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Author
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Comment
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Digital
Ricky
Registered User
(2/12/02 1:17:32 pm)
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Trying to find the name and author of a tale.........
Hello everyone, I was please to find a board of this nature as I am having a hard time putting a name to this tale. Having read this tale a long time ago I hope I can give enough information for someone to recognize what it is.
From what I remember a child or children are being chased by some sort of monster that is chasing them and telling them to stop.........now the child (children) have a number of items that were given to them to throw behind them to slow down the monster. The items I can remember are a comb which turns into a spins that slow down the monster and a mirror which turns into a mountain of mirrors that confuses the monster.....I know I am a little sketchy.......but I hope someone can help me out. Thanks
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Jess
Unregistered User
(2/12/02 1:57:24 pm)
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Baba Yaga Russian tale (Bony Legs)
This is a variant of one of the Baba Yaga tales where a girl escapes the witch with the help of Baba Yaga's cat who gives her a comb and mirror. Hope this helps.
Other tales involving combs though include Grimm's Snow White (a poison comb) and the Comb and the Collar. You might be interested to know that combs and mirrors were often used as magic devices.
Jess
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KeAahr
Registered User
(2/12/02 2:24:02 pm)
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Re: Baba Yaga Russian tale (Bony Legs)
Gee, it seems a popular topic trying to find tales from our childhood.
I am searching for one of middle eastern or eastern origin. I believe it was called "The Djinns beauty contest" or something similar. It is the tale of two family djinns who brag when they are drunk about their human owners beauty. One is assigned to a princess the other a prince(I know, makes perfect sense,lol). Anyway, the basic story is that they arrange for the two humans to see one another,they fall in love, and are seperated. The prince searches for her and she waits for him. Any help locating this tale would be most appreciated, I have several friends who wish to have it for their kids, or to just see it,lol. Thanks
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Jess
Unregistered User
(2/12/02 2:45:44 pm)
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From the Arabian Nights
KeAahr,
Your story is called the Prince and the Princess, suitably enough. The Prince and Princess fall in love during the contest and the rest of the story is about them trying find each other and live together in happiness.
Jess
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KeAahr
Registered User
(2/12/02 9:55:16 pm)
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Re: From the Arabian Nights
thanks Jess, I wonder how they got the name I was looking for then, lol
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KeAahr
Registered User
(2/12/02 10:13:48 pm)
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Re: From the Arabian Nights
Jess, any clue where I might find it, all my searches thus far are fruitless
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Midori
Unregistered User
(2/13/02 4:11:51 am)
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78th night
Probably one of the best current translations of the Arabian Nights is by Hussain Haddawy. You can find your tale of the Prince and Princess in his Volume I of the Arabian Nights (a rather nice inexpensive paperback I might add, with a fabulous introduction) under "The Seventy-Eight Night." Story titles are few and far between in the Arabian Nights--often one story is imbedded in another so it gets a bit tricky finding it...
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Jess
Unregistered User
(2/13/02 7:11:52 am)
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Arabian Nights
I found several versions on the web by doing a search using the Google search engine. I used the terms "Arabian Nights Maimoune Danhasch" for my search (without the quotation marks). The two last words are the names of the fairy and genie, respectively. I have NOT looked at any of these translations closely to recommend a particular one. Enjoy!
Jess
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Otherworld
Registered User
(4/14/02 12:18:07 pm)
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Re: Arabian Nights
HI there....another version that has similer events such as the throwing behind of magical objects which change in to barriers is "The Battle of the Birds". "The Singing Ringing Tree" also has objects thrown behind the fleeing victims. It just dawned on me when I read the other messages when they mentioned the comb and mirror being wide spread in folk lore that they also appear many times engraved on Pictish Symbol Stones which have been found many parts of North East Scotland and date from the Iron Age so it could well be that their magical properties pre-date many of the tales. Ahh the mystery deepens.
cheers
and long may the debates continue
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catja1
Registered User
(4/15/02 12:20:44 am)
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AT 313
There's a whole bunch of stories with that sequence (known as an obstacle flight), listed in the Aarne-Thompson index as type 313, "The Girl as Helper in the Hero's Flight." Check out D.L. Ashliman's _Folktales in the English Language_ for a listing of specific tales. The myth of Jason and Medea is related to this (with particularly gruesome obstacles -- body parts of her murdered brother).
Catja
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