Cf. the travels of Friar Jordanus, Odoric of Pordenone, Ibn Batuta. Cf.
also the lovely wife of old Doghead in "Prince Mirkó" in this volume;
and _Gubernatis_, vol. i. Preface, xix.
_Page 120._ "Born with a caul."
In Holderness and North Lincolnshire, a caul is said to prevent the
owner from drowning. I have heard others say, that you can tell by its
condition what the state of its owner's (the one who was born with it)
health is, even if he (or she) is in a distant land. So long as it keeps
as it is he is well, but if it "snerkles up" he is dead.[55] It is
commonly called a "sillyhood" in the North.
Cf. _Henderson_, pp. 22, 23. _Aubrey, Remaines of Gentilisme_, p. 113.
Gregor, _Folk-Lore of North-East of Scotland_, p. 25.
_Grimm_, i. Hans in Luck. "I must have been born with a caul," p. 329.
Napier, _Folk-Lore_, p. 32.
Babies born with teeth are said by the Magyar peasants to be the
children of witches; see Varga János, _A babonák Könyve_, Arad, 1877, p.
70.
Babies born with teeth are regarded as different to other children, in
some parts of England, but the superstition is vague. A friend had a
servant who was born with a grey lock, and the writer has often seen the
girl; it was regarded as somewhat uncanny. Francisque Michel mentions in
his _Histoire des Races Maudites_, that in the Valley of Argelès old
women, when quarrelling with a cagot, shew their tongue "ou derrier
l'oreille"; this is to remind the poor man of the wisp of hair on his
ear, which is considered uncanny.
_Page 120_. The incident of the lad disguising himself so as to be
exactly like his comrades occurs also at p. 241, in "The Secret-Keeping
Little Boy." To be able to select the right person from several is
looked upon as a test of the magic power of the person tried as in this
case.
Cf. _Naaké_. "Golden Hair," p. 107.
_Vernaleken_. "How Hans finds his Wife," p. 284.
_Folk-Lore Record_, 1883. Ananci Stories, p. 284; and the Polish story,
"Prince Unexpected," _ib._ 1884, p. 13.
_S. ja T._ i. "Kulta-orit," p. 187.
Cf. _Folk-Lore Record_, 1880, "Mons Tro," p. 220.
_Page 121._ In the Lapp story, "Patto-Poadnje." _Friis_, p. 78, the
Stallo's wife suspects there is something wrong with the soup, which is
in reality made of her late husband, but the man fools her by saying he
cut his finger while making it.
In the Finnish story, "Tynnyrissä kaswanut Poika," ("The Boy who grows
in a Barrel"), _S. ja T._ i., p. 105, there are nine cakes made of a
woman's milk. Cf. "How the widow saved her son's life," _Sagas from the
Far East_, p. 207.
We may here note the constant difficulties that appear in the
folk-tales, and thwart the love-making of the heroes and heroines.
Commonly it is the king who does all he can to prevent the lovers being
happy, or it is some one at home who causes infinite trouble. For
examples of the tasks that the lover or husband has to accomplish, see
the tales "Fisher Joe," "Handsome Paul," "Fairy Elizabeth," "The Three
Brothers," "The Girl with the Golden Hair," &c., in this volume.
Cf. also _Friis_. "Ruobba. Jætten og Fanden," p. 67; "Bondesønnen.
Kongesønnen og Solens Søster," p. 140; "Solkongens Datter," p. 152;
"Gutten, som tjente hos Kongen," p. 167.
_S. ja T._ ii. "Leppäpölkky" ("Alder Block"), p. 2; "Maan, meren kulkija
laiwa" ("The Ship that sails over Land and Sea"), p. 22; "Kaikkia,
matkalla karwitaan" (All is useful in a Voyage), p. 29; and "Lakwan
tekijät," (Ship Builders), p. 33.
Basile. _Pentamerone_. No. 23.
Schott. _Wallachische Märchen_, No. 24.
_Ralston_. "The Water King," p. 120.
_Sagas from the Far East._ "How Shanggasba buried his Father," p. 189.
See also the troubles in getting to Johara in Notes to "Fairy
Elizabeth," _ante_.
CSABOR ÚR. Erdélyi, i. 3.
According to some writers this story refers to King Matthias and his
black troop. It is a Csángó tale.[56]
These traditional stories, as specimens of folk-history, are of great
interest, showing how the kindness or tyranny of some lord or lady
clings to the popular mind, and how all manner of stories attach
themselves to great names.
Cf. "Herrn till Rosendal," in Hofberg, _Svenska Sägner_, p. 14;
"Herrskapet på Ugerup," p. 17, where Arild dupes the Danish king by
obtaining leave of absence until he reaps his harvest, he having sown
fir-cones. (A variant of which the writer has heard amongst the peasants
of the Eastern counties) and "Elestorps skog," p. 71, where the whole
forest seems on the move as in _Macbeth_, act v. scene v. See also "An
ancient Arabian parallel," by Dr. Redhouse, in the _Academy_, July, 24,
1886. See also "Snapphane-grafven," _ib_. p. 75, a story of a heap of
stones,[57] now known as the "freebooter's grave," that tells how a
brave peasant slew the chief of the plundering band and so dispersed
them.
"Grefvinnan på Höjentorp," _ib_. p. 97, which is a good example of how
historic incident is moulded and blended in the popular lore, and it may
be of interest to give it here. Shortly after Charles XI. had seized the
greater part of his nobles' property, he went to see his aunt Maria
Eufrosyna and was saluted with a sound box on the ear, and upon asking
why she did it was told he got it for taking all her property from her.
They entered the house where a herring tail and an oat cake was set
before the king, and he was told as he had made his bed so must he lie
on it. The king then asked his aunt if he might take care of her riches
for her, but was saluted with such a box on the ear that he fled and
left her to enjoy her estates in peace.
"Fru Barbro på Brokind," _ib_. p. 112, is an example of how the memory
of a tyrant lives.
"Qvick i jord," _ib_. p. 122, tells of a terrible outbreak of plague,
and how a Finn advised the people to bury a live cock, but as the plague
raged as fiercely as ever a live goat was buried, and then a living
boy.[58]
"Jonas Spets," p. 123, tells how the king found an old soldier
sharpening (putting a point to) his sword and was warned to use it well
on the morrow. After the battle the king ordered him to show his sword,
and lo! it was dripping with blood. "Well done," said the king, "I will
gild the point for you," and so he ennobled the soldier and changed his
name to "Gyllenspets" (Golden-Point). This, according to the popular
story, is the way the family of Gyllenspets in Vermland became nobles.
The writer heard the following from old men in North Lincolnshire.
LIMBER.--There have been great wars and battles all over here and most
of them are attributed to Cromwell. At Riby there was a fearful fight,
the blood ran as deep as the horses' bellies, and to this day there is
an opening in the hedge, where nothing will ever grow, known as Riby
Gap, and there the blood flowed deepest.[59]
THORNTON ABBEY.--There was a great battle there and the soldiers knocked
the church down and the town that used to be near it.
YARBOROUGH CAMP[60]--according to popular belief--was made by Cromwell's
soldiers, who are said to have sat behind the entrenchment when firing
at their enemies.
MELTON ROSS.--Perhaps the most curious is the tale told by an old groom
about the gallows at Melton Ross:--
Some hundred years ago or so three or four boys were playing at hanging,
and seeing who could hang the longest on a tree, when a three-legged
hare (the devil, sir), came limping past; off ran the lads who were on
the ground after him and forgot their comrade, who when they came back
was dead. The gallows was put up in memory of that. The true story is
that there was a rivalry between the Ross family and the Tyrwhits, and
to such a pitch had it grown among their dependants that the two parties
meeting on a hunting excursion got to blows and many were killed. James
I. being in Lincolnshire shortly after, and hearing of it, ordered a
gallows to be erected where the fight occurred, and enacted that in the
future any persons slain in an encounter of this kind should be deemed
murdered, and the perpetrators of the crime hanged. A gallows is always
kept on the spot and when the old one falls to decay a new one is
erected.[61]
_Page 125_. _Permanent blood stains._ Cf. those of Rizzio in Holyrood
Palace; those in the Carmelite convent in Paris, said to have been made
by murdered priests in the revolution; those at Cottele, on the banks of
the Tamar, blood of the warder slain by the Lord of the Manor; those in
Sta. Sophia, at Constantinople, &c.
THE DEVIL AND THE THREE SLOVAK LADS. Erdélyi, ii. 1.
Cf. _Grimm_, vol. ii. "The Three Apprentices," pp. 132, 418. _Stier_,
No. 25.
A similar story used to be current among the schoolboys in
Northumberland.
THE COUNT'S DAUGHTER. Erdélyi, ii. 2.
The writer of this remembers his grandmother telling him this story when
he was a boy in Newcastle on Tyne.
Cf. _Grimm_, i. "The Robber Bridegroom," pp. 164, 389.
Chambers, _Book of Days_, vol. i. p. 291, "Mr. Fox."
Halliwell, _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 164, "The Story of Mr. Fox"; and
Benedict, in "Much Ado About Nothing," act i. scene i.[62]
Cf. _Hofberg_, p. 14, "Herrn till Rosendal," where the horrors of the
lord's house drives his betrothed away; and the "Iron Virgin," of
Munich, who was said to clasp the doomed in her arms and pierce them
with spikes. _Fraser's Magazine_, 1872, p. 354.
The story reminds us strongly of Blue Beard. Cf. _Notes and Queries_,
7th S. ii. p. 321.
THE SPEAKING GRAPES. Erdélyi, ii. 3.
Cf. Thorpe. _Yule-Tide Stories_. "Prince Hatt under the Earth," p. 15.
Stokes' _Indian Fairy Tales_, "The Fan Prince," p. 195. _Grimm_, vol.
ii. "The Singing, Soaring Lark," p. 5, and Variants given on pp. 378,
382. _Gubernatis_, vol. ii. Story from Piedmont, p. 381, and a Tuscan
tale, p. 382. In the latter, the father, who has promised his daughter a
rose, forgets it, and his ship refuses to move on the homeward journey,
and so he goes to a garden to get the rose, which is given to him by a
hideous magician. This reminds us of the Finnish story, "Jykeä Lipas"
(The Heavy Chest), _S. ja T._ ii. p. 146, where a man who was ploughing
near a lake, went down to the strand to drink. When he had done drinking
he tried to raise his head but could not, as a sea-troll had got hold of
his beard,[63] and although the man repeated all manner of magic
sentences he could not get away. The man at last had to promise his
daughter, and so was set free: the story then turns on the forbidden
chamber. In another, "Awaimetoim Wakka" (The Keyless Chest), _S. ja T._
i. p. 151, a man was lost and wanted to get home, when a being appeared
and promised to take him if he would give him what he had at home, which
turns out to be a beautiful child. Cf. "The King and the Devil," p. 189,
in this collection. In Lapp stories the devil comes in. Cf.
"Fattiggutten, Fanden og Guldbyen;" _Friis_, p. 161, where he promises
plenty of fish to a poor man if he will promise what his wife "carries
under her heart;" in another, "Gutten, Havfruen og Ridder Rød," _Friis_,
p. 131,[64] a mermaid stops the king's ship and won't let it go till the
king promises what his wife is bringing into the world. The latter part
of the Finnish and Lapp stories is not like the Magyar, but rather
reminds us of "Stephen the Murderer," and the latter part of "Shepherd
Paul."
The "Dirty, filthy pig," that helps, is a variant of the huge frog that
will not allow the girl to draw water from the well until she gives it
her ring. Cf. "The wonderful frog," p. 224, and notes.
For the youngest daughter who wishes for such out-of-the-way, and in
many cases utterly incomprehensible objects, Cf. Stokes' _Indian Tales_,
"The Fan Prince," where the girl wants "Sabr," p. 195; and "The Rájá's
Son," where the young man hears some parrots talk about the Princess
Labám, whom he determines to find, p. 154; and the "Bél Princess," p.
138. Mr. Ralston also notes _Afanassieff_, vol. i. No. 14, and vol. vii.
No. 6.
_Page 131._ The king tries to deceive the pig, in the same way as he,
the king, on p. 191 tries to deceive the devil.
Usually, there is a long series of troubles between the enchanted one
appearing in some loathsome form and the revelation of the prince in all
his beauty, as in the well-known story of "Beauty and the Beast."[65]
Cf. "Prince Wolf," _Folk-Lore Record_, 1880, p. 227. "Prince Jalma,"
_ib._ 1885, p. 293. On the subject of "Husks," or glorious beings
occurring under lowly forms, see in this collection the snake in "Knight
Rose," "The Wonderful Frog," "Snake Skin," the youngest daughter in "The
Three Princesses," and notes to "The Three Oranges," "Cinder Jack," and
"The Widower and his Daughter."
Cf. also: The boy in the Lapp stories that wears a hat to hide his
golden helmet. _Friis_, "Jætten og Veslegutten." _Stokes_, "The Monkey
Prince," and "The Boy who had a Moon on his Forehead, and a Star on his
Chin," pp. 126, 130, and note, p. 280. _Old Deccan Days_, "The
wanderings of Vicram Maharajah," p. 119, "The Jackal, the Barber, and
the Brahmin," p. 167, and "Muchie Lal," P. 221.[66] _Dasent:_ Hacan
Grizzlebeard. Also, "The twelve wild ducks" in the same collection,
where the brothers appear under the form of ducks. Cf. the Finnish
"Weljiänsä-etsijät ja Joutsenina lentäjät" (one who seeks brothers
flying as swans): "Saaressa eläjät" (living on an island). "Tynnyrissä
kaswanut poika" (a boy grown in a barrel); _S. ja T._ i. _Märchensaal
aller Völker von Kletke_, No. 2. "Die Drei Königskinder." _Household
Stories from the Land of Hofer_, "The grave Prince and the beneficent
Cat." _Grimm_ ii. "The Donkey." "The Goose-girl at the Well," and note,
p. 441. _Sagas from the Far East_, pp. 28, 92, 222, 244, and 274.
THE THREE ORANGES. Erdélyi, ii. 4.
_Page 133._ In "Loving Lailí." _Stokes_, p. 81, the prince is commanded
to open the fruit when he is alone, as Lailí will be inside quite naked.
See also _ib._ pp. 251, 284, and _Grimm_ ii. p. 496. _Pentamerone_, "The
Three Citrons." _Portuguese Folk Tales_, p. 10, F. L. S. 1882; also
_Dasent_, p. 437, "The Cock and Hen a-nutting."
_Page 134._ The changed bride occurs in the Finnish "Merestänousija
Neito." (The Sea-Maid.) _S. ja T._ i. p. 77, and "Ihmeellinen Koiwu"
(The wonderful Birch) _S. ja T._ i. p. 59. _Portuguese Folk-Tales_, "The
Maid and the Negress," F. L. S. 1882. _Stokes, Indian Fairy Tales_, pp.
xxiii. xxv. 3, 143, 284. _Dasent_, "The lassie and her Godmother," p.
219, and the "Bushy Bride," p. 376. _Grimm_, ii. "The Goose-girl;" "The
White Bride and the Black one," and "The Maid Maleen," pp. 508, 525.
_Friis_, Lappiske Eventyr, "Haccis-ædne," see "N. and Q." 7th Series,
ii. p. 104. _Pentamerone_, "The Three Citrons." Geldart, _Folk-Lore of
Modern Greece_, "The Knife of Slaughter," p. 63. _Folk-Lore Record_,
1884, p. 242, _ib._ 1885, p. 292. _Gubernatis_, vol. ii. p. 242. Thorpe,
_Yule-Tide Stories_, pp. 47, 54, 62. Gerle, _Volksmärchen der Böhmen_
No. 5. "Die Goldene Ente." Hyltén-Cavallius. _Svenska Folk Sagor_, No.
7, "Prinsessan som gick upp ur hafvet." Cf. also Steere, _Swahili
Tales_, p. 398. Rink, _Eskimo Tales_, p. 310; and Denton, _Serbian
Tales_, p. 191; also pp. 214 and 222, in this collection.
_Page 135._ The feigned illness occurs in numerous stories, _e.g._:
_Deccan Days_, "Punchkin," p. 5. _Dasent_, "Katie Woodencloak," p. 413.
_Payne_, vol. i. "The first old man's story," p. 21. _Stokes_, "The
Pomegranate King," p. 9. _Records of the Past_, vol. ii. "Tale of the
Two Brothers," p. 149. _Friis_, "Ivan, Kupiskas Søn," p. 170.
_Page 136._ House tidying incident. Cf. _Grimm_, vol. i. p. 226.
"Sweetheart Roland."
THE YOUNGEST PRINCE, AND THE YOUNGEST PRINCESS. Erdélyi, ii. 5.
_Page 137._ Good luck coming from being under a tree. Cf. p. 323 in this
collection; and Rink, _Eskimo Tales_, "Kagsagsuk," p. 101. Stokes,
_Indian Tales_, "The Fan Prince," p. 198, and "The Bed," p. 204.
_Pentamerone_, "The Raven."
_Page 138._ Old one who helps. Vernaleken, _In the Land of Marvels_,
"The Three Tasks," p. 226, and "Piping Hans," p. 221. _S. ja T._ "Maan,
meren kulkija laiwa" (a ship which can sail on land and sea), vol. ii.
p. 22, and "Ihmeellinen Sauwa" (the wonderful stick), _ib._ vol. i. p.
158. In Vicram Maharajah, _Old Deccan Days_, p. 101, the parents of Anar
Ranee caused her garden to be hedged round with seven hedges made of
bayonets, so that none could go in or out, and published a decree that
none should marry her but he who could enter the garden and gather the
three pomegranates in which she and her maids slept.
_Page 139._ The horse incident. Cf. Trojan horse, also _Gubernatis_,
vol. i. p. 336. Geldart, _Folk-Lore of Modern Greece_, "The Golden
Steed," p. 98.
_Page 140._ The marks of moon and stars. In _Payne_, vol. ii. p. 163, we
read, that an old woman was taken "for a man of the flower of God's
servants, and the most excellent of devotees, more by token of the
_shining of her forehead_ for the ointment with which she had anointed
it." _S. ja T._ vol. i. p. 105, "Tynnyrissä kaswanut Poika" (a boy who
grew in a barrel) p. 337, _ante_. Stokes _Indian Fairy Tales_, "a boy
who had a moon on his forehead, and a star on his chin," p. 119. Denton,
_Serbian Folk Lore_, "The Shepherd and the King's daughter," p. 173.
THE INVISIBLE SHEPHERD LAD. Erdélyi, ii. 6.
There is a similar tale in Erdélyi, iii. 5. See also _Grimm_, vol. ii.
"The shoes that were danced to pieces," and notes, p. 430. _Roumanian
Fairy Tales_, London, 1881, "The Slippers of the Twelve Princesses." A
sleeping draught is given to the prince in the story of the Enchanted
Youth. _Payne_, vol. i. p. 59.
_Page 142._ A copper forest occurs in the Lapp story, "Jætten og
Veslegutten." _Friis_, No. 18. Also in _Dasent_, "Katie Woodencloak,"
p. 414.
THE THREE PRINCESSES. Erdélyi, ii. 7.
_Page 144._ A girl finds her way back in a similar way in the Lapp
stories. "Stallo og Lappe brødrene Sodno." _Friis_, p. 85, and
"Stallo-vagge," _ib._ p. 106. Cf. also _Roumanian Fairy Tales_,
"Handsome is as Handsome does," p. 81. _Pentamerone_, "Nennillo and
Nennella." _Serbian Folk-Lore_. Denton, "The wicked stepmother."
_Grimm_, vol. i. "Hänsel and Grethel," and note p. 355.
In the Swedish legend, "Tibble Castle, and Klinta Well." (Hofberg.
_Svenska Sägner_, p. 146,) the princess coming to meet her lover is
carried off by the Mountain King, and leaves her crown hanging on a fir
tree, to show her lover what has happened.
_Page 146._ The acorn's rapid growth reminds one of Jack and the Bean
Stalk.
For Magyar idea of giants and giantesses, see the Introduction,[67] The
one-eyed monster occurs in the Lapp, "Ruobba, Jætten og Fanden,"
_Friis_, p. 67, and in the Finnish "Leppäpölkky." (_S. ja T._ ii. p. 2)
nine daughters fall into Syöjätär's power, and are only allowed one eye
amongst them. See also _Round the Yule Log_.
The Lapps tell of monsters which they call Bædnag-njudne[68] who had
dog's noses, and one eye in the middle of their forehead.
Page 147. Cannibalism. Cf. the Lapp Stories, "Bædnag-njudne," "Stallo og
Fiskerlappen," "En Datter af Stalloslægten flygter fra sine Forældre og
gifter sig med en Lapp," "To Lappepiger gifte sig med Stallo," &c. in
_Friis_. Rink, _Eskimo Tales_, "The Brothers visit their Sister," p.
128. _Old Deccan Days_, "Brave Seventee Bai," p. 28. Payne, _Arabian
Nights_, The History of Gherib and his brother Agib, vol. vi. p. 112.
_Page 148._ A monster is fooled in a similar way, in "The two Children
and the Witch," p. 60. _Portuguese Folk-Tales_, F.L.S. 1882. See also
_Grimm_, vol. i. Hansel and Grethel, p. 67. _Dasent_, "Buttercup," p.
146, and "Boots and the Troll," p. 253. Also other parallels noted in
Ralston _Russian Tales_, p. 168.
The hair combing is a favorite incident in numerous Lapp stories.
The latter part of the story seems to be a compressed edition of the
Cinderella incident.
CINDER JACK. Erdélyi, ii. 11.
The Magyar title of this tale is: "Hamupipöke," and as there are no
genders in the Magyar language, the name may stand either for a male or
a female.
Sports similar to those mentioned in the tale (but of course on a very
much reduced scale, so as to suit ordinary mortals) formed part of the
wedding festivities in Hungary in days gone by. Cf. Baron Radvánszky's
work on _Magyar Family Life in the 15th and 16th Centuries_. 3 vols. (In
Magyar).
For the whole story, Cf. the Finnish "Maan, meren kulkija laiwa" (_S.
ja T._ ii. p. 22), a story from Ilomantsi, which tells of a king with an
only daughter, whom he does not wish to marry, as he cannot bear the
thought of parting from her, and so set as a task for any one who wished
to marry her, the building of a ship that could sail over land and sea.
Three brothers, who were merchants, lived in the land: the youngest was
called Tuhkamo (Ashiepattle): these determined to try their luck; but
the elder failed, because they rejected the offer of help from an old
man; Ashiepattle secured the old man's good will, and so won the day.
The latter part of the tale is something like that of Shepherd Paul in
this collection.
A Karelian story, entitled "Tuhkamo" turns upon three brothers, whose
father before he died bade them come and pray for him by his grave: only
the youngest did so. He was rewarded, and by means of a wonderful horse,
achieved marvellous feats of jumping, and so won the princess. Another
story from North Finland: "Tuhkamo," relates how a dead father came to
his three sons in their dreams, and ordered them to watch on the
sea-shore; the youngest alone did so, and caught a swan maiden, whose
father set him three tasks; viz. to fell all the trees near a bay; to
set them up again; and to bring a golden chain from heaven. He managed
all that by the help of his bride, but got into trouble over the last,
as when he rode up to it, on his wondrous steed, and seized it, it was
so heavy that he fell down to the earth, and was completely buried in
the ground, except a little hair, which remained above ground; a duck
made her nest on his head, and laid her eggs in it, and by means of a
fox and other animals which came to eat the eggs Tuhkamo got out of his
difficulty; he next fooled two men who were quarrelling over three
precious gifts; he then went on to three houses asking for his bride;
all the animals, &c. were summoned, and at last an eagle took him to his
lost bride, who recognised him by a piece of the golden chain he put in
the water the princess's servants drew.
In another Finnish tale, "The Golden Bird," the third son is the only
one who can watch all night, and so finds out what it is that steals
fruit from his father's favourite tree.
The Lapp story, "Ruobba,[69] Jætten og Fanden," _Friis_, p. 67, tells of
_tools_ of all sorts, axes and planes, &c. coming and asking the sons
to give them some food; the eldest refuse, but the youngest gives them
food, and so succeeds in finding out the robber.
Another tale, "Solkongens Datter," _Friis_, p. 152, relates how a man
has a barn full of corn from which some one steals every night. The
man's two elder sons try to watch and fail; but Gudnavirũs (_i.e._
Ashiepattle) succeeds in finding the robbers--three swan-maidens--and
securing one of them.