The Man of Stone

The Man of Stone

The Man of Stoneis a Romanian fairy tale collected by Petre Ispirescu in "Legende sau basmele românilor". [Julia Collier Harris, Rea Ipcar, "The Foundling Prince & Other Tales: Translated from the Roumanian of Petre Ispirescu", p 117, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York 1917]

ynopsis

A king and queen had no children. A Negro or Arab came to the king and offered a potion that would make the queen pregnant. The cook prepared it and, not knowing its powers, tasted some before coming to the queen. Both the cook and the queen became pregnant and each gave birth to a son.

When the prince was grown, the king had to go to war. He gave the keys to the castle and told him not to go into the door locked by the golden key. The prince went into it and found a spy glass that showed him the beautiful Princess Kiralina, and he fell so in love with her that he was sick and near dying. The king sent messengers but her father refused to let them marry. The prince decided to go ask her himself, and his foster brother, the cook's son, went with him.

They came to a hut where an old woman could not tell them; her son, the North Wind, might turn them to ice, so she sent them on to the Wild Wind. They could not stay there, either, but went on the house of the Spring Wind. The wind's mother, a tall and elegant woman, hid them because her son might kill them. When the wind came, his mother asked him how to reach Princess Kiralina, and the wind told her how it would take ten years; a fairy log, in a black forest by a river of pitch, could carry anyone there instantly, but whoever told that would turn to stone to his knees. Once there, the person had to make a golden stag and use it to smuggle himself into the princess's room, but whoever knew that would be turned to stone up to his waist. If that succeeded and the princess married, the Northwind's mother would spitefully send her a dress of cobwebs, and unless she washed in the tears of doves, she would be killed. The prince slept through it, but the cook's son heard it.

The cook's son told the prince to trust him and carried him to the princess by the log. The princess fell in love with him at sight and grew ill with longing. A hag told the king that a golden stag, put in her room, would cure her. The cook's son turned the log into a golden stag and hid the prince inside it. The cook's son agreed to hire it to the king, and the king brought it to the princess's room. At night the prince sneaked from the form and kissed the princess; the next night, she feigned sleep and caught him. When the cook's son came to take it back, the princess came alongside it, and the cook's son turned the stag into a chariot that carried them all off. The prince and princess married.

Later, when the princess was queen, she bought a gown of cobwebs. Secretly, the cook's son sprinkled her with the tears of doves, but was seen and accused of kissing the queen. The prince, now a king, ordered him beheaded. The cook's son explained what he had heard and was turned to stone. Later, the king and queen had a child and dreamed if they killed the child and put the blood on the statue, it would come to life. They did, and the statue did. The cook's son pricked his finger and put the blood on the dead child, who came back to life.

Commentary

The opening account of the birth of the two children is a motif found in other tales, such as "The Seven-headed Serpent", where a prince and a horse are similar linked by their births.

Most of the plot, however, is similar to such fairy tales as "Trusty John", "In Love with a Statue", and "Father Roquelaure".

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Shelters of Stone — Infobox Book name = The Shelters of Stone author = Jean M. Auel country = United States language = English series = Earth s Children genre = Historical fiction publisher = Crown release date = April 30, 2002 media type = Print (Hardback… …   Wikipedia

  • The Man Who Sold the World — Studioalbum von David Bowie Veröffentlichung 4. November 1970 (USA) April 1971 (Europa) Aufnahme 1970 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • The Man Show — Genre Sketch comedy Satire Developed by Adam Carolla Daniel Kellison Jimmy Kimmel Starring Adam Carolla (1999 2003) Jimmy Kimmel (1999 2003) Joe Rogan ( …   Wikipedia

  • The Man on the Box — Directed by Oscar Apfel Cecil B. DeMille Starring Horace B. Carpenter Release date(s) 13 July 1914 …   Wikipedia

  • The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday — Studio album (bootleg) by Phish Released 1987 Recorded Goddard College, Plainfield, Vermont, 1987 …   Wikipedia

  • The Man Who — Álbum de Travis Publicación 24 de mayo, 1999 Grabación 1998 1999 Género(s) Indie pop, rock alternativo …   Wikipedia Español

  • The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday — Bootleg de Phish Publicación 1987 Grabación Goddard College, Plainfield, Vermont, 1987 Género(s) Rock …   Wikipedia Español

  • The Man from Utopia — Album par Frank Zappa Sortie Mars 1983 Durée 40 min 21 s Genre Rock Producteur Frank Zappa Labe …   Wikipédia en Français

  • The house of stone and light — was the title of a hit song by British musician Martin Page. The song was released in July 1994 under the album of the same name.The title references the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA. Contained within the lyrics are references to Native American… …   Wikipedia

  • The Man from U.N.C.L.E. — THRUSH redirects here. For other uses, see Thrush (disambiguation). The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Genre Spy fi Format …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

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