Little Wildrose is a Romanian fairy tale.

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 o ...

included it in ''

The Crimson 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 ...

''.

Origin

Mite Kremnitz Mite Kremnitz (4 January 1852, Greifswald – 18 July 1916 in Berlin), born Marie von Bardeleben (pen names ''George Allan'', ''Ditto and Idem''), was a German writer. Biography Kremnitz was the daughter of the famous surgeon Heinrich Adolf ...

stated that the tale was penned by Romanian author , and published in the magazine ''

Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Literary Talks'') is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania. History and profile ''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by ...

''.

Translations

translated the tale into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

as ''Waldröschen''.

Synopsis

An old man went in search of a child, so someone would inherit his home. In a dark wood, he found a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

, who

gave GAVE may refer to: * Gave (Melgaço), a parish in Portugal * Gave (placename element), a French word meaning ''torrential river'' in the west Pyrenees * Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE), a medical condition * Gabinete de Avaliação Educacio ...

him an apple, telling him to eat half and give his wife half. On the way home, he grew thirsty; there was no water, and he ate the whole apple. He found a beautiful baby girl and carried her home, laying her in a pail to call his wife near his home. An eagle carried the child off for its eaglets to eat, but they nestled up to her instead. A

lindworm The lindworm (''worm'' meaning snake), also spelled lindwyrm or lindwurm, is a mythical creature in Northern and Central European folklore living deep in the forest that traditionally has the shape of a giant serpent monster. It can be seen as a ...

came to eat them, but something killed it. The eagle raised her with the eaglet. One day, an emperor's son saw her. He could not lure her down and grew sick from love. His father asked him what was wrong and, hearing of it, sent about for word of the maiden. An old woman promised to get them the girl. She started to set up a fire beneath the tree and did everything wrong. Little Wildrose tried to tell her how to do it, but she continued to do it wrong; Little Wildrose came down to show her, and the old woman carried her off. The emperor's son married her.

Analysis

Tale type

American folklorist

D. L. Ashliman Dee L. Ashliman (born January 1, 1938), who writes professionally as D. L. Ashliman, is an American folklorist and writer. He is Professor Emeritus of German at the University of Pittsburgh and is considered to be a leading expert on folklore an ...

classified the tale in the Aarne-Thompson Index as type AaTh 554B*, "The Child Who Was Raised by An Eagle", a tale type that is otherwise titled "The Boy in the Eagle's Nest" and features a ''male protagonist'' that is raised by an eagle.Aarne, Antti; Thompson, Stith. ''The types of the folktale: a classification and bibliography''. Folklore Fellows Communications FFC no. 184. Third printing. Helsinki: Academia Scientiarum Fennica, 1973

961 Year 961 (Roman numerals, CMLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 6 – Siege of Chandax: Byzantine forces under Nikephoro ...

p. 200.

Motifs

The child in the bird's nest is also found in "

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 revol ...

". The method of luring the bride down from the tree is also found in "

The Golden Stag The Golden Stag Festival ( ro, Cerbul de Aur) is the most popular Romanian song contest and awards, held annually in the town of Braşov, Romania. History The Golden Stag was first held in 1968, but after 1971 it was banned by the Communist l ...

". More commonly, as in "

Brother and Sister "Brother and Sister" (also "Little Sister and Little Brother"; German: ''Brüderchen und Schwesterchen'') is a European fairy tale which was, among others, written down by the Brothers Grimm (KHM 11). It is a tale of Aarne–Thompson Type 450. In ...

", "

The Six Swans "The Six Swans" (German: ''Die sechs Schwäne'') is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' in 1812 (KHM 49). It is of Aarne–Thompson type 451 ("The Maiden Who Seeks Her Brothers"), commonly found throu ...

", or "

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 ...

", the hero succeeds in luring her away himself.

References

{{reflist Romanian fairy tales ATU 500-559