The Three Feathers

"The Three Feathers.” The Juniper Tree, and other Tales from Grimm, Brothers Grimm, translated by Lore Segal, Randall Jarrell, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1973, pp. 3-10.

Tale Summary Once upon a time there was a king who grew old and weak and did not know how to divide up his kingdom amongst his three sons. The eldest two were smart, but the youngest did not speak much and so he was called Dumbkin. He told them...

The Mouse Bride

“The Mouse Bride.” Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, edited by Claire Booss, New York: Avenel Books, 1984, pp. 541-547.

Tale Summary There was once a laborer named Pekka, who went to talk to an old Lapland woman to hear his fortune. She told him that he would have three sons, and when each was born he should plant a tree bearing the name of the child. When they were...

The Toad Bride

“The Toad Bride.” The Turnip Princess: and other newly discovered fairy tales, Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, New York: Penguin Books, 2015, p. 101.

Tale Summary There was once a man with three sons, and he told them that whoever spun the finest thread of flax would inherit his house. The two older sons, who were clever, set to work and spun day and night, while the foolish youngest son ran back and forth...

The Frog Princess

“The Frog Princess.” The magic egg and other tales from Ukraine, Barbara J. Suwyn, Englewood, Colo. : Libraries Unlimited, 1997, pp. 122-131.

Tale Summary Long ago, there was a great king who decided it was time for his three sons to be married. He instructed each of them to shoot an arrow into the sky, and that their bride would be found where it lands. The oldest let an arrow fly, where...