Kate Crackernuts facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kate Crackernuts |
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Kate and the Fairy Baby
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| Folk tale | |
| Name | Kate Crackernuts |
| Also known as | Katie Crackernuts |
| Data | |
| Aarne-Thompson grouping | 306, 711 |
| Country | Scotland |
| Region | Orkney Islands |
| Published in | Longman's Magazine (1889) English Fairy Tales (1890) A Book of British Fairy Tales |
| Related | "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" |
Kate Crackernuts (also known as Katie Crackernuts) is a Scottish fairy tale. It was collected by Andrew Lang from the Orkney Islands and first appeared in Longman's Magazine in 1889. Later, Joseph Jacobs included it in his book English Fairy Tales (1890).
The story is about a brave princess who saves her sister from a bad spell. She also helps a prince who is sick because he dances with fairies every night. This old tale has even been turned into a children's book and a play!
Contents
The Story of Kate Crackernuts
Once, there was a king with a daughter named Anne. His queen had her own daughter, Kate, who was not as pretty as Anne. The queen was very jealous of Anne's beauty, but Kate truly loved her stepsister.
The queen went to a wise old woman, a henwife, to find a way to spoil Anne's looks. After three attempts, they used magic to turn Anne's head into a sheep's head! Kate quickly wrapped Anne's head in a cloth. Then, the two sisters left home to find their own way in the world.
Kate's Brave Watch
They soon found a castle where the king had two sons. One of the princes was very sick, and anyone who tried to watch him at night would disappear. Kate asked for a place to stay for herself and her "sick" sister. She offered to watch over the prince.
At midnight, the sick prince got up and rode away on his horse. Kate secretly jumped onto the horse with him. As they rode through the woods, she collected nuts. They arrived at a green hill where fairies were dancing. The hill opened up, and the prince rode inside. Kate went in with him without being noticed.
Curing Anne and the Prince
The second night was just like the first. This time, Kate found a fairy baby inside the hill. The baby was playing with a magic wand. Kate overheard the fairies saying that three touches from this wand would cure Anne. So, Kate rolled some nuts to distract the baby and grabbed the wand. She then used it to cure her sister Anne!
On the third night, Kate said she would only stay if she could marry the prince. That night, the fairy baby was playing with a bird. Kate heard that three bites of this bird would cure the sick prince. She distracted the baby with nuts again and got the bird.
As soon as they returned to the castle, Kate cooked the bird. The prince ate it and was completely cured! Meanwhile, the prince's brother had seen Anne and fallen in love with her. So, both sisters got married: the cured prince married Kate, and his brother married Anne.
Modern Adaptations
The story of Kate Crackernuts has inspired other creative works.
Books and Plays
- Katharine Mary Briggs wrote a children's novel based on the tale, also called Kate Crackernuts.
- Sheila Callaghan created a stage play inspired by the story, titled Kate Crackernuts.
Music
- Juan María Solare composed a piece called Kate Crackernuts (the Dancing Fairy). It was originally for solo piano but has other versions too. You can find a music box version of this piece on the album Music Box Music (2016). Listen to Kate Crackernuts (the Dancing Fairy) on Spotify
