“The Toad Bride.” The Turnip Princess: and other newly discovered fairy tales, Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, New York: Penguin Books, 2015, p. 101.
Tale Summary
There was once a man with three sons, and he told them that whoever spun the finest thread of flax would inherit his house. The two older sons, who were clever, set to work and spun day and night, while the foolish youngest son ran back and forth everywhere imaginable with the flax until he found himself in the mud of a swamp. He met some toads, and they told him that they would help him as long as he came back, and when he did the toad ordered him to take the thread and let everyone know that he was planning to marry, and to put a bridal veil and dress on the altar. When the young man returned home, his father gave him the house because his thread was so fine, but there was no bride in sight when everyone arrived at his wedding. When the church bells rang, a toad appeared and slipped into the wedding dress, and suddenly became the most beautiful woman ever seen. She told the groom that he had set her free from a spell by an evil witch, which could have only been broken when a young man needed her help. They were married and lived in harmony for many years.
Fairy Tale Title
The Toad Bride
Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)
Franz Xaver von Schönwerth
Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)
Engelbert Suss
Common Tale Type
The Animal Bride
Tale Classification
ATU 402
Page Range of Tale
p. 101
Full Citation of Tale
“The Toad Bride.” The Turnip Princess: and other newly discovered fairy tales, Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, New York: Penguin Books, 2015, p. 101.
Original Source of the Tale
Tale Notes
Research and Curation
Kaeli Waggener, 2023
Book Title
The Turnip Princess : and other newly discovered fairy tales
Book Author/Editor(s)
Franz Xaver von Schönwerth
Illustrator(s)
Engelbert Suss
Publisher
Penguin Books
Date Published
2015
Decade Published
2010-2019
Publisher City
New York
Publisher Country
United States
Language
English
Rights
Copyright not evaluated
Digital Copy
Book Notes
Franz Xaver von Schönwerth traversed the forests, lowlands, and mountains of northern Bavaria to record fairy tales. Most of Schönwerth's work was lost-- until a few years ago, when thirty boxes of manuscripts were uncovered in a German municipal archive. Available for the first time in English, the tales are violent, dark, full of action, and upend the relationship between damsels in distress and their dragon-slaying heroes.