No. 66.--Fairy Bride

No. 66.--Fairy Bride

A king has three sons, and knows not to which of them to leave his kingdom. They shoot for it with bow and arrows. The youngest shoots so far that his arrow is lost. He seeks it for a long time, and at last finds it sticking in a glass door. He enters and finds himself in the home of the Queen of the Fairies, whom he marries. After a while he returns home with his bride. An old witch who lives in the park incites the king to ask the fairy bride to fetch him a handkerchief which will cover the whole park. She does it, and then is asked to bring her brother. She refuses, but finally summons him. He enters, and terrifies the king by his threatening aspect. 'What did you call me for?' The king is too frightened to answer coherently. The fairy's brother kills him and the old witch, and vanishes. They live at the castle.

Arrows occur in the Bukowina-Gypsy story of 'Mare's Son' (No. 20, p. 79). The handkerchief that will cover all the park reminds one of the tent with room for the king and all his soldiers in an Arab version of our No. 17, 'It all comes to Light' (Cosquin, i. 196). Otherwise I can offer no parallel for this story.