The Story of Pretty Goldilocks facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Story of Pretty Goldilocks |
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The ambassador presents Goldilocks with the giant's head as proof of his deed.
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| Folk tale | |
| Name | The Story of Pretty Goldilocks |
| Also known as | La Belle aux cheveux d'or |
| Data | |
| Aarne–Thompson grouping | ATU 531 (The Clever Horse) |
| Region | France |
| Published in | Les Contes des Fées (1697), by Madame d'Aulnoy |
| Related |
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The Story of Pretty Goldilocks, also known as The Beauty with Golden Hair, is a French fairy tale. It was written by Madame d'Aulnoy in 1697. This story was later included in The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang.
This tale is part of a group of stories called Aarne-Thompson type 531. These stories are often known as "The Clever Horse" tales. Other stories like this include Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful and The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa.
Contents
Story Summary: Pretty Goldilocks' Adventures
This section tells you what happens in the fairy tale.
Charming's Journey to Win Goldilocks
There once was a princess so beautiful, with hair like pure gold, that everyone called her Pretty Goldilocks. A king from a nearby land heard about her. He fell in love just from her description. He sent his ambassador to ask her to marry him. But Goldilocks said no. She did not want to get married.
A young man named Charming worked for the king. He was a favorite at court. Charming told his friends that if he had gone, Goldilocks would have said yes. The king heard this and was very angry. He had Charming thrown into prison. Charming felt sad about his situation. The king heard him and reminded him why he was in jail. Charming then said he could have described the king so well that Goldilocks would find him impossible to resist. The king decided to send Charming to her after all.
On his way, Charming helped three animals. He saved a carp that was out of water. He rescued a raven being chased by an eagle. He also freed an owl caught in a net. Each animal promised to help him later.
Goldilocks' Challenges for Charming
When Charming met Princess Goldilocks, he tried to convince her to marry his king. But she told him she had lost a special ring in the river. She was too upset to listen to any marriage proposals. She said she would only listen if Charming brought her ring back. Charming's dog, Frisk, told him to try. The carp Charming had saved earlier brought the ring back to him.
Charming gave the ring to Goldilocks. But she had another task for him. A giant prince had tried to marry her. Now, he was causing trouble for her people. She said she could not listen to Charming unless he killed the giant. Charming went to fight the giant. The raven he had saved helped him. The raven pecked the giant's eyes during the fight. This helped Charming win.
Goldilocks still had one more request. She would not agree to marry the king unless Charming brought her water from the Fountain of Health and Beauty. The owl, whom Charming had helped, flew off and brought the water for him.
Goldilocks' Choice and Charming's Fate
Finally, Princess Goldilocks agreed to marry the king. She started to get ready to go with Charming. Sometimes, she wished they could stay together, and she could marry Charming instead. But Charming refused to be disloyal to his king.
Goldilocks married the king. But she still liked Charming very much. Charming's enemies at court told the king that Goldilocks praised Charming too much. They made the king jealous. The king had Charming thrown into a tower. Goldilocks begged the king to free Charming. The king refused. But he decided to rub his face with the water from the Fountain of Health and Beauty to please her.
However, a maid had accidentally broken the bottle of special water. She replaced it with another bottle. She did not know the other bottle held a strong poison. This poison was used to execute nobles by rubbing it on their faces.
Frisk, Charming's dog, came to the queen. He asked her not to forget Charming. The queen immediately released Charming from the tower. Then, she married him instead of the king.
Understanding the Princess's Name
The princess's name, Pretty Goldilocks, has other meanings too. Some translations call her Princess Goldenhair or The Fair with Golden Hair. The word "Fair" means beautiful in English. This connects her light-colored hair to good qualities like kindness and beauty.
Story Variations and History
This section explores how the story changed over time and where it might have come from.
Where the Story Came From
Experts like Professor Stith Thompson believe this type of story might have started in the East. It seems to have spread from places like India, Cambodia, and the Philippines. Then it moved through the Near East and the Caucasus. It is also found in Eastern Europe, Greece, and Turkey.
A study in 2016 looked at how old this story type is. Researchers found that the ATU 531 type (The Clever Horse) is very old. It likely comes from the same ancient stories as the Indo-Iranian languages and the Western Indo-European languages.
Older Versions of the Tale
Before Madame d'Aulnoy wrote her version, there was a similar Italian story. It was called Livoretto. This tale was written by Giovanni Francesco Straparola in his book The Facetious Nights.
How the Story Spread
Even though Madame d'Aulnoy wrote this story, it shares many ideas with tales told by people for generations. For example, it is similar to stories collected by the Brothers Grimm, like Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful. In France, d'Aulnoy's story influenced at least 5 out of 51 versions collected.
In some French versions, like La princesse de Tronkolaine, the princess comes from a strange or made-up country.
The part where the king tries to get rid of his rival by using a special bath or ointment also appears in other tales. For example, in the Romanian fairy tale The Girl Who Pretended to be a Boy. This was published in 1901 in Andrew Lang’s The Violet Fairy Book. A similar event happens in the Russian fairy tale The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa. It also appears in the French/Breton tale King Fortunatus's Golden Wig.
The beautiful maiden with golden hair also appears in Slavic fairy tales. Her name is often Dieva Zlato Vláska or Zlatovláska, which means Goldenhair. This story was even made into a Czech film called Zlatovláska in 1973.
A Spanish version was collected by Fernán Caballero. It was called Bella-Flor. This tale was translated into English and published in Andrew Lang's The Orange Fairy Book. It was called The Princess Bella-Flor.
Professor Bronislava Kerbelytė says there are two hundred Lithuanian versions of this story type. They are known as The Clever Horse.
Asian Versions of the Tale
A Filipino version of the story is called Benito, the faithful servant. It was published in The Journal of American Folklore.
Similar stories have also been found in the works of Pandit Ram Gharib Chaube and British expert William Crooke.
Story's Impact and Adaptations
The tale was one of many by d'Aulnoy that were adapted for the stage. James Planché created a "Fairy Extravaganza" from it. He translated the tale as The Fair One with Golden Locks for his stage show.
