her parents' house and lead her as queen into his kingdom. On leaving her he gave her a splendid cloak that she could wear home under her rags. Then he presented her with a casket with all sorts of precious things and two rich dresses. These gifts she must not hide in spite of the fact that at home they would be taken from her. Also the dog gave her with his paw on leaving, a gold ring, and now she turned back with all her treasure and the fire to her home. Here she was treated worse than before and robbed of all her presents. After some time a beautiful ship came and anchored nearby. The owner of the ship inquired curiously of the peasant about his affairs and asked finally whether he had daughters. The peasant said he only had two and called the two oldest. They came in the clothes stolen from their sister, however, one hid her hand and the other had a cloth bound about her nose. The newcomer inquired curiously for the reason of this covering up until their mutilation was made plain. Now the peasant had to, in spite of all his opposition, bring in his youngest daughter. She appeared in her rags but when the stranger tore them from her she was clothed in a splendid cloak. The dresses and the costly articles stolen from Helga were taken away from the sisters and the prince went forth with his bride to his kingdom.
In this fairy tale there is hidden a rich symbolism with the interpretation of which we will busy ourselves later.
I might mention now two beautiful, typical, Russian fairy tales with the same motive: "The Frost" and the "Desert Story."[1]
The Frost.—Once upon a time there was an old man and an old woman who had three daughters. The wife could not bear the oldest for she was her stepdaughter. She quarreled with her, awoke her earlier and gave her all the work. She had to water and feed the cattle, carry the wood and the water, heat the oven and mend the clothes. She had always to sweep the cottage and put it to rights before daybreak. The old woman was however, in spite of this, always dissatisfied and faultfinding. "How lazy and disorderly, the broom is not in its place, this and that are wrong and the house is dirty."
The poor girl wept and was silent, she sought in every way
- ↑ Afanassiew, "Russische Volksmärchen." Deutsch von Anna Mayer, Wien, 1906. C. W. Stern.
