The Necklace of Princess Fiorimonde facts for kids

"The Necklace of Princess Fiorimonde" is a fairy tale written by Mary de Morgan. She was an English writer (1850–1907). This story is part of her collection called "The Necklace of Princess Fiorimonde and Other Stories." This book of fairy tales first came out in 1880. Mary de Morgan was important in Victorian era literature. She used mystery, sadness, and humor in her stories. This made her tales fun and imaginative for everyone. Mary de Morgan also used both female and male main characters. This showed her belief that all people are equal. Many of her stories use ideas from old English folk tales. Her writing was easy for everyone in Victorian England to understand. This was true no matter their social class.

The fairy tale "The Necklace of Princess Fiorimonde" is about a young princess. Her name is Fiorimonde, and she is very wicked. She uses magic to stay beautiful. An old witch helps her with this magic. When her father, the King, wants her to marry, Fiorimonde does not want her suitors (the men who want to marry her) to find out her secret. So, she turns them into beautiful beads for a necklace. Her maid, Yolande, and a friend of one of the suitors, find out about the Princess's evil deeds. They want to free the suitors from her spell. Princess Fiorimonde is only defeated when she herself becomes a bead on the necklace.

The Story of Princess Fiorimonde

Fiorimonde is a very beautiful princess. Her father is a powerful and kind king. The princess is unlike anyone else. She has long golden hair and very fair skin. She also has big, beautiful eyes. But even with all her beauty, Princess Fiorimonde is a wicked person. She secretly practices black magic and witchcraft.

Fiorimonde's Secret Magic

Every night, when everyone else in the castle is asleep, Princess Fiorimonde goes to a small hut. This hut is on the side of a mountain. An old, ugly witch lives there. The witch teaches Fiorimonde how to do magic. In fact, it is the witch's magic that makes the princess more beautiful every day.

The King's Plan for Marriage

As Fiorimonde gets older, her father, the King, starts to worry. He is a widower and has no sons to take over his throne. So, he decides it is time for the princess to marry. The King and his advisors send messages to nearby kingdoms. They announce that the King will choose a good husband for the Princess. This husband will become King after her father dies.

Princess Fiorimonde hears this news. She knows that if she marries, her husband will discover her secret. He will find out she visits the witch every night. He will then make her stop practicing magic. If she stops, she will lose her beauty.

The Witch's Advice

That night, the princess goes to the old Witch's hut. She asks the witch for advice. The witch gives the princess three choices. She can turn her suitors into dogs. They would come whenever she called. Or, she could turn them into birds. They would fly and sing about her beauty. Her third choice was to turn them into beads for a necklace. This necklace would be so beautiful that no woman had ever worn anything like it.

The Princess happily chooses the last option. Before giving the Princess a strong gold thread, the witch gives a warning. If the princess ever wraps her own fingers around the thread, she too will become a bead. She will stay a bead until the gold thread is cut and her bead is taken off. The Princess listens to the witch's warning. She takes the golden thread and goes back home.

The Necklace Grows

The next day, the King announces that King Pierrot has arrived. He has come to marry his daughter. Almost as soon as the king says this, the Princess tricks King Pierrot. She makes him wrap his fingers around her gold thread. He instantly becomes a beautiful bead on the necklace. The princess pretends to be sad for a month about King Pierrot's "disappearance."

More suitors keep coming to ask for the Princess's hand in marriage. The Princess continues to trick them. She makes them touch her necklace, and they become beads. Each time a suitor disappears, Yolande, the princess's maid, notices something. A new bead appears on the Princess's gold thread.

Gervaise and Yolande's Plan

One day, after many suitors have come and gone, Prince Florestan arrives. He tries his luck with the Princess. His friend Gervaise had warned him. Gervaise said that all who go to marry Princess Fiorimonde disappear. Prince Florestan is welcomed by the King. Later, just like all the others, Prince Florestan also disappears.

However, Gervaise is told something important. Yolande, the Princess's maid, tells him about the Princess's magic. That night, Gervaise and Yolande decide to act. They want to save Prince Florestan and the others. They go to cut the thread from the sleeping Princess's neck. But in the process, Yolande herself becomes a bead.

Gervaise's Clever Trick

A few days later, Gervaise returns to Princess Fiorimonde's palace. He is so well disguised as a Prince that the Princess does not even recognize him. When he arrives, Gervaise starts to annoy the Princess. He tells her he has seen a woman more beautiful than her. The Princess gets angry. She asks Gervaise to bring this woman to her.

Gervaise is cunning. He says he will only bring the woman to the Princess if she gives him her necklace. The Princess is outraged and refuses. That night, she travels to the Witch's hut to ask for help. The witch advises the Princess not to believe this Prince's lies. She warns her to be careful, or she might become a bead on her own necklace.

The Final Trap

The next morning, as the sun rises, Gervaise goes into the woods. He gathers acorns, haws, and hips. He makes a necklace of his own and hides it in his shirt. He then returns to the palace. No one knows he was gone. Later that morning, the Princess calls Gervaise to her.

When he arrives, the Princess asks him again if she is the most beautiful woman on Earth. Again, he replies that he has found someone more beautiful. The Princess remembers the witch's warning. She then asks Gervaise if he has seen a more beautiful necklace than hers. He cleverly responds that he has never seen such a beautiful necklace. However, he prefers another one. This is the necklace he made earlier from the haws and acorns.

Fiorimonde is greedy. She wants to see the necklace Gervaise claims is better than hers. She thinks Gervaise's necklace might have powers to make the wearer beautiful. She believes this is why he saw a more beautiful woman. Gervaise agrees to trade necklaces. He tells her to take off hers. In her anger, the Princess tries to take off her necklace. She does not realize her mistake. She disappears and becomes the thirteenth bead on the golden thread.

Freedom and Justice

Gervaise is delighted. He picks up the necklace with the tip of his sword. He brings it to the King. Gervaise then cuts the golden thread. He removes each bead from the necklace one by one. This allows the returning Princes to tell their stories to the King. This proves how wicked the princess was. Finally, Gervaise removes the beads that are Yolande and his dear friend Prince Florestan.

The King is humble. He asks how he can ever repay Gervaise and the other Princes. They had suffered from his daughter's cruelty. Gervaise only asks for one thing. He requests that the bead representing Princess Fiorimonde never be removed from the gold thread. He also asks that the necklace be hung as a warning for others who are as wicked as she is.

The King agrees to Gervaise's advice. The King and his court hang the necklace at the town-hall. Everyone can see the princess's punishment. The princes all return to their kingdoms. Gervaise marries Yolande. He brings her back to his home with Prince Florestan. They all live happily ever after.

Publication Details

"The Necklace of Princess Fiorimonde and Other Stories" was written in 1880. It was published in London by Macmillan & Co in 1886.