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The Greek Princess and the Young Gardener

"A king with one daughter grew old and sick, but the doctors found that the best medicine for him was apples from a tree in his own orchard, outside his window. One night, he saw a bird stealing them. He blamed the gardener for neglecting the orchard, and the gardener promised that his sons, the best archers in the land, would stop the thief. The first night, the oldest son came but fell asleep; the king saw him and the thieving bird again, and though he shouted, the boy did not wake quickly enough. The same thing happened with the second. But the third night, the youngest son stayed awake and shot off a feather, frightening off the bird.

The king admired the feather greatly and said he would marry his daughter to whoever brought him the bird. The gardener's oldest son set out to do it. When a fox came to beg some of his lunch, the son shot an arrow at him. Out of respect for his younger brother, the fox warned him against a merry inn with dancing, and to stay in a quiet inn. The oldest son found the inns, chose the merrier one, and never came out again. Soon after, the second son set out, and ended up the same.

Finally, the youngest set out. He shared his lunch with the fox and stayed in the quiet inn. The next day, the fox told him the bird was at the castle of the King of Spain and carried him there. Then it said that he could go in and carry out the bird and its cage. He went in, but he saw three golden apples with the bird, and a golden cage. He went to put the bird in the golden cage, and it woke. The king gave him the chance for his life: to steal the King of Morocco's bay filly.

The son came out, the fox carried him to that castle, and warned him to not let the horse touch anything except the ground. He went in, and saw a golden saddle; when he put it on the filly, it squealed and woke the castle. The king told him he could have his life and the filly if he brought him Princess Golden Locks, the daughter of the King of Greeks.

The fox carried him to that castle and warned him how to answer when asked a favor. He found the princess and woke her, asking her to let him take her with her, and promising to free her from the King of Morocco. She asked to be able to say goodbye to her father; he refused; she asked to kiss him instead, and the boy agreed, but that woke the king. He said that if the boy removed a great heap of clay, enchanted so that for every shovel thrown away, two came back, he would believe that he could keep her from the king. The boy tried, but the heap grew larger. The fox told him to eat and rest. He confessed to the king and princess his failure, and the princess hoped he did not fail. The king let him take her, though he lamented being alone, as the princess's brother was kept captive by a witch.

The fox carried them to the king of Morocco, and the boy asked to shake hands with the princess before he left. When the king agreed, he carried her off with the bay filly. Then he brought the bay filly to the king of Spain, leaving the princess with the fox, but when the king gave him the bird and the golden apples, first he petted the horse as a fine beast, and when he was done, he had ridden off with both the horse and the bird.

They rescued his brothers, who were begging, and the fox asked the boy to cut off his head and tail. The boy could not do it, but his oldest brother did it for him, and the fox became the prince, the princess's brother. He married the king's daughter, and the gardener's son married his sister."

The Green Serpent

"Feast scene

This story begins with a celebration feast for two twin princesses, who would later be named Laidronette and Bellotte. The King and Queen invite many fairies but forgot to invite Magotine, the older sister of Carabosse. Magotine was the oldest and most wicked fairy that existed. Magotine found out about the party, and was so furious for not being invited, that she placed a spell on one of the infant princesses, to become the ugliest woman in the world, Laidronette. The other fairies intercede and persuade her to stop before she has cast a similar spell on Bellotte. Laidronette becomes immediately the ugliest female in the world.
[edit] Tower scene

Years pass by. Laidronette grows up intelligent but lonely. She asks to live in a tower so that she does not have to see anyone. However one day she roams outside, and the Green Serpent sees her and begins to take an interest in her. She is terrified of the Green Serpent at first sight and flees from him, and accidentally gets swept out to sea. The Green Serpent appears swimming alongside her boat, but she refuses his help. She nearly dies in the ocean.
[edit] Faraway kingdom scene

When Laidronette gains consciousness she finds she has been saved and taken to be the guest of an unknown king in a far away kingdom. The Green Serpent's identity as the spell-bound king is revealed to the readers. However, Laidronnette is not taken to see the king and does not learn this secret. All she knows is that an unseen king is taking very good care of her. Then the serpent starts talking to her at night, and is such a good companion over the years she falls in love with his conversation, sight unseen, and they get married.

The Green Serpent king convinces his wife to wait until the end of the seven year period, to see what he looks like, or else his wicked enchantment in the form of a dragon will start all over again. Laidronette compares her own marriage with that of Eros and Psyche in Greek Mythology, and tries to resist being "like Psyche" by waiting patiently for seven years. However, like Pysche, she is convinced by her family to take one look at her husband. When Laidronette discovers he is the same Green Serpent she once was so afraid of, war breaks out in the kingdom, and Magotine ruins the kingdom. The Green Serpent is sent into Hades while Laidronette is taken to become Magotine's prisoner and servant.
[edit] Tribulations and tests

The serpent sends a good fairy to assist Laidronette in very difficult trials that Magotine thinks up. In one of Laidronette's errands as a servant, she finds the "waters of discernment" and when she drinks it, she becomes wiser, when she splashes it on her face, her ugliness vanishes and she regains her natural beauty.
[edit] Enchanted forest

The good fairy then sends Laidronette into an enchanted forest to hide for several years. Finally however when a period of time or imprisonment for the Green Serpent has come to an end, Laidronette returns to Magotine and Magotine tells her to go into Hades and get her the "water of life." Laidronette goes.
[edit] Descent into Hades

The personification of "Love" comes to assist Laidronette in going down into Hades and speaking to Prosperina, reminding her that is where her husband is held captive. Once she goes into Hades, "Love" restores the dragon back to his original human form. After Laidronette and her husband are united in Hades, "Love" brings the couple back to Magotine, and forces Magotine to break her spells, and then sends the couple back to Laidronette's homeland. In the end, a moral is given: Love is said to be stronger than Magotine."

The Griffin

"A king's daughter was ill, and it was foretold she would be made well by eating an apple. The king declared that whoever brought the apple to cure her would marry her. A peasant with three sons sent the oldest, Uele, with a basket of apples. He met a little iron man who asked him what was in the basket and said "Frogs' legs." The man said that so it was, and when he reached the king, it did contain frogs' legs. The king drove him out. The peasant sent his second son, Seame, who answered "Hogs' bristles", made the same discovery and received the same reception.

The youngest son, Hans, who was rather a fool, begged to go too, until his father let him. When he met the iron man, he said the basket contained the apples which the princess would eat to make herself well. The iron man said that it was so. The basket held apples when he reached the castle, and the princess was cured.

The king, however, refused to let them marry until he had a boat that traveled over dry land and sea. Hans went home and told his father. His father sent Uele to the forest to make such a ship; the iron man came to him and asked what he was making; when Uele said "Wooden bowls" that was what he made. Seame suffered the same fate, but when Hans told the iron man he was making a ship that would travel over land and sea, he made such a boat.

The king set Hans to watch a hundred hares in a meadow all day. Hans did so, not losing any. The king sent a maid to beg one from him, for guests. Hans refused it, but said he would give one to the king's daughter. Then the iron man gave him a whistle that would summon any hare back. Hans gave the king's daughter a hare but then whistled it back.

The king sent Hans to fetch him a feather from the griffin's tail. On the way, a lord of a castle asked him to ask the griffin where was the lost key to his money chest; another lord, how their ill daughter could be cured; a giant, why he had to carry people over a lake. At the griffin's castle, he met the griffin's wife, who warned him that the griffin would eat him, but at night, he could pull out a feather, and then she would get the answers for him.

Hans did as she said, and when he pulled the feather, the griffin woke. The wife told him that a man had been there and gone away, but told her some stories first. She repeated them, and the griffin said that the key was in the wood house, under a log; that a toad had made a nest of the daughter's hair, but she would recover if they took the hair out; that the giant had only to put someone down in the middle of the lake and he would be free. Hans left and told the other lords what he had learned; they gave him rich treasures. When he reached the king, he claimed the griffin had given them. The king set out to get some, but he was the first man to reach the giant, who put him down in the lake, where he drowned. Hans married the princess and became king."

Guerrino and the Savage Man

"A king, Filippomaria, had an only son, Guerrino. One day, while hunting, the king captured a wild man. Imprisoning him, he gave the keys to the queen. He set out hunting again, and Guerrino wanted to see the wild man. The wild man stole an arrow he carried and promised to give it back if Guerrino freed him. Guerrino did so and warned him to flee; the wild man told him that he would and left. (The wild man in fact had been a handsome youth who had despaired of the love of a lady and so took to the wild.)

The queen woke and questioned everyone. Guerrino told her that no one would be punished but him, because he did it. The queen took two faithful servants, gave them money, and sent Guerrino away. The king returned and found the wild man gone. The queen told that Guerrino had done it, and then that she had sent Guerrino away, which enraged him even more, that she should think he would hold his son in less regard than the wild man. He searched for him but did not find him.

The servants agreed to kill Guerrino, but they could not agree on how to divide the loot; while they still had not settled, a fine young man greeted them and asked to come with him, and Guerrino agreed. This was the same wild man; he had met a fairy suffering from a distemper, who had burst out laughing at the sight of him and so been cured. She transformed him, endowed him magic powers, and gave him a magic horse.

They came to a town, Irlanda, ruled by King Zifroi with two beautiful daughters, Potentiana and Eleuteria. Guerrino took lodgings. The young man made to go on, but Guerrino persuaded him to stay. At the time, the lands were attacked by a wild horse and a wild mare that ruined crops and killed beasts, men, and women. The two servants told the king that Guerrino had boasted that he could kill these horses. The king summoned him and promised to reward him if he did it; when Guerrino hesitated, he threatened to execute him if he did not. The young man told him to get a blacksmith's services from the king, and then have the blacksmith make enormous horseshoes for the young man's horse. Then he had Guerrino ride the horse until he met the horse, at which point he should dismount, free the horse, and climb a tree. Guerrino did this, the horses fought, and the wild one was defeated. The king was pleased, but the servants furious because of their failure. They said that Guerrino had boasted likewise of the wild mare, and the king set him to defeat it as well; he did, as he had the horse.

The night after, he was woken by a noise and found a wasp in a honey pot, which he freed.

The king summoned him, said he had to reward him, and offered him one of his daughters, if Guerrino could tell beneath their veils which was Potentiana, who had golden hair, and which Eleuteria, who had silver hair. If he guessed wrong, he would be executed. Guerrino went back to his lodgings, where the young man told him that the wasp would fly three times around Potentiana, and she would drive it off three times, that night. Then he should identify her. Guerrino said he did not know how he could reward him for his favors. The young man told him that he was the wild man, and so he was but returning what Guerrino had done for him, and his name was Rubinetto.

Guerrino went to the palace, where the princesses were entirely covered with white veils. The king told him to make his choice, time was passing, but Guerrino insisted on the full time. The wasp buzzed about Potentiana, and she drove it off. Guerrino said she was Potentiana, and they married. Rubinetto married Eleuteria. Guerrino's parents heard of him, and he returned to them with his wife and Rubinetto and his wife, where they lived in happiness."

The Hairy Man

"Two ricks of a king's rapeseed fields are found burned every night. Finally, a shepherd with dogs keeps watch, and catches the "hairy man" who is responsible. The king puts him in a cage. The hairy man pleads with the king's son so earnestly, that it really was an evil demon who blew on his camp fire, causing all the damage, that the young prince frees him. For this, the king orders that his son be taken to the forest, and killed, and that his lungs and liver be brought back as proof. The man who takes him can not do it, and kills an old, sick dog instead. The boy wanders the forest until he comes upon a cottage, where an old man, who was once the same hairy man, lives. There he stays for seven years, working hard, like a peasant, but never complaining, until he is old enough to travel on. Before he leaves, the hairy man gives the boy a golden apple, which magically contains a golden staff and a golden-maned horse; a silver apple, which contains a silver staff, and an army of hussar cavalry; and a copper apple, which contains a copper staff, and an army of foot soldiers. The boy uses the first apple, and embarks on his journey, finally pledging his service to a distant king.

One day, the king, who only has a small army, is threatened by another, very powerful king. The boy uses his second magic apple to make reinforcements for his king. The youngest princess gives him a ring, and he carries it and half of a handkerchief his sister gave him into battle. The prince's men destroy the enemy so thoroughly that only two live and are deliberately permitted to escape as messengers to the powerful king that sent them. The prince falls in love with the youngest princess, and she with him, and he gives her the copper apple. The princess has already discovered who he really is after having his room searched, which turned up the half handkerchief. When the king learns that he is a prince, as well as a brave and honorable hero, the king is more than happy to allow him to marry his youngest daughter."

Hans My Hedgehog

"A wealthy but childless merchant wishes he had a child, even a hedgehog, and comes home to find that his wife has given birth to a baby boy that is a hedgehog from the waist up.

After eight years, the merchant goes to a fair and asks everyone in the household what they want. Hans My Hedgehog asks for bagpipes, and when he receives them, asks his father to have the c**k shod so he can ride off to seek his fortune.

When he gets them, he goes off into the woods and watches over his donkeys and pigs. A king, lost in the woods, hears him playing the bagpipes, and Hans My Hedgehog promises to show him the way home in return for whatever first meets him when he returns. The king promises, but, realizing that Hans My Hedgehog cannot read, writes down instead that Hans My Hedgehog should receive nothing, which he is glad of when he returns and it is his daughter; she is glad of it, too. A second king is also lost, and he does write down the promise, and his daughter, on hearing of it, gives her promise that she will obey.

In time, Hans My Hedgehog goes to claim his promises. The first king attempts to withhold his daughter, but Hans forces him to yield her, and then takes her off, forces her to take off her clothing, pierces her all over until she bleeds, and sends her back to her father. The second king agrees to the marriage, the princess holds herself bound by her promise, and Hans My Hedgehog promises her that his prickles will not harm her. Then he tells the king on their wedding night, he should build a big fire, and when Hans takes off his hedgehog skin, he should have four servants burn it. They do this, and Hans My Hedgehog becomes a handsome young man."

The Hazel-nut Child

"A childless couple prayed for a child, though he were no bigger than a hazel nut, and then they had such a son. He never grew, but he was very clever. When he was fifteen, he said he wanted to be a messenger. His mother sent him to get a comb from his aunt. He climbed on a horse that a man was riding by, and poked and pinched it until it galloped to the village. There he got the comb, and took another horse the same way. This convinced his mother.

One day, his father left him in the fields with a horse while he went back home. A robber tried to steal the horse. The hazel-nut child jumped on the horse and pricked it until it ignored the robber and galloped home. The robber was jailed.

When he was twenty, the hazel-nut child left home, promising to return when he was rich. He climbed on a stork as the storks were flying south. In Africa, he amused the king until the king gave him a large diamond. The hazel-nut child took it with him when the storks flew north again, and so he and his parents were rich thereafter."