Tale Summary

There once lived a cobbler named Tom and his wife, named Joan, who always thought the opposite of him. One day, Joan accidentally knocked over some pots and pans, breaking them all. When Tom rushed in to see what had happened, she grabbed a pair of scissors and told him she had cut them to pieces. They argued with each other, until he said that if she did not tell him the truth he would throw her in the river. She wouldn’t budge on the issue, so he tossed her in. Before she went under, she made a motion with her fingers as if she were moving scissors, and Tom saw it was no use to try and persuade her. He ran upstream, where he met a neighbor who asked what was the matter. Tom told him that Joan had fallen in the river and he was trying to save her. When the neighbor pointed out he was going upstream, Tom replied that Joan always went contrary to what was really happening. He did not find her in time to save her.

Fairy Tale Title

Scissors

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Joseph Jacobs

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

John D. Batten

Common Tale Type

Tale Classification

Page Range of Tale

31-33

Full Citation of Tale

"ǰ.” Europa’s Fairy Book, Joseph Jacobs, New York, London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1916, pp. 31-33.

Original Source of the Tale

Tale Notes

Research and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2023

Book Title

Europa's Fairy Book

Book Author/Editor(s)

Joseph Jacobs

Illustrator(s)

John D. Batten

Publisher

G. P. Putnam's sons, The Knickerbocker Press

Date Published

1916

Decade Published

1910-1919

Publisher City

New York
London

Publisher Country

United States
United Kingdom

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Book Notes

None