The Enchanted Canary facts for kids

"The Enchanted Canary" is a French fairy tale. It was first collected by Charles Deulin in a book called Contes du roi Cambrinus in 1874. Later, Andrew Lang included this story in his famous collection, The Red Fairy Book. It's a magical story about a young man's quest for love and a princess who turns into a canary.

The Enchanted Canary

The Story Begins

There once was a very wealthy lord in Flanders. He loved his son very much. One day, his son told him he didn't want to marry any of the local women. He thought they were not beautiful enough for him.

Soon after, they received a basket of oranges. They had never seen these fruits before! The son ate one and had a strange dream. He dreamed of an orchard filled with trees of "golden apples," which looked like the oranges. In this dream, a princess with golden skin lived in the orchard. The young man decided he must find this princess and marry her. So, he set out on a journey.

A Magical Journey

One night, the young man stopped at a small hut. An old man lived there. The old man told him about a special park nearby. Inside the park was a castle, and behind it, an orange grove. A witch lived in the castle.

The old man gave the young man some important advice:

• He should oil the castle door hinges.
• He should feed a loaf of bread to the castle dog.
• He should give a brush to a woman who was baking.
• He should take a cord out of a well.

After doing these things, he needed to get three oranges from the grove. He had to return without touching the oranges until he reached water. The old man explained that each orange would turn into a princess. He could choose the one he loved most to marry. But he must never leave her once he made his choice.

The young man followed all the instructions. He heard the witch calling out to the things he had helped. She told them to stop him or kill him. But the rope refused because he had saved it from rotting. The same happened with the other things he had helped.

The Princess's Trouble

Once he escaped, the young man couldn't find any water. He was very thirsty. He opened an orange, hoping for juice. A canary flew out and quickly flew away to find water. The young man couldn't help himself and tried a second orange. The same thing happened, and he fainted.

Nighttime helped him recover. He finally reached a stream. There, he opened the third orange. When the third canary flew out, he quickly gave it water. The canary then turned into a beautiful princess!

The young man wanted to take her back to his castle. But he didn't want her to walk. He went ahead to get a carriage and horses. While he was gone, the princess heard a noise. Fearing it was a wolf, she climbed a tree.

An ugly maidservant came to the stream. She saw the princess's reflection in the water. The maidservant thought the reflection was her own. She believed she was too beautiful to carry water. Her master sent her back twice. The third time, she realized the reflection was someone else. She spoke to the princess and heard her story. The maidservant then stuck a pin into the princess's head. This turned the princess back into a canary. When the young man returned, the maidservant lied. She told him she had been turned into this ugly maidservant. The young man felt terrible and blamed himself.

A Happy Ending

At the wedding feast for the young man and the maidservant, the canary appeared. It flew to the kitchen window. The canary then enchanted the person cooking the goose. Three times, the goose burned. The third time, the kitchen helper caught the canary. He was about to hurt it when the lord came to see what was happening.

The lord thought the canary was lovely. He stroked it and felt something hard. He found the pin in its head and pulled it out. Instantly, the princess was unenchanted and returned to her true form!

The maidservant was going to be punished. But the princess asked for her to be forgiven. The maidservant went back to work as a maidservant. The princess and the young man then married and lived happily ever after.