"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 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 ...

'' in 1812 (KHM 3). It is of Aarne-Thompson type 710. The

noted its similarity to the Italian '' The Goat-faced Girl'' and the Norwegian ''

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 ...

''.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 "Fitcher's Bird" (German: ''Fitchers Vogel'') is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 46.Margaret Hunt (tr.) It is Aarne-Thompson type 311, the heroine rescues herself and her sisters. Another tale of this type is ' ...

''. Other tales that make use of these elements are

Bluebeard "Bluebeard" (french: Barbe bleue, ) is a French folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in 1697 in ''Histoires ou contes du temps passé''. The tale tells the st ...

and " In the Black Woman's Castle".

Origin

The tale was published by the

in the first edition of ''

Kinder- und Hausmärchen ''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 publi ...

'' 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

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

appeared to the woodcutter and promised to take care of the child, so they gave her the child. She grew up happily in

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

. One day the Virgin had to go on a journey and gave the girl keys, telling her she could open twelve doors but not the thirteenth. She opened the first twelve and found the

Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

behind them. Then she opened the thirteenth door. Behind it was the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

, and her finger was stained with

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

. She tried to hide it, lying

three 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

times, and the Virgin Mary said she could no longer remain for her disobedience and lying. She fell asleep and woke to find herself in a

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

. Lamenting her misfortune, she lived in a hollow tree, ate wild plants, and tore all her clothing until she was

naked Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

. One day, a

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

found her looking beautiful but incapable of speech. He took her home and married her. A year later, she had a son. The Virgin Mary appeared and demanded that she confess to having opened the door. She lied again, the Virgin took her son, and the people whispered that she had killed and eaten the child. In another year, she had another son, and it went as before. The third year, she had a daughter, and the Virgin Mary took her to heaven and showed her her sons, but she would not confess. This time, the king could not restrain his councilors, and the queen was condemned to death. When she was brought to the

stake Stake may refer to: Entertainment * '' Stake: Fortune Fighters'', a 2003 video game * ''The Stake'', a 1915 silent short film * "The Stake", a 1977 song by The Steve Miller Band from '' Book of Dreams'' * ''Stakes'' (miniseries), a Cartoon Netw ...

, she relented and wished she could confess before she died. The Virgin Mary brought back her children, restored her the power of speech, and gave her happiness the rest of her life.

Variants

In other versions of this tale the plot remains the same but the religious themes are downplayed, and the Virgin Mary and other Christian figures are replaced by

fairies 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, o ...

.Lily Owens, ed. (1981). ''The Complete Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales''. pp. 7–10. Avenel Books.

References

External links

* * * {{Brothers Grimm Grimms' Fairy Tales Cultural depictions of Mary, mother of Jesus Female characters in fairy tales Child characters in literature Heaven in popular culture ATU 700-749

Origin

Synopsis

Variants

See also

References

External links