The Singing, Springing Lark facts for kids
"The Singing, Springing Lark" is a classic German fairy tale. It was collected by the famous Brothers Grimm and is tale number 88 in their collection, Grimms' Fairy Tales. This story is a lot like other well-known tales such as Beauty and the Beast and East of the Sun and West of the Moon, where a brave young woman searches for her lost love.
Contents
The Story of the Singing Lark
A Father's Promise
Once, there was a man who had three daughters. One day, he had to go on a long trip. He asked each daughter what special gift they wanted him to bring back. The oldest daughter wished for sparkling diamonds. The middle daughter wanted shiny pearls. But the youngest daughter, who was very kind, only asked for a singing, springing lark.
The father easily found the diamonds and pearls. However, finding a lark was much harder. On his way home, he finally spotted a lark high in a tree. He told his servant to catch it. Suddenly, a fierce lion leaped out! The lion threatened to kill them both for trying to steal his lark. To save their lives and get the bird, the lion made a deal. The father had to promise to give the lion the first thing that met him when he returned home. The father was scared it would be his youngest daughter, but his servant convinced him to agree.
Life with the Lion Prince
Just as the father feared, his youngest daughter was the first to greet him. When she heard about the promise, she bravely comforted her father. The very next morning, she set off to meet the lion. At the lion's grand castle, she was welcomed by other lions. At night, these lions turned into humans. She married the lion whose lark her father had tried to take. She lived with him, but he slept during the day.
The Lion's Transformation
One night, the lion told her that her oldest sister was getting married. He offered to send her to the wedding with his lion companions. She went, and her family was overjoyed to see her. After she returned, the lion told her that her second sister was marrying. This time, she insisted that he and their child must go with her.
The lion warned her that if any candlelight touched him, he would turn into a dove for seven years. To protect him, the youngest daughter had a special room built. But the door was made of fresh wood, and it warped, creating a small crack. As her sister's wedding parade passed by, candlelight shone through the crack and touched the lion. Just as he warned, he instantly turned into a white dove.
The Long Search for Her Love
The dove told his wife that for every seven steps she took, he would drop a feather and a drop of blood. He hoped she could follow this trail to find him. Then, he flew away.
As the seven years were almost over, the youngest daughter lost the trail. She bravely climbed up to the sun and asked about the white dove. The sun didn't know but gave her a special casket. Next, she asked the moon, who also didn't know but gave her an egg. Finally, she asked the night wind for help. The night wind couldn't help directly but told her to wait for the other winds. The east and west winds didn't know, but the south wind had good news. It said the dove was now a lion again and was fighting a dragon, which was an enchanted princess, near the Red Sea.
The night wind gave her advice. It told her to strike both the lion and the dragon with a special reed. This would help the lion win and allow both creatures to return to their true forms. Then, she could escape on the back of a griffin. The wind also gave her a nut that would grow into a nut tree in the middle of the sea, allowing the griffin to rest.
Winning Him Back
The youngest daughter stopped the fight between the lion and the dragon. However, the princess, who had been the dragon, also regained her human form. She then took the man who had been the lion with her on the griffin. The daughter followed them until she found a castle where the princess and her husband were planning to marry.
She opened the casket and found a dazzling dress inside. She brought it to the castle, and the princess wanted to buy it. The price was that the daughter could spend the night in her husband's bedroom. But it was no use because the princess had a servant give him a sleeping potion. Even though the daughter pleaded with him, he thought her voice was just the wind whistling.
The next day, she opened the egg. Inside was a chicken with twelve golden chicks! The princess again wanted to buy them for the same price. But this time, her husband asked the servant what the "wind" was the previous night. The servant confessed about the sleeping potion. The husband did not drink it the second night. He and his wife then quickly fled on the griffin back to their own home, where they lived happily ever after.
Story Adaptations
This classic fairy tale has inspired many other creative works.
Books and Games
- Author Patricia A. McKillip retold this story in her own way, calling it "The Lion and the Lark."
- It was also made into a picture book titled "The Lady and the Lion," perfect for younger readers.
- The story was adapted into a hidden object game called Queen's Tales: The Beast and the Nightingale. This game was published by Big Fish Games.
Music
- A musical version of The Singing, Springing Lark was created by Dieter Stegmann and Alexander S. Bermange. It was performed at the Amphitheater Park Schloss Philippsruhe in Hanau, Germany, as part of the Brothers Grimm Festival in 2004.
