The Gold-Children
The Gold-Children | |
---|---|
Folk tale | |
Name | The Gold-Children |
Aarne–Thompson grouping | ATU 555; ATU 303 |
Country | Germany |
Published in | Grimms' Fairy Tales |
The Gold-Children is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 85. It is Aarne-Thompson type 555, the fisherman and his wife, followed by type 303, blood brothers.
Summary
A fisherman caught a golden fish, who gave him and his wife a rich castle on the condition that he will not tell anyone how he had gotten it. His wife badgered the knowledge from him, but he caught the fish again and regained the castle, and when she badgered the truth out of him again, he caught the fish a third time. The fish saw it was fated to fall into the fisherman's hand and told him to take it home and cut it into six pieces, giving two to his wife and two to his horse. He had to bury the last two pieces in the ground. When he did, his wife gave birth to twins of gold, the horse gave birth to two foals of gold, and two golden lilies sprouted from the earth.
When they were grown, the gold children left home, telling their father that the lilies would wither if they were ill and die if they were dead. People mocked them because of their golden appearance, and one child went back to his father, but the other went on, through a forest filled with robbers. He covered himself with bearskins to hide the gold from the thieves, and wooed a maiden. They fell in love and soon married. Her father then came home and believed his son-in-law was a beggar because he was covered with bearskins. However, the next morning, he was relieved when he saw the gold skin of the young man who was no longer wearing the skins.
The gold man went out to hunt a stag and asked an old witch about it. The witch told him that she knew of the stag, but her dog barked at him. When he threatened to shoot it, the witch transformed him into stone. Back home, his brother saw that the lily had withered and realized his brother was in trouble. He went to help him, but did not approach the witch closely enough to be transformed. Then he threatened to shoot her if she did not restore his brother. The witch did so, and one brother went back to his bride and the other returned to their father.
Analysis
The Brothers Grimm themselves, in the annotations to their tales, noted the similarity of "The Golden Children" to "The Two Brothers", specially in regards to the miraculous birth of the twins and their later adventures.[1]
See also
- The Enchanted Doe
- The Fisherman and His Wife
- The Knights of the Fish
- The Three Princes and their Beasts
- The Two Brothers
References
- ^ Grimm, Jacob, and Wilhelm Grimm. Kinder Und Hausmärchen: Gesammelt Durch Die Brüder Grimm. 3. aufl. Göttingen: Dieterich, 1856. pp. 102-106 and 144.
External links
- SurLaLune Fairy Tale site "The Gold-Children"
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- Grimms' Fairy Tales
- Deutsche Sagen
- Deutsche Mythologie
- Deutsches Wörterbuch
tales
- "Bearskin"
- "The Brave Little Tailor"
- "Brother and Sister"
- "Cat and Mouse in Partnership"
- "Cinderella"
- "The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs"
- "Doctor Know-all"
- "The Dog and the Sparrow"
- "The Elves and the Shoemaker"
- "The Fisherman and His Wife"
- "The Four Skillful Brothers"
- "The Frog Prince"
- "The Gnome"
- "Godfather Death"
- "The Golden Bird"
- "The Golden Goose"
- "The Goose Girl"
- "The Goose-Girl at the Well"
- "The Grave Mound"
- "Hans My Hedgehog"
- "Hansel and Gretel"
- "The Hut in the Forest"
- "The Jew Among Thorns"
- "Jorinde and Joringel"
- "The Juniper Tree"
- "The King of the Golden Mountain"
- "King Thrushbeard"
- "Little Red Riding Hood"
- "Mary's Child"
- "Mother Holle"
- "Old Hildebrand"
- "Old Sultan"
- "Pied Piper of Hamelin"
- "The Queen Bee"
- "Rapunzel"
- "The Riddle"
- "The Robber Bridegroom"
- "Rumpelstiltskin"
- "The Seven Ravens"
- "The Singing, Springing Lark"
- "The Six Servants"
- "The Six Swans"
- "Sleeping Beauty"
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- "Snow-White and Rose-Red"
- "The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was"
- "The Three Little Men in the Wood"
- "The Three Spinners"
- "Thumbling"
- "Town Musicians of Bremen"
- "Trusty John"
- "The Turnip"
- "The Twelve Brothers"
- "The Twelve Dancing Princesses"
- "The Water of Life"
- "The White Snake"
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- "The Wonderful Musician"
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