The Three Daughters of King O'Hara facts for kids

The Three Daughters of King O'Hara is a classic fairy tale from Ireland. It was collected by Jeremiah Curtin in his book Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland. This story tells about a king, his three daughters, and a magical journey filled with love, curses, and brave quests.

The Daughters' Choices

Once, there was a king who had three daughters. One day, while the king was away, his oldest daughter decided she wanted to get married. She used her father's special cloak of darkness. With it, she wished for the most handsome man in the world. Soon, a golden coach with four horses arrived to take her away.

Her second sister then wished for the next best man. Just like her sister, a golden coach with four horses came to carry her off. Finally, the youngest daughter made her wish. She wished for the best white dog. A golden coach with four horses arrived for her too, carrying the dog away. When the king returned, he was very angry to hear about the dog.

Secret Forms

The two older daughters were asked by their new husbands how they wanted them to appear during the day. Both sisters wanted their husbands to look as they did during the day. It turned out their husbands were men by day but turned into seals at night.

The youngest daughter was also asked the same question. She gave the same answer. So, her husband was a dog during the day but transformed into a handsome man at night.

A Mother's Tear

The youngest daughter soon gave birth to a son. Her husband went hunting and warned her not to cry if anything happened to their child. A gray crow took the baby when he was only a week old. The princess was sad but did not weep.

This happened again with their second son. But when their third child, a daughter, was born, the princess accidentally shed one tear. She quickly caught it in a handkerchief. Her husband was very angry when he found out.

The Burning Skin

Not long after, the king invited his three daughters and their husbands to his castle. Late at night, the queen, the king's wife, went to check on them. She looked into their bedrooms. She saw that her two oldest daughters had seals sleeping in their beds. But her youngest daughter had a man.

The queen found the dog's skin and burned it. The husband immediately jumped up, very angry. He explained that if he had been able to stay three nights under her father's roof, he would have become a man both day and night. But now, because the skin was burned, he had to leave her.

A Magical Journey

He set out, and the princess chased after him. She never let him out of her sight. They came to a house, and he told her to spend the night inside. A little boy there called her "mother." A woman in the house gave her a special pair of scissors. These scissors could turn old rags into beautiful cloth of gold.

The next day, she continued to chase her husband. They came to another house. Another little boy called her "mother." This time, a woman gave her a magical comb. This comb could make a sick head healthy and give it golden hair.

On the third day, she was still following her husband. The third house held a little girl with only one eye. The princess realized what her tear had done. She took out the handkerchief where she had caught her tear and put the eye back. The woman in the house gave her a whistle that could call all the birds in the world.

The Queen's Curse

They continued their journey. Her husband explained that the Queen of Tír na nÓg, a magical land, had put a curse on him. Now, he had to go and marry her. The princess followed him into the lower kingdom. She stayed with a washerwoman and helped her.

She saw a henwife's daughter, who was dressed in rags. The princess used her magic scissors to snip the rags, and they turned into cloth of gold. The henwife's mother told the queen about the amazing cloth. The queen demanded to have the scissors. The princess asked for a night with her husband in return. The queen agreed but secretly gave her husband a sleeping potion.

The next day, the princess used her magic comb to cure another of the henwife's daughters. She had a diseased head. The same exchange was made for the comb. The princess asked for another night with her husband.

Defeating the Queen

The princess blew her magic whistle and asked the birds for help. They told her a secret: only her husband could kill the queen. The queen's heart and life were hidden inside an egg. This egg was inside a duck, which was inside a wether (a male sheep). The wether was inside a holly tree in front of the castle. Only her husband could cut down the holly tree.

Then, the princess blew the whistle again. This time, it attracted a hawk and a fox, and she caught them. She traded the whistle for a third night with her husband. But before she left, she wrote a letter for his servants. In the letter, she told her husband everything the birds had revealed.

Her husband read the letter and met her by the holly tree. He cut it down. The wether escaped, but the fox caught it. The duck escaped from the wether, but the falcon caught it. The egg was crushed, and the queen died.

The princess and her husband lived happily ever after in Tír na nÓg.