Tatterhood was one of the first fairy tales I can remember. It was the first one in a collection I had, which was full of stories that celebrated strong heroines. Some of my other favorites from that story were:
Janet and Tamlin: A young woman falls in love with a man who was kidnapped by the fairy queen. She follows his instructions perfectly (no three tries for her!) and is able to rescue him from the fairies by grabbing him, dragging him off of his horse when he goes out riding, and then continues to hold on to him when he turns into a lion, a bear, and other such animals. She even manages to hold on to him when he's a burning iron bar and a puddle of water. She also does this all in the middle of the night, when a band of very pissed fairies are right there, and escapes with Tamlin.
Kamala and the Seven Thieves: A clever woman is able to trick a group of thieves into plowing her husband's land, by leading them to think that they have treasure buried in there. When the thieves find out the truth, they kidnap her in the middle of the night. She turns the tables on them by climbing into a tree as they pause to rest, and then pretending to be a ghost.
The Squire's Bride: An old, miserly squire decides that he ought to get married, and that the young, pretty daughter of a peasant family living nearby is just the one for him. She very much doesn't agree, but realizes that he's so self-absorbed, he'd never get it through his head that he's anything less than a great catch. She dodges marrying him by tricking the servant he sends to fetch her into thinking the squire wanted a calf. The very confused servant, following orders, dresses the calf in the bridal gown and sends it into the ceremony, embarrassing the squire enough to leave the girl alone.
Unanana and the Elephant: A woman named Unanana has two children, and comes home one day to find that an elephant has swallowed them whole and run off with them. Taking a knife, she tracks down the elephant. The journey is long and she is tired and hungry, but continues on because she knows her children are scared and hungry as well. When she finds the elephant, she provokes it into eating her. She finds that there are many other people inside of the elephant, and cuts them free by carving an exit through the elephant's ribs. Needless to say, the elephant dies. Unanana and her children go home, and the other prisoners give her many gifts as thanks for saving them.
Three Strong Women: A famous samurai is traveling through a forest on the way to a tournament, when he comes across a very large, very good-natured woman. He decides to have a joke and tickle her, and is very surprised when she is able to pin his hand to her side and drag him along with no effort at all. Far from being angry at the trip, the woman is genuinely worried since, as far as she's concerned, this world-famous samurai is clearly weak and needs some good training! She drags him clean up the mountain and introduces him to her mother (who carries their pet cow up and down the mountain routinely) and her grandmother (who can uproot an oak tree and toss it from one mountain to another, just because it annoys her). The samurai spends months with the women, being taught to become even stronger. When the time comes, he heads off for the tournament. At the tournament, he beats everyone in seconds flat, and is declared the winner. Everyone is annoyed at how easily the tournament was won though, so it is also declared that he can never enter another tournament. The samurai agrees, and goes back to the mountains to live with the three women. It is said that from then on, any time thunder was heard in that area, it was the samurai practicing his wrestling with those three.
And there's even more than that. I love that book so much! ^_^
"And thank you for the explanation. That does clarify things"
Oh, you're welcome! And I also just remembered - when she's told about the fates, she's the only one who points out that given that Death By Dog is on the menu, it's really not very wise of him to keep a pet dog. When the prince refuses to give up the dog, she makes him promise to at least keep a sword with him at all times. If memory serves (I can't find the book right now ^^; ), she uses that sword to cut the ropes.
I remember the story of Janet and Tam Lin--though I didn't run into it until I was in college--but I never heard of the others before. What was the name of this collection?
I also just remembered - when she's told about the fates, she's the only one who points out that given that Death By Dog is on the menu, it's really not very wise of him to keep a pet dog. When the prince refuses to give up the dog, she makes him promise to at least keep a sword with him at all times.
Yes! Here's the passage:
Several weeks later the prince said to his wife, "My life is in the hands of three creatures--a crocodile, a serpent and a dog."
"Ah, how rash you are!" cried the princess, throwing her arms around his neck. "If you know that, how can you have that horrid beast about you? I will give orders to have him killed at once."
But the prince would not listen to her. "Kill my dear little dog, who has been my playfellow since he was a puppy?" he exclaimed. "Oh, never would I allow it." And all that the princess could get from him was that he would always wear a sword and have somebody with him when he left the palace.
So yeah. She not only sees the twist ending coming, she warns her husband about it in the middle of the story.
Another collection I would highly recommend is "Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters", which is possibly the largest compilation of fairy tales celebrating strong women, sorted by what parts of the world each one is from, and each story being finished with a small note from the woman who compiled it all, explaining why she chose each tale. There are a number of very obscure ones, and it's a fantastic read
Janet and Tamlin: A young woman falls in love with a man who was kidnapped by the fairy queen. She follows his instructions perfectly (no three tries for her!) and is able to rescue him from the fairies by grabbing him, dragging him off of his horse when he goes out riding, and then continues to hold on to him when he turns into a lion, a bear, and other such animals. She even manages to hold on to him when he's a burning iron bar and a puddle of water. She also does this all in the middle of the night, when a band of very pissed fairies are right there, and escapes with Tamlin.
Kamala and the Seven Thieves: A clever woman is able to trick a group of thieves into plowing her husband's land, by leading them to think that they have treasure buried in there. When the thieves find out the truth, they kidnap her in the middle of the night. She turns the tables on them by climbing into a tree as they pause to rest, and then pretending to be a ghost.
The Squire's Bride: An old, miserly squire decides that he ought to get married, and that the young, pretty daughter of a peasant family living nearby is just the one for him. She very much doesn't agree, but realizes that he's so self-absorbed, he'd never get it through his head that he's anything less than a great catch. She dodges marrying him by tricking the servant he sends to fetch her into thinking the squire wanted a calf. The very confused servant, following orders, dresses the calf in the bridal gown and sends it into the ceremony, embarrassing the squire enough to leave the girl alone.
Unanana and the Elephant: A woman named Unanana has two children, and comes home one day to find that an elephant has swallowed them whole and run off with them. Taking a knife, she tracks down the elephant. The journey is long and she is tired and hungry, but continues on because she knows her children are scared and hungry as well. When she finds the elephant, she provokes it into eating her. She finds that there are many other people inside of the elephant, and cuts them free by carving an exit through the elephant's ribs. Needless to say, the elephant dies. Unanana and her children go home, and the other prisoners give her many gifts as thanks for saving them.
Three Strong Women: A famous samurai is traveling through a forest on the way to a tournament, when he comes across a very large, very good-natured woman. He decides to have a joke and tickle her, and is very surprised when she is able to pin his hand to her side and drag him along with no effort at all. Far from being angry at the trip, the woman is genuinely worried since, as far as she's concerned, this world-famous samurai is clearly weak and needs some good training! She drags him clean up the mountain and introduces him to her mother (who carries their pet cow up and down the mountain routinely) and her grandmother (who can uproot an oak tree and toss it from one mountain to another, just because it annoys her). The samurai spends months with the women, being taught to become even stronger. When the time comes, he heads off for the tournament. At the tournament, he beats everyone in seconds flat, and is declared the winner. Everyone is annoyed at how easily the tournament was won though, so it is also declared that he can never enter another tournament. The samurai agrees, and goes back to the mountains to live with the three women. It is said that from then on, any time thunder was heard in that area, it was the samurai practicing his wrestling with those three.
And there's even more than that. I love that book so much! ^_^
"And thank you for the explanation. That does clarify things"
Oh, you're welcome! And I also just remembered - when she's told about the fates, she's the only one who points out that given that Death By Dog is on the menu, it's really not very wise of him to keep a pet dog. When the prince refuses to give up the dog, she makes him promise to at least keep a sword with him at all times. If memory serves (I can't find the book right now ^^; ), she uses that sword to cut the ropes.
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I also just remembered - when she's told about the fates, she's the only one who points out that given that Death By Dog is on the menu, it's really not very wise of him to keep a pet dog. When the prince refuses to give up the dog, she makes him promise to at least keep a sword with him at all times.
Yes! Here's the passage:
Several weeks later the prince said to his wife, "My life is in the hands of three creatures--a crocodile, a serpent and a dog."
"Ah, how rash you are!" cried the princess, throwing her arms around his neck. "If you know that, how can you have that horrid beast about you? I will give orders to have him killed at once."
But the prince would not listen to her. "Kill my dear little dog, who has been my playfellow since he was a puppy?" he exclaimed. "Oh, never would I allow it." And all that the princess could get from him was that he would always wear a sword and have somebody with him when he left the palace.
So yeah. She not only sees the twist ending coming, she warns her husband about it in the middle of the story.
Reply
http://www.amazon.com/Tatterhood-Other-Tales-Johnston-Phelps/dp/0912670509
Another collection I would highly recommend is "Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters", which is possibly the largest compilation of fairy tales celebrating strong women, sorted by what parts of the world each one is from, and each story being finished with a small note from the woman who compiled it all, explaining why she chose each tale. There are a number of very obscure ones, and it's a fantastic read
http://www.amazon.com/Fearless-Girls-Women-Beloved-Sisters/dp/0393045986
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