Today's princess is brought to you from Russia.
1. Princess turned into a frog as a curse. Right? Right.
2. Prince looking for a wife, in a very particular way: he and his brothers shoot out arrows, and whoever brings them back will be their bride. Kind of wasteful and dangerous, but this is fairy tale land, so two arrows are brought back by rich girls, and the youngest prince's is retrieved by the frog. Oops.
Princess Frog can shed her skin. She only does that when no one is looking, and does work to prove that she is a worthy wife (yes, he married the frog before he knew it was a princess!). But once her husband finds out and burns the skin, she flees home, and prince charming has to go out and brave the road and Baba Yaga (and her sisters) to find her again.
The picture above depicts the part of the tale where the frog princess dances in front of the king's court. By shaking her sleeves she conjures up birds and ponds and trees and all kinds of wonderful images that disappear once she is done. She is obviously no ordinary cursed princess; she is a cursed princess with magical powers. Daytime frog, nighttime sorceress.
This folktale exists in many versions around the world (sometimes with a cat, a mouse, a hedgehog, and other fascinating creatures involved). It belongs to the folktale type AT 402 - Supernatural bride.
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Love your theme. Never heard of most of these princesses. I just love fairy tales.
ReplyDeleteCynthia (The Sock Zone)
blueflute.wordpress.com
We had recently just discussed fairy tales in my critique group. One of members had gotten Aesop's book and read through every one. LOL -- she said there was a reason we keep going to back to the same handful. Many have lost their meaning with time because the cultures have changed. The ones that are still with us are the ones that still connect today.
ReplyDeleteA Fairytale I had not hear about much! Nice story though. :)
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed your theme.. Folklore and fairytales are fabulous
ReplyDeleteWishing you well from a fellow A to Z'er
http://talesfromtedium.wordpress.com/
I have enjoyed your theme.. Folklore and fairytales are fabulous
ReplyDeleteWishing you well from a fellow A to Z'er
http://talesfromtedium.wordpress.com/
I love traditional folk tales and have enjoyed reading back through your stories.
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing and hope you enjoy the A to Z challenge.
I am thoroughly enjoying learning about all these princesses. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou now sometimes I think fairy tales are down right scarey. Makes me wonder why we read them to children.
ReplyDeleteA-Z
Very interesting. I get tired of all the fairy tales with women needing to be saved. I work in a public library and have to cover the children's area when the actual children's librarian goes to lunch. I'll have to look harder! Donna at Donna's New Day
ReplyDeleteOhmigoodness. We are kindreds, kindreds, kindreds!! I am such a lover of fairy tales, stories, fables, all of it and your concept of coupling them with heroines.... wow. I have a book that focuses on fairytales with heroines rather than women needing rescue... it is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI also love that we have similar themes with our A to Z - I am going to put you on my daily must read list!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
Happy A to Z-ing!
Julie Jordan Scott
Our Literary Grannies from A to Z:F is for Fredrika Bremer
tweet me - @juliejordanscot
You've got a great theme going here. I'm definitely going to enjoy reading you blog! :)
ReplyDeleteFrom A to Z, Kristen's blog: kristenhead.blogspot.com