True and Untrue is a Norwegian
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
Asbjørnsen and Moe Asbjørnsen is a Norwegian surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Kristin Asbjørnsen (born 1971), Norwegian jazz singer
*Øyvind Asbjørnsen (born 1963), Norwegian film producer
*Peter Christen Asbjørnsen (1812–1855), Norwegian wr ...
. It is
Aarne-Thompson type 613, The Two Travelers: Truth and Falsehood.
Synopsis
Two brothers were known as True and Untrue for their natures. They set out to seek their fortunes. Untrue persuaded True to let them both eat True's food first, and when that was eaten, refused True any of his. True said that it showed Untrue's nature, and Untrue gouged his brother's eyes out.
True fumbled along through the woods until he came to a lime tree. He decided to spend the night in it for fear of wild animals. A bear, wolf, fox, and hare met under it, because it was
St. John's Eve. The bear said that the dew on the lime tree would cure the sight of the king, who was going blind; the wolf said that the king's daughter was deaf and mute because when she went to
communion, she let a crumb fall, but if they caught the toad that had swallowed it, she would be cured; the fox told how the king could find a spring in his courtyard; and the hare told how a golden chain buried about the king's orchard kept it from bearing fruit.
At dawn, True rubbed his eyes with the dew, and regained his sight. He went to serve the king and put to use everything the animals had said, ending with restoring the princess's speech and hearing, at which the king married him to the princess and gave him half his kingdom.
At the wedding, a beggar came: Untrue. True gave him some food and told him to go sit in the lime tree, but when the animals came, they knew that someone had overheard all they said, so this year, they did not do more than say good night and part.
Motifs
The plot of this story is similar to that of
The Grateful Beasts, where the hero is crippled by companions, and because of this learns secrets. Numerous other variants exist, such as the Russian ''Правда и Кривда'' (Honesty and Dishonesty), and at least two French tales. In the latter, the hero is blinded in order for him and his companion to gather more money begging, and is abandoned when the companion believes he can manage without the burdensome cripple. By the time they meet again at the end of the story, the assumption turns out wrong, and the traitor is reduced to begging. In an Uzbek variant, instead of being blinded, the hero merely has his property stolen from him after accepting an offer of friendship.
Эгры и Тугры
'
The contrasting results of their listening are similar to that of the Kind and Unkind Girls, as in such fairy tales as
Mother Hulda
"Frau Holle" (; ; also known as "Mother Holle", "Mother Hulda" or "Old Mother Frost") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in '' Children's and Household Tales'' in 1812 (KHM 24). It is of Aarne-Thompson type 480.
Frau Holle ...
,
Diamonds and Toads
Diamonds and Toads or Toads and Diamonds is a French fairy tale by Charles Perrault, and titled by him "Les Fées" or "The Fairies". Andrew Lang included it in '' The Blue Fairy Book''. It was illustrated by Laura Valentine in ''Aunt Louisa's nur ...
,
The Three Heads in the Well
The Three Heads in the Well is a fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in ''English Fairy Tales''.
It is Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, Aarne-Thompson-Uther tale type ATU 480, The Spinning-Woman by the Spring, The Kind and Unkind Girls. Others of ...
,
Father Frost, and
The Three Little Men in the Wood
"The Three Little Men in the Wood" or "The Three Little Gnomes in the Forest" () is a German fairy tale collected in 1812 by the Brothers Grimm in ''Grimms' Fairy Tales, Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 13). Andrew Lang included it in ''The Red Fairy Bo ...
.
Such fairy tales as
The Prince and the Princess in the Forest and
The Three Treasures of the Giants use the motif of overhearing the necessary knowledge.
References
{{reflist
External links
''True and Untrue''
Norwegian fairy tales
Scandinavian folklore
ATU 560-649
Asbjørnsen and Moe
Fairy tales about brothers
Anthropomorphic bears
Anthropomorphic foxes
Anthropomorphic wolves
Anthropomorphic rabbits and hares
Fairy tales about talking animals
Literature about blind people