Fairy Tales, Their Origin and Meaning; With Some Account of Dwellers in FairylandBunce, John Thackray
History
Fairy Tales, Their Origin and Meaning; With Some Account of Dwellers in Fairyland
Bunce, John Thackray
Fairy tales -- History and criticism
the Sun and West of the Moon.
In the story of "The Soaring Lark," in the collection of German popular
tales made by the brothers Grimm, we have another version of the same
idea; and here, as in Eros and Psyche, and in the Land East of the Sun
and West of the Moon, it is the woman to whose fault the misfortunes are
laid, and upon whom falls the long and weary task of search. The story
told in brief, is this. A merchant went on a journey, and promised to
bring back for his three daughters whatever they wished. The eldest
asked for diamonds, the second for pearls, and the youngest, who was her
father's favourite, for a singing, soaring lark. As the merchant came
home, he passed through a great forest, and on the top bough of a tall
tree he found a lark, and tried to take it. Then a Lion sprang from
behind the tree, and said the lark was his, and that he would eat up
the merchant for trying to steal it. The merchant told the Lion why he
wanted the bird, and then the Lion said that he would give him the lark,
and let him go, on one condition, namely, that he should give to the
Lion the first thing or person that met him on his return. Now the first
person who met the merchant when he got home was his youngest daughter,
and the poor merchant told her the story, and wept very much, and said
that she should not go into the forest. But the daughter said, "What you
have promised you must do;" and so she went into the forest, to find the
Lion. The Lion was an Enchanted Prince, and all his servants were also
turned into lions; and so they remained all day; but at night they all
changed back again into men. Now when the Lion Prince saw the merchant's
daughter, he fell in love with her, and took her to a fine castle,
and at night, when he became a man, they were married, and lived very
happily, and in great splendour. One day the Prince said to his wife,
"To-morrow your eldest sister is to be married; if you would like to be
there, my lions shall go with you." So she went, and the lions with her,
and there were great rejoicings in her father's house, because they were
afraid that she had been torn to pieces in the forest; and after staying
some time, she went back to her husband. After a while, the Prince said
to his wife, "To-morrow your second sister is going to be married," and
she replied, "This time I will not go alone, for you shall go with me."
Then he told her how dangerous that would be, for if a single ray from
a burning light fell upon him, he would be changed into a Dove, and in
that form would have to fly about for seven years. But the Princess very
much wanted him to go, and in order to protect him from the light, she
had a room built with thick walls, so that no light could get through,
and there he was to sit while the bridal candles were burning. But by
some accident, the door of the room was made of new wood, which split,
and made a little chink, and through this chink one ray of light from
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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