Father Roquelaure is a French

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

Achille Millien Achille Millien (4 September 1838 – 12 January 1927) was a French poet and folklore, folklorist. His poetic work includes a dozen collections of rustic inspiration: ''La Moisson'', ''Chants agrestes'', ''Musettes et clairons'', ''Chez nous'', ...

. It is a type 516 tale in the Aarne-Thompson classification system.Paul Delarue, ''The Borzoi Book of French Folk-Tales'', p 365, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York 1956 Others of this type are ''

Trusty John "Trusty John", "Faithful John", "Faithful Johannes", or "John the True" () is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in '' Grimm's Fairy Tales'' in 1819 (KHM 6). Andrew Lang included it in '' The Blue Fairy Book''. It ...

'' D.L. Ashliman,
The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales (Grimms' Fairy Tales)"
/ref> and ''

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 ...

''.

Synopsis

A widowed queen urges her son, Emilien, to marry, but he does not. She dies. One day, he sees a portrait of the Princess Emilienne and falls in love. The portrait painter tells him that the princess is kept confined in a tower by a

fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

. Emilien confides in a trusted servant, Jean, and after Jean makes secret preparations, they set out to find the princess. They take turns keeping watch at night. While the prince sleeps, Jean hears voices talking. One is of Father Roquelaure, who tells how Prince Emilien's task of finding the princess will be hard. He will have to rub the wheels with moss to cross a river with no bridge, which will create a bridge; he will have to offer the fairy a distaff with diamonds and then give her a

sleeping potion A potion is a liquid "that contains medicine, poison, or something that is supposed to have magic powers." It derives from the Latin word ''potio'' which refers to a drink or the act of drinking. The term philtre is also used, often specifica ...

; when he takes the princess, his horses will refuse to go on, and he will have to refuse offers from coachmen with horses and carriages and instead dash them to pieces; when the princess becomes thirsty and vendors offer to sell her drinks, the drinks will be poison and he will have to dash them to the ground; they will come upon a drowning man, and the prince will have to push him back into the water rather than rescue him; finally, he will have to rub the wheels with moss again. And if he repeats any of the things he has just been told, Jean will turn to stone. Throughout their journey, Jean tells Emilien to trust him and implements Father Roquelaure's words. His actions so frighten the princess that she tells Emilien that if he loved her, he would imprison Jean. After they return home and marry, Emilien demands that Jean explain his actions or be imprisoned. Jean finally explains and is turned to stone. The prince is deeply grieved. Within a year, the princess has a son, whom the prince wishes to name Jean in honor of his servant. A poor old woman comes to the christening feast, and so that no one will be unhappy there, he gives her a place and food to eat. She tells them that if they kill their baby, his blood will restore Jean. The prince kills the baby, and the blood brings Jean back to life. The old woman produces a

magic wand A wand is a thin, light-weight rod that is held with one hand, and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made of other materials, such as metal, bone or stone. Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, whi ...

and revives the baby. The princess realizes that she is the fairy who had kept her in the tower, and begs her pardon. The fairy tells her to be happy.

References

{{reflist French fairy tales ATU 500-559

Synopsis

See also

References