The Princess and the White Bear King (Book & CD)

Product Information

It was not long before the princess brought out the napkin and the flask, that you may be sure, and when the children were all full and glad, she cut them out clothes with her golden scissors. Yes!’ they said. ‘He passed by here this morning early, but he went so fast you’ll never be able to catch him up.’ But once when she was in the wood, she set her eyes upon a white bear, who had the very wreath she had dreamt of between his paws and was playing with it. The princess wanted to buy it, but the bear said she could only have it if he could have her. Because she thought life was not worth living without the wreathe, she agreed to be fetched in three days, on Thursday. As for the girl, she ran about clipping in the air and playing with a pair of golden scissors, which were of that kind, that silk and satin stuffs flew all about her if she only clipped the air with them. Where they were, there was never any want of clothes.

But this poor wife,’ said the girl, ‘who has to go so far on such bad ways, I think she may well be thirsty and suffer much other ill. No doubt she needs this flask more than I;’ and so she asked if she might have leave to give her the flask. Yes! that leave she might have. Kamp, Jens. Danske Folkeminder, æventyr, Folkesagn, Gaader, Rim Og Folketro. Odense: R. Nielsen, 1877. pp. 294-302.As it turns out, the old troll hag who had bewitched King Valemon lived there, and in three days she was going to hold her wedding feast with him. The princess asked around whether she could speak with the hag. Fellows, Folklore (2004). FF Communications. Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia. p.249. ISBN 978-951-41-0963-8. That day it was just the same story with the napkin as with the scissors and the flask. When it was about dinner-time the princess went outside the castle, took out the napkin and said, ‘Napkin, spread yourself out and be covered with all dainty dishes,’ and there was meat enough, and to spare, for hundreds of men; but the princess sat down to table by herself.

Kristensen, Evald Tang. Gamle jyske folkeviser samlede af folkemunde: isaer i Hammerum-Herred. Gyldendal, 1876. pp. 327-334. The prince told the princess that only his true bride would be able to wash his shirt clean of wax stains. When the princess cleaned his shirt, the troll queen turned to stone. So the first thing she did when he was sound asleep, was to light the candle-end and throw a light on him; and he was so lovely she never thought she could gaze enough at him; but as she held the candle over him, a hot drop of tallow dropped on his forehead, and he woke up. The hut was full of small children who hung around their mother’s skirts and bawled for food as she put a pot on the fire full of small, round pebbles. The princess asked why the old woman did that, and she explained that they were so poor that they had neither food nor clothing, but when she put the pot on the fire and said, “The apples will be ready soon,” the words dulled the children’s hunger so they were patient a while. This poor woman,” said the little girl, “who has to go so far on such difficult paths, may well starve and suffer other ills. She has far more need of this napkin than I do.” She asked if she could give the princess the napkin, and did so.Erik Henning Edvardsen: Kvitebjørn kong Valemon 1. Gerhard August Schneider - arkitekten bak norske evnetyrillustrasjoner. Norsk Folkeminnelags skrifter nr. 155. Aschehoug. ISBN 82-03-19015-4. Oslo 2005.

Hurbánková, Šárka (2018). "G.B. Basile and Apuleius: first literary tales: morphological analysis of three fairytales". Graeco-Latina Brunensia (2): 75–93. doi: 10.5817/GLB2018-2-6. Next day the princess went under the window again, and began to pour out drink from her flask. It frothed like a brook with ale and wine, and it was never empty. So when the old hag saw that, she was all for buying it, for she said,— The children crying for food went to the princess’s heart and she brought out the napkin and the flask. After the children were full and happy, she cut them clothes with her golden scissors. The little girl there ran about, playing and clipping the air with a pair of golden scissors. As she clipped, silk and satin flew all about. Where the scissors went, there was never any want of clothes.

So the princess got the flask, and thanked them, and set off again away through the same wood, both that day and the next night too. The third morning she came to a hut, where there was also an old wife and a little girl. Every year, the princess had a child, but as soon as the baby was born, the bear rushed away with it. At the end of three years, she asked to visit her parents. There, her mother gave her a candle so that she could see him. At night, she lit it and looked at him, and a drop of tallow fell on his forehead, waking him. He told her that if she had waited another month, he would have been free of an evil witch queen's spell, but now he must go to the witch's realm and become her husband. He rushed off, but she seized his fur and rode him, though the branches battered her, until she was so tired that she fell off. But when the old hag saw that, she was all for buying the golden scissors, for she said, ‘All our tailors can do is no good at all, we have too many to find clothes for.’ Well, he passed by here the day before yesterday, but he was going so fast that you’ll never be able to catch up.”