Week 22- #GRIMMread2019

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

I had to skip my blog post last week due to illness and then travel. This week's stories don't have much in common with each other, unlike last week's stories, but they each contain examples of wish-fulfillment. Requests/wishes, whether of a magical nature, or not, are unpredictable things which are fulfilled with varying results.

The Gold-Children- A very poor fisherman catches a golden fish. The Golden fish makes a request of the fisherman. If he let's him go, he will grant the fisherman a castle with a magical food cabinet. The fisherman agrees. They both benefit from the Golden fish's wish. The fish gains his freedom, and the fisherman is no longer poor, but the fisherman is forbidden to tell anyone the secret of his success. If he does, he will lose everything. Well, his wife harasses him about it, and he finally tells her his secret, and he loses everything. This happens a second time. Upon being caught a third time, the fish has a different request. At this point he believes he is fated into the fisherman's hands. He asks the fisherman to cut him into six pieces and feed two to his horse, two to his wife, and bury two in the ground. The ground sprouts two golden lilies. The horse births two golden foals, and the wife births two golden sons. Basically, the Golden sons have some adventures and end up happily in the end. The fulfillment of the Golden fish's final request is also mutually beneficial. In a way, the fish is able to live on in the Golden boys, horses, and lilies, while the fisherman experiences the joy of having children.

The Fox and the Geese- A fox comes upon a flock of geese, and says he will eat them all. The geese have one wish-- to say a final prayer before they die. The fox grants their request, and for once he is outsmarted because the geese are still praying to this day.

The Poor Man and the Rich Man- the Lord is looking for a place to stay for the night. He is turned away by the rich man, but taken in by the poor man. In return, the Lord grants the poor man and his wife three wishes. (I don't know what it is with Grimm's stories and equating religious figures with genies.) The poor man's wishes come true to his and his wife's benefit. The rich man discovers this, and he rides ahead to ask the Lord if he may also have three wishes. The Lord basically tells him to have at it, but it will go Ill for him if he does, so he would be better off not wishing for anything. The rich man ignores this, makes three disastrous wishes, and ends up being miserable.

The Singing, Soaring Lark- The titular lark only makes a short appearance in this "Beauty and the Beast" tale. A man has three daughters. The first requests diamonds, the second pearls, and the third requests a singing, soaring lark. The man discovers the lark at a castle in the forest, and a lion pounces on the man for stealing his lark. The lion lets him go on the condition that he will give him whatever first meets him upon his return. Well, it's his third daughter, and as he brings her the lark, he tells her what the fulfillment of her request has cost. The rest of the story is very similar to "Beauty and the Beast", and "East o' the Sun West o' the Moon", which is a Norwegian "Beauty and the Beast" tale more along the lines of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. The girl's simple wish for a lark, leads her to the lion (enchanted prince), and eventually her happily ever after with him. Although, her request of the lion to accompany her, against his better judgement, to her sister's wedding, brings them unhappiness. It causes her to lose him for many years, but ultimately strengthens their love, as they struggle and sacrifice to be with each other again, and they do end up happily ever after.

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