Tatterhood facts for kids

Tatterhood is a famous fairy tale from Norway. It was collected by two well-known storytellers, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe.

This story is part of a group of tales called Aarne–Thompson type 711. These tales often feature a beautiful twin and an "ugly" twin. This type of story is quite common in Norway and Iceland, but it's very rare in other places.

Another version of the tale can also be found in books like A Book of Witches and A Choice of Magic, both written by Ruth Manning-Sanders.

The Story of Tatterhood

A Queen's Wish for a Child

Once upon a time, a king and queen really wanted to have children. The queen was very sad because they didn't have any. To help her feel less lonely, they adopted a girl to be their daughter. One day, the queen saw her adopted daughter playing with a poor girl. The queen wasn't happy and tried to send the poor girl away. But the poor girl said her mother knew a secret to help the queen have a baby.

The queen went to the poor woman and asked for her help. At first, the woman said she didn't know anything. The queen then offered the woman as much wine as she wanted. After drinking, the woman finally shared her secret. She told the queen to wash herself with two buckets of water before bed. Then, she should pour the water under her bed.

The Magical Flowers

The next morning, two flowers would grow from under the bed. One flower would be beautiful and bright, and the other would be dark and ugly. The beggar woman told the queen to eat only the beautiful flower and to never eat the ugly one, no matter what.

The queen followed this advice. The next morning, she found two flowers under her bed. One was lovely and bright, and the other was black and foul. The queen ate the beautiful flower right away. It tasted so sweet that she couldn't resist. She then ate the ugly flower too, even though she was warned not to.

The Birth of Two Sisters

Not long after, the queen gave birth to a baby girl. This baby was born holding a wooden spoon and riding a goat! She was also very loud and looked quite unusual from the moment she was born. The queen was very upset to have such a daughter. But the girl told her mother not to worry. She promised that the queen's next child would be fair and pleasant.

Just as the girl promised, the queen gave birth to a second daughter. This baby was born beautiful and sweet, which made the queen very happy. The two sisters were very different from each other. However, they loved each each other very much. The older daughter was named Tatterhood because she always wore a torn, messy hood over her wild hair.

Tatterhood Fights the Trolls

One Christmas Eve, when the girls were teenagers, there was a lot of noise outside the queen's rooms. Tatterhood demanded to know what was causing the racket. The queen sadly explained that it was a group of trolls (or witches in some stories). They came to the palace every seven years.

Tatterhood was very brave and stubborn. She decided to chase the trolls away. She told her mother to keep the door tightly shut. Tatterhood's younger sister was worried. She opened one of the doors during the fight with the trolls. Instantly, a troll snatched her head off! They replaced it with a calf's head. After that, the trolls quickly ran away from the castle.

A Journey to Restore a Sister

To get her sister's head back, Tatterhood set off on a journey. She sailed in a ship with no crew, only her sister with the calf's head. They arrived at the island where the trolls lived. Tatterhood bravely fought the trolls and successfully got her sister's real head back.

The sisters escaped and sailed to a faraway kingdom. The king of this kingdom was a widower (meaning his wife had passed away). He had one son. The king fell in love with the younger sister the moment he saw her. However, she said she would not marry until Tatterhood did. The king begged his son to marry Tatterhood. After some thought, the prince reluctantly agreed.

The Wedding Day Transformation

The two sisters were going to marry their grooms on the same day. The king, his young princess bride, and the king's son were dressed in fancy royal clothes. But Tatterhood refused to dress up. She happily wore her old rags.

As the couples rode to the church for the wedding, Tatterhood asked her groom why he didn't ask why she rode a goat. When he asked, she said she was riding a grand horse, and it immediately turned into one! She then asked the prince why he didn't ask why she carried a wooden spoon. He asked, and she declared it was a fan (or a magic wand in some versions), and it changed into that.

This happened again with her tattered hood. She said it was a golden crown, and it instantly became one. Finally, she spoke about herself. She declared her beauty would be greater than her sister's, and it immediately was. The prince now understood that Tatterhood chose to look ragged. He realized her true beauty didn't depend on her clothes. He was very happy to marry her.

Other Versions of the Story

This type of fairy tale has also been found in Sweden, Ireland, and America.