Plot summary
The plot of Prince Prigio begins with the introduction of a queen who does not believe in fairies. After many childless years, she and the king finally had a boy, Prigio. When the queen refused to invite the fairies to the christening, none of the nobles would attend, and so the king and queen were alone when the fairies arrived and presented the child with gifts. Among the gifts were a never-empty purse (Fortunatus' purse), seven-league boots, a cap of darkness which would make him invisible, a wishing cap, a magic carpet, and also beauty, courage, and luck, but the last fairy decreed, "My child, you shall be too clever!"
This would have pleased the queen, but she did not believe it. She had all the items swept into a lumber room.
The prince grew up to be too clever. He would argue with everyone and knew better than everyone. He had two younger brothers, neither of whom was clever, and both of whom were liked; they fell in love with their cousins. The king particularly disliked Prigio, fearing he would claim the throne, and wanted to be rid of him. One day, a firedrake appeared in the country; the king was sorry that it would kill his second son as well as his first before the youngest son killed it, but he would sacrifice him to be rid of Prigio. Prigio, like his mother, refused to believe in its existence and reminded him that it was the youngest son who triumphed, so they should send him at once.
Alphonse, his youngest brother, went and was eaten; Prigio, still not believing in firedrakes, thought he had gone off to travel. The king sent Enrico, the second, as well, and he also died. The king tried to send Prigio, who refused because he still disbelieved in the firedrake and also he was the last surviving heir. The king decided to take the rest of the court and abandon Prigio alone in the castle. When they did, Prigio found they also stole every piece of clothing except what he wore. He searched the castle and found the lumber room with the fairies' gifts. The seven-league boots bore him to an inn to eat, and he thought he dreamed it. No one paid any attention to him; he did not know that he was wearing an invisibility cap. He stole food, and when his cap was knocked off, paid from it from the purse -- which he found still full later. Whenever his cap came on or off, he appeared or vanished, but did not realize it.
Still invisible, he went to a ball where everyone spoke badly of him except for one lady, who praised his aiding a poor student, and Prigio fell madly in love with her. At once, he believed in fairies and magic and realized everything that had happened to them. He used the things to make himself suitable for the ball and went and met the lady, the daughter of the English Ambassador, Lady Rosalind. When she spoke of the firedrake, he said he would kill it. He went back and found a magical spyglass, which he knew from Arabian Nights and spied out the dragon. He realized that even with his magical gifts, he had no chance, and his brothers had had none. He went to library to find a book by Cyrano de Bergerac about his trip to the moon. In it, he read of the Remora, which was as cold as the firedrake was hot; he resolved to find one and make the creatures fight. He found it using the spyglass, and went to both creatures, taunting them in the other's name. The monsters met, fought, and killed each other.
He went back to the ambassador's house, and found that his father had issued a proclamation offering a reward for him, and another promising to make the Crown Prince, and marry to his niece, whoever brought the king the firedrake's horns and tail. He also found that his carpet had vanished, a servant having accidentally wished himself to the royal castle, with the firedrake's horns and tail.
Then the carpet reappeared, with the servant, the king, and the queen, who refused to believe it. The king refused to be reconciled with Prigio. He tells how the servant claimed the reward, and when they disbelieved him, show them the carpet.
During the night, the prince went back and cut off the firedrake's hooves. At court, the servant claimed that the proclamation had promised the reward to whoever brought the horns and tail, not the dragon-slayer. Prigio pointed out that if this was allowed, the king could not claim to say one thing and have meant another, which was a royal prerogative. The niece refused to choose between them. The king finally said that whoever brought its hooves would receive the reward. Prigio produced them at once.
The king insisted that he must marry his cousin, the promised niece, at once, or hang. Prigio prefers to hang, but suggested that if he recovered his brothers, the king could remit his sentence. The king agreed. Prigio went back to the castle where he had been abandoned, killed an old cat he found there, burned it, and restored it to life with the water from the Fountain of Lions -- being certain that the fairies would not have neglected it. Having thus tested it, he went to the firedrake's lair and restored his brothers; he then went to the remora's and restored the knights it had frozen.
The king was pleased to see his sons but would not restore Prigio to the Crown Princeship. Prigio pointed out he had the water and the firedrake's head, and the king agreed.
After a triple wedding, Rosalind suggested to Prigio that he could use the wishing cap and make himself no cleverer than anyone else. Prigio agreed but thought better of it: he wished himself to appear no more clever than anyone else.
"Kate Crackernuts" is a Scottish fairy tale collected by Andrew Lang in the Orkney Islands and published in Longman's Magazine in 1889. Joseph Jacobs edited and republished the tale in his English Fairy Tales (1890). The tale is about a princess who rescues her beautiful sister from an evil enchantment and a prince from a wasting sickness caused by dancing nightly with the fairies. The tale has been adapted to a children's novel and a stage play.
"The Nine Peahens and the Golden Apple" is a work of Serbian epic poetry. It is classified as Aarne-Thompson type 400*, "The Swan Maiden", and as Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index (ATU) type 400, "The Quest for the Lost Wife".
"The Bronze Ring" is the first story in The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. According to Lang's preface, this version of this fairy tale from the Middle East or Central Asia was translated and adapted from TraditionsPopulaires de l'Asie Mineure by Carnoy et Nicolaides.
The Flower Queen's Daughter is a Bukovinian fairy tale collected by Dr Heinrich von Wlislocki in Märchen Und Sagen Der Bukowinaer Und Siebenbûrger Armenier. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book.
"Rosanella" is a French literary fairy tale by the Comte de Caylus. Andrew Lang included it in The Green Fairy Book.
The Mermaid and the Boy is a Sámi fairy tale first collected in the mid-19th century. It tells the story of a prince unknowingly promised to a mermaid before he was born, then obtains magical powers to transform into animals later in the story.
The Little Good Mouse is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.
"The Water of Life" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 97.
Belle-Belle ou Le Chevalier Fortuné is a French literary fairy tale, written by Madame d'Aulnoy.
What came of picking Flowers is a Portuguese fairy tale first collected by Teophilo Braga with the name Cravo, Rosa e Jasmin. Andrew Lang included it in The Grey Fairy Book.
The Story of Bensurdatu is an Italian fairy tale collected by Laura Gonzenbach in Sicilianische Märchen. Andrew Lang included it in The Grey Fairy Book.
"Tsarevich Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf" is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Russian Fairy Tales.
Just Ella is a novel written by Margaret Peterson Haddix and published in 1999 by Simon & Schuster. The story is a retelling of Cinderella with a feminist twist and a different version of the happily-ever-after ending. The plot revolves around Ella, a beautiful girl struggling to find the true meaning of happiness. A companion novel, Palace of Mirrors, was released in 2008.
The Greek Princess and the Young Gardener is an Irish fairy tale collected by Patrick Kennedy in Fireside Stories of Ireland. Joseph Jacobs included it in More Celtic Fairy Tales.
Penta of the Chopped-off Hands or The Girl With the Maimed Hands is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone.
The Rose and The Ring is a satirical work of fantasy fiction written by William Makepeace Thackeray, originally published on Christmas in 1854, even though the first edition is dated 1855. It criticises, to some extent, the attitudes of the monarchy and those at the top of society and challenges their ideals of beauty and marriage.
"The Two Kings' Children" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales, tale number 113.
The Merchant is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone.
The Man of Stone is a Romanian fairy tale collected by Petre Ispirescu in Legende sau basmele românilor.
The Six Servants is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in Grimm's Fairy Tales. It is of Aarne-Thompson type 513A.
