A Riddling Tale is a German

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 ...

collected by the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

in ''

Grimm's Fairy Tales ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', originally known as the ''Children's and Household Tales'' (german: Kinder- und Hausmärchen, lead=yes, ), is a German collection of fairy tales by the Grimm brothers or "Brothers Grimm", Jacob and Wilhelm, first publis ...

''. It is Aarne-Thompson type 407, the girl as a flower. The tale portion of it is subordinate to the riddle, and the tale is not widely found in the oral tradition.Stith Thompson, ''The Folktale'', p 95, University of California Press, Berkeley Los Angeles London, 1977

Synopsis

Story and riddle

Three women were changed to identical flowers. One was allowed home at night and told her husband to pick and free her. He did so. How did he recognize her?

Answer

The other flowers, having been in the field all night, had dew on them; the wife did not. so for that he would know that's her

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddling Tale Grimms' Fairy Tales Fiction about shapeshifting Riddles Fictional plants ATU 400-459