Thursday, April 4, 2024

D is for Denmark


 The Pig

Four women were minding their business when a pig started eating their cabbages. Mama sent her oldest after it. She got lost in the woods. The pig turned into a human and offered her refuge. Lacking better options, she agreed. Same thing happens to the middle child. 

The youngest chased the swine into the woods in which fogginess, lostness, and marriage ensued. But despite her newfound wealth, the girl regretted leaving her mother and decided to escape. Oh, and she found her sisters!

When the werepig returned home one evening, he complained of feeling cold, and his wife said her parents (her father was suddenly present) probably did too. Piggy delivered coal to his in-laws not realizing his wife stuffed her sister inside the bag. Or that she repeated the process with her other sister. And herself. When he discovered the truth, he exploded into pebbles.

Source: The Danish Fairy Book by Clara Stroebe and Frederick Herman Martens.

Tale Type: ATU 311, "Rescue by the Sister"

Variants: "The Old Dame and Her Hen" and "How the Devil Married Three Sisters"

2 comments:

  1. That was unexpected. Werepig? I haven't heard that in any book.

    Have a lovely day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Lissa. I totally share your surprise by the werepig. I've not seen it before or sense.

      Delete

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