The Riddle appears to be one of the less popular Grimm tales…basing my judgment off the number of illustrations I could find (or not find) for my Pinterest board.
But it’s a classic example of a traveler’s journey. When reading it, I was reminded of books such as The Hobbit by Tolkien and The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. Even made me think of The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett.
The prince and his servant are on the road to see the world and run across some trouble at the various locations they stay along the way. Help from kind maidens paired with cunning counter-moves, the intrepid prince ends up on top.
Look at this set up:
Tropes
- witch trying to poison the hero
- helpful maidens
- several sequences of three: three places to stay; three nights to learn the answer to the riddle; three cloaks
- a riddle to be solved
- suitors put to death if they fail the test
Settings
- great forest,
- cottage, inn, castle (?)
Animals Involved
- raven
- horse
Characters
- prince
- faithful servant
- helpful maiden
- stepmother who is a witch
- large group of murderers
- honest innkeeper’s daughter
- servants
- a beautiful but haughty princess.
Just reading this list of tropes, you could sense this might be a good story!
I’d like to see this fairy tale retold in the style of Shakespeare, with his witty sarcasm and colorful observations about human nature added in.
I’d especially like to see the prince’s motivations at the end fleshed out in a retelling. The prince knows the princess is trying to trick him while he’s sleeping, yet he willingly tells her the answer to the riddle. Why?
Has he fallen in love and wants to test her character? —would she really have him put to death if she guessed the riddle through subterfuge? Was he teaching her a lesson on how to treat other people?
What makes a good traveler story for me? I think it needs to include a journey, (not simply running away), peril and adventure, plus at least an overnight stay.
Other traveler stories we've read so far in Grimm include (to varying degrees; I'm not dogmatic about these)-- A Tale About the Boy Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was; Faithful John; Three Snake Leaves; The White Snake; The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean; The Brave Little Tailor; and possibly, Mother Holle, though I'm inclined to leave this one out. So, 7 out of the first 24.
What do you think makes a good traveler story?
