The Brown Bear of Norway facts for kids

The Brown Bear of Norway is an Irish fairy tale. It was collected by Patrick Kennedy and appeared in his book Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts in 1866. Later, Andrew Lang included it in his collection, The Lilac Fairy Book (1910).

This story is a type of tale called Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index type 425A. These stories are about a hero searching for a lost husband. Other famous tales like this include The Black Bull of Norroway and East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

The Princess and the Bear Prince

Once, an Irish king asked his three daughters who they wanted to marry. The oldest two princesses chose powerful kings. But the youngest princess surprised everyone. She said she wanted to marry the Brown Bear of Norway.

That very night, the youngest princess woke up in a beautiful hall. A handsome prince was kneeling before her. He asked her to marry him, and she agreed right away. The prince explained that a mean witch had turned him into a bear. This was to force him to marry the witch's daughter. He told the princess that if she stayed strong through five years of challenges, he would be free.

Challenges and Lost Children

The princess and the bear prince had three children over time. But each child was taken away by a different creature. An eagle took the first, a greyhound took the second, and a mysterious lady took the third. After losing her last child, the princess felt sad. She told her husband she wanted to visit her family.

He told her a secret: to go home, she just had to wish for it while lying down at night. The next morning, she would wake up in her old bed. She visited her family and told them her sad story. Even though she didn't want to lose more children, she knew it wasn't her husband's fault. She missed him very much.

A Bad Idea and a New Quest

While she was home, a woman gave her some bad advice. The woman told her to burn her husband's bear fur. This would make him stay a man all the time, day and night. The princess decided to try it. That night, she pretended to drink a special drink her husband gave her before bed. When he fell asleep, she burned his bear fur.

The prince woke up and was very upset. He told her that now he had to marry the witch's daughter. The witch herself had given the princess that bad advice! The prince then had to leave.

Following the Prince

The princess chased after her husband. As night fell, they both reached a small house. A little boy was playing by the fire. Her husband told her that this boy was their first son! The woman who lived there was the eagle who had carried their son away. The woman welcomed them kindly.

The prince gave the princess a special gift: a pair of scissors. These scissors could turn anything they cut into beautiful silk. He warned her that he would forget her during the day, but he would remember her at night.

More Gifts and Children

On the second night, they found another house. There, they found their daughter! The prince gave the princess a magical comb. This comb would make pearls and diamonds fall from her hair when she used it.

On the third night, they found a third house. This was where their third child was living. The prince gave the princess a hand-reel with a golden thread that never ended. He also gave her half of their wedding ring. He told her that the next day, when he entered a certain wood, he would completely forget her and their children. The only way to make him remember was if she reached his home and put her half of the ring together with his.

Reaching the Castle

The wood tried to stop the princess from entering. But she commanded it to let her in, using the power of the gifts she carried. Inside, she found a huge house and a small woodman's cottage nearby. She went to the cottage and convinced the woodman and his wife to let her work for them. She said she wouldn't take any money. Instead, she would give them silk, diamonds, pearls, and golden thread whenever they wanted. She soon heard that a prince had come to live at the witch's castle.

Tricking the Servants

The servants at the castle kept bothering the princess. She invited the head footman, who was the most annoying, to pick her some honeysuckle. When he did, she used her magical gifts to make horns grow on his head! She also made him sing all the way back to the big house. His fellow servants laughed at him until she removed the magic. The prince heard about this strange event and was very curious.

The witch's daughter saw the princess's magical scissors. The princess said she would only trade them for one night outside the prince's room. She got the night, but she couldn't wake the prince. The head footman made fun of her as he sent her away. She tried again the next night with the magical comb, but still, she couldn't wake him.

The Prince Remembers

On the third day, the prince didn't just look at her. He stopped and asked if he could help her. She asked him if he had heard anything during the night. He said he thought he heard singing in his dreams. She then asked if he drank anything before he slept. When he said yes, she asked him not to drink it that night.

That night, the princess traded her magical reel for another night outside his room. She sang to him, and this time, the prince woke up! The princess quickly put the two halves of their wedding ring together. As soon as they touched, the prince remembered everything. The castle began to crumble, and the witch and her daughter disappeared. The prince and princess soon found their children and returned to their own castle, living happily ever after.