Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree facts for kids

Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree is a Scottish fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in his book Celtic Fairy Tales. This story is like other famous tales such as Snow White. It shares a similar plot where a queen becomes jealous of a younger, more beautiful princess.

The Story of Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree

This fairy tale tells the story of a king, his wife named Silver-Tree, and their daughter, Gold-Tree.

The Jealous Queen

One day, Silver-Tree and Gold-Tree were walking by a pond. Silver-Tree asked a trout in the pond if she was the most beautiful queen in the world. The trout replied that Gold-Tree was actually more beautiful.

Silver-Tree became very upset and pretended to be very sick. She claimed she would only get better if she had Gold-Tree's heart and liver. A prince had already asked to marry Gold-Tree. So, her father quickly agreed and sent Gold-Tree and the prince away to live in another land. The king then gave his wife the heart and liver of a he-goat instead. Silver-Tree ate them and immediately felt better.

The Thorn's Magic

Silver-Tree later went back to the trout, who told her that Gold-Tree was still more beautiful. The trout also said that Gold-Tree was living happily abroad with a prince. Silver-Tree then asked her husband for a ship so she could visit her daughter.

When Silver-Tree arrived, the prince was away hunting. Gold-Tree was very scared when she saw her mother's ship. Her servants quickly locked her in a room so she could tell her mother she couldn't come out. Silver-Tree convinced Gold-Tree to put her little finger through the keyhole, pretending she wanted to kiss it. When Gold-Tree did, Silver-Tree secretly put a tiny, harmful thorn into her finger. Gold-Tree immediately fell into a deep sleep, appearing to be lifeless.

A New Discovery

When the prince returned, he was heartbroken to find Gold-Tree in such a state. He couldn't bring himself to bury her because she looked so beautiful. He kept her body in a special room.

Later, the prince married for a second time. He did not allow his new wife into the room where Gold-Tree lay. One day, he forgot the key to the room, and his new wife went inside. She tried to wake Gold-Tree and found the thorn in her finger. When she pulled it out, Gold-Tree suddenly woke up!

Because Gold-Tree was the prince's first wife, the second wife offered to leave. However, the prince refused to let her go, happy to have both of them.

The Final Confrontation

Silver-Tree went back to the trout again, who told her everything that had happened. Silver-Tree took her ship once more to visit Gold-Tree. The prince was hunting again, but the second wife insisted that both she and Gold-Tree meet Silver-Tree.

Silver-Tree offered them a special drink that was meant to harm them. The second wife cleverly said that it was the custom for the person offering the drink to taste it first. Silver-Tree brought the drink to her mouth. At that moment, the second wife quickly struck Silver-Tree's arm, causing some of the drink to spill into her throat. Silver-Tree collapsed and was no longer alive.

After this, the prince, Gold-Tree, and the second wife lived happily ever after.