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The Well of the World's End is an Anglo- Scottish
A girl's mother died, and her father remarried. Her
Border
Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...
, recorded in the Scottish Lowlands
The Lowlands ( or , ; , ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland.
The region is characterised by its relatively flat or gently rolling terrain as opposed to the mountainous landscapes of the Scottish Highlands. This area includes ci ...
, collected by Joseph Jacobs in ''English Fairy Tales''. His source was '' The Complaynt of Scotland'', and he notes the tale's similarity to the German '' Frog Prince''. Like that tale, it is Aarne-Thompson type 440, "The Frog King" or "Iron Henry".
Synopsis
A girl's mother died, and her father remarried. Her stepmother
A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a female non-biological parent married to one's preexisting parent. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse.
Culture
Ste ...
abused her, made her do all the housework, and finally decided to be rid of her. She gave her a sieve and ordered her to not come back without filling it at the Well of the World's End. The girl set out and questioned everyone about the way. Finally, a little old woman directed her to the well, but she could not fill the sieve. She wept. A frog asked what was wrong and said it could aid her if she promised to do everything he asked for a dark night. She agreed, and the frog told her to stop the holes up with moss and clay. With that, she carried back the water.
The stepmother was angry at her return, and when the frog arrived, she insisted that the girl keep her promise. The frog made her take it on her knee, give it some supper, and take it to the bedroom with her. In the morning, it made her chop off its head. When she did, it turned into a handsome prince. The stepmother was even more angry, but the prince married the girl and took her to live in his castle.
Analysis
The tale is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 440, "The Frog Prince".See also
* Frog Prince * The Frog Princess * The Tale of the Queen Who Sought a Drink From a Certain Well *The Three Heads in the Well
The Three Heads in the Well is a fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in ''English Fairy Tales''.
It is Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, Aarne-Thompson-Uther tale type ATU 480, The Spinning-Woman by the Spring, The Kind and Unkind Girls. Others of ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Well of the World's End Scottish fairy tales Northumbrian folklore Fairy tales about shapeshifting Fairy tales about talking animals Anthropomorphic frogs Fairy tales about magic Fairy tales about princes ATU 400-459 Joseph Jacobs Fairy tales about stepmothers