Eventually, the three sons of a farmer decide to try their luck. The first two ignore the neighbor who asks them for a fig, and fail the challenge. The youngest, however, gives figs from his basket to the neighbor, who turns out to be a man with great magical knowledge. He receives a wand as a gift; every time the princess empties the basket of figs, he can use the want to magically refill it. Eventually she gives up, declaring: "Figs! Ugh! I never want to see another one!"
This, however, is not the end of the ordeal, because the king sets up extra challenges for the young man, trying to keep him from marrying his daughter. With the help of the magical neighbor, the young man succeeds at all of them, and wins the princess in the end.
There is no more mention of figs.
(Read the story, among many others, in this book)
In the summer, when figs are ripe, I tend to eat a whole lot of them straight from the tree.
Do you like figs? How many do you think would be too many to eat?
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hehe. love that the princess gets exhausted of figs and that the king keeps coming up with more tests. you think they'd learn, lol. i do enjoy figs but find they can be a bit too sweet for me so one is good for me.
ReplyDeleteJoy at The Joyous Living
I do not think I have eaten fig but interesting
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https://www.melodyjacob.com/2019/04/what-keeps-you-going-in-your-down-and.html
I do like fresh figs. My brother and his wife have a fig tree in their back yard, but the season is short. Dried figs are nice too, just not the same.
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https://suebursztynski.blogspot.com/2019/04/atoz-challenge-f-is-for-fast-and-forsyth.html
You can eat figs straight up? No kiddin'! Dang girl, I love fig newtons, but that's as far as I go! hahaha Have a great weekend! hugs
ReplyDeleteI like figs but I don't have access to a fig tree and rarely eat more than 3 or 4 at a time.
ReplyDeleteI can eat 3 figs in one sitting. I love their sweet taste and they are full of fiber. Loved the little folk tale. The Princess will never ask for figs.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me many of these folktales and fairy stories seem to have the message - don't ignore the stranger who asks for help, by helping others you might find solutions to your own problems.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why we keep forgetting this lesson.
Sorry, off topic.
I don't think I've ever eaten more than one or two figs at one sitting. Consuming a basketful? - definitely not my thing, thanks! :)
There are very similar stories from different parts of the world. I'm surprised how different cultures came up with almost the same story (3 brothers, princess, challenges, fairy godmen/women, king...) when most of the world were still strangers to each other.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I'm not a big fan of figs.
Hello ladies.
ReplyDeleteIn this country the Afrikaans people make what in English we would call fig preserves. Figs cut in half and then cooked in syrup, cooled and bottled. They are very sweet but also very tasty, and you can have them all year round. Delicious!
I like your story very much.
Blessings from South Africa, Geoff.
A lovely tale! A couple of figs is enough for me. I'm wondering what eating all those figs did for her figure!
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I loooooooooove figs! I caneat them, maybe not like this princess, but a lot! Raw,in jam, into pies, mmmmm so goog! Great tale by the way ;)
ReplyDeleteFigs, unless dries, are a rare.commodity where I live. I think I've only ever eaten two at a sitting. Loved your legend about the princess
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting story the princess and the figs. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIf you get a chance to stop by my Letter F please feel free to leave a link back to your letter F:
https://writingiscommunication.wordpress.com/2019/04/06/fresh-ground/
It's amazing how many different kinds of produce are featured in tales! I guess whatever grew in that region was included. Makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with a big fig tree. Don't remember eating them, my father mostly loved them. When my lilac dies (it's on its last legs with shelf fungus eating it from the inside out), I'm planting a fig.
Love this theme - and a great post. I'll catch up on the other posts this weekend. Janet Mary Cobb
ReplyDeleteSweet! My mom's a storyteller, will point her to this.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful story. Thanks for sharing. I don't think I've ever eaten a fig, I'll have to look for them at the store next time.
ReplyDeleteI love figs! I've only ever had fresh figs once, on a cruise. We don't get them in Minnesota. I have fig spread on English muffins for breakfast in the mornings.F is for: Fast Forward into the Future
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I've ever had fresh figs, but I like the dried kind. In China, there was a common small fruit that they called "figs" in English, but it was nothing like what the western world calls a fig. I still don't know what it was.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my Theme Reveal. I'm finally getting around to visiting AtoZ blogs.
Doesn't Speak Klingon
Fig trees can't survive Missouri winters but I have a cousin visiting from Texas this June who'll bring us some fig preserves. le yum!
ReplyDeleteStephanie Finnell
@randallbychance from
Katy Trail Creations
This is a fun tale :-) When they're ripe from the tree, I can keep on eating... I've never counted ;-)
ReplyDeleteRonel visiting from the A-Z Challenge with Music and Writing: Fleeting Fancy
Figs were an acquired taste for me. I like them a lot more as an adult than I did as a child. I'd love to try fig jam.
ReplyDeleteI don't get many figs in this part of the world so I'd probably only be able to eat as many figs as I can afford to buy :) Love figs with honey though
ReplyDeleteI love figs but I'm not a princess so I can only eat a few at a time.
ReplyDeleteI love those stories!
ReplyDeleteAgain, this one rings with so many other tales (completing challenges with a help of a magical someone who have been helped first), but the fruit part seems to give it a unique spin!