1700-1709

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

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).

AV��ʪ 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

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.

AV��ʪ 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