"The Two Kings' Children" 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 ...

'', tale number 113.Jacob and Wilheim Grimm, ''Household Tales''
"The Two Kings' Children"
/ref> It is Aarne-Thompson type 313C, the girl helps the hero flee, and type 884, the forgotten fiancée.

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 and ...

,
The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales (Grimms' Fairy Tales)
Others of the first type include "

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 Water Nixie "The Water Nixie" or "The Water-Nix" is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 79. It came from Hanau.Jacob and Wilheim Grimm, ''Household Tales''"The Water-Nix" Notes It is Aarne-Thompson type 313A, the girl helps the hero ...

", "

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 ...

", "

Jean, the Soldier, and Eulalie, the Devil's Daughter Jean, the Soldier, and Eulalie, the Devil's Daughter (french: La belle Eulalie) is a French fairy tale collected by Achille Millien. The fable is classed as Aarne-Thompson type 313 (A girl helps the hero to flee) and revolves about a transformat ...

", and "

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 ...

". Others of the second type include "

The Twelve Huntsmen "The Twelve Huntsmen" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm as tale number 67 in their ''Grimm's Fairy Tales''. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Green Fairy Book''. It is Aarne-Thompson type 884, the forsaken fiancée. Other ...

", "

The True Bride "The True Bride" or "The True Sweetheart" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' as tale 186. It combines two Aarne-Thompson types: 510, the persecuted heroine, and 884, the forsaken fiancée.D.L. Ash ...

", and "

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 Brothers Grimm also noted that the scene with the

false bride The false hero is a stock character in fairy tales, and sometimes also in ballads. The character appears near the end of a story in order to claim to be the hero or heroine and is usually of the same sex as the hero or heroine. The false hero presen ...

resembles that of "

The Singing, Soaring Lark "The Singing, Springing Lark", "The Singing, Soaring Lark", "The Lady and the Lion" or "Lily and the Lion" (german: Das singende springende Löweneckerchen) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, Grimm's Fairy Tales, appearing a ...

". Other fairy tales that use a similar motif include "

East of the Sun and West of the Moon "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" ( no, Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne) is a Norwegian fairy tale. It was included by Andrew Lang in ''The Blue Fairy Book'' (1890). "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" was collected by Peter Christen ...

", "

Black Bull of Norroway The Black Bull of Norroway is a fairy tale from Scotland. A similar story titled The Red Bull of Norroway first appeared in print in ''Popular Rhymes of Scotland'' by Robert Chambers in 1842. A version titled The Black Bull of Norroway in the 1 ...

", "

The Feather of Finist the Falcon The Feather of Finist the Falcon or Finist the Falcon (russian: Пёрышко Финиста ясна сокола) is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in '' Narodnye russkie skazki''. It is Aarne–Thompson type 432, the ...

", "

Mr Simigdáli Mr Simigdáli ("The Gentleman Made of Groats", in Max Lüthi's translation) is a Greek fairy tale, collected by Irene Naumann-Mavrogordato in ''Es war einmal: Neugriechische Volksmärchen''. Georgios A. Megas collected a variant Master Semolina in ...

", and "

White-Bear-King-Valemon White-Bear-King-Valemon (''Kvitebjørn kong Valemon'') is a Norwegian fairy tale. The tale was published as No. 90 in Asbjørnsen and Moe's '' Norske Folke-Eventyr. Ny Samling'' (1871). George Webbe Dasent translated it for his ''Tales from th ...

Synopsis

Once long ago, it was foretold that a king's son would be killed by a stag at the age of sixteen. At the age of sixteen a prince went hunting and chased a stag; a great man, a king, caught him and carried him off. The king set him to watch his

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 ...

daughters; one each night. The king told the boy that he would call on the prince each hour and if he answered every time, he could marry his daughter, but if not, he would be killed. Each daughter enchanted a statue of

St. Christopher Saint Christopher ( el, Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος, ''Ágios Christóphoros'') is venerated by several Christian denominations as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman emperor Decius (reigned 249–251) or alternatively u ...

to answer in the prince's place, thus saving the prince from death. The king said that in order to marry one of his daughters, he had to cut down a forest in a day; the king gave him a glass axe, a glass mallet, and a glass wedge to complete the task. When the prince went to the forest, the glass broke, and he wept knowing he would be killed. Finally having felt that he had outwitted the prince, the king told his daughters to bring him some food. The

youngest daughter The youngest son is a stock character in fairy tales, where he features as the hero. He is usually the third son, but sometimes there are more brothers, and sometimes he has only one; usually, they have no sisters. In a family of many daught ...

brought it, and told her father to let her comb his hair. The king fell asleep, allowing her to conjure up Earth-workers to fell the forest. Astonished that the prince had completed his task, the king then ordered him to clear a muddy pond and fill it with fish in a day. When the king's son tried, his hoe and shovel stuck in the mud and broke. Once again, the youngest daughter brought her father food and got him to sleep; then she conjured the Earth workers to clear the pond. The king then ordered the prince to clear a mountain of briars and put a castle on it. The glass hatchet he was given broke on the first briars; the youngest daughter saved him again. Finally, the king declared that the youngest daughter could not marry until her older sisters were married. Hearing this, the couple decided to run away at night. Once they were on their way, the king's daughter heard her father behind them. She turned herself into a rose, and the king's son into a briar. Believing he had lost them, the king returned home only to be told by his wife that the briar and the rose had been the children. The king chased them after again and this time the king's daughter turned herself into a priest, and the king's son into a church where she preached a sermon. The king listened to the sermon and went home where, once again, his wife told him that the priest and church were the children. Tired of her husband, the queen went after the children her self; the daughter realized the queen would know their true forms, but she changed herself into a duck and the king's son into a pond. The queen tried to drink the pool, but became ill and told her daughter she could come back. The daughter did, and the queen gave her three walnuts to aid her. The king's son and the king's daughter went on. The king's son had her stay while he went to get her carriage to bring her back in due state, but his mother kissed him, and he forgot the king's daughter entirely. The king's daughter had to work for a miller. One day, the queen sought a

bride A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bride's future spouse, (if male) is usually referred to as the ''bridegroom'' or just ''groom''. In Western culture, a bride may be attended by a maid, brides ...

for her son. The king's daughter cracked one walnut and found a splendid dress in it. She wore it to the wedding. The bride declared she would not marry without a dress as fine. The king's daughter would not give it up unless she could spend a night outside the king's son's bedroom. The bride agreed but had the servants give the king's son a potion so he slept. She lamented all night long; the king's son did not hear, but the servants did. In the morning, the bride took the dress and went with the king's son to the church, but the king's daughter cracked the second walnut, and it held a more splendid dress, and the bride again refused to marry without one as fine. The king's daughter asked the same price, and the bride agreed and gave the same order, but the servant, who had heard, gave the king's son something to keep him awake. He heard her laments and was troubled by them. His mother had locked the door, but in the morning, he begged her pardon. The king's daughter cracked the third walnut and found much more splendid dress and wore it as her wedding gown, but the bride and the false mother were sent away.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Two Kings' Children Grimms' Fairy Tales Fictional princesses Fictional princes Fiction about shapeshifting German fairy tales ATU 850-999 ATU 300-399