Prince Prigio facts for kids

Prince Prigio is a fun and clever fairy tale written by Andrew Lang in 1889. It was illustrated by Gordon Browne. This story uses many ideas and themes from old folk tales, which Andrew Lang knew a lot about.

A second story, Prince Ricardo of Pantouflia: Being the Adventures of Prince Prigio's Son, came out in 1893. Both stories were later put together in one book called My Own Fairy Book in 1895. This happened around the same time as Lang's famous "Coloured Fairy Books" series, which included The Blue Fairy Book and The Red Fairy Book.

The two stories were also published together as The Chronicles of Pantouflia in 1942, with new pictures by Robert Lawson, and again in 1981.

The Story of Prince Prigio

The story of Prince Prigio begins with a queen who doesn't believe in fairies. After many years, she and the king finally have a baby boy, Prigio. The queen refuses to invite any fairies to his christening (a special naming ceremony). Because of this, no important people show up, so the king and queen are alone when the fairies arrive anyway.

Magical Gifts and a Problem

The fairies give baby Prigio many amazing gifts. These include a purse that's always full of money (Fortunatus' purse), special boots that let him travel very far in just seven steps (seven-league boots), a cap of darkness that makes him invisible, a wishing cap, and a magic carpet. He also receives beauty, courage, and good luck.

But the last fairy gives him a strange gift: "My child, you shall be too clever!" The queen would normally be happy about this, but she doesn't believe in magic, so she has all the magical items put away in a storage room.

A Prince Who Knows Too Much

Prince Prigio grows up to be extremely clever. He argues with everyone and always thinks he knows best. He has two younger brothers who are not as clever but are much more liked. Both of his brothers fall in love with their cousins. The king doesn't like Prigio much and worries he might try to take the throne. The king wants to get rid of him.

One day, a terrible firedrake (a dragon-like creature that breathes fire) appears in the country. The king is sad that it might kill his second son and then his first, before the youngest son finally defeats it. But he is willing to sacrifice them if it means getting rid of Prigio. Prigio, like his mother, doesn't believe the firedrake is real. He reminds the king that in stories, it's always the youngest son who wins, so they should send him right away.

Brothers Face Danger

Alphonse, Prigio's youngest brother, goes to fight the firedrake and is eaten. Prigio still doesn't believe in firedrakes and thinks Alphonse has just gone traveling. The king then sends Enrico, the second brother, who also dies. The king tries to send Prigio, but Prigio refuses because he still doesn't believe in the firedrake and he's the only son left.

The king decides to leave Prigio alone in the castle with the rest of the court. When they leave, Prigio finds they've taken all his clothes except what he's wearing. He searches the castle and finds the storage room with the fairies' gifts.

Discovering Magic Powers

Prigio puts on the seven-league boots, which carry him to an inn where he eats. He thinks he's dreaming. No one at the inn seems to notice him. He doesn't realize he's wearing the invisibility cap. He accidentally steals food, and when his cap falls off, he pays for it with money from the purse, which he later finds is still full. Whenever his cap goes on or off, he appears or disappears, but he doesn't understand why.

Still invisible, he goes to a ball (a fancy dance party). Everyone there speaks badly about him, except for one lady. She praises him for helping a poor student. Prigio falls deeply in love with her. At that moment, he finally believes in fairies and magic, and he understands everything that has happened with the magical gifts.

He uses the magical items to make himself look good for the ball and goes to meet the lady, who is Lady Rosalind, the daughter of the English Ambassador. When she talks about the firedrake, he promises to kill it.

Facing the Firedrake

Prigio goes back and finds a magical spyglass, like those in the Arabian Nights stories. He uses it to find the dragon. He realizes that even with his magical gifts, he has no chance against it, and his brothers had no chance either.

He goes to the library and finds a book by Cyrano de Bergerac about a trip to the moon. In the book, he reads about the Remora, a creature that is as cold as the firedrake is hot. He decides to find a Remora and make the two creatures fight. He finds the Remora using his spyglass. He then goes to both creatures, teasing them by saying the other creature is stronger. The monsters meet, fight, and kill each other.

A Royal Challenge

Prigio returns to the ambassador's house. He finds that his father, the king, has offered a reward for him. The king has also promised to make whoever brings him the firedrake's horns and tail the Crown Prince and marry them to his niece. Prigio also discovers that his magic carpet has disappeared. A servant accidentally wished himself to the royal castle, taking the firedrake's horns and tail with him.

Then, the carpet reappears with the servant, the king, and the queen. The queen still refuses to believe in magic. The king refuses to make up with Prigio. He explains how the servant claimed the reward, and when they didn't believe him, the servant showed them the magic carpet.

During the night, Prigio goes back and cuts off the firedrake's hooves. At court, the servant argues that the king's announcement promised the reward to whoever brought the horns and tail, not to the person who killed the dragon. Prigio points out that if this is allowed, the king can't claim to say one thing and mean another, which is a special power of kings. The king's niece refuses to choose between them. The king finally says that whoever brings the firedrake's hooves will get the reward. Prigio immediately produces them.

Bringing Brothers Back

The king insists that Prigio must marry his cousin, the promised niece, right away, or be hanged. Prigio would rather be hanged, but he suggests that if he can bring his brothers back to life, the king could forgive him. The king agrees.

Prigio goes back to the castle where he was left alone. He finds an old cat there, kills it, burns it, and then brings it back to life using water from the Fountain of Lions. He was sure the fairies would have made sure this fountain had magic water. After testing it, he goes to the firedrake's lair and brings his brothers back to life. Then he goes to the Remora's lair and brings back the knights it had frozen.

The king is happy to see his sons but still doesn't want to make Prigio the Crown Prince. Prigio points out that he has the magic water and the firedrake's head. The king finally agrees.

A Clever Ending

After a triple wedding (where Prigio and his brothers all get married), Rosalind suggests to Prigio that he could use his wishing cap to make himself no cleverer than anyone else. Prigio agrees but then has a better idea: he wishes himself to appear no more clever than anyone else. This way, he can still be smart but won't annoy people by always showing it.