The Feather of Finist the Falcon

The Feather of Finist the Falcon

The Feather of Finist the Falcon or Finist the Falcon is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in "Narodnye russkie skazki".

It is Aarne-Thompson type 432, the prince as bird.

ynopsis

A merchant asked his three daughters what they want him to bring them from the fair. The older two ask for dresses or shawls, but the youngest wants either the feather of Finist the Falcon or a red flower. In some variants, he went to the fair twice, able to bring back what her older sisters had asked for, but not hers, but she did not vary her request.

In the third or first visit, he found the feather, or else found the flower and must promise that his daughter will marry Finist the Falcon for it. Whether the flower or the feather, the thing brought Finist the Falcon to her at night, and he wooed her. If she was given the flower, he gave her a feather that would magically aid her. Her sisters discovered the visit; they might have spied, or she may have appeared in finer clothing, from use of the feathers, than they knew she had, or she may have appeared in church as a strange woman (like Cinderella at the ball) because of her rich clothing, and not hidden it quickly enough when she returned home. Once they became suspicious, they often listened and, hearing a man's voice, tried to persuade their father that their sister had a lover, but failed.

However they discovered it, the sisters put knives in the window, so that he was injured. He said that she must search for him to find him, which would wear out three pairs of iron shoes, and three iron staves. He did not return. She set out to find him.

She finds a hut with a witch (sometimes referred to as a Baba Yaga), who gives her a gift (such as a silver spinning wheel and a golden spindle), and sends her on to another witch. This witch gives her another gift (such as a silver dish and a golden egg), and sends her on to yet a third witch. This one gives her a third gift (such as a golden embroidery frame and a needle that sewed of itself), and sent her to the castle where Finist was to marry.

In some variants, she found someone trying to wash the blood from Finist's shirt and washed it herself. In all, she managed to trade the witches' gifts to the bride to let her stay a night with Finist. The princess either put a magical pin in his hair to keep him asleep or gave him a sleeping draught; the third night, either Finist is warned not to drink the draught, or the pin falls out. He woke and knew her.

In some variants, he asked the nobles whom he should marry: the woman who had sold him, or the woman who had bought him. They agreed the woman who bought him should have him.

In other variants, she went home to her father. When he and her sisters went to church, she dressed finely and went with Finist, and her sisters came back with stories of the prince and princess who came to church. The third time, her father saw the carriage stopped at his own door, and the daughter had to confess. She married Finist.

Adaptations

Josepha Sherman drew on this fairy tale for her novel "The Shining Falcon".

ee also

*The Singing, Springing Lark
*Beauty and the Beast

*The Canary Prince
*The Blue Bird
*The Green Knight
*The Three Sisters

*East of the Sun and West of the Moon
*Black Bull of Norroway
*The Enchanted Pig
*The Two Kings' Children

External links

* [http://www.maerchenlexikon.de/etexte/432/te432-001.htm "The Feather of Finist the Falcon"]
* [http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/russian/russianwondertales/featherfinistfalcon.html "The Feather of Finist the Falcon"]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Finist — is the falcon in the Slavic mythology. * The Feather of Finist the Falcon, Russian fairy tale * Finist Yasnyy sokol, a Soviet 1975 filmAlso Finist may be referred to: * Technoavia SM92 Finist * Finist air, an airline in France * Finistère, a… …   Wikipedia

  • The Singing, Springing Lark — or The Singing, Soaring Lark is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, appearing as tale no. 88. [Jacob and Wilheim Grimm, [http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/88singinglark.html The Singing, Springing Lark ] ,… …   Wikipedia

  • The Canary Prince — is an Italian fairy tale, the 18th tale in Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino. He took the tale from Turin, making various stylistic changes; he noted it developed a medieval motif, but such tales as Marie de France s Yonec produced a rather… …   Wikipedia

  • The Enchanted Pig — is a Romanian fairy tale, collected in Rumanische Märchen and also by Petre Ispirescu in Legende sau basmele românilor . Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book . [Andrew Lang, The Red Fairy Book ,… …   Wikipedia

  • The Green Knight (fairy tale) — The Green Knight is a Danish fairy tale, collected by Evald Tang Kristensen in Eventyr fra Jylland and by Svendt Grundtvig in Danish Fairy Tales .This tale combines Aarne Thompson type 510A with type 425N, the bird husband, and type 432, the… …   Wikipedia

  • The Two Kings' Children — is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm s Fairy Tales , tale number 113.Jacob and Wilheim Grimm, Household Tales , [http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/113twokingschildren.html The Two Kings Children ] ] It… …   Wikipedia

  • The Three Sisters (fairy tale) — The Three Sisters is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone .ynopsisA woman had three daughters; the two older were very unlucky but the youngest, Nella, was very fortunate. A prince… …   Wikipedia

  • The Blue Bird (fairy tale) — For other literary works called The Blue Bird or L Oiseau Bleu, see The Blue Bird. The Blue Bird is a French literary fairy tale by Madame d Aulnoy, published in 1697. An English translation was included in The Green Fairy Book , 1892, collected… …   Wikipedia

  • Beauty and the Beast — (French: La Belle et la Bête ) is a traditional fairy tale (type 425C search for a lost husband in the Aarne Thompson classification). The first published version of the fairy tale was a rendition by Madame Gabrielle Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve …   Wikipedia

  • East of the Sun and West of the Moon — is the Norwegian version of an old Scandinavian fairy tale. The Swedish version is called Prince Hat under the Ground . The Norwegian version East of the Sun and West of the Moon was collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, and it… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”