Week 17- #GRIMMread2019

http://shonnaslayton.com/grimm-read-2019-challenge/

I found this week's stories more enjoyable than last week's, probably because last week the tales were so similar to each other. There is a lot more variety among this week's selections, but one thing they all bear in common is the employment of disguises.

"Allerleirauh" (All-Kinds-of-Fur)- This tale is very similar to "Donkeyskin" by Charles Perrault, which also has some similarities to "Cinderella". This story may have been inspired by Saint Dymphna, who's father became insane with lust for her, and ordered her to marry him. She refused, and was beheaded. She also happens to be the patroness of the insane, runaways, and princesses. In this story, the princess uses disguise as a means of survival. She stalls off her father for a time, by demanding three dresses to be made, resembling the sun, moon, and stars, and a cloak of fur made with a piece of every kind of animal. When this is done, she packs up her dresses in a nutshell, three golden objects, a ring, spinning wheel, and reel, puts on the fur cloak, covers herself in soot, and runs away. She is found by another king, who employs her in the kitchen. They call her Allerleirauh, and she is treated as a slave, but she doesn't complain about this. This is preferable to being forced to marry her own father. Each night she cleans herself up and attends the ball in a different dress. The king dances with her, but she escapes every time. She also serves the king soup and adds one of the Golden objects each night. This somehow makes the soup delicious. When the king asks her about it, she doesn't take credit. On the last night, he sees that one of her fingers is white, and the ring that he put on her finger, while they were dancing, is there. They marry and live happily ever after.

"The Hare's Bride"- A hare whisks away a young girl and marries her. He then puts her to work in the kitchen. She gets fed up, and disguises a doll in her place in order to escape. The hare is tired of waiting for his food, so he knocks the doll's head off, and thinks he killed his wife.

"The Twelve Huntsmen"- This was my favorite out of this week's stories. A prince and princess who love each other very much are engaged to be married. The prince's father is dying, and his last request is that the prince marry another princess. The prince is heartbroken, but agrees, and he breaks off his first engagement. The princess can't get over him, so she adopts an elaborate disguise in order to become part of his household. She asks her father to give her eleven women that look like her. She and the others dress as huntsmen, and ask to be hired by the prince, who is now king. The prince hires them, but he doesn't recognize his first love. I really wanted to know more about the princess's plan to win back the king, but no more information is given about this. The king has a rather discerning lion, who tells him that the huntsmen are actually women. He devises some crazy tests to prove this: putting peas on the floor because women won't step on peas, and putting several spinning wheels in a room because women can't resist spinning wheels! Who knew? The princess is warned about the tests beforehand, and instructs the others how to pass the tests. The King is angry with the lion because he thinks the lion is lying to him. When the princess hears that the new bride is on her way to the palace, she faints. The prince runs to her, and sees that under her glove, she is still wearing her engagement ring. The prince then remembers his promise, chooses to marry his first love, and sends the second bride away. They live happily ever after.

"The Thief and His Master"- A boy is apprenticed to a master thief/sorcerer, and his father is to come back for him in two years. If he can't recognize him then he must pay the master-thief. A dwarf tells the man how to recognize his son, who is disguised as a bird. He takes his son away, and the master-thief is angry about this. The son proves his skill by using his sorcery to disguise himself, and trick people out of their money. The master-thief comes after him, and they both duel (in a manner reminiscent of Merlin and Madam Mim in Disney's The Sword in the Stone). Ultimately, the student becomes the master, when the master-thief becomes a cock, and the boy becomes a fox, and bites off his head.