ATU 312

“Mr. Fox.” Fairy Gold : A Book of Old English Fairy Tales Chosen by Ernest Rhys, Ernest Rhys, London: J.M. Dent & Co.; New York : E.P. Dutton & co., 1907, pp. 49-50.

Anonymous — Sat, 28 Jan 2023 15:43:44 +0000

“Mr. Fox.” Fairy Gold : A Book of Old English Fairy Tales Chosen by Ernest Rhys, Ernest Rhys, London: J.M. Dent & Co.; New York : E.P. Dutton & co., 1907, pp. 49-50. Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 01/28/2023 - 08:43

Tale Summary

Once upon a time there was a young woman named Lady Mary, who went with her two brothers to one of their country houses. A young man named Mr. Fox often visited with them, whom Lady Mary was quite taken with; he frequently invited her over to his house as well. One day when she had nothing better to do, Lady Mary went off to his home alone, and found that no one answered the door, over which there was an inscription that read:

“Be bold, be bold, but not too bold.”

Lady Mary kept going through the house, and the same inscription was over the stairway and above the entrance to the gallery. Over the door of some chamber, it read:

“Be bold, be bold, but not too bold,
Lest that your heart’s blood should run cold!”

The room was full of skeletons, and when Lady Mary retreated hurriedly downstairs, she saw Mr. Fox came towards the house dragging a young lady by the hair with his sword drawn. Lady Mary hid under the stairs just in time, and when Mr. Fox and his victim climbed them above her, the girl’s bracelet got caught on the banister and he cut off her hand. The hand and bracelet both fell in Lady Mary’s lap, who carried them away back to her brother’s house unobserved. Shortly after, Mr. Fox came to dine with them as usual, and Lady Mary told everyone that she would tell about a strange dream she had. She relayed the events at Mr. Fox’s house exactly as they happened, ending each sentence with:

“It is not so, nor it was not so.”
And Mr. Fox’s reply always was:
“It is not so, nor it was not so,
And God forbid it should be so!”

Until Lady Mary told of the cut-off hand, which she showed everyone, saying:

“But it is so, and it was so,
And here the hand I have to show!”

And Mr. Fox was instantly cut into pieces by the guests.

Fairy Tale Title

Mr. Fox

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Ernest Rhys

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

Common Tale Type

Maiden Killer

Tale Classification

ATU 312

Page Range of Tale

pp. 49-50

Full Citation of Tale

“Mr. Fox.” Fairy Gold : A Book of Old English Fairy Tales Chosen by Ernest Rhys, Ernest Rhys, London: J.M. Dent & Co.; New York : E.P. Dutton & co., 1907, pp. 49-50.

Original Source of the Tale

Tale Notes

This tale opens with a quote from Much Ado About Nothing:

“Like the old tale, my Lord: it is not so, nor ‘twas not so; but indeed, God forbid it should be so.”

AV��ʪ and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2023

Book Title

Fairy Gold : A Book of Old English Fairy Tales Chosen by Ernest Rhys

Book Author/Editor(s)

Ernest Rhys

Illustrator(s)

None listed

Publisher

J.M. Dent & Co., E.P. Dutton & co.

Date Published

1907

Decade Published

1900-1909

Publisher City

London, New York

Publisher Country

United Kingdom, United States

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the Internet Archive

Book Notes

A collection of stories split up into three categories: "Fairy Tales and Romances," "Mother Jack's Fairy Book," and "Later Fairy Tales and Rhymes"

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“Blue Beard.” The Arthur Rackham fairy book : a book of old favourites with new illustrations, Arthur Rackham, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott., 1933, pp. 143-152.

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 00:55:52 +0000

“Blue Beard.” The Arthur Rackham fairy book : a book of old favourites with new illustrations, Arthur Rackham, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott., 1933, pp. 143-152. Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 01/19/2023 - 17:55

Arthur Rackham

Tale Summary

There once was a rich man who lived outside Baghdad, who had many riches but also had a blue beard which frightened all the women away. His neighbor had two fine sons and daughters, and he desired one of the girls, named Anne and Fatima, he did not care which. Both refused him, on account of his beard, and that he had been married multiple times before and no one knew what became of his wives. He took them, their mother, and the other girls from the neighborhood, to the countryside with him. They had such a wonderful time partying that the younger daughter, Fatima, agreed to wed him. After a month, he was obliged to leave for several weeks, and gave his wife a number of keys which unlocked his fineries, and one which unlocked a closet. He told her never to open the closet or she would face his wrath, and she agreed. She invited over her friends and the neighbor ladies, and they all ran through the rooms unlocking the riches in wonder. After a while, she became too curious, and Fatima left the others and unlocked the closet door. She saw the door covered in blood, as well as the bodies of several dead women which hung on the wall. Fatima realized these must have been her husband’s missing brides. After closing the door and running to her room, Fatima noticed blood on the key which she could not wash off, because it was a magic key. Her husband returned that evening, and the next morning he asked for his keys. When she handed them back, he saw the blood and knew what she had done. He promised to kill her, but she implored him to allow her to say her prayers, and so he gave her half a quarter of an hour. Fatima found her sister Anne, and told her that she had the previous day sent for her brothers and she must go to the watchtower and give them a signal to make haste when she saw them. Again and again Blue Beard shouted up to Fatima to hurry down so that he could kill her, but again and again she stalled him until she could see her brothers coming. It was then when her husband made such a terrible noise that she came down to him. Before he could kill her, Fatima’s brothers burst through the door and killed Blue Beard, leaving Fatima the mistress of his estates. She used her money to marry her sister to a man who loved her, bought captain’s commissions for her brothers, and married herself to a worthy gentleman.

Fairy Tale Title

Blue Beard

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Arthur Rackham

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

Arthur Rackham

Common Tale Type

Maiden-killer

Tale Classification

ATU 312

Page Range of Tale

pp. 143-152

Full Citation of Tale

“Blue Beard.” The Arthur Rackham fairy book : a book of old favourites with new illustrations, Arthur Rackham, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott., 1933, pp. 143-152.

Original Source of the Tale

Charles Perrault

Tale Notes

AV��ʪ and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2023

Book Title

The Arthur Rackham fairy book : a book of old favourites with new illustrations

Book Author/Editor(s)

Arthur Rackham

Illustrator(s)

Arthur Rackham

Publisher

J.B. Lippincott Co.

Date Published

1933

Decade Published

1930-1939

Publisher City

Philadelphia

Publisher Country

United States

Language

English

Rights

Digital Copy

Available at the Internet Archive

Book Notes

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“Blue Beard.” Histories or Tales of Past Times Written for Children Told By Mother Goose with Morals, Charles Perrault, edited by J. Saxon Childers, London: The Nonesuch Press., 1925, pp. 30-40.

Anonymous — Sat, 12 Nov 2022 01:05:21 +0000

“Blue Beard.” Histories or Tales of Past Times Written for Children Told By Mother Goose with Morals, Charles Perrault, edited by J. Saxon Childers, London: The Nonesuch Press., 1925, pp. 30-40. Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/11/2022 - 18:05

Charles Perrault

Tale Summary

There was once a rich man who unfortunately had a blue beard, which made him so ugly that women hated him (it did not help, also, that he had several wives before, and no one knew what had become of them). He had a neighbor with two beautiful daughters, neither of which wanted his hand in marriage, so he arranged a whole week in the country with them and other young people, where they had so much fun that the youngest daughter agreed to be his bride. After about a month, Blue Beard told his wife he must leave for six weeks, and gave her the keys to everything within his estate, but warned her not to unlock a certain closet under threat of a great deal of anger and resentment. After he leaves, his wife invites her neighbors and good friends, who are excited to see her house, and they all run through the rooms, which all had much to admire. The wife is so curious about the closet, however, that she leaves the company to unlock it. Inside, she finds that the floor is covered in blood, and there are several bodies of dead women against the walls. She is frightened and leaves, but not before dropping the keys in blood. She is unable to clean the keys because they are a fairy, and when Blue Beard returns, he spies the blood and knows what has happened. He tells her that she must die, and ignores her pitiful pleas for mercy, but agrees to give her half a quarter of an hour to pray. When she is alone, she calls out to her sister to go to the top of the tower to see if her brothers are in view, for they promised they would come, and to signal them to make haste. For some time her sister looks, seeing nothing, as Blue Beard yells for his wife to come down until the two horsemen come into view. At this point, the distressed wife had to go to her husband. Before he is able to strike, her brothers enter and kill him. The wife becomes the mistress of the estate, marries her sister to a young gentleman, buys Captains Commissions for her brothers, and marries herself to a worthy gentleman.

Fairy Tale Title

Blue Beard

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault, J. Saxon Childers

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

None listed

Common Tale Type

Maiden-killer

Tale Classification

ATU 312

Page Range of Tale

pp. 30-40

Full Citation of Tale

“Blue Beard.” Histories or Tales of Past Times Written for Children Told By Mother Goose with Morals, Charles Perrault, edited by J. Saxon Childers, London: The Nonesuch Press., 1925, pp. 30-40.

Original Source of the Tale

Charles Perrault

Tale Notes

This tale is given two morals:

“O Curiosity, thou mortal Bane!
Spite of thy Charms, thou causest often Pain
And spre Regret, of which we daily find
A thousand Instances attend Mankind:
For thou, O may it not displease the Fair,
A fleeting Pleasure art, but lasting Care;
And always costs, alas! too deat the Prize,
Which, in the Moment of Possession, dies.”

“A very little Share of common Sense,
And Knowledge of the World, will soon evince,
That this a story is of Time long past.
No Husbands now such panic Terrors cast;
Nor weakly, with a vain depotic Hand,
Imperious, what’s impossible command:
And be they discontented, or the Fire
Of wicked Jealousy their Hearts inspire,
They softly sing, and of whatever Hue
Their Beards may chance to be, or black, or blue,
Grizzled, or russet, it is hard to say,
Which of the two, the Man or Wife, bears Sway.”

AV��ʪ and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2022

Book Title

Histories or Tales of Past Times Written for Children Told By Mother Goose with Morals

Book Author/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault, J. Saxon Childers

Illustrator(s)

None listed

Publisher

The Nonesuch Press

Date Published

1925

Decade Published

1920-1929

Publisher City

London

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the CU Digital Library

Book Notes

This book includes morals at the end of each tale.

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“Blue Beard.” The Sleeping Beauty and Other Fairy Tales from the Old French, Quiller-Couch, A. T, New York: Hodder and Stoughton, 1910, pp. 27-46.

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 21:51:35 +0000

“Blue Beard.” The Sleeping Beauty and Other Fairy Tales from the Old French, Quiller-Couch, A. T, New York: Hodder and Stoughton, 1910, pp. 27-46. Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/06/2022 - 15:51

Arthur T. Quiller-Couch

Tale Summary

A rich gentleman called Blue Beard is unable to find a new wife due to his unusual beard and rumors about his missing wives. Through lavish entertainment, a maiden named Fatima decides to marry him. He gives his wife a set of keys to all the treasures in the house, commanding her not to use the smallest key, and leaves for business. Her curiosity gets the best of her and she opens to door to discover his murdered wives, dropping the key. The magical key cannot be cleaned, and when Blue Beard returns and sees it stained with blood, he decides to kill her. She persuades him to let her pray first, and her sister signals their brothers for help. They kill Blue Beard, his widow inherits his wealth, and she eventually marries again and lives happily ever after.

Fairy Tale Title

Blue Beard

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

A. T. Quiller-Couch

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

Edmund Dulac

Common Tale Type

Maiden-killer

Tale Classification

ATU 312

Page Range of Tale

pp. 27-46

Full Citation of Tale

“Blue Beard.” The Sleeping Beauty and Other Fairy Tales from the Old French, Quiller-Couch, A. T, New York: Hodder and Stoughton, 1910, pp. 27-46.

Original Source of the Tale

Charles Perrault

Tale Notes

This story is set in a fictional location in the East instead of Europe. In this story, Blue Beard also puts up with various pranks and mischief. He also monologues about his belief in the vices of women. Interestingly, this story includes a moral at the end for not just wives, but husbands.

AV��ʪ and Curation

Aisha O., 2020

Book Title

Old French Fairy Tales

Book Author/Editor(s)

A. T. Quiller-Couch

Illustrator(s)

Edmund Dulac

Publisher

Hodder and Stoughton

Date Published

1910

Decade Published

1910-1919

Publisher City

New York

Publisher Country

United States

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Text available at the Gutenberg Project

Book Notes

None

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“Blue Beard.” Old French Fairy Tales, Charles Perrault, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1899, pp. 126-137.

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 21:03:44 +0000

“Blue Beard.” Old French Fairy Tales, Charles Perrault, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1899, pp. 126-137. Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/01/2022 - 15:03

Charles Perrault

Tale Summary

A rich gentleman called Blue Beard is unable to find a new wife due to his unusual beard and rumors about his missing wives. After lavishly entertaining a group of ladies, the youngest daughter of a noble lady decides to marry him. He gives his wife a set of keys to all the treasures in the house, commanding her not to use the smallest key, and leaves for business. She discovers his murdered wives after her curiosity gets the best of her. When Blue Beard returns and sees the key, stained with blood, he decides to kill her. She persuades him to let her pray first, and her sister signals their brothers for help. They kill Blue Beard, his widow inherits his wealth, and she eventually marries again and lives happily ever after.

Fairy Tale Title

Blue Beard

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

None listed

Common Tale Type

Maiden-killer

Tale Classification

ATU 312

Page Range of Tale

pp. 126-137

Full Citation of Tale

“Blue Beard.” Old French Fairy Tales, Charles Perrault, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1899, pp. 126-137.

Original Source of the Tale

Charles Perrault

Tale Notes

Unlike the Grimm Brothers’ version, in Charles Perrault's version Blue Beard entertains his guests to win over a wife, the girl decides to marry Blue Beard of her own volition instead of being pressured to, and the girl’s sister call for their brothers to save her. Also, in other versions, the girl returns home with her brothers and keeps the treasures, remaining a widow. Here in Perrault’s she shares her wealth with her sister and two brothers, keeping the rest for herself and her new husband.

AV��ʪ and Curation

Aisha O., 2020

Book Title

Old French Fairy Tales

Book Author/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault, Madame D'Aulnoy, etc.

Illustrator(s)

"Two hundred illustrations by the most celebrated French artists"

Publisher

Little, Brown, and Company

Date Published

1899

Decade Published

1890-1899

Publisher City

Boston

Publisher Country

United States

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the CU Digital Library

Book Notes

None

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“Bluebeard.” In Fairyland: Tales Told Again. Chisholm, Louey, illustrated by Katharine Cameron, New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1904, pp. 6-12.

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 20:14:52 +0000

“Bluebeard.” In Fairyland: Tales Told Again. Chisholm, Louey, illustrated by Katharine Cameron, New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1904, pp. 6-12. Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 07/23/2021 - 14:14

Louey Chisholm Katharine Cameron

Tale Summary

There once was a man who was incredibly rich, far richer than any other. He had a downfall in his appearance: a blue beard that no women liked to look at. He wished to marry one of two daughters, and since they both did not want to marry him, he devised a plan to invite them to his country house with their mother. He then marries the younger daughter Fatima. Bluebeard leaves one day and warns Fatima not to enter a certain room, for a punishment awaits her if she does. She enters the door and finds the dead bodies of all of Bluebeard’s past wives. Bluebeard finds out that she had entered this room and states that he will kill her, and she will join his past wives. Before he has a chance to kill her, Fatima’s two brothers enter and kill bluebeard. Fatima remarries and gives bluebeard's riches to others and she lives happily ever after.

Fairy Tale Title

Bluebeard

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Louey Chisholm

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

Katharine Cameron

Common Tale Type

Maiden-killer

Tale Classification

ATU 312

Page Range of Tale

pp. 6-12

Full Citation of Tale

“Bluebeard.” In Fairyland: Tales Told Again. Chisholm, Louey, illustrated by Katharine Cameron, New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1904, pp. 6-12.

Original Source of the Tale

Charles Perrault

Tale Notes

The maiden in this tale triumphs over her oppressor with her brothers’ help and lives a long happy life. Although this is a children’s book, the author has included the gory scene in which Fatima, Bluebeard’s wife, discovers the severed heads of her husband’s former wives when she unlocks the room he has forbidden her to visit. There is one color illustration that depicts Fatima calling to her sister Anne to ask if their brothers are on the way to save her.

AV��ʪ and Curation

Austin Weingart, 2020

Book Title

In Fairyland: Tales Told Again

Book Author/Editor(s)

Louey Chisholm

Illustrator(s)

Katharine Cameron

Publisher

T. C. & E. C. Jack and G.P. Putnam's Sons

Date Published

1904

Decade Published

1900-1909

Publisher City

London
New York

Publisher Country

United Kingdom
United States

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the CU Digital Library

Book Notes

This book contains a preface that introduces a framing narrative, however, the narrative is never addressed again throughout the book. Through the preface, in which a young girl named Sunflower speaks with her mother, we discover that the tales contained within this book are targeted towards children. Sunflower praises her mother’s story telling because she “leave[s] out all the not interesting bits you know and make me understand what the story is all about.”

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