The Classic Fairy Tales (Second Edition) (Norton Critical Editions)

by Edited by Maria Tatar

  They went for a walk hand in hand, sadly talking it all over. Finally they embraced, and when they separated their parting was sealed.

  Urashima’s parents-in-law were sad to see him go. His wife gave him a jeweled box. “Dearest,” she said, “if you don’t forget me and find you want to come back, then grip this box hard. But you mustn’t open it, ever.”

  He got into his boat and they told him to close his eyes. In no time he was at Tsutsugawa, his home. The place looked entirely different. He recognized nothing there at all.

  “Where’s Urashima’s family—Urashima the fisherman?” he asked a villager.

  “Who are you?” the villager answered. “Where are you from? Why are you looking for a man who lived long ago? Yes, I’ve heard old people mention someone named Urashima. He went out alone on the sea and never came back. That was three hundred years ago. What do you want with him now?”

  Bewildered, Urashima roamed the village for ten days without finding any sign of family or old friends. At last he stroked the box his divine lady had given him and thought of her; then, forgetting his recent promise, he opened it. Before his eyes her fragrant form, borne by the clouds and the wind, floated up and vanished into the blue sky. He understood he had disobeyed her and would never see her again. All he could do was gaze after her, then pace weeping along the shore.

  When he dried his tears, he sang about her far, cloud-girdled realm. The clouds, he sang, would bring her the message of his love. Her sweet voice answered him, across the vastness of the sky, entreating him never to forget her. Then a last song burst from him as he struggled with his loss: “My love, when after a night of longing, day dawns and I stand at my open door, I hear far-off waves breaking on the shores of your paradise!”

  If only he hadn’t opened that jeweled box, people have said since, he could have been with her again. But the clouds hid her paradise from him and left him nothing but his grief.

  * * *

  †  From Tango fudoki (Account of the province of Tango), 713 C.E., in Japanese Tales, comp. and trans. Royall Tyler (New York: Pantheon, 1987). Copyright © 1987 by Royall Tyler. Used by permission of Pantheon Books, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

  The Enchanted Frog†

  Once a poor man and woman had three sons. The first son told his parents he wanted to go and find a life for himself, the second said the same, and the youngest also said he wanted to go find himself a life. The father and mother didn’t want them to go, but finally they gave them permission and a blessing, and the sons set out.

  The oldest went ahead of the others and he came to a resting place by a cottonwood tree, and a frog was singing there. He liked the song and shouted from below, “Why don’t you come down here so that I can marry you?”

  “No, no, I can’t come down,” the frog replied. “You couldn’t make a life with me.”

  Finally, after the boy had tried for a long time to get her to come down, the frog jumped and fell into the boy’s cape. When the boy saw her, he said, “What do I want with a frog?” And he threw her away and went on.

  Later the second brother arrived there, and when he heard the frog singing so beautifully he said, “Come down so that I can marry you.”

  “No, sir,” the frog said. “Yesterday a boy came by here and made me come down from my chamber, and when I came down he scorned me and threw me away.”

  The boy said he wouldn’t do that. He said he really would marry her, and he spread out his cape for her to jump down. So the frog jumped down, but when he saw it he said, “Uy, how disgusting! What do I want with a frog?” And he threw her away just as his brother had done.

  So then finally the youngest brother came along and like the others he heard the enchanted frog singing in the cottonwood tree. The boy told her to come down from the cottonwood because he wanted to meet her.

  “No, I can’t do that,” the frog told him. “Two boys have come by here and both have asked me to come down, and then they scorned me and threw me away.” But the boy kept begging for her to come down until the frog said, “All right, spread out your cape for me to jump down.” The boy spread out the cape and the frog hopped and fell in the cape, and the boy took her and put her in his pocket. Then he went on down the road.

  He came to the town where his two brothers were living. They were married now and were very proud, and the youngest brother was married too—to the frog. When they were all reunited, they wrote to their parents to tell them they were married and to send them presents. And wives of the older brothers also wrote; but not the frog. The frog couldn’t write. And the parents wrote back saying they wanted to receive gifts from the wives. They told them to send them three embroidered kerchiefs.

  The youngest brother was heartsick, and when he got home to his frog he told her what his parents had written. “Don’t worry,” the frog told him. “Throw me into the sea.” So he went to the sea and threw her in, and the frog came out with a little cape made of a single cloth embroidered with pure gold.

  “Send this little cape to your parents,” she told him. The sons all sent their gifts and the parents were amazed by the gift from the youngest son’s wife—a little cape made of a single cloth embroidered with pure gold.

  But then the parents sent word to say that they wanted to meet their sons’ wives, told the sons to bring their wives for a visit. The sons all agreed to go to visit them with their wives, but the youngest was very worried and said to himself, “What am I going to do now? The frog doesn’t even look like a woman.” But when he went home and told the frog about it, she told him not to worry, that she would go too.

  And since the frog knew that the wives of her brothers-in-law were spiteful, she went and started washing her hair with lye. The envious wives saw her and decided they were going to wash their hair with lye too. They washed their hair with lye and it all fell out and they were bald.

  And then that night the frog told her husband, “Now take me and throw me into the deepest part of the sea. Leave me there and come for me in the morning.”

  The boy did that, but he was very sad because he didn’t think he would see his frog ever again. The next day he got up very early and went to look for her at the place where he had thrown her into the sea, and there on the bank of the sea he found a princess in an elegant carriage.

  “Here I am,” she told him, “I’m free from my enchantment. Now let’s go visit your parents.” And they started out because the other brothers and their wives were already on their way.

  They all arrived, and the parents were pleased to see their sons and their wives. The wives of the older two had their heads covered so no one could see they were bald. The parents were so pleased that they gave a banquet that night.

  And when they were eating, the princess pretended she was stuffing garbanzos and eggs down the front of her dress, but she was really putting in money. But the bald-headed wives really did stuff garbanzos and eggs into their dresses.

  After the banquet they all went to dance, and everyone’s eye was on the beautiful princess and everyone said she was the prettiest woman they had ever seen. And with each turn she took as she was dancing she scattered pesos and silver coins. But the envious wives scattered the garbanzos and eggs they had stuffed into their bosoms when they were eating.

  The people ran to get the money, and the dogs ran to get the garbanzos and eggs!

  * * *

  †  “The Enchanted Frog,” as told by Alesnio Chacón, in Cuentos de Cuanto Hay / Tales from Spanish New Mexico, trans. Joe Hayes (Albuquerque: U of New Mexico P, 1998), pp. 103–07. Copyright © 1998 University of New Mexico Press. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

  The Swan Maiden†

  A young peasant, in the parish of Mellby, who often amused himself with hunting, saw one day three swans flying toward him, which settled down upon the strand of a sound near by.

  Approaching the place, he was astonished at see
ing the three swans divest themselves of their feathery attire, which they threw into the grass, and three maidens of dazzling beauty step forth and spring into the water.

  After sporting in the waves awhile they returned to the land, where they resumed their former garb and shape and flew away in the same direction from which they came.

  One of them, the youngest and fairest, had, in the meantime, so smitten the young hunter that neither night nor day could he tear his thoughts from the bright image.

  His mother, noticing that something was wrong with her son, and that the chase, which had formerly been his favorite pleasure, had lost its attractions, asked him finally the cause of his melancholy, whereupon he related to her what he had seen, and declared that there was no longer any happiness in this life for him if he could not possess the fair swan maiden.

  “Nothing is easier,” said the mother. “Go at sunset next Thursday evening to the place where you last saw her. When the three swans come, give attention to where your chosen one lays her feathery garb, take it and hasten away.”

  The young man listened to his mother’s instructions, and, betaking himself, the following Thursday evening, to a convenient hiding place near the sound, he waited, with impatience, the coming of the swans. The sun was just sinking behind the trees when the young man’s ears were greeted by a whizzing in the air, and the three swans settled down upon the beach, as on their former visit.

  As soon as they had laid off their swan attire they were again transformed into the most beautiful maidens, and, springing out upon the white sand, they were soon enjoying themselves in the water.

  From his hiding place the young hunter had taken careful note of where his enchantress had laid her swan feathers. Stealing softly forth, he took them and returned to his place of concealment in the surrounding foliage.

  Soon thereafter two of the swans were heard to fly away, but the third, in search of her clothes, discovered the young man, before whom, believing him responsible for their disappearance, she fell upon her knees and prayed that her swan attire might be returned to her. The hunter was, however, unwilling to yield the beautiful prize, and, casting a cloak around her shoulders, carried her home.

  Preparations were soon made for a magnificent wedding, which took place in due form, and the young couple dwelt lovingly and contentedly together.

  One Thursday evening, seven years later, the hunter related to her how he had sought and won his wife. He brought forth and showed her, also, the white swan feathers of her former days. No sooner were they placed in her hands than she was transformed once more into a swan, and instantly took flight through the open window. In breathless astonishment, the man stared wildly after his rapidly vanishing wife, and before a year and a day had passed, he was laid, with his longings and sorrows, in his allotted place in the village church-yard.

  * * *

  †  “The Swan Maiden,” in Scandinavian Folk and Fairy Tales, comp. Claire Booss (New York: Avenel, 1984). Reprinted from Herman Hofberg, Swedish Fairy Tales, 1895.

  Chonguita†

  There once lived a king who had three sons. They were called Pedro, Diego, and Juan. One day the king ordered the three young gentlemen to set out and seek their fortunes. The brothers each took a different direction, but before they separated, they agreed to meet later at a certain place in the forest.

  After walking for many days, Don Juan met an old man on the road. The old man gave Don Juan some bread and told him to walk to a palace that was about a mile away. “When you enter the gate,” he said, “you must divide the bread I have given you among the monkeys guarding the gate to the palace. Otherwise you won’t be able to pass through the gate.”

  Don Juan took the bread. When he reached the palace, he did exactly as the old man had said. When he walked through the gate, he saw a big monkey. Frightened by the sight of the animal, Don Juan was about to run away when the animal called out to him and said, “Don Juan, I know that you came here to make your fortune. Right now my daughter Chonguita is willing to marry you.” The archbishop of the monkeys was summoned, and Don Juan and Chonguita were married without delay.

  A few days later Don Juan asked his wife for permission to go to the place where he and his brothers had agreed to meet. When Chonguita’s mother heard that Don Juan was going away, she said, “If you are going away, take Chonguita with you.” Don Juan was ashamed to take Chonguita because she was a monkey, but he was forced to take her, and the two set off on the road. When Don Juan met his two brothers and their beautiful wives at the appointed place, he could not get out a word. Don Diego noticed that his brother looked gloomy and asked, “What is the matter with you? Where is your wife, Don Juan?”

  Don Juan sadly replied, “Here she is.”

  “Where?” asked Don Pedro.

  “Right behind me,” replied Don Juan.

  When Don Pedro and Don Diego saw the monkey, they were startled. “Oh!” exclaimed Don Pedro, “What happened to you? Have you lost your mind?”

  Don Juan was at a loss for words. Finally he managed to say, “Let’s all go back home! Our father must be waiting for us!” With that, Don Juan turned around and began walking home. Don Pedro and Don Diego, together with their wives, followed Don Juan. Chonguita walked by her husband’s side.

  The king learned that his three sons had returned, and he rushed down the stairs to meet them. When he discovered that one of his sons had married a monkey, he fainted. But once he recovered his senses, he thought to himself: “This may be a stroke of bad luck, but it is God’s will. I must take the news calmly and be patient.” The king gave each of the couples a house to live in.

  The more the king thought about it, the more disgraceful his son’s marriage seemed. One day, he called his three sons together and said to them, “Tell your wives that I want each one of them to make a coat for me and to embroider it. The one who fails to finish the task in three days will be put to death.” The king had issued this order with the hope that Chonguita would be put to death. He was sure she would not be able to make a coat for him. But his hopes were dashed. On the third day, the three daughters-in-law presented him with the coats they had made. The one embroidered by Chonguita was the prettiest of the three.

  The king was still anxious to get rid of the monkey-wife. He ordered his daughters-in-law to embroider a cap for him in the next two days, under penalty of death if they failed. The caps were all finished right on time.

  Finally he was at a loss for ideas, but he came up with the following plan. He summoned his three daughters-in-law and said, “Each of you will draw pictures on the walls of my chamber. Whoever draws the prettiest within the next three days—her husband will succeed me on the throne.” At the end of the three days the pictures were finished. When the king went to inspect them, he found that Chonguita’s was by far the prettiest, and so Don Juan was crowned king.

  A feast was held in the palace to celebrate the new king. In the midst of the festivities, Don Juan became furious with his wife for insisting that he dance with her, and he hurled her against the wall. The hall suddenly turned dark after this brutal act took place. But then it grew bright again, and there was Chonguita, transformed into a beautiful woman.

  * * *

  †  As told by Pilar Ejercito, a woman living in the province of Laguna in the Philippines. Her aunt had told her the story when she was a little girl. The tale was collected and edited by Dean S. Fansler, who published it in the Memoirs of the American Folk-Lore Society, 12 (1921): 244–46. Some minor stylistic emendations were made to his version by the editor of this volume.

  The Dog Bride†

  Once upon a time there lived a young man whose job it was to herd buffaloes. One day, as he was watching his animals graze, he noticed that a dog would appear every day at high noon and make its way over to a ravine with some pools of water. His curiosity was aroused, and he wondered who owned the dog and what it was doing in that ravine. He decided to start paying attention to the animal. One day when it ap
peared, he hid in a place where he could watch the dog. It got into the water, shed its dog skin, and out stepped a beautiful maiden. She bathed in the waters, and when she was finished, she put the skin back on and became a dog. Off she went to the village. The shepherd followed her and saw her enter a house. He asked about the owner of the house, and, once he found out his name, he went back to his work.

  That year the shepherd’s father and mother decided that it was time for him to marry. They began looking around for a suitable wife. But he announced that he had already made up his mind. He had decided to marry a dog, and he would never have a human wife.

  Everyone laughed out loud when they heard what he had said. But he would not change his mind. Finally everyone began to believe that he must have the soul of a dog in him and that it was best to let him have his way. His mother and father asked whether he had any particular dog in mind for his bride. He gave them the name of the man into whose house he had tracked the dog that had bathed in the area of the ravines. The dog’s master found it hilarious that anyone would want to marry his dog, but he was happy to accept a bride price from the family for her. The day was set for the wedding, and they began building a booth for the ceremony. The bridegroom’s party went to the bride’s house, and the wedding went off without a hitch. The bride was escorted back to her husband’s house.

  Every night, after her husband fell asleep, the bride would remove her dog’s skin and leave the house. After her husband discovered what she was doing, he pretended the next night to go to sleep and kept an eye on her. Just as she was about to leave the room, he jumped up and grabbed her. He seized the dog skin, threw it into the fire, where it burned to ashes. The bride kept her human shape, but she was of more than human beauty. Everyone in the village found out what happened, and they congratulated the shepherd for having the wisdom to marry a dog.