"A Riddling Tale" is a German

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

collected by the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...

in ''

Grimm's Fairy Tales ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', originally known as the ''Children's and Household Tales'' (, , commonly abbreviated as ''KHM''), is a German collection of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Jacob Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm, first publish ...

''. It is Aarne-Thompson type 407, the girl as a flower. The tale portion of it is subordinate to the riddle, and the tale is not widely found in the oral tradition.Stith Thompson, ''The Folktale'', p 95, University of California Press, Berkeley Los Angeles London, 1977

Synopsis

Three women were

changed Change, Changed or Changing may refer to the below. Other forms are listed at Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of th ...

to identical flowers. One was allowed home at night and told her husband to pick and free her. He did so. Riddle How did he recognize her? Answer The other flowers, having been in the field all night, had dew on them. The wife did not. So for that, he would know that that flower was his wife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddling Tale Grimms' Fairy Tales Fairy tales about shapeshifting Riddles Anthropomorphic plants ATU 400-459