The Armless Maiden
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The Armless Maiden
The Armless Maiden (russian: Косоручка) is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in ''Narodnye russkie skazki''. It is Aarne-Thompson type 706, the girl without hands. Other variants of this tale include ''The Girl Without Hands'', ''Penta of the Chopped-off Hands'', ''Biancabella and the Snake'', and ''The One-Handed Girl''. Synopsis An orphaned brother and sister moved to another place where the brother opened a shop and married. One day, he told his sister to keep the house. The wife was offended, broke all the furniture, and blamed the sister. The brother said they could buy more. The wife killed his favorite horse and blamed the sister. The brother said the dogs could eat it. Finally, the wife gave birth, cut off the baby's head, and blamed the sister. The brother took his sister and drove the carriage into a bramble. He told his sister to disentangle. When she started, he cut off both her arms at the elbow and drove off. His sister wept ...
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Fairy Tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cultures, there is no clear line separating myth from folk or fairy tale; all these together form the literature of preliterate societies. Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described) and explicit moral tales, including beast fables. In less technical contexts, the term is also used to describe something blessed with unusual happiness, as in "fairy-tale ending" (a happy ending) or "fairy-tale romance (love), romance". Colloquially, the term "fairy tale" or "fairy story" can also mean any far-fetched story or tall tale; it is used especially of any story that not only is not true, but could not possibly be true ...
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The Wicked Sisters
The Wicked Sisters (russian: По колена ноги в золоте, по локоть руки в серебре) is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in ''Narodnye russkie skazki''. Ruth Manning-Sanders included it, as "The Queen's Children", in '' A Book of Kings and Queens''. Synopsis Prince Ivan hears three beautiful sisters talking. The older two say that if he married them, they would sew him a marvelous shirt; the youngest says she would bear him three sons with the sun on the forehead, the moon on the back of their heads, and stars to each side. The older sisters envied her and bribed her servants; when she bore the sons she had said, they stole them and hid them an arbor in the garden; then they presented the prince with first a puppy, then a kitten, then an ordinary child. The prince finally repudiated and demanded justice for her deceiving him. The chief justice decreed she should be blinded, put in a barrel with the ordinary child, and t ...
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Fictional Amputees
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditional narrow sense, "fiction" refers to written narratives in prose often referring specifically to novels, novellas, and short stories. More broadly, however, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium, including not just writings but also live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games. Definition Typically, the fictionality of a work is publicly marketed and so the audience expects the work to deviate in some ways from the real world rather than presenting, for instance, only factually accurate portrayals or characters who are actual people. Because fiction is generally understood to not fully adhere to the real world, the themes and conte ...
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Child Characters In Fairy Tales
A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority. Children generally have fewer rights and responsibilities than adults. They are classed as unable to make serious decisions. ''Child'' may also describe a relationship with a parent (such as sons and daughters of any age) or, metaphorically, an authority figure, or signify group membership in a clan, tribe, or religion; it can also signify being strongly affected by a specific time, place, or circumstance, as in "a child of nature" or "a child of the Sixties." Biological, legal and social definitions In the biological sciences, a child is usually defined as a person between birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. Legally, the term ''child'' may refer to anyone below the a ...
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Fairy Tales Collected By Alexander Afanasyev
A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural. Myths and stories about fairies do not have a single origin, but are rather a collection of folk beliefs from disparate sources. Various folk theories about the origins of fairies include casting them as either demoted angels or demons in a Christian tradition, as deities in Pagan belief systems, as spirits of the dead, as prehistoric precursors to humans, or as spirits of nature. The label of ''fairy'' has at times applied only to specific magical creatures with human appearance, magical powers, and a penchant for trickery. At other times it has been used to describe any magical creature, such as goblins and gnomes. ''Fairy'' has at times been used as an adjective, with a m ...
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Russian Fairy Tales
''Russian Fairy Tales'' (russian: Народные русские сказки, variously translated; English titles include also ''Russian Folk Tales'') is a collection of nearly 600 fairy and folktales, collected and published by Alexander Afanasyev between 1855 and 1863.Alexander Afanasyev. Russian Fairy Tale — K. Soldatenkov and N. Shchepkin, 1855—1863. — Vol. 1—8 His literary work was explicitly modeled after ''Grimm's Fairy Tales''. Vladimir Propp drew heavily on this collection for his analyses in his '' Morphology of the Folktale''. Fairy tales Some of the tales included in these volumes: * The Death of Koschei the Immortal * Vasilisa the Beautiful * Vasilisa the Priest's Daughter * Father Frost * Sister Alenushka, Brother Ivanushka * The Frog Princess * Vasilii the Unlucky * The White Duck * The Princess Who Never Smiled * The Wicked Sisters * The Twelve Dancing Princesses * The Magic Swan Geese * The Feather of Finist the Falcon * Tsarevitch Ivan, the ...
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Terri Windling
Terri Windling (born December 3, 1958 in Fort Dix, New Jersey) is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Bram Stoker Award, and her collection ''The Armless Maiden'' appeared on the short-list for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award. In 2010, Windling received the SFWA Solstice Award, which honors "individuals with a significant impact on the speculative fiction field". Her work has been translated into French, German, Spanish, Italian, Czech, Lithuanian, Turkish, Russian, Japanese, and Korean. Early life Terri Windling was born on December 3, 1958 in Fort Dix, New Jersey. She was raised in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. She attended Antioch College, graduating in 1979. After college, she moved to New York and worked in publishing as an editor and an artist. Career Writing In the American publishing field, Windling has been one of the primary creati ...
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The Lassie And Her Godmother
The Lassie and Her Godmother (Norwegian: "Jomfru Maria som gudmor"; Virgin Mary as godmother) is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in ''Norske Folkeeventyr''. The Brothers Grimm noted its similarity to their ''Mary's Child'', and also to the Italian '' The Goat-faced Girl''.Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. ''Household Tales'"Our Lady's Child" Notes/ref> Synopsis A poor couple had a baby girl. They wished to have the child christened, but could not pay the parson's fees. At last, the father found a beautiful lady who offered to get the child christened, but said that she would keep her as her own child afterwards. The father spoke to his wife about it, and his wife refused, but when the beautiful lady made the same offer the next day, his wife agreed that they should accept if they could not find anyone else. The child was christened, and the lady then took her home and treated her kindly. When the girl was old enough to know right from wrong, t ...
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Mary's Child
"Mary's Child" (also "Our Lady's Child", "A Child of Saint Mary" or "The Virgin Mary's Child"; German: ''Marienkind'') is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' in 1812 (KHM 3). It is of Aarne-Thompson type 710. The Brothers Grimm noted its similarity to the Italian '' The Goat-faced Girl'' and the Norwegian ''The Lassie and Her Godmother''.Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Hunt, M. (transl.) ''Household Tales'' " Notes: Our Lady's Child" They also noted its connection to the forbidden door and tell-tale stain of ''Fitcher's Bird''. Other tales that make use of these elements are Bluebeard and " In the Black Woman's Castle". Origin The tale was published by the Brothers Grimm in the first edition of ''Kinder- und Hausmärchen'' in 1812, and has been only slightly changed in the successive editions. Their source was Gretchen Wild (1787–1819). Synopsis A poor woodcutter and his wife had a three-year-old daughter that they could not feed. The V ...
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Stith Thompson
Stith Thompson (March 7, 1885 – January 10, 1976) was an American folklorist: he has been described as "America's most important folklorist". He is the "Thompson" of the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, which indexes folktales by type, and the author of the ''Motif-Index of Folk-Literature'', a resource for folklorists that indexes motifs, granular elements of folklore. Biography Early life Stith Thompson was born in Bloomfield, Nelson County, Kentucky, on March 7, 1885 the son of John Warden and Eliza (McClaskey). Thompson moved with his family to Indianapolis at the age of twelve and attended Butler University from 1903 to 1905 before he obtained his BA degree from University of Wisconsin in 1909 (his undergraduate thesis was titled, 'The Return from the Dead in Popular Tales and Ballads'). For the next two years he taught at Lincoln High School in Portland, Oregon, during which time he learned Norwegian from lumberjacks. He earned his master's degree in English literatur ...
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The Three Little Birds
"The Three Little Birds" (German: ''De drei Vügelkens'') is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 96. The story is originally written in Low German. It is Aarne-Thompson type 707, the dancing water, the singing apple, and the speaking bird. The story resembles ''Ancilotto, King of Provino'', by Giovanni Francesco Straparola, and ''The Sisters Envious of Their Cadette'', the story of the 756th night of the ''Arabian Nights''. Synopsis Three sisters were tending cows when a king and his company went by. The oldest pointed at the king and said she would marry him or no one; her sisters pointed at the ministers and said the same. The king summoned them before him, and then, because they were very beautiful, he married the oldest and his ministers married the youngest. The King had to go on a journey, and had her sisters attend the queen. She gave birth to a son with a red star on his forehead. Her sisters threw the baby boy into the water, and a bird sp ...
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Ancilotto, King Of Provino
Ancilotto, King of Provino is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giovanni Francesco Straparola in ''The Facetious Nights of Straparola''. It is Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 707: " The Three Golden Children" or "the dancing water, the singing apple, and the speaking bird". It is the oldest known variant of this tale, and influenced Madame d'Aulnoy's ''Princess Belle-Etoile''. A variant of this tale appears in Antoine Galland's '' Arabian Nights'' collection, but no Arab manuscript exists, and Galland, reporting an oral source, may also have been influenced by this version. It spread to appear as ''The Three Little Birds'' in the Brothers Grimm's collection. Synopsis Ancilotto, the king, heard three sisters talking: Brunora, the eldest sister, said if she married the king's majordomo, she could give the entire court a drink from one glass of water; Lionella, the second, said if she married the king's chamberlain, she could turn one spindle of linen to give fine shifts to ...
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