The Three Dogs 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 ...

Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a folkloristics, collector of folklore, folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectur ...

included it in ''

The Green Fairy Book ''The Langs' Fairy Books'' are a series of 25 collections of true and fictional stories for children published between 1889 and 1913 by Andrew Lang and Leonora Blanche Alleyne, a married couple. The best known books of the series are the 12 col ...

'', listing his source as the Brothers Grimm. A version of this tale appears in '' A Book of Dragons'' by

Ruth Manning-Sanders Ruth Manning-Sanders (21 August 1886 – 12 October 1988) was an English poet and author born in Wales, known for a series of children's books for which she collected and related fairy tales worldwide. She published over 90 books in her lifetime ...

. It is Aarne-Thompson type 562, The Spirit in the Blue Light. Other tales of this type include '' The Blue Light'' and '' The Tinderbox''. D.L. Ashliman,
The Blue Light: Folktales of Aarne-Thompson-Uther Type 562
'

Synopsis

A dying peasant told his son and daughter that he had only his house and three sheep to leave them; they could divide them as they wished, but must not quarrel. The brother asked his sister which she wished to have. She chose the house. He told her he would take the sheep and seek his fortune. He met a stranger who offered to trade

three 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

dogs for his sheep: Salt, which would bring him food; Pepper, who would tear attackers to pieces; Mustard, which could break iron or steel with its teeth. The brother agreed and once the trade was done, asked Salt for food; it instantly gave him some. He went on and found a town draped in black. There, he heard that a

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

demanded the tribute of a maiden every year, and this year the lot had fallen on the princess. He went to where she was left, and set Pepper on the dragon. The dog swallowed it all except for two teeth, which the man pocketed. The princess offered to marry him. The man said he wanted to see the world, and would return in three years. When she was being driven back, the

coachman A coachman is a person who drives a Coach (carriage), coach or carriage, or similar horse-drawn vehicle. A coachman has also been called a coachee, coachy, whip, or hackman. The coachman's first concern is to remain in full control of the hors ...

told her that her rescuer was gone and he would kill her if she did not say that he had killed the dragon. She promised. The king said he would marry her to him, but he put off the marriage a year, because she was so young. At the end of the year, she begged him to put it off another, and again, for a third year. Then the wedding date was set. The man returned, but when he said he had killed the dragon, he was thrown into prison. He called Mustard, which ate through the bars. Then he sent Salt for food. Salt went to the castle, and the princess recognized it and gave it food in a royal handkerchief. She told her father the truth, the king sent a servant to follow the dog, and the man produced the dragon's teeth to prove his story. The coachman was thrown in prison, and the man married the princess. After a time, he remembered his sister and sent for her. The dogs appeared before him and told him they had been waiting to see if he would remember his sister. Then they turned into birds and flew into heaven.

Motifs

The dragon slayer is a common motif, as in ''

The Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of Life "The Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of Life" () is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in ''Narodnye russkie skazki''. The tale and is variants are numbered 171-178 in the first volume of the three-volume collecti ...

'', '' The Three Princes and their Beasts'', ''

The Knights of the Fish ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'', '' The Merchant'' and ''

The Two Brothers "The Two Brothers" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 60. It is Aarne-Thompson type 303, "The Blood Brothers", with an initial episode of type 567, "The Magic Bird Heart". A similar story, of Sicilian origin, ...

''. Another common motif is the false hero whose wedding the hero barely arrives in time to interrupt, as in '' The Blue Mountains'', ''

The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a visit ...

'', or ''

The Three Princesses of Whiteland "The Three Princesses of Whiteland" (''De tre prinsesser i Hvittenland'') is a Norwegian fairy tale, collected by Norwegian writers Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their collection of folktales and legends '' Norske folkeevent ...

'', but the hero's choice to travel is an unusual cause; normally the hero broke some prohibition, or was attacked by the false hero and severely injured, and so has difficulty reaching her.

References

External links

''The Three Dogs''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Three Dogs, The Three Dogs Fictional dogs Dragons in fairy tales Fairy tales about shapeshifting Fairy tales about talking animals ATU 560-649