King Thrushbeard facts for kids

Quick facts for kids King Thrushbeard
1916 illustration by Arthur Rackham
Folk tale
Name	King Thrushbeard
Data
Aarne–Thompson grouping	ATU 900
Country	Germany
Published in	Grimm's Fairy Tales

King Thrushbeard (German: König Drosselbart) is a German fairy tale. It was collected by the famous Brothers Grimm. This story is about a very proud princess. She learns an important lesson about kindness and humility. It's known as tale number 52 in their collection.

Where the Story Comes From

The Brothers Grimm first published "King Thrushbeard" in 1812. It was part of their book Kinder- und Hausmärchen. They made a few small changes in 1819. The story came from families and friends in Germany.

The Story of King Thrushbeard

Once, there was a beautiful but very proud princess. She thought she was better than everyone else. She rudely made fun of all the princes who wanted to marry her. When the last prince came, she liked him a little. But her pride stopped her from accepting him.

This prince had a very thick beard. It looked like a thrush bird's beak to her. So, she cruelly called him King Thrushbeard. The prince left feeling very angry.

Her father, the King, was very upset. He was tired of her scornful ways. He declared that the first man to come to the palace the next day would be her husband. It didn't matter if he was rich or poor. A stranger heard this conversation.

The Princess's New Life

The next day, a young minstrel arrived. He had a clean-shaven face. The King offered his daughter's hand in marriage. The minstrel thought the princess looked weak. He also thought she couldn't do any real work. But he agreed, saying poor people couldn't be picky.

The princess strongly disagreed. She didn't want to marry a commoner. But her father had given his word. So, she married the minstrel. He took her away from the palace to his simple home.

As they traveled, they passed beautiful lands. These lands belonged to King Thrushbeard. The princess began to wish she hadn't made fun of him. They finally reached the minstrel's small, humble house. It was nothing like her palace.

The minstrel treated her like a common person. She was upset that she had to work for a living. He made her do chores and sell pottery. But she was terrible at everything. Annoyed, he told her the only job left was to work as a servant. She would work at the nearby castle of a young king: King Thrushbeard.

Learning Humility

The princess felt very ashamed. She had to work in the palace of a man she had mocked. She deeply regretted her past actions. But she put her pride aside. She knew her husband needed her help.

Slowly, she learned to be humble. She even became kind to the mice in their home. She threw them scraps of food. She realized they were hungry too.

One day, the princess heard that King Thrushbeard was getting married. She was working at the castle. He made her dance in the great hall. Her pockets were full of food scraps. They burst open, spilling food everywhere. Everyone laughed at her. She was so embarrassed that she ran away crying.

A Happy Ending

But then, someone helped her up. It was the minstrel, dressed in fancy clothes. He smiled and asked why she was crying on her wedding day. The princess was shocked. She realized he was King Thrushbeard!

He had fallen in love with her, even though she had mocked him. He secretly married her through her father's promise. Her difficult experiences were meant to teach her a lesson. They were to cure her of her pride and cruelty.

She felt ashamed of herself. She thanked him for teaching her to be kind. She told him she wasn't worthy to be his wife. But he forgave her. He had seen how much she had changed. They married with her father present. She asked him to grow his beard back. From then on, he was known only as King Thrushbeard. They lived happily ever after.

The Story in Other Places

"King Thrushbeard" has been adapted many times:

• A movie called König Drosselbart was made in 1954.
• A Soviet cartoon called The Capricious Princess was made in 1969.
• An episode of Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics retold the story. The princess was named Elena.
• It appeared as a storybook and cassette called King Rough-Beard. This was part of the Once Upon a Time series.
• A version is told in the book Servant of the Dragon by David Drake.
• An episode of the cartoon series Simsala Grimm also featured the story. The princess was named Constance, and the king was Conrad.
• In the comic book series Fables, Thrushbeard is a character.

Images for kids

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  The disguised king smashing the pottery. Illustration by Walter Crane, 1882