King Fortunatus's Golden Wig facts for kids

King Fortunatus's Golden Wig (in Breton: Barvouskenn ar roue Fortunatus) is a classic French fairy tale. It was collected by Colonel A. Troude and G. Milin. This story is part of a collection called Le Conteur breton ou Contes bretons.

The Story of King Fortunatus's Golden Wig

What Kind of Story Is It?

This tale belongs to a group of stories known as Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index type 531. This type of story is often called "The Clever Horse." In French, it's also known as "La Belle aux cheveux d'or," which means "The Beauty with Golden Hair." This name comes from a famous version by Madame d'Aulnoy called "The Story of Pretty Goldilocks."

Other well-known stories that are similar to this one include "Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful" and "The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa. You might also know "Corvetto" or "The Mermaid and the Boy."

Jean's Adventure Begins

Once, there was a couple who really wanted to have children. The husband went to visit a wise man for help. The wise man offered him a choice of apples from a special tree. The husband picked a white apple and ate it.

The wise man told him he would have a son within a year. But there was a catch: when the boy turned fifteen, he would leave home and take nothing with him. At that time, his father should tell him to go to a ruined hut at the end of a path. There, he would find something important.

Exactly as the wise man said, when the boy, named Jean, turned fifteen, he felt he had to leave. His father remembered the wise man's words. He told Jean to go to the ruined hut. Inside, Jean found a horse with a bridle and saddle. He immediately got on the horse and rode away.

The Golden Wig

As they traveled, Jean saw some crows fighting. They dropped something shiny. The horse warned him not to look, but Jean was curious. He looked anyway and found a golden wig! It was King Fortunatus's golden wig. Jean thought it would be perfect for Mardi Gras, a fun festival. The horse warned him again, but Jean took the wig.

The horse took Jean to the king's land. It stayed hidden in a hut made of branches in the forest. Jean went to work for the king as a stable boy. He took care of the horses so well that they became much healthier and stronger than the other stable boys' horses. This made the other stable boys jealous. Jean also discovered that the golden wig glowed, so he used it instead of candles at night.

The King's Challenges

When Mardi Gras arrived, Jean wore the golden wig. The king saw him and thought he must be a prince. But Jean honestly told the king he was just a stable boy. The king was surprised and took the wig for himself.

The other stable boys, still jealous, told the king a lie. They said Jean had boasted that he could marry King Fortunatus's daughter. The king believed them and demanded that Jean bring the princess to him.

Jean was worried, so he went to his horse in the forest. The horse told him exactly what to do. He needed to get three ships. One ship should be filled with beef, another with millet, and the third with oats.

Help from Animal Friends

Jean followed the horse's instructions. They sailed up a river, passing through different lands.

• First, they sailed through the land of lions. Jean threw out the beef, and the lions ate it. The grateful king of the lions gave Jean a special hair. He said Jean could use it to call on the lions for help.
• Next, they went through the land of ants. Jean threw out the millet. The king of the ants thanked him by giving him one of its hind legs. This was also a way to call for their help.
• Finally, they sailed through the land of geese. Jean threw out the oats. The king of the geese gave him a feather, promising help from the geese.

The Princess's Tricky Tests

They finally arrived at King Fortunatus's lands. When King Fortunatus heard their mission, he told them to rest before starting their tasks. But in the morning, he gave Jean his first challenge. Jean had to sort all kinds of grain, which were mixed together in a huge pile in the granary. He had to do it all in one day.

Jean rested all day. Then, he used the ant's leg to summon the ants. The ants worked incredibly fast. They sorted all the grain so quickly that one ant had nothing left to do!

The next day, the king gave Jean another task. He had to use a small shell to empty a large pool. Then, he had to sort all the fish into two basins: one for large fish and one for small fish. Jean rested again. Then, he used the goose feather to summon the geese. The geese quickly emptied the pool and sorted the fish.

The king then ordered Jean to chop down an entire forest. Jean used the lion's hair to summon the lions. The powerful lions quickly chopped down the whole forest.

The king was impressed and agreed to let Jean take his daughter. However, the princess warned Jean that she would also set him some tasks. She said goodbye to her castle and threw its keys into the sea.

The Final Challenge

As they sailed back, the princess demanded that her castle be brought to her. The horse told Jean to return to where the princess's castle was. Jean summoned the lions again. The lions killed the other lions that guarded the castle. Then, they attached the castle to Jean's ship and pulled it along!

Next, the princess demanded the keys to her castle. The horse told Jean to sail out to sea and fire a cannon. The king of the fish came to complain about the loud noise. Jean agreed to stop if the fish king found the keys. The fish king quickly found the keys and brought them to Jean.

When the princess received the keys, she made a terrible demand: she wanted Jean to be burned. Jean went to his horse for help. The horse told him to brush its coat and collect all the dust. Then, he was to add water to the dust. He had to dig a hole by a pole and wash himself and the shirt he was to be burned in with this special water.

Jean did exactly as the horse said. When the fire was lit, it burned very quickly. Jean jumped out, completely unharmed and even more handsome than before! The princess was amazed. She said she would be happy to marry the king if he was as handsome as Jean. The king, wanting to be as handsome, had himself burned. But he died in the fire.

The princess then declared that Jean had done all the hard work and deserved her. So, she married Jean instead.