Diamonds and Toads

The fairies ( original French title: Les fées ) is a fairy tale by Charles Perrault. It appeared from 1697 in his collection Contes de ma Mère l' Oye.

Content

A widow loves her evil older daughter who resembles her, and hates the younger, the father is like in their friendliness and they can always work. This encounter at the well a fairy in the form of a poor farmer, asking for water and gives it to the courteous help that her future fall while talking flowers and gems from the mouth. As the mother sends the Elderly, which begins with the most beautiful silver carafe, but for appearing as a princess fairy so unfriendly that her then fall snakes and toads from the mouth. The younger one is forced to flee and take in the forest a prince who marries. The older one but dies lonely. The narrator draws Moral: decency worthwhile and kindness is more than money.

Notes

Perrault parallelized several times the behavior of the opposing sisters. The fairy checks as a farmer, how far the friendliness of the one, and as a princess, how far along the rudeness of others. Why the title suggests several fairies, remains unclear. The mother calls the homecoming Perlenspuckerin for the first time her daughter, then proceed as they had " her daughter " (ie the elderly ) hinschicken ( "There, Fanchon, just see ...").

For more fairy tale See, e.g., at Straparola # 4 Bianca Bella, in Basile at Penta Meron, III, 10, the three fairies and V, 2 months and from Grimm's Fairy Tales: The Three Little Men in the forest (KHM 13, ATU 403), Frau Holle (KHM 24) and the St. Joseph in the forest (KHM 201).

Text output

• Charles Perrault. All fairy tales. Reclam, Ditzingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-15-008355-0, pp. 90-94, 138 ( translation by Doris Maier thistle -Haas by Charles Perrault. Contes de ma mère l' Oye lyrics établi, annote Precede et d ' un avant - propos par André Cœuroy. Éditions de Cluny, Paris 1948).