The Dragon and his Grandmother

The Dragon and his Grandmother

The Dragon and his Grandmother or The Devil and His Grandmother is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, number 125.

Andrew Lang included it in "The Yellow Fairy Book".

A version of this tale also appears in "A Book of Dragons" by Ruth Manning-Sanders.

It is Aarne-Thompson type 812, the devil's riddle.

ynopsis

Three soldiers could not live on their pay, and so attempted to desert by hiding in a cornfield, but when the army did not march on, were soon caught between starving there or emerging to execution. A dragon/Beelzebul flew by, offered to save them if they served it for seven years, and when they agreed, carried them off. It was, however, the devil; he gave them a whip with which they could make money, but said at the end of seven years, they were his, unless they could guess a riddle, in which case they would be free and could have the whip.

At the end of the seven years, two of the soldiers were morose at the thought of their fate. An old woman advised them to go down to a cottage for help. The third soldier, who had not feared the riddle, went down and met the devil's grandmother. She was pleased with his manner and hid him in the cellar. When the demon came, she questioned him, and the soldier learned the answers.

The demon found them at the end of the seven years, and told he would take them to hell and give them a meal, and the riddles were what was the meat, the silver spoon, and the wineglass for that meal. The answers were a dead sea-cat in the North Sea, a whale rib, and an old horse's hoof.

So the soldiers escaped him and kept the whip.

ee also

*Bearskin
*The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs
*The Story of Three Wonderful Beggars
*The Prince and the Princess in the Forest

External links

* [http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/125devilgrandmother.html "The Devil and His Grandmother"]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Prince and the Princess in the Forest — is a Danish fairy tale. It was collected by Evald Tang Kristensen in Eventyr fra Jylland . Andrew Lang included it in The Olive Fairy Book .ynopsisA king died. The queen was so inconsolable that her only child, Lester, the prince, suggested that… …   Wikipedia

  • The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs — is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 29. [Jacob and Wilheim Grimm, Grimm s Fairy Tales , [http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/29devilgoldhairs.html The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs ] ] It falls… …   Wikipedia

  • The Life and Times of Juniper Lee — Title card. Left to right: Monroe, Juniper and Ray Ray. Genre Animated series, Adventure, Action, Fantasy, comedy, Created by Judd Winic …   Wikipedia

  • The Story of Three Wonderful Beggars — is a Serbian fairy tale. It is also known as Vasilii the Unlucky its Russian form, collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki .Andrew Lang included The Story of Three Wonderful Beggars in The Violet Fairy Book .ynopsisA very rich …   Wikipedia

  • List of The Belgariad and The Malloreon characters — This is a list of The Belgariad and The Malloreon characters. The Belgariad and The Malloreon are two parts of a fantasy epic written by David Eddings. Note: All of the statements (deceased, married) are written from the current information by… …   Wikipedia

  • Characters in The Belgariad and The Malloreon — The Belgariad and the Malloreon are a two part fantasy epic written by David Eddings. This is a list of the major characters that appear in both parts of the story. (For a list of the races in the series, see Races in The Belgariad and The… …   Wikipedia

  • The Books of Abarat — Abarat Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War Absolute Midnight The Dynasty of Dreamers The Eternal Author Clive Barker Illustrator Clive Barker Cover artist …   Wikipedia

  • The Magicians of Xanth — are mostly humans with the most powerful magical talents. With such powerful talents, they are the only people who qualify to be the King of Human Xanth. Female Magicians are also called Sorceresses.Aeolus The eighteenth king of Xanth The… …   Wikipedia

  • Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride — (NA) Dragon Quest: The Hand of the Heavenly Bride (EU) Box art of the enhanced remake, Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, for the Nintendo DS Developer(s) …   Wikipedia

  • Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation — Box art of the enhanced remake, Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation, for the Nintendo DS Developer(s) Heartbeat …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”