The White Dove (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: ''Den hvide Due'') is a Danish

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 ...

.Grundtvig, Sven. ''Danish fairy tales''. Translated from the Danish of Svendt Grundtvig by J. Grant Cramer. Boston: The four seas company. 1919. pp. 100-108.

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 it in ''

The Pink 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 version of the tale also appears in ''

A Book of Witches 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 ...

Synopsis

Two princes were caught in a storm at sea when the sky had no sun. An old woman rowed up in a dough-trough and said she could save them in return for the next returning son their mother bore. They said they could not trade him, and the woman said that their mother might prefer the sons she had to the one she did not, and rowed off. They shouted after her that they agreed, and the storm ended. They told no one what had happened, even when their

younger brother Younger Brother is an electronic duo formed in 2003 by Simon Posford and Benji Vaughan. Their debut album '' A Flock of Bleeps'' was released in 2003, followed by '' The Last Days of Gravity'' in 2007 and ''Vaccine'' in 2011. After making a ...

was born and grew up. But a

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

came to him one day in a storm and told him his brothers had promised him in return for their lives. He said if she had saved them, he would go with her. She sailed away with him over the sea to her residence. In her service, the witch set him to sort a great mass of feathers in one day. He had all but finished when a whirlwind mixed them together again, with only an hour left. A white dove tapped on the window and offered to help him. He let it in and it sorted the feathers. The next day, she set him to split wood, and the longer he worked, the larger the pile seemed to grow. The dove offered to split it for him, and did so; he could barely carry away the pieces fast enough. It perched on his shoulder, and he kissed it, and it turned into a beautiful princess. She told him that he must ask the witch for a

wish A wish is a hope or desire for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used. In fiction In fiction a ...

, and then ask for the princess she keeps as a white dove, but first he must tie a red thread about her leg so that he would know her. When he asked, the witch dragged a donkey in front of him and asked if he wanted it; recognizing the red thread, he agreed. She tried again, with an old hag, and when the prince agreed, she had to have the wedding. At the wedding, the princess told the prince not to drink anything at the feast, or he would forget her. He forgot and reached for a glass, but the

princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

spilled it and the witch raged. They were put into bed, and the princess said that the witch had done all that she promised, and so they had to flee. She left two pieces of wood in the bed, and they answered the witch, so she did not realize they were gone until morning. Then she chased after them. The princess had the prince threw down a flower pot, which became a forest, which slowed the witch as she had to chop through it. Then the princess had the prince throw down a glass of water, which became a lake, and the witch had to go back for her dough trough to cross it. Then they climbed into the castle as she reached them, and the princess turned and blew on her. Hundreds of white doves flew out of her mouth. The witch was so angry that she turned to

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

forever. The older brothers confessed what they had done and said he must be king, and they would be his subjects. They were his subjects until they found their own princesses and then fled.

References

External links

The White Dove
{{DEFAULTSORT:White Dove Danish fairy tales Fictional Columbidae Fictional princesses Scandinavian folklore Fiction about shapeshifting Witchcraft in fairy tales

Synopsis

See also

References

External links