鈥淗别濒驳补.鈥 Icelandic Fairy Tales, Mrs. A. W. Hall, London: Frederick Warne and Company, 1897, pp.听35-45.听
Tale Summary
An old man has three daughters. The eldest two are vain, and selfish, and do not help with the housework, the youngest (Helga) is the most beautiful and selfless and serves the whole family. When their fire goes out one night, the first two sisters are sent in succession to a nearby cave to get some more fire. They both find a cauldron of stew and unbaked cakes and only make food for themselves. A black dog visits both of them, which they mistreat, and then bites each of the older sisters. Having failed to bring back the fire twice, the family sends Helga, who bakes the cakes and stew and waits for permission to eat. She encounters a three-headed giant with a black dog who bids her share his meal since she prepared it nicely. There are rumbles and earthquakes after their meal and the giant turns into a prince who gives Helga jewels and a nice dress and promises to return to marry her for breaking his curse. Helga goes back to her family and is still mistreated there. A while later the prince returns and asks to see the old man鈥檚 daughters. He claims that he has only two which are all bandaged up from getting bitten by the dog. Finally, the prince gets him to reveal Helga who comes away with him to be married.
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Fairy Tale Title
Helga
Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)
Mrs. A. W. Hall
Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)听
E. A. Mason
Common Tale Type听
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Tale Classification
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Page Range of Tale听
pp. 35-45
Full Citation of Tale听
鈥淗别濒驳补.鈥 Icelandic Fairy Tales, Mrs. A. W. Hall, London: Frederick Warne and Company, 1897, pp.听35-45.听
Original Source of the Tale
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Tale Notes
This is a type of Cinderella tale, but nothing about it is particularly Icelandic. The only Icelandic elements it contains are a giant and mentions of the sea.
Research and Curation
Emily Ray, 2022
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Book Title听
Icelandic Fairy Tales
Book Author/Editor(s)听
Mrs. A. W. Hall
Illustrator(s)
E. A. Mason
Publisher
Frederick Warne and Company
Date Published
1897
Decade Published听
1890-1899
Publisher City
London
Publisher Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
Rights
Public Domain