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updated details

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	{{Short description\|Indian fairy tale}}		{{Short description\|Indian fairy tale}}
	~~{{multiple issues\|~~		'''The Snake Prince''' is an Indian [[fairy tale]], a [[Punjabi folklore\|Punjabi story]] collected by Major Campbell in [[Firozpur\|Feroshepore]]. [[Andrew Lang]] included it in ''[[The Olive Fairy Book]]'' (1907).<ref>Lang, Andrew. ''[https://archive.org/details/olivefairybook00lang/page/247/mode/1up The Olive Fairy Book]''. London; New York: Longmans, Green, 1907. pp. 247-254.</ref><ref name=lang>Lang, Andrew; Philip, Neil. ''A World of fairy tales''. New York: Dial Books, 1994. p. 254.</ref> The tale is a local form of the cycle of the ''[[Animal as Bridegroom]]'' or ''The Search for the Lost Husband'', in that a woman marries a man of supernatural origin, loses him and must regain him.
	~~{{one source\|date=June 2020}}~~
	~~{{all plot\|date=June 2020}}~~
	~~{{notability\|date=June 2020}}~~
	}}
	'''The Snake Prince''' is an Indian [[fairy tale]], a Punjabi story collected by Major Campbell in [[Firozpur\|Feroshepore]]. [[Andrew Lang]] included it in ''[[The Olive Fairy Book]]'' (1907).<ref>~~Andrew~~ Lang, ''The Olive Fairy Book'',~~[http~~:~~//www~~.~~mythfolklore~~.~~net/andrewlang/347~~.~~htm "The Snake Prince"]~~</ref>

	==Synopsis==		==Synopsis==
	[[File:The olive fairy book - inset illustration at page 251.png\|thumb\|right\|The Snake Prince meets his wife. Illustration by Henry Justice Ford for ''The Olive Fairy Book''.]]		[[File:The olive fairy book - inset illustration at page 251.png\|thumb\|right\|The Snake Prince meets his wife. Illustration by Henry Justice Ford for ''The Olive Fairy Book''.]]

	A poor old woman, with nothing to eat, heads for the river to fish and to bathe. When she comes out of the river, she finds a venomous snake in her pot. She takes it home, so that it bites her and ~~end~~ her misery. But once she opens the pot, she finds a rich necklace, which she sells to the king, who puts it in a chest. Soon after, when he opens it to show the queen, he instead ~~fins~~ a baby boy, whom the king and his wife raise as their son, and the old woman becomes his nurse. She speaks of how that boy came about.		A poor old woman, with nothing to eat, heads for the river to fish and to bathe. When she comes out of the river, she finds a venomous snake in her pot. She takes it home, so that it bites her and ends her misery. But once she opens the pot, she finds a rich necklace, which she sells to the king, who puts it in a chest. Soon after, when he opens it to show the queen, he instead finds a baby boy, whom the king and his wife raise as their son, and the old woman becomes his nurse. She speaks of how that boy came about.

	The king agrees with a neighboring king that their children should marry. But when the other king's daughter goes to marry, her mother warns her to ask about the magic. The princess refuses to speak until ~~the son~~ tells her that he ~~was~~ a prince from far off, who had been turned into a snake, ~~and then~~ he ~~became~~ a snake again~~. The~~ princess ~~mourns~~ for the ~~prince where he had vanished, and~~ the ~~snake comes to~~ her, ~~telling if she puts bowls of milk~~ and ~~sugar in the four corners~~ of the ~~room, many snakes will come, led by their Queen~~. ~~If she stands in the Queen's way~~, ~~she can ask for her husband; but if she's frightened~~ and ~~does not do~~ her ~~bidding, she cannot have him back~~.		The king agrees with a neighboring king that their children should marry. But when the other king's daughter goes to marry, her mother warns her to ask about the magic birth. The princess refuses to speak until her husband tells her he will reveal the truth of his origins, but the princess will regret it. He says that he is a prince from far off, who had been turned into a snake - by saying thus, he becomes a snake again, and slithers off to the river, leaving the princess to mourn for him at the margin. She stays by the river in hopes of finding her husband, and asks for a house of black stone to be built near the river. It is done so, and guards and soldiers protect her.

	The princess does as he said, and wins back her husband.		A long time passes, and the princess notices someone has come to her house at night due to a spot of mud left in the direction of the house. This happens twice more, and the princess discovers on the third night that a snake appears to talk to her: it is her husband, come to tell her she can save him if she puts bowls of milk and sugar in the four corners of the room; this will cause many snakes to come, led by their Queen. If she stands in the Queen's way, she can ask for her husband; but if she's frightened and does not do her bidding, she cannot have him back.

			The princess does as he said, and wins back her husband.<ref>Lang, Andrew. ''[https://archive.org/details/olivefairybook00lang/page/247/mode/1up The Olive Fairy Book]''. London; New York: Longmans, Green. 1907. pp. 247-255.</ref>

	==Analysis==		==Analysis==
	~~The~~ tale ~~is classified~~ in the [[Aarne-Thompson~~-Uther Index~~]] as type ~~ATU~~ 425A, "The ~~Search for~~ the ~~Lost Husband"~~.<ref>Silver, Carole G. "Animal Brides and Grooms: Motif B600 and Animal Paramour, Motif B610". In: Jane Garry and [[Hasan M. El-Shamy\|Hasan El-Shamy]] (eds.). ''Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature. A Handbook''. Armonk / London: M.E. Sharpe, 2005. p. 96.</ref> These tales refer to a human maiden married to an animal husband that, in actuality, is a human prince under a magical disguise.		===Tale type===
			American folklorist [[D. L. Ashliman]] classified the tale in the [[Aarne-Thompson]] Index as type 425A, "The Monster (Animal) as Bridegroom".<ref>Ashliman, D. L. ''A Guide to Folktales in the English Language: Based on the Aarne-Thompson Classification System''. Bibliographies and Indexes in World Literature, vol. 11. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1987. pp. 87-88. {{ISBN\|0-313-25961-5}}.</ref><ref>Silver, Carole G. "Animal Brides and Grooms: Motif B600 and Animal Paramour, Motif B610". In: Jane Garry and [[Hasan M. El-Shamy\|Hasan El-Shamy]] (eds.). ''Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature. A Handbook''. Armonk / London: M.E. Sharpe, 2005. p. 96.</ref> These tales refer to a human maiden married to an animal husband that, in actuality, is a human prince under a magical disguise. He disappears and she has to gain him back.<ref name=lang/><ref>{{cite book \|last1=Thompson \|first1=Stith \|last2=Roberts \|first2=Warren Everett \|title=Types of Indic Oral Tales: India, Pakistan, And Ceylon \|location=Helsinki \|publisher=Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia \|date=1960 \|page=62}}</ref>

	Scholarship also points that a story of a maiden marrying a snake being is attested in the ''[[Panchatantra]]'', an Indian collection of folkloric accounts and related tales.<ref>Žmuida, Eugenijus. "[https://www.lituanistika.lt/content/67405 Eglė žalčių karalienė: slibino ir mergelės motyvo kilmė]" [Eglė, the queen of serpents: origins of the motif of dragon and maiden]. In: ''Liaudies kultūra'' Nr. 5 (2016). p. 32. {{ISSN\|0236-0551}}</ref>		===Related tales===
			Scholarship also points that a story of a maiden marrying a snake being is attested in the ''[[Panchatantra]]'', an Indian collection of folkloric accounts and related tales.<ref>Žmuida, Eugenijus. "[https://www.lituanistika.lt/content/67405 Eglė žalčių karalienė: slibino ir mergelės motyvo kilmė]" [Eglė, the queen of serpents: origins of the motif of dragon and maiden]. In: ''Liaudies kultūra'' Nr. 5 (2016). p. 32. {{ISSN\|0236-0551}}.</ref>

			===Motifs===
			According to [[Stith Thompson]] and {{ill\|Jonas Balys\|lt\|Jonas Balys}} study of motifs of Indian literature and oral folklore, the tale contains the [[Motif (folkloristics)\|motifs]] [[Motif-Index of Folk-Literature\|D425.1.3.]] "Transformation: snake to garland", and D432 "Transformation: mineral form to person" (in this case, a jewel necklace),<ref>Thompson, S., Balys, J. (1958). ''The oral tales of India''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 104.</ref> B604.1, "Marriage to snake"<ref>Thompson, S., Balys, J. (1958). ''The oral tales of India''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 80.</ref> and D391 "Transformation: serpent (snake) to person".<ref>Thompson, S., Balys, J. (1958). ''The oral tales of India''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 103.</ref>

			==== The husband's vanishing ====
			In his work about ''Cupid and Psyche'' and other ''Animal as Bridegroom'' tales, Swedish scholar {{ill\|Jan-Öjvind Swahn\|sv\|Jan-Öjvind Swahn}} identified that, in certain tales, the heroine causes her supernatural husband's disappearance by inquiring his name. Swahn named this [[Motif (folkloristics)\|motif]] ''The Name Taboo'' and surmised that it occurred "primarily in India".<ref>Swahn, Jan Öjvind. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=s3_YAAAAMAAJ&q=%22name+taboo%22 The Tale of Cupid and Psyche]''. Lund, C.W.K. Gleerup. 1955. pp. 238, 251.</ref> In Thompson and Roberts's ''Types of Indic Oral Tales'', this motif appears in Indic type 425D Ind, "Search for Serpent Husband": the heroine insists to know her husband's caste or name, and he, in return, gives her an answer, but vanishes in the water [[Shapeshifting\|like a snake]].<ref>Thompson, Stith; Roberts, Warren Everett. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=WxnXAAAAMAAJ&q=%22his+name+or+his+caste%22 Types of Indic Oral Tales: India, Pakistan, and Ceylon]''. Academia Scientiarum Fennica, 1960. p. 63.</ref> This episode corresponds with motifs C32.2., "Tabu: questioning supernatural husband"; C32.2.1, "Tabu: asking name of supernatural husband"; C32.2.2, "Tabu: asking where supernatural husband comes from", and C32.2.3, "Tabu: asking for caste of supernatural husband."<ref>Thompson, S., Balys, J. (1958). ''The oral tales of India''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 85.</ref>

			== Variants ==
			In a tale from [[Uttara Kannada]],<ref>{{cite book \|title=Kannaḍa janapada kathegaḷu \|author=Ke. Ār Sandhyā Reḍḍi \|publisher=Kannaḍa Sāhitya Pariṣattu \|date=1982 \|page=374 \|lang=Kannada}}</ref> [[Karnataka]], titled "ಚಂದ್ರಗಿರಿ ಪಾರ್ವತಿ" ("Chandragiri Parvati"), a poor couple is so destitute they wish to die by snake bite, so they bring in a snake. However, the snake they chose as their mercy killer changes into a [[gold nugget]] instead of killing them, and the couple send the nugget to the king for a sum of money. The king places the nugget in a safe, but when he goes to retrieve it, he finds a boy in its place. The king adopts the boy and raises him as his prince. Years later, the prince marries a girl. During their marital life, the wife is visited by an old woman that advises her to ask her husband's real name. The prince tells his wife his true name, turns into a snake and slithers back to the Netherworld. Some time later, the princess is told by a cowherd that the snake prince appears on land in human form, which means she can save him. Deities [[Shiva]] and [[Parvati]] enchant some crystals and restore the snake prince to human form, and the princess and the prince are reunited.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Kannaḍa janapada kathegaḷu \|author=Ke. Ār Sandhyā Reḍḍi \|publisher=Kannaḍa Sāhitya Pariṣattu \|date=1982 \|page=129 \|lang=Kannada}}</ref> According to Kannada scholars, type 425 ("ವರ್ಗ ೪೨೫", in the original) is not "very popular" in Karnataka.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Kannaḍa janapada kathegaḷu \|author=Ke. Ār Sandhyā Reḍḍi \|publisher=Kannaḍa Sāhitya Pariṣattu \|date=1982 \|page=129 \|lang=Kannada \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0rHfAAAAMAAJ&q=%22%E0%B2%B5%E0%B2%B0%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%97+%E0%B3%AA%E0%B3%A8%E0%B3%AB%22}}</ref>

	==See also==		==See also==
	*[[The ~~Enchanted Snake~~]]		* [[The Ruby Prince (Punjabi folktale)]]
	*[[Princess Himal and Nagaray]], Kashmiri folktale		*[[Princess Himal and Nagaray]], Kashmiri folktale
	*[[Tulisa, the Wood-Cutter's Daughter]]		*[[Tulisa, the Wood-Cutter's Daughter]]
			*[[Champavati]] (Assamese folktale)
			* [[The Enchanted Snake]], Italian literary tale
			* [[Prince Lal Maluk]]
			* [[The Story of Hira and Lal]]

	==References==		==References==
	{{Reflist}}		{{Reflist}}

			== External links ==
			* ''[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/347.htm The Snake Prince]''
			{{Animal as Bridegroom}}

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Snake Prince}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Snake Prince}}
	[[Category:Indian fairy tales]]		[[Category:Indian fairy tales]]
	[[Category:Fictional princes]]		[[Category:Fictional princes]]
			[[Category:Fairy tales about princes]]
			[[Category:Fairy tales about princesses]]
	[[Category:Fictional snakes]]		[[Category:Fictional snakes]]
	[[Category:~~Fiction~~ about shapeshifting]]		[[Category:Anthropomorphic snakes]]
			[[Category:Fairy tales about talking animals]]
			[[Category:Fairy tales about shapeshifting]]
	[[Category:Animal tales]]		[[Category:Animal tales]]
	[[Category:Male characters in fairy tales]]		[[Category:Male characters in fairy tales]]
	[[Category:Indian folklore]]		[[Category:Indian folklore]]
	[[Category:Indian literature]]		[[Category:Indian literature]]
			[[Category:ATU 400-459]]
			[[Category:Panchatantra]]

->SdkbBot: Removed overlinked country wikilink and general fixes (task 2)

2022-01-05T01:14:58Z

Removed overlinked country wikilink and general fixes (task 2)

New page

{{Short description|Indian fairy tale}}
{{multiple issues|
{{one source|date=June 2020}}
{{all plot|date=June 2020}}
{{notability|date=June 2020}}
}}
'''The Snake Prince''' is an Indian [[fairy tale]], a Punjabi story collected by Major Campbell in [[Firozpur|Feroshepore]]. [[Andrew Lang]] included it in ''[[The Olive Fairy Book]]'' (1907).<ref>Andrew Lang, ''The Olive Fairy Book'',[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/347.htm "The Snake Prince"]</ref>

==Synopsis==
[[File:The olive fairy book - inset illustration at page 251.png|thumb|right|The Snake Prince meets his wife. Illustration by Henry Justice Ford for ''The Olive Fairy Book''.]]

A poor old woman, with nothing to eat, heads for the river to fish and to bathe. When she comes out of the river, she finds a venomous snake in her pot. She takes it home, so that it bites her and end her misery. But once she opens the pot, she finds a rich necklace, which she sells to the king, who puts it in a chest. Soon after, when he opens it to show the queen, he instead fins a baby boy, whom the king and his wife raise as their son, and the old woman becomes his nurse. She speaks of how that boy came about.

The king agrees with a neighboring king that their children should marry. But when the other king's daughter goes to marry, her mother warns her to ask about the magic. The princess refuses to speak until the son tells her that he was a prince from far off, who had been turned into a snake, and then he became a snake again. The princess mourns for the prince where he had vanished, and the snake comes to her, telling if she puts bowls of milk and sugar in the four corners of the room, many snakes will come, led by their Queen. If she stands in the Queen's way, she can ask for her husband; but if she's frightened and does not do her bidding, she cannot have him back.

The princess does as he said, and wins back her husband.

==Analysis==
The tale is classified in the [[Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index]] as type ATU 425A, "The Search for the Lost Husband".<ref>Silver, Carole G. "Animal Brides and Grooms: Motif B600 and Animal Paramour, Motif B610". In: Jane Garry and [[Hasan M. El-Shamy|Hasan El-Shamy]] (eds.). ''Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature. A Handbook''. Armonk / London: M.E. Sharpe, 2005. p. 96.</ref> These tales refer to a human maiden married to an animal husband that, in actuality, is a human prince under a magical disguise.

Scholarship also points that a story of a maiden marrying a snake being is attested in the ''[[Panchatantra]]'', an Indian collection of folkloric accounts and related tales.<ref>Žmuida, Eugenijus. "[https://www.lituanistika.lt/content/67405 Eglė žalčių karalienė: slibino ir mergelės motyvo kilmė]" [Eglė, the queen of serpents: origins of the motif of dragon and maiden]. In: ''Liaudies kultūra'' Nr. 5 (2016). p. 32. {{ISSN|0236-0551}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[The Enchanted Snake]]
*[[Princess Himal and Nagaray]], Kashmiri folktale
*[[Tulisa, the Wood-Cutter's Daughter]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snake Prince}}
[[Category:Indian fairy tales]]
[[Category:Fictional princes]]
[[Category:Fictional snakes]]
[[Category:Fiction about shapeshifting]]
[[Category:Animal tales]]
[[Category:Male characters in fairy tales]]
[[Category:Indian folklore]]
[[Category:Indian literature]]

The Snake Prince - Revision history

EmmettAlbritton: updated details

->SdkbBot: Removed overlinked country wikilink and general fixes (task 2)