The Hungarian tale is called "The Princess that Saw Everything", while the Grimm version is known as "The Sea Hare" (the whut now?)
The basic idea is the same: There is a princess with such keen eyes that she can see everything in the world. The quest is to hide from her - whoever manages to do so (one time out of three) can marry her. All right, so this is not exactly all that different from damsel-in-distress tales, BUT, at least the princess is taking active part in the decision - by eliminating all possible suitors. Where would you hide from someone who can see through the SUN?!
Of course, in the end, there will be someone to figure out how to hide in plain sight: the closer you are to the damsel, the less likely she is to notice you. Talk about taking advantage of being friendzoned!
This tale also has a Hungarian cartoon version from the same series as the dwarf princess story. You can find it on YouTube here.
If you want to read the Hungarian version, see the book above.
This tale is also included in my upcoming book "Legendary Powers" that includes folktales that feature superpowers - like superhuman sight. *shameless self-promotion*
Stay tuned for details!
Hi Maya .. I love fairy tales especially Grimm Fairy stories ...
ReplyDeleteSounds such a lovely way to entice young readers in - to give their imagination a whirl ..
Your book looks as though it'll be fascinating .. cheers Hilary
I just watched the video. I assume it's in Hungarian and I watched it in silence because the sound on my computer is not working. I was able to pretty well follow the story, but what happened to his little sister?
ReplyDeleteActually the story never tells. We kind of assume she lived happily ever after too :D When I tell the story I mention that she became a princess when her brother became a king.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind having super-vision...that would come in handy for spying on my crazy neighbours
ReplyDeleteNever heard of this one. I'm learning a lot blog hopping. Love your A to Z theme.
ReplyDeleteHistory Sleuth's Writings A to Z
I don't know why, but this reminds me of the movie "Pitch Black." It's very difficult to hide from the creatures, which can see in total darkness. But if you are attacked by only one (they travel as a group), you can hide from it by standing right in front of its face, between it's eyes. It moves quickly, so you have to move with it to stay hidden. LOL... just like me to think of a horror movie when reading about fairy tale princesses! :)
ReplyDeleteFrom A to Z, Kristen's blog: kristenhead.blogspot.com
When I tell "Das Meerhäschen," I use Jack Zipes' translation of the title: instead of "The Sea Hare," he uses "The Little Hamster from the Water."
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