| King Thrushbeard | |
|---|---|
_(14780398774).jpg) 1916 illustration byArthur Rackham | |
| Folk tale | |
| Name | King Thrushbeard |
| Aarne–Thompson grouping | ATU 900 |
| Country | Germany |
| Published in | Grimm's Fairy Tales |
"King Thrushbeard" (German:König Drosselbart) or the haughty princess (German:die hochmütige Prinzessin) is a Germanfairy tale collected by theBrothers Grimm (KHM 52).[1] It is ofAarne–Thompson type 900.[1]
The tale was published by theBrothers Grimm in the first edition ofKinder- und Hausmärchen in 1812, and slightly modified in the second edition issued in 1819. Their sources were theHassenpflug family fromHanau, supplemented by Ludowine Haxthausen and byWilhelm Grimm's friend and future wife,Dorothea Wild.[1]
An oldking has a beautiful daughter who has many suitors. However, theprincess is so spoiled and haughty that she ridicules all the men who come asking for her hand inmarriage.
One night, the king sponsors afeast to which he has invited a number of rich and powerful men for his daughter to choose a husband from. Again, the princess openly mocks her suitors, the last of whom is a young king with such a pointedchin that—to her—looks like athrush's beak, so she cruelly dubs him "King Thrushbeard". Exasperated and angry at how his daughter has scorned all her rich suitors, the king vows that she shall marry the firstbeggar who comes to the palace.
A few days after the feast, a youngminstrel arrives at the palace and plays music for the king. Pleased with the minstrel's performance, the king has apriest officiate the young man and the princess'swedding that same day. The princess opposes vehemently, but her father has given his word. After the wedding, the king banishes his daughter because she has become a beggar's wife and the minstrel takes her away.
As they travel to the minstrel's home, the newlyweds pass by the fine lands and properties that belong to King Thrushbeard, and the princess begins to regret scorning him. The princess and her husband soon arrive at his home, a small house fit only for two. The minstrel treats his wife as though she were a commoner and she is upset that she must work for a living. The princess is tasked with practical chores such as cleaning the house,weavingbaskets, andspinningcotton, at which she is completely inept. She is then sent to sellpots in the marketplace and all seems to go well, until a drunkensoldier on horseback smashes all the pots to pieces.
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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 akitchen maid, taking home theleftovers 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.
The full text ofKing Thrushbeard at Wikisource
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