“Prince Hyacinth and the Dear Little Princess.” The Blue Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, London and New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1889, pp. 12-18.

Tale Summary

There was once a king who was deeply in love with a princess, who was under a spell that prevented her from marrying anyone. A fairy told him that whoever was able to step on her cat’s tail would be the one to marry her, so he spent days trying to do this, until he was finally able to succeed when the cat was asleep. It jumped up and transformed into a tall man, who told the King that he would have a son who would never be happy until he realized that his nose was too long, and that the king must not tell anyone about the curse. He married the princess and died shortly thereafter, leaving the Queen with a son with an enormous nose, named Hyacinth. To save him embarrassment, only others with large noses could be near him, and they all told him about how ugly small noses were, and so he fancied himself quite handsome because of his large nose, which to him seemed ordinary. When he reached twenty, his mother wished for him to be married and brought him portraits of eligible princesses. He fell in love with a Dear Little Princess, who had a very tiny nose that his courtiers laughed at to appease him. He banished them, and other members of the court assured him that small noses were suitable for women. He set out to meet her but before he could kiss her hand she was grabbed by the enchanter and vanished, and the prince searched the land for her until he found the home of a very old fairy. Hyacinth and his horse were very hungry and stayed with her for food, although the prince became very annoyed with her constant comments about his large nose. The fairy talked about how she knew his father and other things, being quite a chatterer, and the prince wondered to himself how someone could overlook their own flaws, thinking to himself that he was quite aware of himself. He left in a huff, and everyone he encountered on his journey also made a fuss about his large nose, but he would not admit that it was large. Finally, he reached a palace of crystal where the princess was trapped by the fairy, who wished to help Hyacinth realize his faults. The princess stretched out her hand for him to kiss, but his large nose kept him from doing so, and he finally admitted that it was too large. The prison shattered and the fairy appeared to lead the princess to Hyacinth, telling him that self-love keeps people from knowing their own defects, and it is only when the faults hinder them do they realize. Prince Hyacinth’s nose shrunk to a normal size and he married the Dear Little Princess and lived happily ever after.