“The Yellow Dwarf.” Old French Fairy Tales, D’Aulnoy, Madame, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1899, pp. 138-172.

Tale Summary

A queen has a single daughter who is very beautiful and prideful. The princess, named All-Fair, refuses to marry any suitor as she is content being single. The queen seeks out the help of the Fairy of the Desert, but runs into two fierce lions guarding her castle. A yellow dwarf living in a nearby tree saves her life in exchange for her daughter’s hand in marriage. Without knowing of her mother’s deal, All-Fair sets out to visit the Fairy of the Desert for advice on who to marry, but runs into the same lions and the Yellow Dwarf. He saves her life, but only if she agrees to marry him. She obliges, and she is returned to her mother’s castle. Eventually, All-Fair agrees to marry the King of the Gold Mines, who she finds so charming that they fall in love. On the day of their wedding, the Yellow Dwarf and the Fairy of the Desert interrupt the ceremony; the former kidnaps the princess while the latter takes the king. The king is forced to marry the Fairy of the Desert, but he escapes with the help of a mermaid. The mermaid gives the King of the Gold Mines a diamond sword to help him rescue the princess from the Yellow Dwarf’s castle. He battles three obstacles: four sphinxes, six dragons, and 24 nymphs. Once he reaches All-Fair, he is so overcome with joy that he drops his diamond sword, and it is swiftly taken by the Yellow Dwarf. All-Fair and the King of the Gold Mines stand no chance against the Dwarf and his diamond sword, and would rather be killed together than suffer any more time in captivity. The Yellow Dwarf kills the king, and the princess dies from grief.