Tuesday Tale: The Frog Prince

The last Tuesday Tale for this month, and for the next several months, is The Frog Prince. In this tale, a spoiled princess befriends a frog. Many versions of the tale relate that this friendship only began after the princess dropped a golden ball into his pond and the frog agreed to retrieve the ball in exchange for her friendship. The tale goes on to the frog transforming into a handsome prince after a) spending a night on the princess's pillow; b) receiving a kiss from the princess; or c) when the princess slams him against a wall in disgust. Take your pick. It is one of the three in the many different incarnations of this story.

Tuesday Tales: The Clever Little Tailor

Tuesday Tales time again. In The Clever Little Tailor, the Brothers Grimm introduce a persnickety princess and her suitors.

The princess posed a riddle to her suitors and found that none of them could answer it. She sent them away. Three tailors came to replace the suitors. Two were smart and skilled and the third was known to be useless. The first two tailors scoffed at the little tailor and told him not to bother wooing the princess. The little tailor went anyway. The princess asked them what two colors were her hairs. The 1^st said black and white. The 2^nd said brown and red. The 3^rd said gold and silver. The 3^rd tailor was correct.

Tuesday Tales: The Blue Light

All of the Tuesday Tales this month are from the Brothers Grimm. That was not intentional. I just looked at the list and saw it.

Today's Tale is The Blue Light. A soldier, recently discharged from the King's service, finds the home of a witch on his journey away from the castle. In return for a night of lodging, the soldier agrees to spade the witch's garden the next day. It takes him so long that he must stay another night. In return, he chops wood. This also takes so long that he is forced to spend a third night. In exchange, he agrees to climb into the well and get the witch's blue light. He figures out that he will be trapped once he hands it over to her so he keeps the light. The witch leaves him in the well anyways.

Tuesday Tales: Brother and Sister

Ah, a return to the Brothers Grimm for today's Tuesday Tale. Brother and Sister is a well-known European tale, often confused with Hansel and Gretel because they both went by "Little Brother and Little Sister" at one point. This story is different from Hansel and Gretel though, so don't confuse the two.