The Golden Bracelet is an American fairy tale from Kentucky, collected by Marie Campbell in Tales from the Cloud Walking Country, listing her informant as Aunt Lizbeth Fields. [1]
It is Aarne-Thompson type 533. [2] Another tale of this type is The Goose Girl , [3] although The Golden Bracelet differs in several respects, appearing to be derived from a Gaelic variant. [4]
Back in the time of queens and kings, there was a queen who was about to die. Knowing that her husband would be lonely, she did not forbid him from remarrying. To protect her daughter, she made a bracelet of golden thread and her own golden hair. She told her daughter that the bracelet would protect her from any harm. After some time, the king remarried. The queen's daughter's new stepmother took all the best things for her own ugly daughter behind the king's back and would not let the queen's daughter go to social events. The stepsister was mean and spiteful, a sharp contrast from the queen's daughter, who was gentle and kind-natured. The queen's daughter paid no mind to this situation and took solace in her golden bracelet, her sewing projects, and her little dog who she treated as her best friend.
One day, while she was sitting outside sewing, a stranger rode by and asked what she was making. As a joke, she said she was making a fine pocket handkerchief for the King of Spain. The stranger revealed that he was, in fact, the King of Spain, and she could give it to him. She told him she had to finish it, and it would take a week. After a week, the King of Spain asked if the queen's daughter would marry him; she told him she had to think about it, but at the same time, the stepsister was also doing her research on what she could gain from marrying the King of Spain. She could gain a lot of wealth, so the stepsister set her mind on marrying the King of Spain instead.
When the King of Spain sent for the queen's daughter, the stepsister insisted on going with her, claiming that it would be improper for her to go alone. The stepsister had discovered that the golden bracelet protected the queen's daughter, so on the journey she cooked up a plot and stole the bracelet. When the stepsister put on the bracelet, she became beautiful, and the queen's daughter became ugly, but their dispositions remained the same. When they reached Spain, the stepsister looked so much like the queen's daughter that the King of Spain thought she was his betrothed instead. He was thrown off by her new disposition, but felt bound by his word and married her. Everyone in the castle hated the new bride and loved the queen's daughter, even though they thought she was just a servant. But the queen's daughter's little dog had followed her to Spain, and since she confided everything in it, she told it this story. The old king's serving woman overheard this story and told the old king, who told the new King, and he got rid of the stepsister and married the queen's daughter, who, once she got back her golden bracelet, was beautiful again.
"Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world. The protagonist is a young woman living in forsaken circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune, with her ascension to the throne via marriage. The story of Rhodopis, recounted by the Greek geographer Strabo sometime between 7 BC and AD 23, about a Greek slave girl who marries the king of Egypt, is usually considered to be the earliest known variant of the Cinderella story.
"The Goose Girl" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and first published in Grimm's Fairy Tales in 1815. It is of Aarne-Thompson type 533.
"Jorinde and Joringel" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. It is Aarne–Thompson 405. The tale is found virtually exclusively in Germany, barring a Swedish variant, although Marie Campbell found a variant in Kentucky, "The Flower of Dew". The story is known in many English translations as "Jorinda and Jorindel".
"Allerleirauh" is a fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm. Since the second edition published in 1819, it has been recorded as Tale no. 65. Andrew Lang included it in The Green Fairy Book.
The Iron Stove is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, as tale number 127. It is Aarne–Thompson type 425A, the animal bridegroom. Dorothea Viehmann prepared the story for the Grimms' collection.
"Katie Woodencloak" or "Kari Woodengown" is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.
Rushen Coatie or Rashin-Coatie is a Scottish fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in his More English Fairy Tales.
Bushy Bride is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe. It is Aarne-Thompson type 403. It is included in Andrew Lang's Red Fairy Book.
The Lord of Lorn and the False Steward or The Lord of Lorn and the Flas Steward or The Lord of Lorn is Child ballad number 271.
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.
Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy, nicknamed La Savoyana, was Queen of Spain by marriage to Philip V. She acted as regent during her husband's absence from 1702 until 1703 and had great influence as a political adviser during the War of the Spanish Succession. Because of her effectiveness, she was well-loved in her adoptive country.
The Sharp Grey Sheep or The Sharp-Horned Grey Sheep is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as John Dewar, labourer, from Glendaruail, Cowal.
The Sea-Maiden is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as John Mackenzie, fisherman, near Inverary. Joseph Jacobs included it in Celtic Fairy Tales.
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.
The Three Daughters of King O'Hara is an Irish fairy tale collected by Jeremiah Curtin in Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland. Reidar Th. Christiansen identified its origin as Co. Kerry.
The Snake Prince is an Indian fairy tale, a Punjabi story collected by Major Campbell in Feroshepore. Andrew Lang included it in The Olive Fairy Book (1907).
Little Catskin is an American fairy tale from Kentucky, collected by Marie Campbell in Tales from the Cloud Walking Country, listing her informant as Big Nelt.
"The Princess That Wore a Rabbit-skin Dress" is an American fairy tale from Kentucky, collected by Marie Campbell in Tales from the Cloud Walking Country, listing her informant as Uncle Tom Dixon.
The Princess in the Suit of Leather is an Egyptian folktale. It may also be referred to as The Princess in the Leather Burqa. This story was originally published in translation in Inea Bushnaq's 1986 collection Arab Folktales. Author Angela Carter included it in The Old Wives’ Fairy Tale Book.
The White Wolf is a French-language fairy tale collected from Wallonia by authors Auguste Gittée and Jules Lemoine. It is related to the international cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom or The Search for the Lost Husband, wherein a human princess marries a prince under an animal curse, loses him and has to search for him.