The Princess No-one could Silence
A Story of a Suitor
The Three Aunts
Years Collected: 1842-1843
Reading Level:9-12
http://everything2.com/title/Asbj%25F8rnsen+and+Moe
The Three Aunts
Genre: Fairy Tale
Summary:
A girl decides that she wants to earn her bread, so she goes to the castle to work as a servant. While there, she becomes the queen's favorite servant. All the other servants are jealous, so they tell the queen that the girl had bragged about being able to spin a pound of linen in twenty four hours. The queen told the girl that since she had bragged about this, she must do it to prove that it was true, but that she could have more than 24 hours if she needed them.
The girl had never seen the tools needed to spin linen, yet alone used them. She asked the queen for a private room and stared at her supplies and cried. An old woman asks her what is wrong and she answers that she can't do the task set before her. The woman offers to spin the linen for her if she promises to call her aunt at her wedding day. She agrees and goes to sleep. When she woke up, there was all the linen beautifully spun into yarn.
The servants were more jealous of her than ever and told the queen that the girl bragged that she could weave all the yarn into cloth in 24 hours. Once again the queen made the girl prove herself, and the girl didn't deny the supposed ability, even though she had never made cloth before. As the girl was crying, an old woman came in and offered to weave the yarn into cloth if she would call her aunt on her wedding day. The girl agreed and went to sleep. when she woke up, she found all the yarn gone, and the most beautiful cloth in its place.
The servants were even more jealous, and for a while they couldn't come up with any plans for revenge. Finally, they told the queen that the girl bragged about being able to sew the cloth into shirts in 24 hours. The queen had the girl prove herself again, and the girl didn't tell the queen that she had no experience sewing. Like the previous two times, an old woman came to the girl and told her that if she called her aunt at her wedding day, she would sew the cloth for her. The girl agreed, and when she woke up, she found the most beautiful shirts folded finished on the table.
The queen was so pleased, she offered the girl the chance to marry the prince. At their wedding feast, an old ugly woman, with a long nose, came in and the girl rose and said "Hello Aunt." and the prince invited her to sit down. A second old ugly woman with a big broad bottom came in, and the girl rose and called her Aunt. Once again, the prince invited her to sit down as well. Before she sat down, a third old ugly woman with eyes the size of dinner plates came in and was called Aunt by the girl. The prince invited her to sit down as well, thinking how could his beautiful bride have such ugly aunts. Finally, he asked them and they told him it was because of spinning, weaving, and sewing. The prince then swore that his bride would never have to do any of those things if they had a chance of making her ugly.
Recommendations and Conflicts:
Of the fairy tales I read of Asbjornsen, I found no possible conflicts. I would be willing to recommend these fairy tales to younger children than some of the other collectors of fairy tales.
Reaction:
I liked this fairy tale. Since the girl kept her promise to the old women, she didn't have to worry about having to spin yarn, weave cloth, or sew clothes. The old woman gave her a gift and protected her from the consequences of the quality. All she had to do was to be true to her word.
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