Old Sultan

Last updated
Old Sultan
Folk tale
NameOld Sultan
Aarne–Thompson groupingATU 101, ATU 103
Country Germany
Published in Grimm's Fairy Tales

"Old Sultan" (German : Der alte Sultan) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm (KHM 48). [1]

Contents

The tale combines two different Aarne–Thompson-Uther types: ATU 101 ("The Old Dog as Rescuer of the Child") and ATU 103 ("War between Wild Animals and Domestic Animals"). The motif of "The War Between the Village Animals and the Forest Animals", formerly classified as AT 104, was merged with ATU 103 in Hans-Jörg Uther's new classification system in 2004. Another example of ATU 103 tale is the Bohemian "The Dog and the Wolf". [1]

Origin

The tale was published by the Brothers Grimm in a somewhat simpler form in the first edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen (1812), and rewritten in its present form for the second edition (1819). Their source was Johann Friedrich Krause, from the town of Hof in Hessen. [1]

Synopsis

Sultan is the faithful dog of a farmer, but has now grown old. One day the farmer tells his wife he will kill Sultan because he has lost most of his teeth and seems useless as a guard dog. His wife begs him to reconsider, telling him how loyal Sultan has been to them for many years, but the farmer's mind is made up. Sultan hears and is very upset. He goes off to the woods to see his good friend the wolf. The wolf has an idea to save Sultan's life and tells him that the farmer and his wife will take their child haying the next day, and the wolf will carry him off. Sultan will chase him and free the child. Seeing their child safely returned, the farmer and his wife would be grateful and not kill Sultan.

The wolf's plan succeeds, and the farmer was so grateful that he has his wife make Sultan some bread soup and gives him a special cushion to sleep on.

The wolf then comes to visit Sultan and asks him to overlook him stealing sheep. Sultan refuses, saying that he cannot disobey his master, but the wolf thinks he is only jesting. That same night, the wolf tries to steal a sheep from the farm, but Sultan warns the farmer who then drives the wolf away. Thinking that Sultan has double-crossed him, the wolf vows revenge.

The next morning, the wolf goes to see another of his friends, a boar, and asks him to go and challenge Sultan to a fight in the woods. Sultan accepts the challenge, but can only find a three-legged cat to help him. As the wolf and boar are waiting, they mistake the cat's upraised tail for a sword and when the cat limps they think she is picking up rocks to throw. Terrified, they hide. The boar hides under a bush, and the cat bites one of his ears, mistaking it for a mouse. The boar runs away and tells Sultan and the cat that the wolf who has hidden himself in the branches of a tree is the one they want.

The two urge the wolf to climb down and surrender, which he does. The wolf feels extremely guilty for his actions and asks Sultan to forgive him, which he does, and they become good friends again.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron John</span> German fairy tale

"Iron John" is a German fairy tale found in the collections of the Brothers Grimm, tale number 136, about an iron-skinned wild man and a prince. The original German title is Eisenhans, a compound of Eisen "iron" and Hans. It represents Aarne–Thompson type 502, "The wild man as a helper".

The Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index is a catalogue of folktale types used in folklore studies. The ATU Index is the product of a series of revisions and expansions by an international group of scholars: originally composed in German by Finnish folklorist Antti Aarne (1910), the index was translated into English, revised, and expanded by American folklorist Stith Thompson, and later further revised and expanded by German folklorist Hans-Jörg Uther (2004). The ATU Index, along with Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature (1932) – with which it is used in tandem, is an essential tool for folklorists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans My Hedgehog</span> German fairy tale

"Hans My Hedgehog" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. The tale was translated as Jack My Hedgehog by Andrew Lang and published in The Green Fairy Book. It is of Aarne-Thompson type 441.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Three Heads of the Well</span> Story in Jacobs English Fairy Tales

The Three Heads in the Well is a fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in English Fairy Tales.

The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe.

"Thirteenth" is an Italian fairy tale originally collected by Sicilian folklorist Giuseppe Pitrè and published by Thomas Frederick Crane in Italian Popular Tales. It is Aarne-Thompson type 328, "The Boy Steals the Giant's Treasures".

The Grateful Beasts is a Hungarian fairy tale collected by Georg von Gaal in Mährchen der Magyaren (1822). The tale was also published by Hermann Kletke in Märchensaal, Vol II (1845).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hut in the Forest</span> German fairy tale

"The Hut in the Forest" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. Andrew Lang included it in The Pink Fairy Book (1897). It is Aarne-Thompson type 431.

"The Three Little Birds" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 96. The story is originally written in Low German. It is Aarne-Thompson type 707, the dancing water, the singing apple, and the speaking bird. The story resembles Ancilotto, King of Provino, by Giovanni Francesco Straparola, and The Sisters Envious of Their Cadette, the story of the 756th night of the Arabian Nights.

"The Pig King" or "King Pig" is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giovanni Francesco Straparola in his The Facetious Nights of Straparola. Madame d'Aulnoy wrote a French, also literary, variant, titled Prince Marcassin.

The Ram is a French literary fairy tale by Madame d'Aulnoy.

Prunella is an Italian fairy tale, originally known as Prezzemolina. Andrew Lang included it in The Grey Fairy Book. It is Aarne-Thompson type 310, the Maiden in the Tower.

Conall Cra Bhuidhe or Conall Yellowclaw is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands.

The Daughter of the Skies is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as James MacLauchlan, a servant from Islay.

The Three Daughters of King O'Hara is an Irish fairy tale collected by Jeremiah Curtin in Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland. Reidar Th. Christiansen identified its origin as Co. Kerry.

"Thumbling," published in German as "Daumesdick" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales in 1819. The Grimms included another, similar story, "Thumbling's Travels." Both stories are related to the English Tom Thumb and often share its title when translated into English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Three Feathers</span> Fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm

"The Three Feathers" is a story by the Brothers Grimm, in their Kinder- und Hausmärchen. It is KHM nr. 63. It is classified as Aarne–Thompson–Uther ATU 402, "The Animal Bride". A second variant of the tale also collected by the Brothers Grimm is "The Poor Miller's Boy and the Cat", listed as KHM 106.

In folkloristics, "The Animal as Bridegroom" refers to a group of folk and fairy tales about a human woman marrying or being betrothed to an animal. The animal is revealed to be a human prince in disguise or under a curse. Most of these tales are grouped in the international system of Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index under type ATU 425, "The Search for the Lost Husband". Some subtypes exist in the international classification as independent stories, but they sometimes don't adhere to a fixed typing.

Sigurd, the King's Son is an Icelandic fairy tale collected and published by author Jón Árnason. It is related to the international cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom or The Search for the Lost Husband, wherein a human princess marries a prince under an animal curse, loses him and has to search for him.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ashliman, D. L. (2008). "War between Wild Animals and Domestic Animals". University of Pittsburgh.