws over the head of each of them the shirt she has been making for him.

The story has a long literary history. It was used as early as 1190 in the Dolopathos of Johannes de Alta Silva and it became connected with the legend of the Swan Knight. [130] It appears in Basile's Pentamerone, and this may indicate the presence of an oral Italian version in the early seventeenth century. However that may be, the tale is included in folktale collections from all parts of Europe, in considerably more than two hundred versions in all. Except for one Armenian variant and a borrowing from the French by the Thompson River Indians of British Columbia, the tale has not been reported outside of Europe. [131]

[126] For a discussion of this story, see p. 118, below.

[127] The Twelve Brothers (No. 9), The Seven Ravens (No. 25), and The Six Swans (No. 49).

[128] This quest is almost identical with that undergone by Psyche (Type 425) and by The Man on a Quest for His Lost Wife (Type 400).

[129] For this experience with the king and for the wife accused of killing her children, see The Maiden Without Hands (Type 706).

[130] For a discussion of these literary treatments, see Bolte-Polívka, I, 432.

[131] At this point may be mentioned a tale, current only in Norway, The Children of the King (Type 892), of a sister who is slandered but who succeeds eventually in proving her innocence to her brother.

400, 425, 450, 451, 706, 892

Part Two

The Folktale from Ireland to India

II – The Complex Tale

8. Good and bad relatives

C. Banished Wife or Maiden

The same hostile forces which frequently bring about the replacement of the true bride by the false are often responsible for the invention of slanders or for other machinations which result in the banishment of an innocent wife or maiden. Four popular and widely distributed tales have this central motivation, and still others have developed in particular areas. [158] This theme of the banished wife was popular in the literature of the Middle Ages, and sometimes appeared in forms very close to those found in oral tradition today. [159]

Most closely related to the tragic story of Constance, as Chaucer has made it known to the literary world, are The Maiden Without Hands (Type 706) and The Three Golden Sons (Type 707). These two tales have in common the motif of the wife who is accused of giving birth to animals or monsters. The Maiden Without Hands always begins by telling how the heroine has her hands cut off and is abandoned to her fate. The reasons for this cruel punishment differ widely as the tale is followed from one area to another. It may be because she refuses to marry her father, [160] or because her father has sold her to the devil (S211), or because, in spite of his commands, she has persisted in praying, or because of the jealousies and slanders of her mother-in-law or sister-in-law. Whether she is abandoned in the woods or on the sea, she is observed by a king [161] who takes her home and marries her in spite of her mutilation. For the second time, she is cast forth with her newborn children [p. 121] because one of her relatives has changed a letter announcing their birth, so as to make the message announce the birth of monsters. This central incident will be familiar to all readers of The Man of Law's Tale. The way in which the heroine has her hands restored and is eventually reunited to her husband is handled with considerable variety, both in written and oral versions. Sometimes also, as in Chaucer, there is reduplication of the banishment.

The literary treatment of this general theme begins as early as the year 1200 in southern England. Between that time and the seventeenth century it received not fewer than seventeen distinct literary handlings, [162] including those in Chaucer and Gower and in the romance of Emare. With slight variations, it appears in the Thousand and One Nights from which it has entered the Arabic oral tradition. Basile tells the story in his Pentamerone and it forms the subject of a special group of south Slavic folksongs. [163] Whatever may be the relation of the oral tale to the well-known literary treatments, there can be no doubt as to the popularity of the theme among unlettered story tellers. Few collections of any extent in all of Europe from Ireland to eastern Russia fail to have this story. It is known in the Near East and in central Africa, but has not been noted in the tales of India or lands beyond. In America it has not only been taken over by the Micmac and Wyandot Indians but has been carried by the French to Missouri and by Cape Verde Islanders to Massachusetts. It has reached Brazil and Chile in South America. The oral tale is so popular and so widely distributed that it deserves more study than it has yet received.

Even more popular is the other tale of the calumniated wife, The Three Golden Sons (Type 707) . Though no adequate investigation has been given to this story, it is clear that it is one of the eight or ten best known plots in the world. A cursory examination of easily available reference works shows 414 versions, an indication that a thorough search might bring to light several hundred more. These are found in practically every European tale collection. In Asia they have been reported from almost every quarter of Siberia, from the Near East, and from India. It is well established in all parts of Africa. In America three traditions are represented: the French among the French Canadians and the Thompson River Indians, the Portuguese in Brazil and among the Cape Verde Islanders in Massachusetts, and the Spanish among the Tepecano Indians of Mexico and in the white tradition of Chile. [164] It does not seem to have a long literary history, since the oldest version appeared in the sixteenth [p. 122] century in Straparola's Nights. In the early eighteenth, Madame d'Aulnoy and Galland both published it, the former using a tale based upon Straparola and the latter reporting one which he had heard in Arabic. The story would seem to belong almost entirely to folklore rather than to literature. Its distribution would suggest European origin, though a thorough study might conceivably show that the dissemination was in the other direction.

Over the entire area the story appears with considerable uniformity. As in The Maiden Without Hands, the king marries a girl whom he happens to meet. Here, however, we usually have three girls who make their boasts as to what would happen if they should marry the king. The king over hears the youngest of the girls say that if she were the queen she would bear triplets with golden hair, a chain around their necks, and a star on their foreheads. After the king has taken her as wife her sisters plot against her. They substitute a dog for the newborn children and accuse the wife of giving birth to the dog. The children are thrown into a stream, but they are rescued, sometimes by a miller or a fisherman. The wife is imprisoned, [165] or banished. After the children have grown up, the eldest one sets out on a quest. The reason for his undertaking the quest varies much in the different versions. He may go out to try to find his father or to seek the speaking bird, the singing tree, and the water of life. [166] On his quest the eldest brother fails and is transformed into a marble column. The second brother has the same experience, and it remains for the youngest (sometimes a sister) to rescue them. The kindness and consideration of the latter secures the help of an old woman, and eventually the disenchantment of the brothers and the possession of the magic bird and the magic objects. When all have returned from the quest, the king's attention is attracted by means of the magic objects, and the bird of truth reveals to him the whole story. The children and wife are restored and the sisters-in-law punished.

Another tale which has many points in common with The Maiden Without Hands (Type 706) is Our Lady's Child (Type 710). [167] In one way or another the heroine of this story secures the ill will of some powerful person. In some forms of the tale she is under the special protection of the Blessed Virgin, whose enmity she incurs by falsely denying that she has looked into a forbidden room. As a punishment, the girl loses her power of speech. In other variants, instead of Our Lady, the opponent is a witch or some naturally malevolent woman; occasionally even a man appears in this role. In any event, the maiden becomes the wife of the king. But when she gives birth [p. 123] to children, she is punished by having them stolen one by one. Only when she finally acknowledges her guilt are they returned to her.

This tale shows so much variation from the time it appeared in Straparola in the sixteenth century and a hundred years later in Basile that its history might be difficult to work out. It shows frequent contamination with other tales, especially The Maiden Without Hands, and the uncertainty of whether we are dealing with a pious legend of the Blessed Virgin or with a story of a cruel witch has introduced many inconsistencies into the tradition. It is known in all parts of Europe, the Near East, North Africa, and Jamaica, but seems nowhere to have achieved great popularity. On the whole, the witch as the foster mother seems to be better known than the Blessed Virgin. The central incident of the loss of the children, as well as the marriage of the king to a girl who has been mutilated or disabled, makes understandable the confusion of this tale with the two just discussed.

Before leaving the tales of slandered wives, mention should be made of a story which has been reported only from the Scandinavian peninsula, Born from a Fish (Type 705). As in the tale of The Two Brothers (Type 303), a man catches a magic fish which he is to feed to his wife. Instead, he eats it himself and becomes pregnant. A girl child is cut out of his knee. The child is carried off by birds and lives in a bird-nest. The story now proceeds like others of this group: she is seen by the king who marries her; her children are stolen away and she is driven forth. The ending is unusual. The king, realizing his mistake, seeks for his banished wife. She is found by means of a riddle which could apply only to her: a fish was my father, a man was my mother.

The main action of the four tales which we have just examined—the discovery of the persecuted maiden in the woods or a tree, her marriage to the king, the slander concerning the birth of her children, the loss of the children, the abandonment of the queen, the eventual discovery of the truth, and the reunion of the family—is so uniform that there has been much transfer from one tale to the other, if, indeed, they are all essentially different stories. In the brief summary of the plots, a number of widespread motifs, found now in one and now in another, have escaped our notice. Among these are the casting off of the wife and child in an open boat (S431.1) and the accusation of murder supported by the evidence of a bloody knife left in the queen's bed (K2155.1.1). [168]

The banished girl in our European folktales is frequently a young maiden, like Snow White. [169] The motivation in this story (Type 709) [170] is the jealousy of the stepmother who learns from her speaking mirror that Snow White is [p. 124] even more beautiful than she. The hunter who has been ordered to kill her substitutes an animal's heart and lets her go. [171] Or sometimes she is sent directly to the house of dwarfs or robbers where the stepmother expects her to be killed. She is kindly received by the dwarfs, who adopt her as a sister. The stepmother learns Snow White's whereabouts from her magic mirror and succeeds, often after several trials, in poisoning the girl. Sometimes this is by means of poisoned lace and a poisoned comb; finally, after the dwarfs have revived her from her first two poisonings, the stepmother succeeds by means of an apple. The dwarfs lay the maiden out in a glass coffin. A prince sees her and orders his men to carry the coffin. They stumble and thus dis lodge the apple, so that the girl revives. She marries the prince, who sees to it that the stepmother is given a horrible punishment. The version just outlined is essentially that given by Grimm. The tale appears without great variation over a considerable area—from Ireland to Asia Minor and well down into central Africa. Except for one Portuguese version in Brazil, it does not seem to have come to America. The story appears in two variations in Basile's Pentamerone, and it is likely that the oral tradition has been greatly influenced by this literary treatment. Böklen also shows that there has been extraordinary borrowing from other tales with similar motifs. There are also many resemblances to older mythical stories, but how significant these are in the actual history of the tale may be doubted. In spite of Böklen's detailed analysis of the stories, he has made little attempt to reach conclusions about its origin and history.

In the last few years this story has come to the attention of millions of children and adults through the remarkable treatment in the cinema version of Walt Disney. This was based directly upon the Grimm text.

Much less well known than Snow White is the tale of The Wonder Child (Type 708). It seems to be most popular in Scandinavia, though there are scattered versions as far away as Hungary and Brittany. Through the magic power of a witch stepmother, sometimes merely by a curse and sometimes by being fed a magic apple—a princess gives birth to a monster son. She is driven forth into the forest or abandoned in a boat on the sea. The monster son develops miraculous powers. He helps his mother in her work of spinning at a castle. He accompanies a prince in search of a bride, or on a hunt. When they are cast in prison together, the boy promises to rescue the prince if the latter will marry his mother. Though the prince imagines that the mother must be a monster also, he consents. He rejoices to find her like other people. At the wedding, the monster is disenchanted when his mother calls him her son. In some versions the disenchantment occurs when his head is cut off. [p. 125]

A study of this last tale might show some very interesting results. Though its area of distribution is relatively small and though it is nowhere especially popular, the tale seems well enough recognized to constitute a real tradition. No literary versions have been noticed, so that we are apparently dealing with something which is essentially, if not entirely, oral.

[158] The whole subject of the outcast child, including both banished daughters and banished sons, has been discussed in some detail by E. S. Hartland (Folk-Lore Journal, IV, 308). He makes the following divisions: (1) the King Lear type, dealing with the adventures of the king's three daughters; (2) the value of salt type, concerned only with the adventures of the youngest daughter; (3) the Joseph type, in which a boy or girl is banished because of dreams of future greatness. The fourth and fifth types record the career of an only son who has fallen without reasonable cause under his father's anger. Of these types, the third will be discussed in section IX, p. 138, below. The fourth and fifth are represented by Types 671 and 517.

[159] An excellent discussion of this whole cycle of literary tales is found in Margaret Schlauch's Chaucer's Constance and Accused Queens (New York, 1927).

[160] An incident which we shall find in Type 510B.

[161] See Motif N711 and all its subdivisions for references to other tales in which this incident appears.

[162] For a listing of these, see Bolte-Polívka, I, 298ff. The whole tale has been studied by Däumling (Studie über den Typus des Mädchens ohne Hände, München, 1912) and the Comte du Puymaigre (Revue d'histoire des religions, Sept.-Oct., 1884; summarized in Mélusine, II, 309).

[163] For these, see Bolte-Polívka, I, 306.

[164] For a study of the Chilean versions of the tale, see Rodolfo Lenz, "Un Grupo de Consejas Chilenas, Estudio de Novelistica comparada" (Santiago, 1912); see also Espinosa, Journal of American Folklore, XXVII, 230.

[165] In some versions the wife may be thrown into a stream and transformed, as in The Black and the White Bride (Type 403).

[166] In connection with the quest, the story frequently shows the influence of The Three Hairs from the Devil's Beard (Type 461).

[167] The oldest known version of this story, that in Straparola's Nights, is a thorough amalgamation of the two tales.

[168] For other motifs belonging here, see cross references assembled at Motifs S400, S410, and S431.

[169] Aside from Snow White and The Maiden Without Hands, we shall find Cap o' Rushes and others of the Cinderella cycle being cast out. See also Motif S301 with all its references.

[170] See Böklen, Sneewittchenstudien.

[171] The compassionate executioner appears in a number of stories from the time of Joseph on down; see Motif K512 with all its subdivisions. We have already met it in the tale of The Three Languages (Type 671).

303, 403, 461, 510B, 517, 671, 705, 706, 707, 708, 709, 710

K512, K2155.1.1, S211, S431.1, N711, S301, S400, S410, S431

Part Two

The Folktale from Ireland to India

II – The Complex Tale

8. Good and bad relatives

D. Successful Youngest Child

In a large proportion of the stories of substituted brides and of persecuted wives or maidens the heroine who undergoes these sufferings and who finally triumphs is the youngest sister who is brought into contrast with her cruel or haughty elder sisters. [172] Likewise, in a whole group of the tales which we have noticed, the youngest son plays a similar role. [173]

This contrast between elder and younger child does not always play a subordinate role in folktales, but in one of the most famous of all groups is all-important in the action of the story. The whole group is sometimes known as the Cinderella cycle, even when we are dealing with a hero. [174] It is normally true that in all tales of this kind the youngest child is also especially unpromising, either because of appearance, shiftless habits, or habitual bad treatment by others. But even though such qualities are emphasized in the narrative, it is never forgotten that the distinguishing quality of these heroes and heroines is the fact that they are the youngest.

The tale known in the Grimm collection as Frau Holle (Type 480) tells how the despised youngest daughter [175] sits spinning by a well and loses her shuttle in the water. Being scolded by her mother, she jumps into the well to recover it. She loses her senses and awakes in the lower world. In reply to various appeals, she milks a cow, shakes an apple tree, takes bread out of an oven, and the like. At last she takes service with a witch, and she is so industrious that she pleases the witch, for she performs all tasks assigned her with the help of the animals and objects which she has obeyed. As a reward, she is given a large amount of gold (sometimes in a casket) and is allowed to return home. The ungracious sister wishes to imitate, but she refuses to help the animals and objects. Instead of a casket of gold, they cause her to choose a casket filled with fire, or in some versions kill her as a punishment.

This general theme of the two daughters, one kind and the other unkind, has already appeared prominently in the story of The Black and the White [p.126] Bride. [176] There it was merely the introduction to the story of the substituted bride. But in Frau Holle the contrasting action of the two girls in the lower world and their appropriate rewards is the whole story, and there is every tendency to elaborate the details. Basile told the tale in two different forms in his Pentamerone, and it received further literary treatment by Perrault. All of these authors added to the wealth of detail, and it has received much independent elaboration wherever it has been told.

It is one of the most popular of oral tales, being distributed over nearly the whole world. It is found in almost all collections from every part of Europe, from southern and eastern Asia, from northern and central Africa, and from North and South America. In the western hemisphere it occurs in three widely separated American Indian tribes; in the French folklore of Louisiana, Canada, the West Indies, and French Guiana; and in the Spanish tradition of Peru and the Portuguese of Brazil. A cursory examination of appropriate bibliographical works shows nearly six hundred versions. A serious study, which we hope may sometime be undertaken, would probably bring to light many hundreds more.

One special development of this tale, found only in eastern Europe, tells how the devil demands entrance into the house. But, on advice of the helpful animals, the girl demands that he bring her various things until the night has worn away and he must depart. [177]

Possibly to be considered as a special variation of Frau Holle is a tale of which only six versions have been noted—Basque, French, Danish, and Swedish. In this story, The Presents (Type 620), the haughty sister is the one who goes forth first. She succeeds, by means of the old woman's help, in being given a castle and becoming queen. Because of her haughtiness she is driven forth. The other sister makes better use of her presents, which bring her all good fortune.

Probably the best known of all folktales is Cinderella (Type 510A), particularly if we include its special development known as Cap o' Rushes (Type 510B). These tales were not only included in the influential collections of Basile and Perrault, but they both have an even older literary history. A good Chinese literary version of Cinderella has been reported from the ninth century after Christ, [178] and Cap o' Rushes has appeared in both French and [p. 127] Italian literary treatment from the beginning of the sixteenth century. This pair of tales was the subject of Miss Cox's Cinderella which appeared in 1893 and was the first extensive investigation ever made of a folktale.

In Cinderella the heroine is abused by her stepmother and stepsisters. Her name is always connected in some way with ashes (Cendrillon, Aschenputtel, or the like), indicating her lowly position in the household. The poor girl receives supernatural aid, sometimes from her dead mother, or from a tree on the mother's grave, or from an animal (often a reincarnation of the mother), or from a fairy godmother. In some versions the helpful animal is killed, and a tree springs up which magically provides beautiful clothes for the girl. As in the familiar Perrault telling, she may dance three successive nights with the prince and escape just before the forbidden hour. Some versions tell how the prince sees the girl in church. At any rate, she flees from the prince and a search for her is necessary. It is not always the lost slipper which brings about identification, but she may be found by any of the approved methods known to readers of fairy tales—a ring thrown into the prince's cup or baked in his bread, or the special favor shown her when the tree bows before her so that she can pluck its golden apple.

The version of Perrault is so familiar through two hundred and fifty years' use as a nursery tale that we are likely to think that all the details which he mentions are essential. Some of them, as a matter of fact, are practically unknown elsewhere; for example, the glass slipper. A vast majority of the versions do have a slipper, but not of glass. It has been suggested that Perrault's glass slipper comes from a confusion between the French words verre and vaire, and this may possibly be true. The fairy godmother is a relatively rare occurrence in the tale. On the other hand, traits not found in Perrault assume importance as we trace the tale around the world: the help of the dead mother, usually reincarnated as an animal, the clothes colored like the sun, moon, and stars, and the appearance of the heroine as a herder of turkeys.

This story of Cinderella appears in not fewer than five hundred versions in Europe alone. It seems to be popular in India and Farther India and has been taken without change by Europeans to the Philippines and elsewhere in Indonesia. It is found among the North African Arabs, in the Western Sudan, in Madagascar and on the island of Mauritius. It has also been well received in America. The French have brought it to Missouri and Canada, and the isle of Martinique. It has also been reported from Brazil and Chile. Especially interesting are the modifications of this story by the North American Indians, the Piegans of the Glaciar Park area, the Ojibwa of the Great Lakes, and the Zuñi of New Mexico. In the latter version an almost complete adaptation to the Zuñi environment has been made. The abused daughter is a turkey herd (as in some European versions). Her turkeys take pity on her and furnish magic clothes. She attends the tribal dance and attracts the chief's [p. 128] son, but she disobeys her turkeys and overstays her time. They punish her by taking away all her beautiful clothes. A reader who was not familiar with the Cinderella story might well imagine that this is a native Zuñi tale. Its actual Spanish origin is unmistakable.

As Miss Cox's analysis of this cycle shows, there is very considerable mutual influence exerted between Cinderella and the related tale of Cap o' Rushes (Type 510B). This story begins with the flight of the heroine from home, or with her banishment, because her father wishes to marry her (as in the tale of The Maiden Without Hands [Type 706]). Or it may be that, like Cordelia in King Lear, she does not reply as her father wishes when he asks her how much she loves him. She says that her love is like salt, in contrast to her sisters who have compared theirs to sugar. [179] In either case, the heroine assumes a peculiar disguise, indicated by the various titles of the stories, not only the two mentioned here, but others like Katie Woodencoat, Allerleirauh, etc. She takes service among strangers and is accidentally seen by the prince in her own beautiful clothes. The story then proceeds much like Cinderella. Frequently there is the thrice repeated flight from the prince and the elaborate recognition after the search for the girl. This latter is usually brought about by means of a ring placed in his food or drink, rather than by fitting the slipper. In those stories where it is appropriate, the heroine shows her father how much more valuable salt really is than sugar. The interesting way in which, all these motifs shift as we go from version to version and yet maintain the essential plot is skillfully displayed in Miss Cox's detailed analysis.

This tale has been made popular in the world of readers by treatment in every important literary collection of stories since the sixteenth century—Straparola, Basile, and Perrault. But its wide acceptance in the folklore of the whole area from Scandinavia to India would seem, for the most part, to be independent of these literary treatments. While not so universally told as its companion story, Cinderella, well over two hundred oral versions have been noted by folktale students. But only a single variant each from Africa and the two Americas have thus far come to light.

So closely related in detail to Cinderella and Cap o' Rushes that it is frequently considered a variant form is the story of One-Eye, Two-Eyes, Three-Eyes (Type 511). Of the three sisters, the heroine is the only one with the normal two eyes. Her monstrous sisters, One-Eye and Three-Eyes, are in league with their mother against her. She is compelled to herd goats and to go hungry. She secures the aid of an old woman who provides her with a food-supplying table which she can use with the aid of one of her goats which has magic power. In the course of time, her sisters spy upon her and kill the goat. On the advice of her old woman helper she has the goat's entrails

buried and from them there grows a magic tree with golden apples. The tree [p. 129] will yield its fruit only to Two-Eyes, into whose hands the apples come of themselves. When a prince asks for some of the apples the sisters fail and only Two-Eyes can give them to him. The tale naturally ends with her marriage to the prince.

It seems unlikely, in spite of Dr. Krappe's contention, [180] that this modern European folktale has any organic connection with the old Greek myth of Phrixos and Helle. There are, however, literary versions of our story in Germany and Sweden from the sixteenth century down. Though it is by no means as popular as either Cinderella or Cap o' Rushes, it is distributed rather evenly over the whole of Europe. It is also known in India, Indonesia, North Africa, and Madagascar. A version from English tradition has recently been reported from Virginia.

What may be considered a variation of this story is the tale of The Little Red Bull (Type 511*). [181] In this tale there is always a youth instead of a girl as the principal actor. He is helped by a magic bull (sometimes a horse) which provides food for him. When his enemies kill the animal he follows his helper's last instructions and keeps some part of the animal's body, through which he receives magic aid in all his adventures. Sometimes these adventures are the same as those of the hero of the Goldener Märchen (Type 314), and some folktale students have considered The Little Red Bull as a variant of that tale. Its wide distribution, however, and its relative uniformity would seem to indicate that we have here an autonomous tale and not a mere variation of some more popular story. Though in small numbers, it is scattered over the entire continent of Europe and is found in India, North and Central Africa, and among the Wyandot Indians of North America. Its peculiar distribution and its relationship to the two tales here indicated should make this story worth further investigation.

Although many examples of the fortunate youngest son have appeared in other connections in some of the tales we have already examined and in those to come later, [182] one story of a "male Cinderella" deserves special mention here. In The Prodigal's Return (Type 935) the youngest of the three brothers is a spendthrift, but clever. He goes abroad as a soldier and swindles his father into sending him money. Through cleverness he makes his fortune and marries a princess. He visits his parents' home in humble disguise and is mistreated by his brothers. At the end, the princess arrives and puts the jealous brothers to shame. [p. 130]

In Europe this story seems to be entirely confined to the Baltic states and Denmark, where it has been collected in large numbers. But its presence in America among the Micmac Indians and among the Missouri French gives every indication that it was brought across the ocean by Frenchmen. In Missouri it has been skilfully combined with the tale of The Youth Who Wanted to Learn What Fear Is (Type 326).

[172] In cases where the contrast is not with elder sisters it is usually with stepsisters.

[173] For the victorious youngest daughter, see Motif L50, where a list of the tales containing this trait is given. Similarly for the victorious youngest son, see L10.

[174]Some authors have used the term "male Cinderella" for such younger and unpromising sons.

[175] In many versions she is the stepdaughter and is made to contrast with the stepmother's real daughter.

[176] Type 403. This motif (Q2) is usually known as "Kind and Unkind." Among other tales in which it is found are: Bearskin (Type 361); The House in the Wood (Type 431); The Frog King (Type 440); How Six Travel Through the World (Type 513A); The Bird, the Horse, and the Princess (Type 550); The Water of Life (Type 551); The Grateful Animals (Type 554); All Stick Together (Type 571); The King's Tasks (Type 577); The Healing Fruits (Type 610); The Presents (Type 620); and The Three Golden Sons (Type 707).

[177] See Bolte-Polívka, I, 221ff. for a list of these versions. Though some seventy are mentioned, they are all from countries between Bohemia and the Caucasus. See Motif K555 and its various subdivisions.

[178] For a discussion of this version, see R. D. Jameson, Three Lectures on Chinese Folklore, pp. 45ff.

[179] This motif, "Love like Salt," sometimes appears as a separate tale (Type 923), and, with a slight variation, in another (Type 923A). See Motif H592.1 and literature there cited.

[180]A. H. Krappe, Folk-Lore, XXXIV (1923), 141ff.

[181]For discussion see: Bolte-Polívka, III, 65; Béaloideas, II, 268, 273.

[182] Among other places, the favorite youngest son is found in the following tales: The White Cat (Type 402); The Bridge to the Other World (Type 471); How Six Travel Through the World (Type 513); The Bird, the Horse, and the Princess (Type 550); The Water of Life (Type 551); The Grateful Animals (Type 554); The Knapsack, the Hat, and the Horn (Type 569); All Stick Together (Type 571); The King's Tasks (Type 577); Beloved of Women (Type 580); The Healing Fruits (Type 610); and The Three Lucky Brothers (Type 1650).

314, 326, 361, 402, 431, 440, 471, 480, 510A, 510B, 511, 511*, 513, 513A, 550, 551, 554, 569, 571, 577, 580, 610, 620, 706, 707, 923, 923A, 935, 1650

H592.1, K555, L10, L50, Q2

Part Two

The Folktale from Ireland to India

II – The Complex Tale

12. Origin and history of the complex tales

Not every complex tale known to story-tellers of the area we are considering has found a place in the discussion just concluded. But practically all of those omitted are of very limited distribution. [283] With each tale the main facts about its history and its occurrences in oral tradition have been indicated wherever conclusions seemed possible. While discussing each tale, I have had before me a summary of the scholarship which has been devoted to it and a complete list of oral versions insofar as the extensive reference books and regional surveys now available made this possible. Frequently the mere bringing together of this material was sufficient to compel conclusions about the tale which do not seem likely to need revision. But when all tales with such clear-cut histories have been considered, there remain a large number which present problems sufficient to occupy the attention of scholars for many a decade to come.

Of these complex tales, along with a few closely related simple anecdotes, we have examined somewhat over two hundred. The order in which they have been taken up has been determined by their subject matter. And that means that tales about the same kinds of characters or incidents have been brought together, often when there was no organic relationship between them and when they had little if anything in common in their origin and history. When so much remains dark about the beginnings and about the vicissitudes of so large a number of our folktales, no complete account of them can be based upon historical categories.

Nevertheless, in a very tentative way it may be of interest to see which of our tales have a history that can be proclaimed with some confidence, which of them show great probabilities of proper solution, and which of them still present difficult problems.

That many of our European and Asiatic folktales go back to a literary source is as clear as any fact of scholarship can be made. There would thus seem to be no reason to doubt that an Oriental literary text is responsible for the subsequent development of a considerable number of tales which have received oral currency in Europe and sometime in the Orient. In the older Buddhistic sources [284] are found: Death's Messengers (Type 335); Six Go Through the Whole World (Type 513A); The Three Snake Leaves (Type 612); [p. 177] The Two Travelers (Type 613); The Animal Languages (Type 670); "Think Carefully Before You Begin a Task" (Type 910C); The Brave Tailor (Type 1640); and Doctor Know-All (Type 1641). In the Ocean of Story, a Sanskrit collection brought together in the twelfth century but based upon much older material, there appear, as probable originals of the European oral tradition, versions of: Wise Through Experience (Type 910A); The Servant's Good Counsels (Type 910B); and Faithful John (Type 516). From other collections of literary tales originating in India appear to come: The Bridge to the Other World (Type 471); The Four Skillful Brothers (Type 653); The Wise Brothers (Type 655); and One Beggar Trusts God, the Other the King (Type 841). From various literary sources in India the incidents which make up two of our related tales have been taken and unified at some point before they entered into the oral tradition of the west. [285] These two are : The Son of the King and of the Smith (Type 920); and The King and the Peasant's Son (Type 921). Whatever may be the ultimate source of the stories in the Thousand and One Nights, several of our old folktales are found in that work in much the form in which these stories first reached European taletellers. Among these tales appearing in the Arabian Nights are: Siddhi Numan (Type 449*); Aladdin (Type 561); Open Sesame (Type 676); Luck and Wealth (Type 736); Hatch-penny (Type 745); Oft Proved Fidelity (Type 881); The Treasure of the Hanging Man (Type 910D); and The Forty Thieves (Type 954). Finally, of these tales of Oriental origin, may be mentioned one which appears in the Persian collection, The Thousand and One Days. This is The Prophecy (Type 930).

Similarly, an ultimate origin in European literature seems unmistakable for a dozen or more of the stories current today, whether locally or over the complete European-Asiatic area. Three of the tales which we have noticed certainly go back to Greek literature: Oedipus (Type 931) to Sophocles; Rhampsinitus (Type 950) to Herodotus; and The Wolf and the Kids (Type 123) to the Aesop collection. A fourteenth century Latin poem, the Asinarius, is responsible for the very few oral versions of The Ass (Type 430). Folktales have borrowed very freely from saints' legends: certainly Pride Is Punished (Type 836) is a mere oral treatment of the legend of Polycarp. The great collections of illustrative tales which in the Middle Ages went under the name of Exempla contained a considerable number of folktales. Frequently it is impossible to tell whether they may be reworkings of oral tradition, but sometimes it is quite evident that the oral tale is taken directly from the literary collection. This is clearly true of: Friends in Life and Death (Type 470); The Boy Who Learned Many Things (Type 517); The Three Languages (Type 671); The Angel and the Hermit (Type 759); and Who Ate the Lamb's Heart (Type 785). At least two tales seem to have been learned from the work of the German Meistersinger: The Faithful Wife (Type 888); and [p. 178] The Pound of Flesh (Type 890). Of course, both of these tales were used by Shakespeare, and that fact has doubtless been of influence on their subsequent popularity. Many stories have undoubtedly originated among the people of Italy, and it is sometimes difficult to know whether a tale recounted by those great writers of novelle beginning with Boccaccio was learned from the people or was invented by the author. For at least three of our folktales such literary invention by the novella writer seems the most reasonable hypothesis. The Wager on the Wife's Chastity (Type 882) is in Boccaccio's Decameron; The Luck-Bringing Shirt (Type 844) in the Pecorone of Ser Giovanni; and The Taming of the Shrew (Type 901) in the Nights of Straparola. The Pentamerone of Giambattista Basile of the early seventeenth century is almost completely made up of oral folktales, though transformed into an extraordinary literary style. But it is probable that he invented several tales by freely combining traditional material. Such seems to be the situation with The Forsaken Fiancée (Type 884). Finally, at least one tale given currency by the Grimms, The Two Girls, the Bear, and the Dwarf (Type 426), comes directly from a German literary collection of stories which appeared in 1818.

The fact that one may cite a literary form of a story, even a very old version, is by no means proof that we have arrived at the source of the tradition. Nothing is better authenticated in the study of traditional narrative than the fact that the literary telling of a tale may represent merely one of hundreds of examples of the story in question and have for the history of the tradition no more significance than any other one of the hundreds of variants at hand. Apuleius's telling of Cupid and Psyche and the author of Tobit's version of The Grateful Dead Man tale appear both to be rather late and somewhat, aberrant forms of much older oral tales. With this warning in mind, the careful student should be slow in arriving at the conclusion that a stated literary document is the fountainhead of a particular narrative tradition. For those tales which we have just listed, the actual dependence on the literary source has seemed well established. In addition to these, there are a considerable number for which there is a well-known early literary form to which the weight of evidence would point probably, but not quite certainly, as the actual source. Some of these tales have been very popular among story-tellers, and have spread over two or more continents, and some have had only a very limited acceptance among the people. The degree of popularity and the geographical extent of the distribution is a fact which must be taken into consideration with every tale when we are trying to judge the question of its ultimate literary or oral invention. For this reason, in listing the tales with probable literary sources, it is helpful to indicate briefly what type of oral distribution each has.

At least related to the old Greek story of The Cranes of Ibycus is the tale The Sun Brings All to Light (Type 960; oral: Spain to Russia). From saints' [p. 179] legends at least two oral tales appear to have been taken: Hospitality Rewarded (Type750B; oral: scattered thinly over most of Europe); and Christ and the Smith (Type 753; oral: all Europe, especially the Baltic states). Certainly influenced by some of the legends of the popes, if not directly borrowed from them, is The Dream (Type 725; oral: moderately popular in eastern Europe and the Baltic states). In addition to the folktales which we are sure have come from books of Exempla, there are several where such an origin seems likely: The King and the Robber (Type 951A; oral: Germany and the Baltic states, sporadic in Hungary and Russia); The Old Robber Relates Three Adventures (Type 953; oral: thinly scattered, Ireland to Roumania); and "We Three; For Money" (Type 1697; oral: thinly scattered over all Europe). The influence of the chivalric romance in general is seen in The Bride Won in a Tournament (Type 508) which was told in Straparola's Nights and received frequent literary treatment in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, but has been collected orally only in three versions in Lithuania.

The rich prose literature of medieval Iceland has in it many folktale elements, most of which doubtless go back to popular tradition. But this may not have been true in all cases: an Icelandic prose tale of 1339 seems to lie back of the oral tale Godfather Death (Type 332; oral: Iceland to Palestine, especially the Baltic states, but not Russia). A medieval chronicle of 1175 probably forms the beginning of the tradition later carried on through French and German jestbooks and at least one English play, and connected with the name of a famous Lord Mayor of London. This is Whittington's Cat (Type 1651; oral: scattered from western Europe to Indonesia, especially popular in Finland).

The jestbooks of the Renaissance contain a number of folktales. In many cases, these were taken from older literary collections, or indeed from oral tradition. But occasionally they seem to have served as a real source for tales which now belong to the folk. Such would seem to be true of The Wishes (Type 750A; oral: popular throughout Europe, sporadic in China); The Tailor in Heaven (Type 800; oral: scattered thinly over Europe, sporadic among Buryat of Siberia); The Devil as Advocate (Type 821; oral: all Europe, especially Baltic, moderately popular); Sleeping Beauty (Type 410; oral: scattered thinly over Europe, one-third of versions Italian, based on Basile); and The Three Brothers (Type 654; oral: confined to Europe).

A German literary tale of the thirteenth century may well be the beginning of The Frog King (Type 440; oral: Germany to Russia only). The habit of writing literary folktales was carried on into the eighteenth century, both in France and in Germany. Many of these tales never assumed any oral popularity. On the other hand, The Girls Who Married Animals (Type 552), although concocted by Musäus at the end of the eighteenth century of authentic oral material, combined with an analogous tale in Basile, has since entered into the stream of oral tradition in the form he then designed. Its [p. 180] oral distribution shows the greatest inconsistency and indicates frequent direct use of the literary source.

For all the tales mentioned thus far in this summary there seems a strong probability of ultimate literary origin. But it cannot be too frequently repeated that the fact of the appearance of a tale in some literary document is no proof that it did not originate among the people. Oral tales have been a very fruitful source For literary story-tellers everywhere. It thus happens that frequently the literary appearance of a story only represents one of many hundreds of versions and is, of course, less important in the history of the tale than the oral variant from which the story was borrowed. It is not always easy to tell when a story belongs primarily to oral tradition and frequently the problem of priority is quite unsolvable. But a very considerable number of tales appearing in literary collections show such a preponderance of oral variants, as well as other indications of popular origin, that their literary appearance would seem to be purely incidental. There can be little doubt that they are all essentially oral, both in origin and in history.

Several such oral tales have found a place in Oriental literary collections. In the Hindu fable collection, the Panchatantra, occurs a good part of the tale of Luck and Intelligence (Type 945); it also occurs in recent literary form in India, but has a vigorous life in popular tradition of India and the Near East, and sporadically as far afield as Germany and the Philippines. In the Ocean of Story, as well as in the Thousand and One Nights, occur fragments of Devils Fight over Magic Objects (Type 518; oral: all Europe, western Asia, and North Africa) and of The Prince's Wings (Type 575; oral: sparingly over north and eastern Europe). In the Ocean of Story, likewise, there is an analogue of The Girl as Helper in the Hero's Flight (Type 313). This story does not otherwise appear in central Asia but is one of the most popular of all oral folktales in Europe and America; it is no wonder that it has been retold by such story-tellers as Straparola and Basile. Two tales popular in the tradition of the Near East appear in the Persian Tuti Nameh: The Grateful Animals (Type 554; oral: Europe and Asia, especially Baltic countries) and The Magic Bird-heart (Type 567; oral: eastern and southern Europe, and Persia; origin probably in Persian tradition). In an Arabic history of the ninth century appears an abbreviated version of The King and the Abbot (Type 922), though Walter Anderson has shown that the tradition is certainly oral, in spite of frequent literary treatments in Europe. Likewise, the occurrence of the story of The Monster in the Bridal Chamber (Type 507B) in the apocryphal Book of Tobit does not carry the implication that this version is the source of the tradition: it is obviously a late and considerably modified form of the story, which appears to have developed orally in the Near East.

Much more frequently have oral tales found a place in one or more European collections of literary stories. In another place more specific mention [p. 181] is made of popular tales embedded in the Greek or Latin classics. [286] Sometimes these retellings represent rather faithfully what must have been the plot of one of our oral tales at the time and place it was heard, though there may be radical adaptation to literary form or fashion. Such is true of the retelling of the tale of Polyphemus (Type 1137) by Homer, of Cupid and Psyche (Type 425) by Apuleius, and of Perseus and Andromeda (a version of Type 300? ) by various writers of myths.

It is sometimes difficult to tell whether such a classical story as that of Perseus is really a version of a folktale now current in Europe. There is little doubt, however, that the appearance of the story of The Dragon-Slayer (Type 300) in connection with that of The Two Brothers (Type 303) in Icelandic saga does represent an actual version of an oral tale, apparently originating in France, and now known by almost every taleteller in the world. In Icelandic saga there also appears a version of The Clever Peasant Girl (Type 875), though this does not represent its source, which is certainly oral and central European. The learning of animal speech by eating the flesh of a serpent occurs in a German and Baltic oral tale (Type 673) and also in the Siegfried story, but this is the only parallel, and the resemblance may not indicate actual relationship.

In other literary forms of the Middle Ages there occasionally appear oral tales. Geoffrey of Monmouth, in telling the story of King Lear, includes the incident of Love Like Salt (Type 923), widely known, not only through Shakespeare's treatment, but also as a part of the Cinderella cycle (Type 510). The chivalric romances, likewise, contain much that must have been taken directly from the people. Marie de France thus tells the tale of The Prince as Bird (Type 432), which, though certainly oral, has been frequently retold by both medieval and Renaissance writers. In some versions of the Tristram story occur elements of The Clever Horse (Type 531; oral: western Europe to the Philippines, origin probably India), and in an Icelandic saga of the fourteenth century there is a much clearer version. In the Fortunatus romance, which occurs in many forms, there is found a version of The Three Magic Objects and the Wonderful Fruits (Type 566), essentially west European folk tradition. The Gesta Romanorum, and later, Hans Sachs, have versions of The Three Doctors (Type 660), a tradition well known from Ireland to Russia. Despite the fact that the French and German fabliaux are usually literary in content, at least two oral tales are used in such collections: The Hero Catches the Princess with Her Own Words (Type 853) and King Thrushbeard (Type 900).

Though the jestbooks which were in vogue during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries normally consist of very simple anecdotes, occasionally they included a complex folk story, like Hansel and Gretel (Type 327A); Master Pfriem (Type 801); One-Eye, Two-Eyes, Three-Eyes (Type 511); The [p. 182] Student from Paradise (Type 1540); or The Three Lucky Brothers (Type 1650). The latter story also appears in a collection of novelle. These prose tale collections, beginning as early as Boccaccio's Decameron, sometimes contain stories which the author had heard, though they are usually much changed in style from what must have been the oral original. Such is true of The Smith Outwits the Devil (Type 330), and of Six Go Through the Whole World (Type 513). The latter tale appears in many other literary collections, both Oriental and European.

For the history of the folktale, two collections in the novella tradition are especially important. Insofar as they contain folktales, they are either purely oral stories or else tales of literary origin which had already become a part of the folklore of Italy. Many of these oral tales have their first literary appearance in these collections. In the Pleasant Nights of Straparola in the sixteenth century are versions of: The Magician and His Pupil (Type 325; apparently of oral origin in India); The Youth Who Wanted to Learn What Fear Is (Type 326); The Youth Transformed to a Horse (Type 314; one of the most popular of oral tales); Cap o' Rushes (Type 510B); The Three Golden Sons (Type 707); Our Lady's Child (Type 710); The Cat Castle (Type 545A); Puss in Boots (Type 545B); and The Lazy Boy (Type 675).

An even longer list of oral tales is found for the first time in the Pentamerone of Basile, 1634-36. Among them are: The Maiden in the Tower (Type 310); The Black and the White Bride (Type 403); The Three Oranges (Type 408); Little Brother and Little Sister (Type 450); The Maiden Who Seeks her Brothers (Type 451); The Spinning-Woman by the Spring (Type 480); The Three Old Women Helpers (Type 501); Dung-beetle (Type 559); The Magic Ring (Type 560); The Louse-Skin (Type 621); The Carnation (Type 652); Snow-White (Type 709); and The Good Bargain (Type 1642).

The folktale collection of Charles Perrault which appeared in 1697 is hardly to be considered as literary at all, but rather as a group of fairly faithful versions of oral tales. The later French collections of Madame D'Aulnoy, on the other hand, were definitely literary, and seldom contained any real folktales which had not already appeared in writers like Straparola or Basile. Exceptions are The Mouse as Bride (Type 402) and The Shift of Sex (Type 514).

Such are the principal collections of literary tales which have given us versions of oral stories. To complete the list, one would have to make several miscellaneous additions. The King and the Abbot (Type 922) appears in a German poem of the thirteenth century and frequently thereafter; the oral tradition of how Peter's Mother Falls from Heaven (Type 804) is given in a fifteenth century German poem; The Monster's Bride (Type 507A) appears in a sixteenth century English comedy; Bearskin (Type 361) is [p. 183] retold by Grimmelshausen in 1670; and Demi-coq (Type 715) is given a French name because of his appearance in a French story written in 1759.

Such is the list of those tales which, although they have appeared in one or more literary collections, seem quite certainly to be oral, both in origin and in history. Sometimes their subsequent popularity has been greatly increased by the fact that they have been charmingly retold by Basile or Perrault. Otherwise, their history is in no essential respect different from that large group of stories to which we shall now turn. These belong to the folklore of Europe and Asia, and have never had the fortune to appeal to any literary story teller. We know them only in oral form and can therefore speak with almost complete certainty of their origin among the people. Here belong some of the most interesting of all folktales.

Most of the European stories which originated in the Orient either go back to literary sources in the East or else, in spite of their origin in popular Oriental tradition, have received literary treatment in Asia or in Europe. Such tales, of literary origin or handling, have just been discussed. There remain a few which seem to have developed orally in Asia and to have reached Europe entirely by word of mouth. Such is true of Three Hairs from the Devil's Beard (Type 461), very often told in connection with the tale of The Prophecy (Type 930). The latter story is Oriental, but is found in early Buddhistic material. [287] The widely diffused tale of The Little Red Bull (Type 511*), while showing relation to several well-known European stories, probably comes from Oriental folk tradition.

By far the largest number of purely oral European and Asiatic tales seem quite certainly to have developed in Europe. The great majority of these are confined to the European continent, but some of them are worldwide in their distribution. Examples of the latter are The Dragon-Slayer (Type 300), John the Bear (Type 301), and The Two Brothers (Type 303). [288] Some European oral tales have traveled far into the Orient: Bluebeard (Type 311); The Journey to God to Receive Reward (Type 460A); The Journey in Search of Fortune (Type 460B); The Wild Man (Type 502); The Speaking Horsehead (Type 533); and The Profitable Exchange (Type 1655). Others have gone no further than the Near East: The Princess Transformed into Deer (Type 401); The Princess on the Glass Mountain (Type 530); Strong John (Type 650); The Juniper Tree (Type 720); and The Greater Sinner (Type 756C).

A considerable number of oral stories have received very wide distribution over the entire European continent but, except for purely sporadic occurrences, they do not appear elsewhere. To this list belong: The Hunter (Type 304); [p. 184] The Dwarf and the Giant (Type 327B); Hiding from the Devil (Type 329); The House in the Wood (Type 431); The Water of Life (Type 551); The Fisher and His Wife (Type 555); The Rabbit-herd (Type 570); The Self-righteous Hermit (Type 756A); The Devil's Contract (Type 756B); The Singing Bone (Type 780); The Peasant in Heaven (Type 802); The Birthmarks of the Princess (Type 850); The Golden Ram (Type 854); The King and the Soldier (Type 952); The Robber Bridegroom (Type 955) and The Clever Maiden Alone at Home Kills the Robbers (Type 956B).

The stories just listed are well represented in all parts of Europe, so that without special investigation it is not easy to say just where the story has developed. With a large number of tales, however, we find that, in spite of occurrences over the entire continent, their area of great popularity is clearly limited, sometimes to a single country, more often to a group of neighboring peoples. Such tales with occurrences primarily in eastern Europe are: The Princess in the Shroud (Type 307); The Faithless Sister (Type 315); and The Prince and the Arm Bands (Type 590). These last two are closely related and seem to have their center in Roumania.

General European tales most popular in eastern and northern Europe are: The Danced-Out Shoes (Type 306); Lenore (Type 365); The Helpful Horse (Type 532); and The Snares of the Evil One (Type 810).

Especially characteristic of Scandinavia and the Baltic states are: The Boy Steals the Giant's Treasure (Type 328, the English story of Jack the Giant Killer); Bear-skin (Type 361); The Man as Heater of Hell's Kettle (Type 475); The King is Betrayed (Type 505); The Spirit in the Blue Light (Type 562—popularly influenced by H. C. Andersen's treatment); The Greedy Peasant Woman (Type 751); Sin and Honor (Type 755; also very popular in Ireland); The Devil's Riddle (Type 812); The Hero Forces the Princess to Say "That is a Lie" (Type 852); The Youth Cheated in Selling Oxen (Type 1538); The Clever Boy (Type 1542); and The Man Who got a Night's Lodging (Type 1544).

Rather widespread traditions having their focus definitely in Scandinavia are: The Man from the Gallows (Type 366); The Princess Rescued from Robbers (Type 506B); The Wonder Child (Type 708); The Princess Confined in the Mound (Type 870); and The Little Goose-Girl (Type 870A).

Oral tales distributed over all Europe, but especially characteristic of the western countries, are: The Giantkiller and his Dog (Bluebeard) (Type 312); The Nix of the Mill-pond (Type 316); Little Red Riding Hood (Type 333); Bargain of the Three Brothers with the Devil (Type 360); The Healing Fruits (Type 610); and The Presents (Type 620).

Finally, at least two tales seem to be especially characteristic of British tradition: Tom-Tit-Tot (Type 500) and Out-riddling the Judge (Type 927). The special form of Type 328 known as Jack the Giant Killer and that known as Jack and the Beanstalk represent peculiar British developments. [p. 185]

There has been no attempt in this book to give notice to all folktales known in Europe and Asia, especially to the hundreds of oral stories which are told in only a single locality or which have never traveled far from their original home. A considerable number of such stories local to Roumania, Hungary, Wallonia, and Russia may be examined in the excellent folktale surveys of these countries. [289] Of such of them as appear in the Aarne-Thompson Types of the Folk-Tale, it will be noticed that a large number of the local tales are characteristic of the Baltic area. It must be borne in mind that very exhaustive lists have been made of the Finnish and Estonian tales, [290] so that these large numbers are no cause for wonder. Of these oral tales in the main part of the Aarne-Thompson index, the following seem to be confined to the Baltic states: a version of The Black and the White Bride (Type 403C); The Girl in the Form of a Wolf (Type 409); Punishment of a Bad Woman (Type 473); "Iron is More Precious than Gold" (Type 677); The Rich Man's and the Poor Man's Fortune (Type 735); The Cruel Rich Man as the Devil's Horse (Type 761); The Princess who Murdered her Child (Type 781); Solomon binds the Devil in Chains in Hell (Type 803); The Deceased Rich Man and the Devils in the Church (Type 815); The Devil as Substitute for Day Laborer at Mowing (Type 820); The Boastful Deer-slayer (Type 830); The Dishonest Priest (Type 831); The Disappointed Fisher (Type 832); How the Wicked Lord was Punished (Type 837); and The Wolves in the Stable (Type 1652).

Local to the Baltic and Scandinavian countries are: [291] a version of The Children and the Ogre (Type 327C); The Vampire (Type 363); The Prince as Serpent (Type 433); The Raven Helper (Type 553); The Magic Providing Purse (Type 564); The Magic Mill (Type 565; sporadic in Ireland, Greece, and France); Beloved of Women (Type 580); The Thieving Pot (Type 591); Fiddevav (Type 593); The Gifts of the Dwarfs (Type 611); The Beautiful and the Ugly Twin (Type 711); The Mother who Wants to Kill her Children (Type 765); the Prodigal's Return (Type 935); and At the Robbers' House (Type 956A).

A much smaller group are limited to the Baltic states and Russia: The Strong Woman as Bride (Type 519); The Man Who Flew like a Bird and Swam like a Fish (Type 665; also in Bohemia); The Punishment of Men (Type 840); The Bank Robbery (Type 951B); and Cleverness and Gullibility (Type 1539; 253 versions in Finland alone, sporadic in Greece, Turkey, and America).

Though the groups of peoples just noticed are represented by a large number [p. 186] of local stories, some tales of limited dissemination occur almost everywhere. Thus The Faithless Wife (Type 315B*) belongs to the Baltic and Balkan states and Russia. Hans my Hedgehog (Type 441) is known from Norway to Hungary, but depends entirely upon the Grimm version. Born from a Fish (Type 705) seems purely Scandinavian, and four tales apparently are known only in Norway: The Animal Sons-in-law and their Magic Food (Type 552B); The King's Tasks (Type 577); The Children of the King (Type 892); and Like Wind in the Hot Sun (Type 923A). Confined to south eastern Europe is The Serpent Maiden (Type 507C). Primarily Italian, but also known in Russia, is The Wolf (Type 428). Central European, primarily German, are the three varieties of The Serpent's Crown (Types 672A, B, and C). And two tales, except for occasional appearances of the Grimm version in other countries, seem to be limited to German tradition: Jorinde and Joringel (Type 405) and The Girl as Flower (Type 407).

In the rapid summary just completed it seems clear that for most of the complex tales of the European and Asiatic areas some generalizations are safe. Though we may not be able to say just when or just where a tale originated, or whether it was first an oral story or a literary creation, the general probabilities are such as we have indicated. Many questions of detail within the limits of these probabilities will engage the efforts of future scholars.

There still remain a considerable number of these complex tales where the evidence at present available is either insufficient to lead to general conclusions or else is so overwhelming in amount that it has never yet been properly utilized for systematic investigation.

For some tales, when the data are all assembled, the question as to whether they are essentially literary or oral seems quite unsolvable without much further study. Among such tales are: The Gifts of the Little People (Type 503); The Princess Rescued from Slavery (Type 506A); The Jew Among Thorns (Type 592); Tom Thumb (Type 700); The Maiden Without Hands (Type 706); Christ and Peter in the Barn (Type 752A); The Forgotten Wind (Type 752B) ; The Saviour and Peter in Night-Lodgings (Type 791); The Lazy Boy and the Industrious Girl (Type 822); The Princess who Cannot Solve the Riddle (Type 851); and The Parson's Stupid Wife (Type 1750).

In another group the question as to whether the tale is essentially Oriental or European is still not satisfactorily solved: The Ogre's (Devil's) Heart in the Egg (Type 302); The Spirit in the Bottle (Type 331); The Prince as Bird (Type 432); The Man Persecuted because of his Beautiful Wife (Type 465); The Table, the Ass, and the Stick (Type 563); and "All Stick Together" (Type 571).

Finally, a half dozen stories well known over the entire world present major problems of investigation, because of the great mass of materials at [p. 187] hand, much of unorganized. Each of them offers a challenge to scholarship. These six tales The Man on a Quest for his Lost Wife (Type 400); Cinderella (Type 510A); The Bird, the Horse, and the Princess (Type 550); The Knapsack, the Hat, and the Horn (Type 569); The Master Thief (Type 1525); and the Rich and the Poor Peasant (Type 1535). [p. 188]

[283] An exhaustive treatment would include a considerable number of such tales of purely local development for Lithuania, for Roumania, for Russia, and for India. The material for the first three of these countries may be examined in the surveys of Balys, Schullerus, and Andrejev, respectively (see references on pp. 420f.). No adequate survey of the material for India has yet been made. I have been working upon one for some years and have reasonable hopes of completing it.

[284] These are best represented by (1) Cowell, The Jātaka; (2) Chavannts, 500 Contes.

[285] For a discussion of this point, see p. 160, above.

[286] See pp. 278ff., below.

[287] See pp. I39f., above.

[288] The other tales which are distributed over the world and have received literary treatment have already been discussed.

[289] For Roumania, Hungary, and Wallonia, see FF Communications Nos. 78, 81, and 101 respectively. For the Russian, see Andrejev, Ukazatel' Skazočnich Siuzhetov.

[290] The number of purely Baltic tales would be greatly increased by inclusion of all those listed in Balys' Motif Index, which appeared after the Aarne-Thompson Index, and also by citing many of the "Types not Included" from the Aarne-Thompson Index.

[291] Single sporadic occurrences elsewhere are disregarded.

123, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 306, 307, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 315B*, 316, 325, 326, 327A, 327B, 327C, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, 333, 335, 360, 361, 363, 365, 366, 400, 401, 402, 403, 403C, 405, 407, 408, 409, 410, 425, 426, 428, 430, 431, 432, 433, 440, 441, 449*, 450, 451, 460A, 460B, 461, 465, 470, 471, 473, 475, 480, 500, 501, 502, 503, 505, 506A, 506B, 507A, 507B, 507C, 508, 510, 510A, 510B, 511, 511*, 513, 513A, 514, 516, 517, 518, 519, 530, 531, 532, 533, 545A, 545B, 550, 551, 552, 552B, 553, 554, 555, 559, 560, 561, 562, 563, 564, 565, 566, 567, 569, 570, 571, 575, 577, 580, 590, 591, 592, 593, 610, 611, 612, 613, 620, 621, 650, 652, 653, 654, 655, 660, 665, 670, 671, 672A, 672B, 672C, 673, 675, 677, 700, 705, 706, 707, 708, 709, 710, 711, 715, 720, 725, 735, 736, 745, 750A, 750B, 751, 752A, 752B, 753, 755, 756A, 756B, 756C, 759, 761, 765, 780, 781, 785, 791, 800, 801, 802, 803, 804, 810, 812, 815, 820, 821, 822, 830, 831, 832, 836, 837, 840, 841, 844, 850, 851, 852, 853, 854, 870, 870A, 875, 881, 882, 884, 888, 890, 892, 900, 901, 910A, 910B, 910C, 910D, 920, 921, 922, 923, 923A, 927, 930, 931, 935, 945, 950, 951A, 951B, 952. 953, 954, 956A, 956B, 960, 1137, 1525, 1535, 1538, 1539, 1540, 1542, 1544, 1640, 1641, 1642, 1650, 1651, 1652, 1655, 1697, 1750

Number of Borrowing of European-Asiatic Tales by Indonesians, African, and American Indians

Type

Indonesianx

Africanx

Americanx Indianx

1. The Theft of Fish		5	7
2. Tail-Fisher		3	13
4. Carrying the Sham-Sick Trickster		5
5. Biting the Foot	13	16
6. Inquiring about the Wind		2
7. Calling of Three Tree Names		1
8. The Painting	2	7
9A. The Unjust Partner: Bear Threshes		7
9B. The Unjust Partner: Corn and Chaff			2
15. Theft of Butter (Honey) by Playing Godfather		13	2
21. Eating His Own Entrails	1	1
30. Fox Tricks Wolf into Falling into a Pit		1
31. Fox Climbs from Pit on Wolf's Back	15
33. Fox Plays Dead and is Thrown out of Pit and Escape	20	5
36. Fox in Disguise Violates the She-Bear	1
37. Fox as Nursemaid for Bear	7	30
38. Claw in Split Tree	11	2
47A. Fox Hangs by Teeth to Horse's Tail		2	1
49. Bear and the Honey			2
50. Sick Lion	1
55. Animals Build a Road		18	1
56. Fox Steals Young Magpies		7
60. Fox and Crane			3
62. Peace Among Animals			1
72. Rabbit Rides Fox a-Courting	1	6	7
73. Blinding the Guard		2	2
100. Wolf as Dog's Guest Sings			1
101. Old Dog as Rescuer of Child			1
104. Cowardly Duelers			3
105. Cat's Only Trick		2
111. Cat and Mouse Converse	3
122A. Wolf Seeks Breakfast		2
122B. Cat Washes Face before Eating		5
123. Wolf and Kids			1
125. Wolf Flees from Wolf-Head		12
130. Animals in Night Quarters			1
154. "Bear-Food"		6	1
155. Ungrateful Serpent Returned to Captivity	12
156. Splinter in Bear's Paw		1
157. Learning to Fear Men		1	1
175. Tarbaby and Rabbit	2	39	23
210. Cock, Hen, etc. on Journey	10
221. Election of Bird King	2
222. War of Birds and Quadrupeds		4
225. Crane Teaches Fox to Fly	4	3	43?
228. Titmouse Tries to be Big as Bear	1	8
235. Jay Borrows Cuckoo's Skin	3
248. Dog and Sparrow	1
249. Ant and Cricket			3
275. Race of Fox and Crayfish	26		1
295. Bean, Straw, and Coal			3
300. Dragon-Slayer	1		14
301. Three Stolen Princesses			16
302. Ogre's Heart in Egg	2		1
303. Twins or Blood-Brothers	3		3
307. Princess in the Shroud		2
311. Rescue by Sister (Girls in Sacks)		5	1
313. Girl as Helper in Hero's Flight		2	33
314. Youth Transformed to Horse (Goldener)	24	4	15
325. Magician and Pupil	1
326. Learning What Fear Is			2
327A. Hansel and Gretel	6	8	10
327B. Dwarf and Giant	3
327C. Devil Carries Hero in Sack		9	6?
328. Boy Steals Giant's Treasure			6
331. Spirit in Bottle			1
333. Red Ridinghood; Six Little Goats		16
400. Quest for Lost Wife	37	11	29
401. Princess Transformed into Deer		1
402. Mouse (Cat, etc.) as Bride	1
403. Black and White Bride	1	15	6
408. Three Oranges		1
425. Search for Lost Husband (Cupid and Psyche)	5	5	1
432. Prince as Bird		1
450. Little Brother and Little Sister		3
451. Maiden Who Seeks her Brothers			1
461. Three Hairs from Devil's Beard	17	1	1
471. Bridge to Other World	1	1	1
480. Spinning Woman by the Spring	6		3
506. Rescued Princess: Grateful Dead	6		1
507. Monster's Bride: Grateful Dead			1
510A. Cinderella	2	3	4
510B. Cap o' Rushes		2	1
511. One-Eye, Two-Eyes, Three-Eyes	3
513. The Helpers (Extraordinary Companions)		2	3
514. Shift of Sex	1
516. Faithful John		1
518. Devils Fight over Magic Objects		2
531. Clever Horse		3	2
533. Speaking Horse-head		6
545. Cat as Helper (Puss in Boots)	2	10
550. Bird, Horse, and Princess	4	4
551. Sons on Quest for Remedy		4
552A. Three Animal Brothers-in-Law			1
554. Grateful Animals	11
555. Fisher and His Wife	5
559. Dungbeetle		1	4
560. Magic Ring	36	8	2
561. Aladdin	1		2
563. Table, Ass, and Stick	7	14	4
566. Three Magic Objects and Wonderful Fruits	2		1
567. Magic Bird-heart	13	1	1
569. Knapsack, Hat, and Horn	5		5
570. Rabbit-herd	1	1
571. "All Stick Together"		1
590. Prince and Arm Bands			1
592. Jew Among Thorns	1
612. Three Snake-Leaves	2
613. Two Travelers		5	1
621. Louse-Skin	3
650. Strong John	27	3	4
653. Four Skillful Brothers	8	12
655. Wise Brothers	1	2
670. Animal Languages	6	23
671. Three Languages		2
675. Lazy Boy	2
676. Open Sesame	1	9
700. Tom Thumb		5	1
706. Maiden Without Hands		6	2
707. Three Golden Sons		8	1
709. Snow White		6
750. The Wishes: Hospitality Rewarded	1	1	3
780. Singing Bone		8
781. Princess Who Murdered her Child		12
785. Who Ate the Lamb's Heart?	1
851. Princess who Cannot Solve Riddle	3	2
852. Princess Forced to Say, "That is a Lie."	1	2
853. Princess Caught with her own Words			2
854. Golden Ram			1
875. Clever Peasant Girl	3	3
882. Wager on Wife's Chastity	2
900. King Thrushbeard		1?
901. Taming of the Shrew			1
910. The Good Precepts		2
921. King and Peasant's Son	1	2
922. King and Abbot	1
923. Love Like Salt		1
930. Prophecy for Poor Boy		1	1
931. Oedipus	1
935. Prodigal's Return			1
945. Luck and Intelligence	8	1
950. Rhampsinitus	1
1000. Anger Bargain	5		2
1004. Hogs in Mud, Sheep in Air	2	3	4
1012. Cleaning the Child	1
1015. Whetting the Knife	2
1030. Crop Division	1
1031. Roof as Threshing Flail			2
1060. Squeezing the Stone	1	1	1
1061. Biting the Stone		1	1
1062. Throwing the Stone	1		1
1063. Throwing Contest with Golden Club			1
1074. Race with Relatives in Line	6	38	12
1085. Pushing Hole in a Tree			1
1088. Eating Contest: Food in Bag			20
1115. Attempted Murder with Hatchet		10
1119. Ogre Kills Own Children: Substitutes in Bed		14	5
1149. Children Desire Ogre's Flesh	10	4
1157. Gun as Tobacco Pipe		1
1200. Sowing of Salt		1
1250. Bringing Water from Well: Human Chain		1	2
1260. Porridge in Ice Hole	1
1276. Rowing without Going Forward	4
1278. Bell Falls into Sea: Mark on Boat	2
1310. Crayfish as Tailor: Drowned	18	22	31
1319. Pumpkin as Ass's Egg, Rabbit as Colt			1
1350. Loving Wife: Man Feigns Death		1?
1360C. Old Hildebrand			1
1380. Faithless Wife: Husband Feigns Blindness		1
1384. Quest for Person Stupid as Wife		2
1386. Meat as Food for Cabbage	7
1415. Lucky Hans	2		1
1430. Man and Wife Build Air Castles	7	1
1525. Master Thief	2		6
1528. Holding Down the Hat	2		1
1530. Holding up the Rock		11	3
1535. Rich and Poor Peasant	10	16	11
1537. Corpse Killed Five Times	3		2
1539. Cleverness and Gullibility	7		3
1540. Student from Paradise (Paris)	3
1541. For the Long Winter			2
1542. The Clever Boy: Fooling-Sticks			8
1563. "Both?"			3
1585. Lawyer's Mad Client			1
1590. Trespasser's Defense			1
1610. To Divide Presents and Strokes		2
1611. Contest in Climbing Mast			1
1612. Contest in Swimming			1
1640. Brave Tailor	3		4
1641. Doctor Know-All	21	3
1642. The Good Bargain: Money to Frogs			4
1651. Whittington's Cat	2	2
1653. Robbers under Tree	2	1	5
1655. Eaten Grain and Cock as Damages		10	1
1685. Foolish Bridegroom	6	1
1696. "What Should I Have Said?"	6	4	2
1698A. Search for Lost Animal: Deaf Person	1
1698B. Travelers Ask the Way: Deaf Peasant		1
1730. Three Suitors Visit Chaste Wife	2	3
1737. Parson in Sack to Heaven		1
1775. Hungry Parson			3
1920A. Lying Contest: "Sea Burns"	1
1930. Schlaraffenland		3
2028. Troll (Wolf) Cut Open		1
2030. Old Woman and Pig	2	4
2031. Frost-bitten Foot	4	3
2033. Nut Hits Cock's Head		3
2034C. Lending and Repaying, Progressive Bargains		22
2035. House that Jack Built		4
2400. Ground Measured with Horse's Skin			1

1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9A, 9B, 15, 21, 30, 31, 33, 36, 37, 38, 47A, 49, 50, 55, 56, 60, 62, 72, 73, 100, 101, 104, 105, 111, 122A, 122B, 123, 125, 130, 154, 155, 156, 157, 175, 210. 221, 222, 225, 228, 235, 248, 249, 275, 295, 300, 301, 302, 303, 307, 311, 313, 314, 325, 326, 327A, 327B, 327C, 328, 331, 333, 400, 401, 402, 403, 408, 425, 432, 450, 451, 461, 471, 480, 506, 507, 510A, 510B, 511, 513, 514, 516, 518, 531, 533, 545, 550, 551, 552A, 554, 555, 559, 560, 561, 563, 566, 567, 569, 570, 571, 590, 592, 612, 613, 621, 650, 653, 655, 670, 671, 675, 676, 700, 706, 707, 709, 750, 780, 781, 785, 851, 852, 853. 854. 875, 882, 900, 901, 910, 921, 922, 923, 930, 931, 935, 945, 950, 1000, 1004, 1012, 1015, 1030, 1031, 1060, 1061, 1062, 1063, 1074, 1085, 1088, 1115, 1119, 1149, 1157, 1200, 1250, 1260, 1276, 1278, 1310, 1319, 1350, 1360C, 1380, 1384, 1386, 1415, 1430, 1525, 1528, 1530, 1535, 1537, 1539, 1540, 1541, 1542, 1563, 1585, 1590, 1610, 1611, 1612, 1640, 1641, 1642, 1651, 1653, 1655, 1685, 1696, 1698A, 1698B, 1730, 1737, 1775, 1920A, 1930, 2028, 2030, 2031, 2033, 2034C, 2035, 2400