King Thrushbeard
1916 illustration by Arthur Rackham
Folk tale
NameKing Thrushbeard
Aarne–Thompson groupingATU 900
CountryGermany
Published inGrimm's Fairy Tales

King Thrushbeard (German: König Drosselbart) or the haught princess (German: die hochmütige Prinzessinis) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm (KHM 52).[1] It is of Aarne–Thompson type 900.[1]

Origin

The tale was published by the Brothers Grimm in the first edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen in 1812, and slightly modified in the second edition issued in 1819. Their sources were the Hassenpflug family from Hanau, supplemented by Ludowine Haxthausen and by Wilhelm Grimm's friend and future wife, Dortchen Wild.[1]

Synopsis

A beautiful, but spoiled and haughty princess rudely criticizes all her suitors. She mocks the last one, a young king with such a pointed chin that to her it looks like a thrush's beak, and she cruelly dubs him King Thrushbeard. Her father, exasperated and angry at how she has scorned all her suitors, vows that she shall marry the first man who comes to the palace the next day, regardless of whether he is rich or poor.

A young minstrel arrives at the palace the next day and plays music for the king. Pleased with the minstrel's performance, the king offers him his daughter's hand in marriage. The princess opposes vehemently, but the king has given his word. The minstrel marries the princess and he takes her away from the palace to his home.

The disguised King Thrushbeard smashing the pottery. Illustration by Walter Crane, 1882

As they travel to the minstrel's home, they pass by the fine lands and properties that belong to King Thrushbeard, and the princess begins to regret scorning him. They arrive at his home, a small house fit only for two. He treats her as though she were a commoner and she is upset now that she must work for a living. He has her doing practical chores such as cleaning the house, weaving baskets, and spinning cotton, at which she is completely inept. She is then sent to sell pots in the marketplace and all seems to go well, until a drunken soldier on horseback smashes all the pots to pieces. Thoroughly annoyed at his wife's constant failures, the minstrel tells her the only job left for her is to work as a servant at the nearby castle of King Thrushbeard himself.

The princess gets hired as a kitchen maid, taking home the leftovers in jars she hides in her apron pockets and sharing the food with her husband.

One day, the princess hears that King Thrushbeard is getting married. As she watches the guests having a good time in the ballroom, the princess regrets her haughtiness. Out of the blue, King Thrushbeard forces the princess to dance with him, sending her jars of leftovers spilling all over the floor and making the guests laugh at her. The princess is so upset that she runs off.

However, to the princess's surprise, King Thrushbeard follows her and reveals that he and her husband, the minstrel, are the same person. He had fallen in love with her despite her haughtiness and secretly married her through her father's vow. Her ordeals (including his disguise as a drunken soldier) were meant to both humble her and punish her for her cruelty towards him. The princess swears that she has indeed been humbled. The princess and King Thrushbeard have another wedding with her father in attendance and they all live happily ever after.

Cultural legacy

  • The story was filmed as König Drosselbart (1954), directed by Herbert B. Fredersdorf.
  • The story was adapted in 1969 as the Soviet cartoon The Capricious Princess (Капризная принцесса).
  • The tale is retold in an episode of Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics under the title King Grizzlebeard. In this version, the princess' name is Elena. In addition, her father decrees that Elena will be married to the man with the lowest standing who comes to the castle the next day.
  • It appeared as a storybook and cassette as part of the Once Upon a Time fairy tale series under the title King Rough-Beard.
  • A version is told in the book Servant of the Dragon by David Drake.
  • A version of the story also appears in the cartoon series Simsala Grimm. In this version, the princess' name is Constance, while King Thrushbeard's name is Conrad. In addition, Constance's father decrees that she will be married to the next minstrel who comes to the castle.
  • In the comic book series Fables by Bill Willingham, Thrushbeard is a fable that resides at Fabletown and first appears in Fables Vol 4.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ashliman, D. L. (2008). "King Thrushbeard". University of Pittsburgh.
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