“The Three Sisters." Stories from the Pentamerone, by Giambattista Basile; selected and edited by E.F. Strange, London: Macmillan; 1911, pp. 88-95.

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 22:57:08 +0000

“The Three Sisters." Stories from the Pentamerone, by Giambattista Basile; selected and edited by E.F. Strange, London: Macmillan; 1911, pp. 88-95. Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/24/2023 - 16:57

Tale Summary

There was once an old woman with three daughters. Two of them were very unlucky but the youngest, Nella, was perfect and lucky in every way, making the eldest sisters jealous. The girl secretly was married to an enchanted Prince, who had a wicked mother. So as not to arouse suspicion from her, the Prince made a crystal passage from the royal palace to Nella’s apartment, eight miles in length. He gave her a powder, and said whenever she threw some in the fire, he would instantly come through the passage as quickly as a bird. The two sisters caught on after some time, and broke the passage at parts, so that when Nella gave the signal, her husband hurt himself terribly on the broken crystal, which was enchanted so his wounds were mortal with no human remedy. The King proclaimed that anyone could cure him they would (if a woman) have him for a husband, or (if a man) have half the kingdom. Nella heard this and disguised herself to see him, but night fell as she neared the house of an ogre and she climbed up a tree. From there, she could hear the ogre and his wife talking through an open window, and learned of the manner of how her husband became wounded, wondering to herself who had broken the passage. She then heard the ogre tell his wife that there was a cure, but she must not ever repeat it to anyone. It was the fat of the ogre and the ogress, which if applied to his wounds, would cure him. Nella went to the door and begged for charity, and the ogre feigned charity by letting her sleep in their house, wanting to eat her. Him and his wife were rather tipsy, and fell asleep. Nella took the opportunity to cut them up, collecting the fat into a phial, and went before the court with it. The Prince was instantly cured. The King intended to fulfill his promise, and told the Prince he must marry the girl. The Prince lamented that his heart belonged to another, and Nella asked for a basin of water and washed her face in it, revealing herself as the Prince’s true love. They embraced and she was recognized as his true wife, and then her sisters were thrown into an oven.

Fairy Tale Title

The Three Sisters

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Selected and translated by Guy Daniels

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

Warwick Goble

Common Tale Type

The Prince as Bird

Tale Classification

ATU 432

Page Range of Tale

pp. 88-95

Full Citation of Tale

“The Three Sisters." Stories from the Pentamerone, by Giambattista Basile; selected and edited by E.F. Strange, London: Macmillan; 1911, pp. 88-95.

Original Source of the Tale

Likely a version of "The Lay of Yonec" by Marie de France, a tale from the late 12th century.

Tale Notes

Nella disguises herself by dyeing her skin, and when she first speaks to the Prince after curing him, saying that she is the fire of his heart, the Prince replied that he would sooner take her for the coal than the fire. The story ends with the saying “No evil ever went without punishment.”

Research and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2023

Book Title

Stories from the Pentamerone

Book Author/Editor(s)

Giambattista Basile; selected and edited by E.F. Strange

Illustrator(s)

Warwick Goble

Publisher

Macmillan

Date Published

1911

Decade Published

1910-1919

Publisher City

London

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the Internet Archive

Book Notes

Traditional

White

“The Blue Bird.” Old French Fairy Tales, D’Aulnoy, Madame, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1899, pp. 138-172.

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 19:08:52 +0000

“The Blue Bird.” Old French Fairy Tales, D’Aulnoy, Madame, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1899, pp. 138-172. Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 09/26/2022 - 13:08

Madame D’Aulnoy

Tale Summary

A widowed king with a daughter named Flora remarries a widowed queen with her own daughter named Troutina. Flora is beautiful and amiable, while Troutina is ugly and mean. When both daughters are of age to be married, the queen declares that her daughter be married first to the next prince that visits the palace. King/Prince Charming is such a prince, but he falls in love with Flora and not Troutina. This infuriates the queen and her daughter, who devise many plans to keep the two lovers apart. After many unsuccessful attempts to force King Charming to marry Troutina, her fairy godmother, Soussio, transforms King Charming into a bluebird for seven years. The king flies to Flora’s bedroom window, where they spend the next two years conversing every night. The queen and Troutina eventually become suspicious of Flora, and place sharp knives in the tree that King Charming resides in, wounding him severely. He believes that Flora conspired with the queen to hurt him, and returns to his own castle with his friend, the enchanter. Next, Flora’s father, the king, dies, and Flora takes the throne. Flora goes on a journey to find King Charming, during which she meets a fairy who gives her four magic eggs. These eggs help her reach Charming’s castle and stay many nights in the bedchamber below his. King Charming regained his human form in an agreement with Soussio sometime prior to Flora’s arrival and is due to marry Troutina as part of the contract. When he hears Flora speaking to him through the floor, they are reunited. The combined magic from Flora’s fairy friend and the enchanter prevent Soussio from reinstating the curse, and Flora and King Charming wed without the threat of transformation.

Fairy Tale Title

The Blue Bird

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Madame D'Aulnoy