The Iron Stove facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Iron Stove
The prince climbs out of the stove. Illustration from The Yellow Fairy Book (1894).
Folk tale
Name	The Iron Stove
Data
Aarne-Thompson grouping	ATU 425A (The Search for the Lost Husband)
Country	Germany
Published in	Kinder- und Hausmärchen by The Brothers Grimm

The Iron Stove (which means Der Eisenofen in German) is a classic fairy tale. It was collected by the famous Brothers Grimm, who gathered many well-known stories. This tale is number 127 in their collection. It's a type of story called "the animal bridegroom," where a main character marries someone who appears to be an animal. A woman named Dorothea Viehmann helped the Grimms find and write down this particular story.

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The Story of The Iron Stove

This fairy tale tells the exciting journey of a princess and a prince. It's full of magic, challenges, and true love.

The Prince's Curse

The story begins with a prince who is trapped. A powerful witch used her magic to turn him into an iron stove. This stove was then left deep in the woods. He couldn't escape on his own.

A Princess Finds the Stove

One day, a princess got lost in those same woods. She was surprised to find a talking iron stove! The stove offered to help her find her way home. But there was a condition. She had to promise to return to the woods. She also had to bring a knife to scrape a hole in the stove. This would free the prince inside. She also had to agree to marry him.

The King's Plan

The princess's father, the King, did not want his only child to marry a stove. He tried to trick the stove. He sent other girls in her place. First, he sent a miller's daughter. Then, he sent a pig-herd's daughter. These girls were beautiful. However, they couldn't hide who they really were. The stove knew they weren't the princess.

The Princess Returns

The princess felt she had to keep her promise. She went back to the woods. She used the knife to scrape a hole in the iron stove. As she scraped, she saw the prince. He was very handsome! The prince wanted to take her to his own country right away. But the princess wanted to say goodbye to her father first.

He agreed, but gave her a strict rule. She could only speak three words to her father. Sadly, the princess spoke more than three words. Because of this, she could no longer find the iron stove. The prince was gone.

Help from the Forest Creatures

Lost and sad, the princess wandered through the woods. She found a small cottage. It was full of friendly toads and frogs! They offered her a place to stay for the night. They also told her how to find the prince again. It would be a very difficult journey.

She would need to climb a tall glass mountain. Then, she would have to cross three sharp, piercing swords. Finally, she would need to get over a huge lake. The toads and frogs also gave her special gifts. These gifts were three large needles, a plough-wheel, and three nuts.

Overcoming Obstacles

The princess used the gifts wisely. She used the three needles to help her climb the slippery glass mountain. When she reached the three swords, she rolled over them safely on the plough-wheel. These tools helped her get past the dangerous obstacles.

Finding the Prince's Castle

After her long journey, she found a castle. This was where the prince was living. He believed the princess had died. So, he was planning to marry someone else. The princess took a job as a maid in the castle.

One night, she cracked open one of the nuts the frogs gave her. Inside, she found a beautiful dress! She opened the other nuts. Each one held an even more beautiful dress than the last.

The Bargain and the Truth

The prince's new bride saw the princess's first beautiful dress. She wanted to buy it. But the princess offered a trade instead. In exchange for the dress, she wanted to spend one night in the prince's room. The bride agreed.

That night, the bride gave the prince a special sleeping drink. He slept deeply and didn't wake up. The princess couldn't tell him who she was. She cried sadly. The castle servants heard her weeping.

The second night, the princess made the same deal for the next dress. Again, the bride gave the prince the sleeping drink. He slept through the night. The princess wept again, and the servants heard her.

On the third night, the princess traded her last, most beautiful dress. She again asked to spend the night in the prince's room. The bride gave the prince the sleeping drink. But this time, the servants had told the prince about the princess's sad cries. So, he pretended to drink the sleeping potion. He stayed awake.

When the princess began to weep, he spoke to her. He told her he was awake. He knew she wasn't dead. He realized she was his true love!

A Happy Ending

The prince and princess quickly made a plan. They took the bride's clothing so she couldn't get up and follow them. They used the plough-wheel and the needles again to travel back. They returned to the cottage of the toads and frogs.

When they arrived, something magical happened. The small cottage changed into a grand castle! The toads and frogs, who were actually the children of kings, transformed back into their human forms. They had been under a spell too.

The prince and princess married and lived happily in the new castle for many years. They also made peace with the princess's father. Their two kingdoms were united into one.