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Long, Broad and Sharpsight or Long, Broad, and Quickeye is a Bohemian
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 and published by
Karel Jaromír Erben in 1865 in ''Sto prostonarodních pohádek a pověstí slovanských'' and also by
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 ...
in ''Contes Populaires Slaves''.
Synopsis
An aging king tells his one son that he wishes to see him married before he dies. The son replies that he does not know a suitable bride, so the king sends him to a tower room that has not been opened in years. There he finds windows showing beautiful women, and a curtain over one window. He pulls away the curtain and falls in love with the woman he sees there. He tells his father, who tells him he should have left that window curtained, because the woman is the prisoner of an evil sorcerer, in an iron castle, but the prince has given his word and must try to rescue her.
On the way, he meets a man who wants to be taken into his service; his name is Long, and he can extend himself, and shows it by taking down a nest from a tall tree. The prince lets him come along. He also meets Broad, who can make himself grow until he is as large as a mountain, and Sharpsight, who keeps his eyes bandaged because he can see through the bandage, and without it his gaze would set things afire, or break them into pieces. The prince takes them into his service as well.
They reach the iron castle, and as soon as they are inside, the gates close. They find many men, turned to stone, and food laid out. As nobody is there, they eat the food. The sorcerer appears with the woman and tells them they can have the princess if they could keep her from escaping for
three nights. The prince tries to talk to her, but she does not answer. As the trio falls asleep, she vanishes, but Sharpsight spots her; she has turned into an acorn on an oak tree. Long brings her back. The wizard is furious. The next day, she becomes a precious stone on a mountain, but again Sharpsight sees her, and Long brings her back. The wizard is furious again. The third night, she becomes a golden ring on a shell in the sea. Long brings Broad with him, and Broad, making himself broad, drinks up the sea, while Long gets the ring. On the way back, however, he cannot carry Broad, but drops him. All the water comes out, and Broad barely manages to avoid drowning, but they eventually make it back.
The sorcerer turns into a crow, and all the people turned to stone comes back to life. The prince takes the woman home and marries her. Long, Broad, and Sharpsight leave his service and goes on to seek their fortune.
Translations and versions
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 ''Long, Large et Clairvoyant'', in his ''Contes Populaires Slaves'', and indicated its origin as
Czech.
Andrew Lang included the tale 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 ...
'', as ''Long, Broad and Quickeye'', and
A. H. Wratislaw collected it in his ''Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources'', as ''Long, Broad and Sharpsight''. Both listed the tale as
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
n.
Jeremiah Curtin
Jeremiah Curtin (6 September 1835 – 14 December 1906) was an American ethnographer, folklorist, and translator. Curtin had an abiding interest in languages and was conversant with several. From 1883 to 1891 he was employed by the Bureau of Ame ...
translated the tale as ''Long, Broad and Swift Glance'', in his book ''Fairy Tales of Eastern Europe''.
Parker Fillmore Parker may refer to:
Persons
* Parker (given name)
* Parker (surname)
Places Place names in the United States
*Parker, Arizona
*Parker, Colorado
*Parker, Florida
*Parker, Idaho
*Parker, Kansas
*Parker, Missouri
*Parker, North Carolina
*Parker, P ...
translated the tale as ''Longshanks, Girth, and Keen: The Story of Three Wonderful Serving Men'', after the physical characteristics of the wondrous companions.
Another version exists with the title ''The Broad Man, the Tall Man and the Man with Eyes of Flame''.
The tale is also known as ''Broadman, Longfellow and Sharp Eyes''.
Walter William Strickland translated the tale as ''Long, Broad and Sharp-Eyes''.
The tale was also collected in German with the name ''Der Lange, der Breite und der Scharfäugige'', by
Josef Wenzig
Josef Wenzig (18 January 1807 – 28 August 1876) was a Bohemian writer and author of librettos.
Life
Born in Prague, Empire of Austria, Wenzig was an educator in noble families, Rector (academia), rector of the Czech Realschule in Prague and ...
.
[Wenzig, Josef. ''Westslawischer Märchenschatz: Ein Charakterbild Der Böhmen, Mährer Und Slowaken In Ihren Märchen, Sagen, Geschichten, Volksgesängen Und Sprichwörtern''. Leipzig. 1857. pp. 130-140.]
Another version of the tale appears in ''
A Book of Wizards
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 ...
'' 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 ...
.
Roger Lancelyn Green translated the tale ''in
Once Long Ago,'' titled "Long, Stout and Sharpeyes."
They appear in the animated film "
Goat Story 2
''Goat Story 2'' (AKA - Goat story with Cheese) is a 2012 Czech 3D computer-animated comedy feature film ( cs, Kozí příběh se sýrem). Directed by Jan Tománek and produced by Art And Animation studio, it is a sequel to the 2008 film ''Goat S ...
."
See also
*
The Enchanted Pig
The Enchanted Pig (Romanian: ''Porcul cel fermecat'') is a Romanian fairy tale, collected in ''Rumanische Märchen'' and also by Petre Ispirescu in ''Legende sau basmele românilor''. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Red Fairy Book''.
The tale ...
*
Trusty John
*
How Six Made Their Way in the World
*
How the Hermit helped to win the King's Daughter
*
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
*
The King Of Lochlin's Three Daughters
*
The Six Servants
References
External links
Wratislaw's version{{Authority control
Czech fairy tales
Fiction about magic
Fiction about shapeshifting
Fictional servants
Fictional characters who can change size
Fictional characters who can stretch themselves
Fiction about superhuman features or abilities