The Sea-Hare

Last updated
The Sea-Hare
Folk tale
NameThe Sea-Hare
Aarne–Thompson groupingATU 554
CountryGermany
Published in Grimms' Fairy Tales

"The Sea-Hare'" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, number 191. [1]

Contents

It is Aarne-Thompson type 554, The Grateful Animals, and similar to 851, Winning the Princess with a Riddle. [2]

Stith Thompson classified the tale as AT 329, "Hiding from the Devil (Princess)", tales where the hero must hide from the princess's mirror or windows that can peer into the whole world. [3]

Synopsis

A princess had a magical tower with twelve windows, and whenever she looked from a window, she saw more clearly from it than the one before. Being haughty, she had no wish to marry, and decreed that any suitor must hide from her to win her, but if she found him, he was to lose his head. After ninety-seven lost their lives, three brothers presented themselves, and the first two lost. The youngest son asked for three tries. He went hunting and spared a raven, a fish, and a fox. The raven tried to hide him in an egg, where he could be seen only from the eleventh window. The fish swallowed him, where he could be seen only from the twelfth. The fox turned him into a pretty "sea-hare" (an uncertain mammal) and sold him to the princess. When she went to the windows, he hid in her hair. She could not see him, and angrily threw the sea-hare out of her hair. He sneaked off, the fox restored him, he went to claim her, and they married.

Adaptations

Two Hungarian variants of the tale were adapted into episodes of the Hungarian television series Magyar népmesék ("Hungarian Folk Tales") (hu), with the titles Zöld Péter ("Green Peter") and Kiskondás ("The Little Swineherd").

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapunzel</span> German fairy tale

"Rapunzel" is a European fairy tale most notably recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. The Brothers Grimm's story was developed from the French literary fairy tale of Persinette by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force (1698), which itself is an alternative version of the Italian fairy tale Petrosinella by Giambattista Basile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Six Swans</span> German fairy tale

"The Six Swans" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales in 1812. It is of Aarne–Thompson type 451, commonly found throughout Europe. Other tales of this type include The Seven Ravens, The Twelve Wild Ducks, Udea and her Seven Brothers, The Wild Swans, and The Twelve Brothers. Andrew Lang included a variant of the tale in The Yellow Fairy Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The White Snake</span> German fairy tale

"The White Snake" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in Grimm's Fairy Tales. It is of Aarne–Thompson type 673, and includes an episode of type 554.

Farmer Weathersky is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Chr. Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr.

The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe.

The Red Ettin or The Red Etin is a fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs. It was included by Andrew Lang in The Blue Fairy Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Two Brothers</span> German fairy tale

The Two Brothers is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 60. It is Aarne-Thompson type 303, "The Blood Brothers", with an initial episode of type 567, "The Magic Bird Heart". A similar story, of Sicilian origin, was also collected by author and folklorist Andrew Lang in The Pink Fairy Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trusty John</span> German fairy tale

"Trusty John", "Faithful John", "Faithful Johannes", or "John the True" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in Grimm's Fairy Tales in 1819. Andrew Lang included it in The Blue Fairy Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs</span> German fairy tale

"The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. It falls under Aarne–Thompson classification types 461, and 930.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Golden Lion</span> Italian fairy tale

The Golden Lion is an Italian fairy tale collected by Laura Gonzenbach in Sicilianische Märchen. Andrew Lang included it in The Pink Fairy Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Clever Little Tailor</span> German fairy tale

"The Clever Little Tailor" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm as tale 114. It is Aarne-Thompson type 850, The Princess's Birthmarks. Andrew Lang included it in The Green Fairy Book.

"The Riddle" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales in 1819. It is of Aarne-Thompson type 851.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Water of Life (German fairy tale)</span> German fairy tale

"The Water of Life" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 97.

"The Four Skillful Brothers" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. It is Aarne-Thompson type 653.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Knights of the Fish</span> Spanish fairy tale

The Knights of the Fish is a Spanish fairy tale collected by Fernán Caballero in Cuentos. Oraciones y Adivinas. Andrew Lang included it in The Brown Fairy Book. A translation was published in Golden Rod Fairy Book. Another version of the tale appears in A Book of Enchantments and Curses by Ruth Manning-Sanders.

The Ridere of Riddles is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing as his informant John Mackenzie, a fisherman near Inverary. Joseph Jacobs included it, somewhat altered, in More Celtic Fairy Tales.

The Blue Belt is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr. It is Aarne-Thompson type 590.

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 Griffin" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peruonto</span> Italian literary fairy tale by Giambattista Basile

Peruonto is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone.

References

  1. Jacob and Wilheim Grimm, Household Tales, "The Sea-Hare"
  2. D.L. Ashliman, "The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales (Grimms' Fairy Tales)"
  3. Thompson, Stith (1977). The Folktale. University of California Press. p. 106. ISBN   0-520-03537-2