The Sprig of Rosemary

The Sprig of Rosemary is a Spanish fairy tale collected by Dr. D. Francisco de S. Maspons y Labros in "Cuentos Populars Catalans". Andrew Lang included it in "The Pink Fairy Book".

It is Aarne-Thompson type 425A, the search for the lost husband.

ynopsis

A man made his only daughter work very hard. One day after she had worked, he sent her to collect firewood. She did, and picked herself a sprig of rosemary as well. A handsome young man appeared and asked why she had come to steal his firewood. She said that her father had sent her, and he led her to a castle and told her that he was a great lord and wanted to marry her, so they married.

The old woman who looked after the castle gave her the keys but warned her that if she used one, the castle would fall to pieces. After a time, curiosity overcame her, and she opened it to find a snakeskin; her husband, a magician, used it to change shape. Then the castle fell to pieces. She cried, broke off a sprig of rosemary and went to search for him.

She found a house of straw where they took her in service, but she grew sadder by the day. When her mistress asked, the daughter told her story, and her mistress sent her to the Sun, the Moon, and the Wind, to ask. The Sun could not help her, but gave her a nut and sent her on to the Moon; the Moon could not help her but gave her an almond and sent her on to the Wind; the Wind did not know but would look. He learned her husband was hidden in the palace of the king, and would marry the king's daughter the next day.

The daughter implored him to put it off if he could, and after giving her a walnut, the Wind blew on the tailors sewing for the wedding and destroyed their work. The daughter arrived, and cracked the nut, and found a fine mantle. She sold it to the princess for a great sum in gold. Then the almond held petticoats, which she sold again. Then the walnut held a gown, and for this she demanded to see the bridegroom. The princess finally agreed, and when she went in, she touched him with the rosemary, which brought his memory back, and they went back to her home.

Motifs

The unwitting theft is a common motif, but in fairy tales, the usual offender is the father, as in "The Singing, Springing Lark" or "Beauty and the Beast"; the motif is found in other folktales, such as the ballads "Tam Lin" and "Hind Etin".

Finding the husband can change shape is a common thread in stories of this type, but the discovery that the husband can become a beast is rare; usually, as in "East of the Sun and West of the Moon", "The Black Bull of Norroway", "The Brown Bear of Norway", "The Enchanted Snake", and "The Enchanted Pig", the bride finds her animal bridegroom is also a man. Furthermore, the usual disaster stems not merely from the discovery but the attempt to break the spell on him -- although it is not unique for the violation of the taboo to bring disaster, as in "The Tale of the Hoodie".

The quest is common to all fairy tales of this type, and the specific motifs of the Sun, the Moon, and the Wind are found in others, such as "The Enchanted Pig" and "The Singing, Springing Lark".

In most variants, all the magical treasures are used to bribe the heroine's way to the hero, but the false heroine manages to trick the hero to nullify it, instead of this tale's technique where she actually sells the first two things.

External links

* [http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/eastsunwestmoon/stories/sprigrosemary.html SurLaLune Fairy Tale site, "The Sprig of Rosemary"]