Saint Solicitous facts for kids

Saint Solicitous (also known as Saint Kummernis) is a fascinating story from a famous collection called Grimms' Fairy Tales. This tale was first published in 1815 as part of the Grimm brothers' first book of fairy tales. However, it was later removed from the second edition in 1819. This happened because the story was very similar to an older legend by Andreas Strobl, which was about a popular medieval figure known as Saint Wilgefortis.

The Story of Saint Solicitous

This story tells us about a young princess named Solicitous. She was very religious and had promised God that she would never marry anyone. She wanted to dedicate her life to her faith.

The Princess's Prayer

Her father, the King, had other plans. He wanted her to get married. Princess Solicitous was very upset about this. She prayed to God, asking for a miracle. She wished for a beard to grow on her face. She hoped that if she had a beard, no man would want to marry her.

Her prayer was answered, and a beard did grow on her face! The King was very angry when he saw this. Because of her refusal to marry and her unusual appearance, he decided to punish her severely. She was put to death in a very harsh way. After her death, she became known as a saint, and a statue of her was placed in a church.

A Golden Shoe and a Musician

One day, a poor musician came to the church. He knelt down and prayed in front of the statue of Saint Solicitous. The saint was pleased with his devotion. As a sign of her happiness, she gave him one of her golden shoes from the statue. The musician was very grateful and took the shoe home.

Later, people noticed that one of the golden shoes was missing from the statue. When the shoe was found with the musician, he was accused of theft and arrested. He begged his jailers to take him back to the church.

When they arrived at the church, something amazing happened. Saint Solicitous, from her statue, gave the musician her other golden shoe! This proved that he had not stolen the first shoe, but that it had been a gift from the saint herself. The musician was then set free.