"Blockhead-Hans.” The Yellow Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, London, New York, Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1906, pp. 313-318.

Anonymous — Sat, 03 Aug 2024 14:20:25 +0000

"Blockhead-Hans.” The Yellow Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, London, New York, Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1906, pp. 313-318. Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 08/03/2024 - 08:20

Tale Summary

Once upon a time a King’s daughter proclaimed that she would marry whichever man who best chose his words, and two brothers resolved to win her hand. They were very intelligent, with one who had memorized the whole Latin dictionary as well as three year’s issues of the local paper, and the second knew everything about laws of corporations and states. Their father gave them a black one and a white one for each, respectively, and they set off for the castle. Just then, their younger brother, who was called Blockhead-Hans because he was very stupid, appeared and heard where they were going and decided he also would like to try his hand. Because his father would not give him a horse, he rode his goat up to his brothers and showed them a dead crow which he found on the way, saying that he would give it to the princess. A little ways on, he found an old wooden shoe without the top and was even more excited to give it to the King’s daughter. Even further on, he found a pile of mud and had the same jubilation and filled his pockets with it. When they arrived at the castle, huge numbers of suitors were being organized into tightly packed rows, six in each, and numbered according to their time of arrival. The princess welcomed man after man who did not please her, and the brothers saw all who she turned away. When the brother who knew the dictionary had his turn, he realized that he had quite forgotten it all. In her room, which was very hot, there were mirrors everywhere and in every window there were reporters and an editor who wrote down what he said to publish in the papers. He mentioned the heat, and she answered that she was grilling chickens that day, but he could think of no response and was taken away. The next brother had the same experience and was also rejected. Then it was Blockhead-Hans’s turn, and he rode in on his goat, exclaiming that it was very hot. When she said she was roasting chickens, he asked if he could roast his crow along with them. She gladly consented, but asked if he had something to cook it in. He proudly presented his old shoe, but she asked him where he would find soup. He poured some of the mud into the shoe, and the princess was delighted and proclaimed that she would marry him, but warned him that the reporters were writing down everything that was being said. Blockhead-Hans turned to the editor and flung mud from his pockets right into his face and he was soon married to the princess.

Fairy Tale Title

Blockhead-Hans

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Andrew Lang

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

Henry Justice Ford

Common Tale Type

The Hero Catches the Princess with Her Own Words

Tale Classification

ATU 853

Page Range of Tale

pp. 313-318

Full Citation of Tale

"Blockhead-Hans.” The Yellow Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, London, New York, Bombay: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1906, pp. 313-318.

Original Source of the Tale

Hans Christian Andersen

Tale Notes

AV��ʪ and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2024

Book Title

The Yellow Fairy Book

Book Author/Editor(s)

Andrew Lang

Illustrator(s)

Henry Justice Ford

Publisher

Longmans, Green, and Co.

Date Published

1906

Decade Published

1900-1909

Publisher City

London
New York
Bombay

Publisher Country

United Kingdom
United States
India

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the Internet Archive

Book Notes

Though this book is written in prose with more difficult language than other books of fairy tales in the collection, the Preface says this book is written for children.

Traditional

White