French

"L'Amour Magot." L'Amour Magot: Histoire Merveilleuse. Les Tisons. Et Lettres Écrites Des Campagnes Infernales. Aux dépens de la Compagnie, Londres [i.e. Amsterdam?], 1738, pp. 1-54.

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Oct 2022 19:50:53 +0000

"L'Amour Magot." L'Amour Magot: Histoire Merveilleuse. Les Tisons. Et Lettres Écrites Des Campagnes Infernales. Aux dépens de la Compagnie, Londres [i.e. Amsterdam?], 1738, pp. 1-54. Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 10/28/2022 - 13:50

Tale Summary

A beautiful and charming nymph (designating a young lady of rank) relaxes in a grove, singing a song about being young and yearning for love when in response she hears a voice promising to return her love. She searches for the voice but finds no one. Intrigued, she returns often to the grove to speak with the disembodied voice, which she believes may be a lutin. The voice responds with a rhyme explaining his negative qualities (he is hideous and blamable) along with his positive ones (he is sociable and capable), which complicates the girl's sentiments.

She is burning with a secret and joyless passion and falls ill with a desire to see the object of her love. She is on the verge of death from sadness and proclaims her need to see him in person. She feels an invisible force moving about on her bed, and opens her eyes to see a giant hideous wrinkled monkey. He had been using a magic ring, given to him by the fairy Biscaroux, that turned him invisible. She is horrified by him, and he leaves her. She goes to a magic woman (alternately called a Circé, a fée, a Sibile, a Duègne, a Matrone, and a ministre d'Hécate) to heal her sadness, and the woman utters a spell in Latin from an enchanted book, and the girl is transformed into a Guenon (a female monkey).

Meanwhile, the Magot (large male monkey, and colloquialism for an ugly or malformed man) is wandering the countryside, and prays to the god of Love, asking for a way to reunite with her, or to die. The god of Love appears one dark stormy night and informs him of her transformation.

It is too late though, as she has been captured and sold to a woman as a pet. This governess names her Guenuche and gives her a ribbon ornamented with pearls to wear as a necklace, and brings her to the islands of America. Guenuche becomes very ill at being taken so far away from Magot. Two years pass, and they return. Magot has been living in the forest and evading a man and his dogs with his ring of invisibility when one day while sleeping he is taken by one of the governess's slaves. This is a happy turn of fate, as he is reunited with Guenuche. After just one night, the governess decides she is tired of the old monkey Guenuche and sells her to a sailor. Luckily, Magot, riding in the canoe of a slave returning to his master, is able to reunite with Guenuche on the boat. After a lovely time together, a massive storm hits, and they find themselves on an island, where they are watched by a troupe of monkeys. The head monkey recognizes Magot as their king and asks if he would lead them in a war against Mirmidonnet, the king of the Pygmies, who is trying to take over the island.

General Magot agrees. The war with the Pygmies is bloody, and in the end, all of the monkeys are either killed or taken captive, but just at the end of the battle, Mirmidonnet takes a grenade blast that ultimately kills him. The fairy Biscaroux comes to Magot and tells him that he shall be king of the Pygmies and of Monkey Island, and turns him, his princess Guenuche, and all the captive monkeys into Pygmies.

After a solemn coronation, king Magottin and his princess marry and briefly experience a beautiful life together, until she dies giving birth to their first child. He succumbs to grief shortly thereafter, and they are buried together with a tombstone that reads Here Lies Monkey Love (Ici gît l'Amour Magot).

Fairy Tale Title

L'Amour Magot

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

None listed

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

None listed

Common Tale Type

Tale Classification

Page Range of Tale

pp. 1-54

Full Citation of Tale

"L'Amour Magot." L'Amour Magot: Histoire Merveilleuse. Les Tisons. Et Lettres Écrites Des Campagnes Infernales. Aux dépens de la Compagnie, Londres [i.e. Amsterdam?], 1738, pp. 1-54.

Original Source of the Tale

Tale Notes

From the catalog entry: Fictitious imprint. Printed in Holland. Cf. Weller. Die falschen und fingirten Druckorte. II, page 102. Possibly printed in Holland.
Several Roman and Greek Gods are present: le Dieu de Cythère (blindfolded by the ancients, suggesting the blindness of love); Cupid, Circé, Cibelle (perhaps a reference to Cybele), Hécate, Hébé (with a footnote clarifying that she is the Goddess of Youth). The storyteller mentions the story of Dido and Aeneas from Virgil's Aeneid. The magic woman the girl visits speaks a Latin spell from a book called the Eclogue Enchanteresse, perhaps another reference to Virgil. The storyteller uses the word magotter as a verb, perhaps an adapted word deriving from the Magot and his Magotte, and playfully meaning to monkey around together. The Islands of America are called uncultured, unknown places filled with monsters. The storyteller mentions slaves in America, and slaves are brought back with the Governor and Governess. The fairy Biscaroux (perhaps another literary reference) gave Magot his magic ring. The girl considers that her lover may be a lutin (imp or hobgoblin), suggesting that invisibility, or some magic article granting invisibility, may be an aspect of the lutin in general. The happy and sad moments of the story of the lovers are attributed to the changeability of Fate. The story's humor includes the juxtaposition of low-brow and high-brow elements. Poetry, songs, rhymes, and Latin verses are interspersed in the story. There is a word chart illustrating Magot's self-deprecating rhymes.

Research and Curation

Anonymous, 2020

Book Title

Histoire merveilleuse. Les tisons. Et lettres écrites des campagnes infernales

Book Author/Editor(s)

None listed

Illustrator(s)

None listed

Publisher

Aux dépens de la Compagnie

Date Published

1738

Decade Published

1730-1739

Publisher City

London (fictitious imprint), possibly Amsterdam

Publisher Country

Possibly printed in Amsterdam.

Language

French

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at Gale Primary Sources

Book Notes

Traditional

White

“Griselidis Nouvelle.” Griselidis Nouvelle avec le conte de peau d’asne, et celuy des souhaits ridicules, Charles Perrault, Quatrième édition, Paris, Jean-Baptiste Coignard, 1695, pp. 5–62.

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 19:08:11 +0000

“Griselidis Nouvelle.” Griselidis Nouvelle avec le conte de peau d’asne, et celuy des souhaits ridicules, Charles Perrault, Quatrième édition, Paris, Jean-Baptiste Coignard, 1695, pp. 5–62. Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 02/18/2022 - 12:08

Charles Perrault

Tale Summary

Griselidis Nouvelle tells the story of a young and valiant Prince who distrusts women. He is beloved by his people, who urge him to marry in order to have an heir, but his jealousy prevents him from seeking a wife. One day while hunting he gets lost and sees a woman in the woods who catches his eye: she is beautiful and living a modest rural life in solitude with only her father.

They marry, and she is as wise leading the people as she was leading the sheep. She gives birth to a girl, whom she chooses to nurse. The Prince decides he must test her devotion by trying to drive her to anger and disobedience. He locks her away in a room and takes away her jewels. She reacts with tenderness. He then removes the child, saying he knows a woman better suited to raise her to be a Princess. Griselidis, face covered in tears, does not protest. The Prince leaves the girl in a monastery but tells Griselidis that she has died. Though she is heartbroken, she consoles the Prince in his false show of sadness.

Fifteen years later, the daughter has grown into a beautiful and sensible woman. A young man from the court falls in love with her, and the Prince decides to torment them so that they may better appreciate the happiness that will come from their marriage. He also sees an opportunity to reveal to the court and his people the incredible patience and virtue of Griselidis. He tells her that the people want him to have an heir and that they are unhappy with her low birth, and so he has found a young princess to marry. He wants Griselidis to help prepare for her arrival. When she meets the young woman, she feels a maternal sadness and protectiveness and warns the Prince to be kind to her, because this beautiful young princess would not be able to deal with the sort of suffering that she had endured.

On the wedding day, the Prince reveals his actions. He praises the limitless patience of Griselidis, and offers his daughter to her beloved. Together he and Griselidis prepare for their daughter's wedding.

Fairy Tale Title

Griselidis Nouvelle

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

None

Common Tale Type

Persecuted Maiden

Tale Classification

Page Range of Tale

pp. 5-62

Full Citation of Tale

“Griselidis Nouvelle.” Griselidis Nouvelle avec le conte de peau d’asne, et celuy des souhaits ridicules, Charles Perrault, Quatrième édition, Paris, Jean-Baptiste Coignard, 1695, pp. 5–62.

Original Source of the Tale

Tale Notes

Griselidis Nouvelle is written in verse. Griselidis has only one child, a daughter. There is a preface, in which Perrault addresses the polemic of the ancients vs. the moderns, extolling the morality of modern tales, and of fairy tales in general. He notes the typically female transmission of these stories, as from grandmother or governess to children. This maternal connection is mirrored in the story, in which Griselidis follows her intuition to protect the woman who will be revealed to be her daughter.

In a dedication addressed to Mademoiselle, Perrault states that Griselidis would be too extreme a model of patience, and that the lesson in morality she offers is so ancient that it would likely be laughable in his modern Paris. Nonetheless, he states that one can never have enough antidote to vice, even in Paris where a woman's will shapes society.

Research and Curation

Sara Fischer, 2020

Book Title

Griselidis Nouvelle

Book Author/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault

Illustrator(s)

None

Publisher

Jean-Baptists Coignard

Date Published

1695

Decade Published

1690-1699

Publisher City

Paris

Publisher Country

France

Language

French

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the CU Digital Library

Book Notes

None

Traditional

White

"Peau d'asne." Griselidis Nouvelle avec le conte de peau d’asne, et celuy des souhaits ridicules, Charles Perrault, Quatrième édition, Paris, Jean-Baptists Coignard, 1695, pp. 1-36.

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 18:52:07 +0000

"Peau d'asne." Griselidis Nouvelle avec le conte de peau d’asne, et celuy des souhaits ridicules, Charles Perrault, Quatrième édition, Paris, Jean-Baptists Coignard, 1695, pp. 1-36. Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 02/18/2022 - 11:52

Charles Perrault

Tale Summary

A princess lives in the palace with her parents the king and the queen, surrounded by interesting people and horses, and a donkey with big ears that, instead of producing waste, produces gold coins. The queen grows ill, and makes the king promise to only marry another woman as wise and beautiful as she. The queen believes he will never find such a woman, but in fact, the king falls madly in love with the only woman who can surpass the charms of the wife, his daughter, the princess.

Miserable, the princess goes to her fairy godmother, who says she can avoid the marriage without refusing. She tells her to ask her father for a dress the color of the sky (temps), believing this to be impossible. The father has it done. She then asks for a robe that shines brighter than the color of the moon, and this too is done. She then asks for a robe that shines brighter than the sun, which the king has made with fabric of gold and diamonds. The godmother then recommends that she asks for the skin of the donkey, believing that the king would not deprive himself of this source of wealth. But, with a love of his daughter stronger than that of gold, he has the skin delivered.

The princess runs away, wearing the donkey skin and carrying her godmother's magic wand, which has the power to summon a magic chest packed with her dresses and toiletries. She finds a farmer to take her in as a servant. The valets call her "Peau d'Asne" (Donkey Skin) and make fun of her. On Sundays, alone in her room, she admires herself in the beautiful dresses.

One day, Prince Cephale sees her in her beautiful dress, is consumed with love and desire, and tells his mother, the Queen, that he wants Peau d'Asne to make him a cake. Peau d'Asne, perhaps by accident, or perhaps intentionally because she senses she is loved, bakes a ring into the cake. To heal his yearning heart, the court searches for the woman whose finger will fit the ring, who will become the Prince's bride. All the women of the town attempt to carve down their fingers to fit the dainty ring. Finally, Peau d'Asne fits the ring. She presents herself to the court in her finest dress. At the wedding, the fairy godmother reveals the entire story, and Peau d'Asne is crowned with glory and reunited with her father, whose desire has been tempered with time.

Fairy Tale Title

Peau d'asne

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

None

Common Tale Type

Persecuted Maidens

Tale Classification

Page Range of Tale

pp. 3-36

Full Citation of Tale

"Peau d'asne." Griselidis Nouvelle avec le conte de peau d’asne, et celuy des souhaits ridicules, Charles Perrault, Quatrième édition, Paris, Jean-Baptists Coignard, 1695, pp. 1-36.

Original Source of the Tale

Tale Notes

Peau d'asne is written in verse. The king desires his daughter. The moral of the story is given in that virtue which survives an unfortunate challenge will always be rewarded. Perrault points out the importance of having beautiful clothing, and says that there is not a woman under the heavens that doesn't believe herself the most beautiful. There is a dedication written in verse to the Madame la marquise de L... extolling the virtue of fairy tales in general. There is a footnote defining the word ogre. He alludes to the feminine transmission of tales, mentioning mothers and grandmothers who will keep this story alive in their memories.

Research and Curation

Sara Fischer, 2020

Book Title

Griselidis Nouvelle

Book Author/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault

Illustrator(s)

None

Publisher

Jean-Baptists Coignard

Date Published

1695

Decade Published

1690-1699

Publisher City

Paris

Publisher Country

France

Language

French

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the CU Digital Library

Book Notes

None

Traditional

White

"Souhaites Ridicules." Griselidis Nouvelle avec le conte de peau d’asne, et celuy des souhaits ridicules, Charles Perrault, Quatrième édition, Paris, Jean-Baptists Coignard, 1695, pp. 1-12.

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 20:18:33 +0000

"Souhaites Ridicules." Griselidis Nouvelle avec le conte de peau d’asne, et celuy des souhaits ridicules, Charles Perrault, Quatrième édition, Paris, Jean-Baptists Coignard, 1695, pp. 1-12. Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 02/15/2022 - 13:18

Charles Perrault

Tale Summary

A woodcutter, Blaise, is disappointed with his lot in life, and in the forest, one day, complains to himself out loud that not one of his wishes has ever come true. Jupiter appears thunderbolt in hand, and grants him three wishes, urging him to wish carefully. He tells his wife, Fanchon, and she too urges reflection. That night, drinking wine in front of the fire, he innocently wishes he had a nice sausage to go with it, and the sausage arrives. His wife is furious and screams at him for wasting a wish, at which point he wishes that the sausage would hang from the end of her nose. It is soon attached. With one wish left, he imagines asking to become the King, but sees his once-beautiful wife being crowned Queen with a sausage hanging from her nose, and realizes he must use his final wish to remove the sausage. Perrault concludes that few men are capable to put to good use the gifts that the heavens offer them.

Fairy Tale Title

Souhaits ridicules

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

None

Common Tale Type

Foolish wishes

Tale Classification

Page Range of Tale

pp. 1-12

Full Citation of Tale

"Souhaites Ridicules." Griselidis Nouvelle avec le conte de peau d’asne, et celuy des souhaits ridicules, Charles Perrault, Quatrième édition, Paris, Jean-Baptists Coignard, 1695, pp. 1-12.

Original Source of the Tale

Tale Notes

Les Souhaites ridicules is in verse. It is dedicated to Mademoiselle de la C... and begins by saying that he can tell her this story because she recognizes that the beauty of a tale is not in the content, but in how it is told. Jupiter is present in the story.

Research and Curation

Sara Fischer, 2020

Book Title

Griselidis Nouvelle

Book Author/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault

Illustrator(s)

None

Publisher

Jean-Baptists Coignard

Date Published

1695

Decade Published

1690-1699

Publisher City

Paris

Publisher Country

France

Language

French

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the CU Digital Library

Book Notes

None

Traditional

White

Perrault, Charles. "La Belle au Bois Dormant." Histoires, ou, Contes du temps passé, Amsterdam, Jacques Desbordes, 1700, pp. 1-34.

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 16:29:08 +0000

Perrault, Charles. "La Belle au Bois Dormant." Histoires, ou, Contes du temps passé, Amsterdam, Jacques Desbordes, 1700, pp. 1-34. Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/23/2021 - 09:29

Charles Perrault

Tale Summary

A king and queen, after much time, finally have a child, a baby girl. They invite all the fairies in the kingdom to be her godmothers. At the feast after the baptism, the seven fairy godmothers are each given a magnificent place setting made of gold and embellished with diamonds and rubies. One more fairy arrives unexpectedly, as she had been in hiding for over 50 years, and is welcomed at the table, but there is no place setting for her. Each fairy offers the child a great talent or quality, except the unexpected guest, who feels slighted. She declares that the girl will pierce her hand with a spindle and die. One of the invited fairies, expecting trouble, has saved her gift for last. She declares that, though she is not powerful enough to overturn the curse, she will amend it so that the girl will fall into an enchanted sleep rather than die, and after 100 years a prince will awaken her.

The King forbids spindles in the kingdom, but the Princess, after meeting an old spinning woman unaware of the edict, indeed fulfills the prediction. A dwarf with boots of seven lieuës (an ancient measure of distance) quickly travels a long distance to alert the Fairy, who arrives in an hour in a dragon-drawn carriage. She puts the Princess's cohort to sleep around her and surrounds the tower with a forest of spines.

After 100 years, a curious prince approaches the tower and the forest opens a path. He kneels before the sleeping Princess, who awakens, and all of the palace with her. They marry and have two children, a daughter named l'Aurore (dawn), and a son named le Jour (day). All the while, the prince has been hiding his union from his mother and father, because his mother is an ogress whom his father has married only for her wealth. After the death of the father, the Prince comes forward with his family to take his position as king. When he must leave for battle, his mother decides she wants to eat the children, as is the ogress's custom. She orders the butler to bring her l'Aurore in a sauce Robert, but he brings her a lamb instead. She next wants le Jour, but he brings her a young goat. Finally, she wants the young Queen. The butler tells the young Queen what has happened and that he has hidden the children at his own house, and they give the ogress a doe in the sauce. One day, the ogress hears the children and realizes she has been tricked, so orders the butler is thrown into a pit filled with toads and snakes. The King returns home unexpectedly, and the ogress throws herself into the pit headfirst.

Fairy Tale Title

La Belle au bois dormant

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

None listed

Common Tale Type

Sleeping Beauty

Tale Classification

ATU 410

Page Range of Tale

pp. 1-34

Full Citation of Tale

Perrault, Charles. "La Belle au Bois Dormant" Histoires, ou, Contes du temps passé, Amsterdam, Jacques Desbordes, 1700, pp. 1-34

Original Source of the Tale

Charles Perrault

Tale Notes

The Sleeping Beauty tale most known in the United States ends just after the awakening of the Princess (the Brothers Grimm version); this version has a second half that includes her children. The moral, included after the tale, is that one should not rush to marry, though Perrault concedes that he could not preach this to the sex with so much ardor to marry (le sexe avec tant d'ardeur).

Research and Curation

Sara Fischer, 2020

Book Title

Histoires, ou, Contes du temps passé

Book Author/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault

Illustrator(s)

None listed

Publisher

Jacque Desbordes

Date Published

1700

Decade Published

1700-1709

Publisher City

Amsterdam

Publisher Country

Netherlands

Language

French

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the CU Digital Library

Book Notes

None

Traditional

White

D'Aulnoy, Marie-Catherine. "Le Prince Lutin." Les contes des fées. Tome premier, Paris, Chez Claude Barbin, au Palais sur la second perron de la Sainte-Chapelle, 1698, pp. 224-335.

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 18:32:39 +0000

D'Aulnoy, Marie-Catherine. "Le Prince Lutin." Les contes des fées. Tome premier, Paris, Chez Claude Barbin, au Palais sur la second perron de la Sainte-Chapelle, 1698, pp. 224-335. Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/15/2021 - 11:32

Marie-Catherine D'Aulnoy

Tale Summary

A king and queen have a malformed son named Furibon. Though his appearance is frightful, his temperament is truly ugly, causing him to be greatly disliked in the court. The king hires a governor and tells Furibon to obey him, though Furibon is generally incorrigible. The governor's son, Leandre, is by contrast handsome and well-liked. One day, some ambassadors come to the court and, seeing Leandre and Furibon together, bow to Leandre believing him to be the prince. They tease Furibon, believing him to be the prince's dwarf. Furibon, furious, pulls out Leandre's hair. Leandre's father sends him to the country to avoid further problems. There, Leandre contentedly hunts, fishes, walks, reads, paints and plays musical instruments.

One day while walking he is approached by a grass snake. The snake looks at him directly, as if asking for mercy. Just then his gardener arrives and says that he has been chasing the snake. Leandre concludes that, since this snake, which has beautiful and colorful skin, has come to him for protection, he will guard her until she sheds. He keeps her in a room and feeds her and gives her flowers to make her happy, and she gives him pleasing glances.

Meanwhile, back at the court, all the ladies are sad that Leandre has gone, and Furibon hears their complaints, which infuriate him. With the help of his mother, he decides to kill Leandre. He goes on a hunt with the assassins, but is attacked by a Lion. His men flee, but Leandre saves him. Nonetheless, once saved, he orders his thugs to continue with the assassination, and Leandre kills them all. Furibon says that he will kill Leandre when he sees him next. Leandre decides that he must leave the kingdom.

Before leaving, he goes to feed his grass snake, and finds instead a beautiful, luminous fairy, la Fée Gentille (the Good Fairy). She explains that for every 100 gay years without pain or aging, she spends 8 days as a vulnerable grass snake. Since he has saved her, she offers him a fairy gift, making several suggestions, but the one that interests him most is to become a lutin (imp or hobgoblin). She explains that a lutin can become invisible, and can travel through water, air, earth and space unimpeded. She turns him into a lutin and gives him a red hat with parrot feathers that will turn him invisible. To test his powers, he transports into the forest where wild roses grow. He brings three back to the good fairy, but she says to keep them: one will give him all the money he needs, one held to the throat of his mistress will let him know if she is true, and the last will prevent him from becoming ill. On this, she parts.

Leandre's first stop is to take vengeance, and so, invisible, he nails Furibon's ear to a door where he has stooped to listen, and when Furibon cries out, his mother opens the door and tears off the ear. Leandre then beats them both with rods, and then picks the fruit and flowers from the queen's own orchard. He next uses his invisibility to save a young woman from a forced marriage. Next he gains entry into a court where the queen has invited only the most beautiful people. He attempts to win the heart of Blondine, who remains cold. He uses a rose to discover that she is in love with a musician who is not worthy of her attentions, and so Leandre throws him off of a balcony and moves on. He learns of a girl being forced to become a Vestal, and he disrupts the ceremony. She tells him that she wants to marry a young man, but he has no money, so Leandre shakes the rose and gives them ten million so that they may marry and live happily.

For his final adventure, he sees a young girl, Abricotine, being carried away by four men. He frees the girl and learns her story. She serves a princess whose mother was a fairy who fell in love with a man, but he was not true to her, so she created a society of women, the Island of tranquil pleasures, with Amazons to serve as guards. The princess was now ruler of the island, and she and Abricotine had lived there for 200 years without aging. Abricotine says that the men were sent by Furibon, who is in love with the princess.

Leandre asks if he can accompany Abricotine to the Island of tranquil pleasures and see the princess, but she says it is impossible. After she leaves him, he puts on his hat and wishes himself there anyway. He speaks to the fairy princess in the voice of a parrot, telling her of the brave prince who has saved Abricotine, and that this prince wishes to come to the kingdom to change her mind about men. Abricotine arrives and validates the parrot's story, but the fairy princess refuses. Leandre has fallen hopeless in love with her, and uses his invisibility to continue to interact with her surreptitiously. Invisibly, he undertakes several projects to impress the princess following her desires which he has secretly heard, including bringing in a collection of monkeys to entertain her, delivering verses to her, painting a portrait of himself holding a portrait of her, bringing her fashions from around the world, and singing her a song. His efforts both flatter and frighten her, and she considers the possibility that a demon is involved.

Meanwhile, Furibon has become king, and decides to attack the Island of tranquil pleasures. Leandre dresses as an Amazon, and goes to Furibon's camp to try to bargain with him to abandon his attack. He offers Furibon as much money as he could want, and Furibon agrees, though he plans to take the money and then kill the Amazon and take the princess anyway. Leandre cuts off Furibon's head and, invisible, delivers it to the fairy princess. He returns to the castle and falls asleep without his cap. The princess sees him asleep. The fairy queen arrives, furious at her daughter for falling prey to tyrannical love after all she has taught her about the horrors of men. Gentille arrives, with the Graces, to convince the queen to forgive her daughter and to accept Leandre. The queen accepts, the lovers marry, and the palace and all the Island of tranquil pleasures is transported to Leandre's kingdom.

Fairy Tale Title

Le Prince Lutin

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Marie-Catherine D'Aulnoy

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

None listed

Common Tale Type

Tale Classification

Page Range of Tale

pp. 224-335

Full Citation of Tale

D'Aulnoy, Marie-Catherine. "Le Prince Lutin." Les contes des fées. Tome premier, Paris, Chez Claude Barbin, au Palais sur la second perron de la Sainte-Chapelle, 1698, pp. 224-335.

Original Source of the Tale

Tale Notes

In the Palace on the Island of tranquil pleasures there are murals of the Zodiac, of the goddess Diana, and of the Amazons. The fairy princess discusses the virtues of "tranquil" pleasures, that is those that do not involve the heart. The stories of Psyche and Cupid are mentioned as parallels to the princess's conundrum. The fairy queen describes love as tyrannical. Leandre is a sort of hybrid lutin (imp or hobgoblin) and man, able to retain the powers of the lutin while also remaining embodied.

Research and Curation

Sara Fischer, 2020

Book Title

Les contes des fées

Book Author/Editor(s)

Marie-Catherine D'Aulnoy

Illustrator(s)

None listed

Publisher

Chez Claude Barbin, au Palais sur la second perron de la Sainte-Chapelle

Date Published

1698

Decade Published

1690-1699

Publisher City

Paris

Publisher Country

France

Language

French

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the CU Digital Library

Book Notes

None

Traditional

White

Perrault, Charles. "Le maitre chat, ou le chat botté." Histoires, ou, Contes du temps passé, Amsterdam, Jacques Desbordes, 1700, pp. 63-80.

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 17:55:59 +0000

Perrault, Charles. "Le maitre chat, ou le chat botté." Histoires, ou, Contes du temps passé, Amsterdam, Jacques Desbordes, 1700, pp. 63-80. Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 10/25/2021 - 11:55

Charles Perrault

Tale Summary

A miller dies and leaves all he has to his three sons. The third and youngest is willed only a cat, to his dismay. He complains out loud that once he has eaten the cat and made a muff of its skin, he will have nothing left. The cat, who has overheard, asks for a bag and some boots and tells his master not to worry.

The cat uses the bag to catch a rabbit, and takes it to the King, offering it on behalf of Monsieur le Marquis de Carabas, a name he has invented for his master. The king is thankful. The cat repeats the action several times over two or three months. One day the cat knows the King is taking a ride with his daughter, so he has his master bathe in the river along the route, then hides all of his master's clothing under a rock. When he sees the King approaching, he cries for help, explaining that the Marquis is drowning and that someone has stolen his clothing. The King has his guards save the would-be Marquis, and fetch him a fine outfit to wear. When the well-dressed Marquis enters the carriage, the King's daughter falls in love with him.

As they ride, the cat proceeds ahead and threatens those working in the field to say that the lands belong to the Marquis de Carabas, or he will chop them into mincemeat. When the King's carriage comes along, they follow the orders of the cat. The cat repeats the ruse with the harvesters in the next field, and with all those he meets, and all do as ordered. The king is impressed with the vast holdings of the Marquis de Carabas.

The cat gets to a great castle where an ogre lives, the true master of the lands they have passed through. He tricks the ogre into turning himself into a mouse and then eats him. When the King arrives at the castle, he is so thoroughly impressed with the Marquis that he gives him the hand of his daughter. They are married that day, and from then on the cat, now living a comfortable life, only chase mice for fun.

Fairy Tale Title

Le maitre chat, ou le chat botté

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

None listed

Common Tale Type

Puss in Boots

Tale Classification

ATU 545B

Page Range of Tale

pp. 63-80

Full Citation of Tale

Perrault, Charles. "Le maitre chat, ou le chat botté." Histoires, ou, Contes du temps passé, Amsterdam, Jacques Desbordes, 1700, pp. 63-80.

Original Source of the Tale

Tale Notes

The moral of the story is written in verse following the tale. It states that, though a rich heritage is a great advantage, the industry and know-how of ordinary people is worth more. A second moral is given that fine clothing, youth and a handsome face are valuable to inspire tenderness.

Research and Curation

Sara Fischer, 2020

Book Title

Histoires, ou, Contes du temps passé

Book Author/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault

Illustrator(s)

None listed

Publisher

Jacque Desbordes

Date Published

1700

Decade Published

1700-1709

Publisher City

Amsterdam

Publisher Country

Netherlands

Language

French

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Book Notes

None

Traditional

White

"Gracieuse et Percinet." Les contes des fées. Tome premier, Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy, Paris, Chez Claude Barbin, au Palais sur la second perron de la Sainte-Chapelle, 1698, pp. 1-71.

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 21:40:59 +0000

"Gracieuse et Percinet." Les contes des fées. Tome premier, Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy, Paris, Chez Claude Barbin, au Palais sur la second perron de la Sainte-Chapelle, 1698, pp. 1-71. Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/24/2021 - 15:40

Marie-Catherine D'Aulnoy

Tale Summary

The king and queen have a beautiful and beloved daughter named Gracieuse, who is admired far and wide. The ugly duchess Grognon is filled with jealousy. The queen dies, and after a year of mourning, the king goes out on a hunt and stops at the duchess's castle. He discovers she is enormously rich, and she promises to share her wealth with him, if he marries her, and if she can take control of Gracieuse as her stepmother and mistress. The king agrees.

Gracieuse is dismayed at the news, and goes to cry alone. Percinet appears. He is a handsome prince that has been in love with Gracieuse in secret for some time. He reveals that a fairy has given him a gift and he will protect Gracieuse with it. He gives her a horse and leads her upon it to meet Grognon. Grognon is infuriated that Gracieuse, with her beautiful horse led by the handsome prince, gets more attention than she does. Grognon demands the horse and the young page (Percinet) to lead it. With the wedding procession following, the horse darts off, with Grognon's foot stuck in the stirrup. She is dragged through the mud and the spines, breaking her arm and head. While recovering, she is convinced that Gracieuse has tricked her. Grognon orders that Gracieuse be stripped and beaten with canes, but Percinet changes the canes into feathers and charms the eyes of Grognon's women to believe that the punishment has been delivered.

To please Grognon, the king has a portrait painted of her, and organizes a tournament for the best knights in the court, all fighting to assert that Grognon is the most beautiful princess in the universe. An unnamed knight arrives, insisting that Grognon is the ugliest, and that he has with him a painting of the most beautiful. He defeats twenty-four knights before revealing the painting of Gracieuse. Gracieuse knows this knight is Percinet.

Grognon has Gracieuse abandoned in the middle of a dense forest. She calls for Percinet, and sees a path opening to a crystal palace. Divided by her feelings, she turns away from the palace. He appears, and assures her of his respect, explaining that his mother and sisters, who already love her, are in the castle. They go by a carriage drawn by deer into his enchanted land of joy and beauty. In the fairy castle, she finds that her story is being engraved on the walls.

All is perfect in this land, yet Gracieuse wonders if she can trust Percinet, and thinks that this must all be enchantment. She tells him she is duty-bound to her father, and must return. He shows her that Grognon has told her father that she is dead by suicide. The king is distraught, crying day and night. This scene makes Gracieuse's will to return even greater. Percinet must obey, but as they leave, all the enchantments crumble behind them, and he tells her that she will only be able to return after she is buried.

Gracieuse returns to her father, who has the coffin disinterred and sees that Grognon has buried a log. Nonetheless, Grognon convinces him that Gracieuse is an imposter, and he abandons his daughter anew. Grognon consults a fairy to invent torments for the princess. They first lock her in a room and give her a tangle of fibers, large as four people, that she must untangle without breaking a thread. Certain that she will not succeed, she cries her last farewell to Percinet, who appears, saying he could not abandon her, and uses his magic wand to untangle the huge knot. He asks her to free herself from this tyranny and come with him, yet she again refuses.

Grognon gives Gracieuse a ton of feathers and orders her to sort them by bird. Again Percinet appears and helps complete the task. Grognon then gives Gracieuse a magic box that the fairy had created, and tells her to deliver it but forbids her from opening it. On the journey, Gracieuse cannot help herself, and opens the box, from which springs a court of tiny people, who begin a great ball in the field, dancing and cooking. Once they have started, Gracieuse cannot convince them to go back into the box. Percinet arrives to help her, pointing out that she only thinks of him when she is in trouble.

Grognon has a pit dug, and a giant rock placed over it, and tells all that there is a treasure buried beneath the rock. When Gracieuse tries to reveal the treasure, Grognon pushes her in the pit. Gracieuse regrets her decision to not marry Percinet sooner, but explains that she needed to be certain that his love for her was unchangeable. A door opens in the pit, and Gracieuse finds the crystal palace and the sisters and mother of Percinet. She agrees to marry him. The evil fairy who helped torture Gracieuse is present at the wedding. She casts a spell to make Gracieuse forget the torments, and returns to wring Grognon's neck.

Fairy Tale Title

Gracieuse et Percinet

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Aulnoy, Madame Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Comtesse d’

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

None listed

Common Tale Type

Persecuted Maidens

Tale Classification

Page Range of Tale

pp. 1-71

Full Citation of Tale

"Gracieuse et Percinet." Les contes des fées. Tome premier, Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy, Paris, Chez Claude Barbin, au Palais sur la second perron de la Sainte-Chapelle, 1698, pp. 1-71.

Original Source of the Tale

Tale Notes

Grognon has a wine cellar, and mentions several types of wines. The beauty of Gracieuse is compared to Venus. Initially, Gracieuse is insulted to be admired by Percinet when she believes him to be a Page, and considers his admiration a sign of how low she has fallen. The dangers of love are comparable to the tortures of the evil stepmother. At the end of the story is the moral, written in verse, in which Envy is blamed for human evil, and for the anger of Grognon.

Research and Curation

Sara Fischer, 2020

Book Title

Les contes des fées

Book Author/Editor(s)

Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy

Illustrator(s)

None listed

Publisher

Chez Claude Barbin, au Palais sur la second perron de la Sainte-Chapelle

Date Published

1698

Decade Published

1690-1699

Publisher City

Paris

Publisher Country

France

Language

French

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the CU Digital Library

Book Notes

None

Traditional

White