King Kojata or The Unlooked for Prince or Prince Unexpected (
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
: ''O królewiczu Niespodzianku'') is a Slavonic
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 ...
, of
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
origin. Louis Léger remarked that its source (''Bajarz polski'') was "one of the most important collections of Polish literature".
Synopsis
A king and a queen had no children. One day, the king was travelling (hunting to forget his childlessness in the Polish, inspecting his country in the Russian), and grew thirsty. He found a spring with a cup floating in it. Trying to grab the cup did not succeed; it always evaded his hands. When he dropped to drink directly, a creature in the well (the
King Kostiei in Polish), grabbed his beard and would not free him until he promised to give it something: in Polish, the most precious thing in his palace, which was not there when he left it; in the Russian, something he knew nothing about, and which he would find on his return home.
He promised. On his return, he found his wife had a son. He told no one of the exchange, but when the prince was grown, an old man appeared to him in the woods and told him to tell his father to make good on his bargain. When he told the king, the king told him the truth. The prince set out to pay it.
He came to a lake where thirty ducks (Russian) or twelve geese (Polish) were swimming, and where there were clothes on the shore. He took one. The birds came ashore,
changed into women, and dressed themselves, except the one whose dress he had. That one, as a bird, looked about, and begged the prince to give her back her clothing. He did so. She was grateful, told him that she was the
youngest daughter of the man he had been promised to, and promised to aid him. She told him that when he reached her father, he was to approach him on his knees, without any fear.
He obeyed her, although her father gave fearful yells. When he had nearly reached him, her father laughed and said it was well that he had not been frightened. In the morning, he ordered the prince to build him a marble palace in a day. He went to his room, the daughter came to him as a bee, and promised to do it for him, and the next day, the palace was built. The next day, he demanded that the prince pick out his youngest daughter from her sisters. She told him she would be the one with the ladybug on her eyelid (Polish) or fly on her cheek (Russian), and he was able to find her. The third day, he told the prince to make him a pair of boots. The prince was no shoemaker, and the youngest daughter told him that they must flee. She spat on the ground (Polish) or breathed on the window and made frost (Russian), and they fled. When the servants came for the prince, the spit or frost answered for them. Finally, he ordered the door broken, which revealed their flight.
The servants chased them. The maiden
turned herself into a river, the prince into the bridge, and put three roads into the forest over the bridge. The servants, not knowing which way to go, turned back. Her father told them that they had been the bridge and river. When the servants returned, the maiden turned herself and the prince into a dense forest, with many paths, and the servants became lost and could not find them. When they returned, her father decided to chase them himself. The maiden said that he could go no further than the first church. She demanded his cross. With it, she made herself a church and the prince a priest. Her father demanded if the priest had seen them, and he said that they had passed and had sent their greetings. Her father had to turn back.
The shorter Polish version ends here.
Other variants
In the Russian and the longer Polish variants, they came to a town. The prince insisted on going to see it. She warned him that the king and queen would lead out a little child, but he must not kiss it, or he would forget her. She turned into a milestone to await him, but he kissed the child and forgot her. She turned herself into a flower to be trampled. An old man transplanted her, and found that whenever he left, the housework was done. A witch advised him to wait and throw a cloth over whatever moved. This revealed her, and he told that the prince was to
marry
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
. She went to the feast and got the cook to let her make the wedding cake. When it was cut, two doves flew out, and one of them begged the other to not abandon it, as the prince had abandoned the maiden. The prince got up at once, found her, found his horse, and rode off with her to his father's kingdom.
Translations
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University ...
included the Russian version ''King Kojata'', in ''
The Green Fairy Book
''The Langs' Fairy Books'' are a series of 25 collections of true and fictional stories for children published between 1889 and 1913 by Andrew Lang and his wife, Leonora Blanche Alleyne. The best known books of the series are the 12 collections ...
''.
A. H. Wratislaw
Albert Henry Wratislaw (5 November 1822 – 3 November 1892) was an English clergyman and Slavonic scholar of Czech descent.
Early life
Albert Henry Wratislaw was born 5 November 1822 in Rugby, the eldest son of William Ferdinand Wratislaw (1788 ...
collected a Polish variant ''Prince Unexpected'' in his ''Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources'', as tale number 17.
Josef Baudiš published a Czech version in English, simply named ''Kojata'', in his book of Czech folk tales ''The Key of Gold'' in 1917 (reprinted in 1922). In this version, the princesses are enchanted into duck forms.
In a compilation of Slavic fairy tales, author
Karel Jaromír Erben
Karel Jaromír Erben (; 7 November 1811 – 21 November 1870) was a Czech folklorist and poet of the mid-19th century, best known for his collection '' Kytice'', which contains poems based on traditional and folkloric themes.
He also wrote ''P ...
, in his annotations, indicated that a version of the story, titled ''About Prince Unexpectedly, or The Skeleton King'', originated from a Polish book of fairy tales by A. J. Gliski. In addition, in a Czech language book of Slavic fairy tales, Erben published a variant where the antagonist describes himself as "Kościéj nesmrtelný" (litt. 'Koschei, the Non-dying'), that is, the sorcerous
Koschei
Koschei ( rus, Коще́й, r=Koshchey, p=kɐˈɕːej), often given the epithet "the Immortal", or "the Deathless" (russian: Коще́й Бессме́ртный), is an archetypal male antagonist in Russian folklore.
The most common feature of ...
, the Deathless.
A version of the tale, named ''Kojata'' and sourced as Russian, was published in ''The Golden Fairy Book''. In this version, the prince's ''father'' was named Kojata, not the antagonist (named ''Czernuch'', the king of the subterranean realm), and the thirty bird maidens bathe in their avian forms (an inversion of the common
Swan maiden
The swan maiden is a mythical creature who shapeshifts from human form to swan form. The key to the transformation is usually a swan skin, or a garment with swan feathers attached. In folktales of this type, the male character spies the maiden, ...
narrative).
Another version of the tale, titled ''Kojata,'' appears in ''A Book of Wizards'' by
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders (21 August 1886 – 12 October 1988) was an English poet and author born in Wales, known for a series of children's books for which she collected and related fairy tales worldwide. She published over 90 books in her lifetime ...
.
French Slavicist
Louis Léger
Louis Léger (15 January 1843– 30 April 1923) was a French writer and pioneer in Slavic studies. He was honorary member of Bulgarian Literary Society (now Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, also member of Académie des inscriptions et belle ...
translated the tale as ''Le Prince Inespéré'' ("The Unexpected Prince"). The tale was translated into
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
as ''The Unlooked-for Prince'' and included by Andrew Lang in ''
The Grey Fairy Book
''The Langs' Fairy Books'' are a series of 25 collections of true and fictional stories for children published between 1889 and 1913 by Andrew Lang and his wife, Leonora Blanche Alleyne. The best known books of the series are the 12 collections ...
''.
Analysis
Tale type
The tale is classified in the
Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index
The Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index (ATU Index) is a catalogue of folktale types used in folklore studies. The ATU Index is the product of a series of revisions and expansions by an international group of scholars: originally composed in German by ...
as ATU 313, "The Magic Flight" or "Maiden helps the hero flee". The subtype of the ''Forgotten Fiancé'' (type 313C) occurs by the "Kiss of Oblivion"
motif.
Philologist and folklorist
Julian Krzyżanowski
Julian Krzyżanowski (4 July 1892 – 19 May 1976) was a Polish literature and folklore scholar, best known for his study of Polish proverbs. Participant of the Warsaw Uprising. Professor at the Warsaw University and others. Recipient of Order of ...
, establisher of the Polish Folktale Catalogue according to the international index, classified ''Kojata'' as type T 313A, "Ucieczka (Dziewczyna ułatwia bohaterowi ucieczkę)" ("Flight (Girl facilitates the hero's escape)").
Motifs
A. H. Wratislaw
Albert Henry Wratislaw (5 November 1822 – 3 November 1892) was an English clergyman and Slavonic scholar of Czech descent.
Early life
Albert Henry Wratislaw was born 5 November 1822 in Rugby, the eldest son of William Ferdinand Wratislaw (1788 ...
suggested the antagonist of the story is the Polish version of
Koschei the Deathless
Koschei ( rus, Коще́й, r=Koshchey, p=kɐˈɕːej), often given the epithet "the Immortal", or "the Deathless" (russian: Коще́й Бессме́ртный), is an archetypal male antagonist in Russian folklore.
The most common feature of ...
, the wizard character of Russian folklore. He also suggested that ''King Kojata'' "should be compared" to "
The Water King, and Vasilissa the Wise".
The princesses, royal daughters of King Kostei, are enchanted maidens who transform into their geese disguise. When they take off the disguise to bathe and play in the water, a human male hides the clothing of the youngest - a story that mirrors the widespread tale of the
swan maiden
The swan maiden is a mythical creature who shapeshifts from human form to swan form. The key to the transformation is usually a swan skin, or a garment with swan feathers attached. In folktales of this type, the male character spies the maiden, ...
.
Variants
Hungary
In a Hungarian tale published by author
Val Biro
Balint Stephen Biro (Budapest, October 6, 1921 – July 4, 2014) was a children's author, artist and illustrator. He received his education in Budapest and London. His studio was located in Amersham in Buckinghamshire.
Writing
From an interview ...
with the title ''King Greenbeard'', the titular King Greenbeard has travelled the whole world for seventeen years, and stops to drink water from a brook, when, suddenly, the hand of the King of Devils grabs the man's beard. The king begs for his release, but the King of Devils makes him promise to deliver that which the king does not know he has at his country, then lets go of the beard. The king returns home and discovers he has a teenage son named John, then realizes he her to surrender his son to the devil. John decides to depart and meet the King of the Devils, and passes by the same brook where his father made his deal. The youth sees seven golden ducklings swimming about, and some folded cloaks on the grass. He puts one of the cloaks into his satchel, and one of the ducklings begs him to return it. She turns into a beautiful maiden, tells him she is the daughter of the King of the Devils, and gives him a ring, so he can traverse twelve doors to reach her father, and promises to help the human when they meet again at her father's house. John finally reaches the house of the King of the Devils and is ordered fo perform tasks for him: to make a feathered hat out of a cabbage leaf, to make silver spurs out of cabbage water, and to create brass scales out of a jug of pure water. With the King of Devils's daughter's help, John fulfills the first two tasks, but the girl says the third one is impossible to do, and bids them flee that same night. The girl turns herself into a bird, her mare into a golden apple and prince John into a golden ring, and flies away from her father. After reaching King Greenbeard's country, the girl assumes her normal form, turns John back and marries him.
Mordvin people
In a tale from the
Mordvin people
The Mordvins (also Unified Mordvin people, Mordvinians, Mordovians; russian: мордва, Mordva, Mordvins (no equivalents in Moksha and Erzya)) is an obsolete but official term used in the Russian Federation to refer both to Erzyas and Mo ...
titled "Обещанный сын" ("The Promised Son"), an old couple are sad for not having any children. One day, the old man walks a bit and stops by a mill to drink a bit of water from the river. However, a creature comes out of the depths and grabs the man by the beard, making him promise to deliver the creature the thing the man does not know he has at home. The old man returns home and discovers his wife gave birth to a boy. Years later, the boy has a dream about a gray-bearded man telling him to remind his father of the deal. The boy decides to leave home and walks through the woods until he reaches the hut of
Baba Yaga
In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga, also spelled Baba Jaga (from Polish), is a supernatural being (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) who appears as a deformed and/or ferocious-looking woman. In fairy tales Baba Yaga flies around in a ...
. The witch tells the boy that the gray-bearded man is her brother-in-law, who has a daughter by Baba Yaga's sister, and another eleven from a second marriage. The witch advises the boy to roll a ball until it reaches the edge of a lake, wait for the coming of twelve doves (who are the gray-bearded maidens), steal the clothes of the eldest daughter. The boy does and steals the clothes of the eldest daughter, and only returns it after she declares she will make him her husband. The girl turns the boy into a grouse and herself back into a dove, and both fly to the gray-bearded man's house. There, the gray-bearded man orders the boy to perform some tasks for him: to build a bridge over a river; to raze a forest, plant a wheat field, harvest it, grind the grain into flour, and prepare a bread with the flour - all of this overnight; and identify the girl from a row of his twelve daughters. The girl helps the boy either by magic spells or by her advice. He identifies the girl from the row of daughters, but the girl's step-mother becomes enraged, and plans to destroy the pair. The gray-bearded man's eldest daughter tell the boy they have to escape, and her step-mother and eleven step-sisters go after them. The pair turn into a shepherd (the boy) and a sheep (the girl). They deceive her family and fly back to the boy's father's house.
Adaptations
American author and folklorist
Robert D. San Souci adapted the tale as his book ''The Tsar's Promise: a Russian Tale'', wherein King Kojata is the name of the king that promises his son to the antagonist.
[San Souci, Robert D. ''The Tsar's Promise: A Russian Tale''. New York: Philomel Books, 1992.]
See also
*
Foundling-Bird
"Foundling-Bird" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, number 51.
It is Aarne–Thompson type 313A, the girl helps the hero flee,D.L. Ashliman,The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales (Grimms' Fairy Tales) and revolve ...
*
Nix Nought Nothing "Nix Nought Nothing" is a fairy tale included in Joseph Jacobs's anthology, ''English Fairy Tales'' (1898). ''Nix Nought Nothing'' is a translation of the Scottish tale "Nicht Nought Nothing", originally collected by Andrew Lang from an old woman in ...
*
Snow-White-Fire-Red
Snow-White-Fire-Red (''Bianca-comu-nivi-russa-comu-focu'') is a Sicilian fairy tale collected by Giuseppe Pitre and translated by Thomas Frederick Crane in ''Italian Popular Tales''.
Synopsis
A king and queen made a vow that, if they had a chil ...
*
Sweetheart Roland
"Sweetheart Roland" (german: Der Liebste Roland) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm (KHM 56). It combines several Aarne-Thompson types: type 1119, the witch killing her own children; type 313A, the girl helps the hero flee; ...
*
The Battle of the Birds
The Battle of the Birds is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in his '' Popular Tales of the West Highlands''. He recorded it in 1859 from a fisherman near Inverary, John Mackenzie and was, at the time, building dykes on t ...
*
The Grateful Prince
The Grateful Prince ( et, Tänulik Kuninga poeg) is an Estonian fairy tale.
This fairy tale has been included in various collections of literature, such as Friedrich Kreutzwald in ''Eestirahwa Ennemuistesed jutud'', by W. F. Kirby in ''The Hero of ...
*
The Master Maid
"The Master Maid" is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their '' Norske Folkeeventyr''. "Master" indicates "superior, skilled." Jørgen Moe wrote the tale down from the storyteller Anne Godlid in ...
*
The Nixie of the Mill-Pond
"The Nixie of the Mill-Pond" (german: Die Nixe im Teich) is a German fairy tale that tells the story of a man captured by a nix (water spirit) and his wife's efforts to save him. The Brothers Grimm collected the tale in their ''Grimm's Fairy Tal ...
*
The Prince Who Wanted to See the World
The Prince Who Wanted to See the World (Portuguese: ''O Príncipe que foi correr a sua Ventura'') is a Portuguese fairy tale, collected first by Portuguese writer Theophilo Braga. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Violet Fairy Book''.
Synopsis
A ...
*
The Troll's Daughter The Troll's Daughter ( da, Troldens datter) is a Danish folktale from Svend Grundtvig's collection (1876), whose English translation was published by Andrew Lang in ''The Pink Fairy Book'' (1897).
Textual notes
The Danish original "Troldens dat ...
*
The White Dove
References
External links
''Prince Unexpected''
{{Swan Maiden
King Kojata King Kojata or The Unlooked for Prince or Prince Unexpected ( Polish: ''O królewiczu Niespodzianku'') is a Slavonic fairy tale, of Polish origin. Louis Léger remarked that its source (''Bajarz polski'') was "one of the most important collections ...
Polish fairy tales
Fictional kings
Fiction about shapeshifting
Fiction about magic
ATU 300-399
Swan maidens