The Golden Crab is a Greek fairy tale collected as "Prinz Krebs" by Bernhard Schmidt in his Griechische Märchen, Sagen and Volkslieder.Schmidt, Bernhard. Griechische Märchen, Sagen und Volkslieder. Leipzig: Teubner, 1877. pp. 83-88. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book.Andrew Lang, The Yellow Fairy Book, "The Golden Crab"
Greek folklorist collected a variant, The Crab, in Folktales of Greece.
The tale is related to the international cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom or The Search for the Lost Husband, in that a human princess marries a supernatural or enchanted husband in animal form, breaks his trust and he disappears, having to search for him. Specifically, the tale belongs to a subtype of the cycle, classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as tale type ATU 425D, "Vanished Husband learned of by keeping inn".
Synopsis Schmidt's variant Bernhard Schmidt (de) stated that his version was originally titled "Οἱ δώδεκα ἀετοί" ("Oí dódeka áetoi"; "The Twelve Eagles") by the narrator. He also compared the 12 eagles of the Greek tale to the 12 pigeons in the Albanian tale from von Hahn.Schmidt, Bernhard. Griechische Märchen, Sagen und Volkslieder. Leipzig: Teubner, 1877. pp. 227-228.
One day, a fisherman, who had a wife and three children, caught a golden crab with the rest of his fish. He took it home, and the crab told his wife, (who was cleaning the other fish) to let down her skirt, her feet were showing. That evening, the crab asked to be given dinner, and when they did, they found his plate was filled with gold. This happened every night.
One day, the crab told the fisherman's wife to tell the king that he (the crab) wanted to marry his (the king's) younger daughter. The king, guessing he was an enchanted prince, demanded that the crab build a wall in front of the castle, higher than the highest tower, and blooming with flowers, and then a garden with three fountains that played gold, diamonds, and brilliants. When this was done, the king agreed.
The crab sent the fisherman to fetch rich garments for himself and his bride, and had himself carried to the castle on a golden cushion. After the wedding, he told his bride that he was an enchanted prince, a crab by day and a man by night, though he could change himself into an eagle whenever he liked. They spent their nights together, and soon the princess had a son.
The king held another tournament, decreeing that if any of the knights pleased his daughter, that knight would be selected by her, and she would marry him and would leave the crab. The method of selection was to be a golden apple - thrown to the king's daughter by whichever knight she selected. The crab sent the princess to give orders for his golden armor and steed, and his golden apple, to be brought to him. He warned her that he would be the knight to throw her the golden apple, but she must not reveal that he is the crab. When she was not pleased with any of the princes, the king held a second tournament. The crab was certain that his wife would betray him this time, but went again. When he threw her the golden apple, her mother boxed her ears, demanding to know why even that knight did not please her, and the princess confessed it was the crab. The queen ran back to their rooms, saw the crab shell, and burned it. The princess wept bitterly, but her husband did not return.
An old man went to dip some bread in water when a dog stole it from him. He chased after the dog, and found a palace. Twelve eagles flew in and became young men. They toasted the health of some family member—a father, a mother—and the last toasted his wife but cursed the mother who burned his shell. The old man heard the princess was ill, and that the only thing that consoled her was hearing stories. He went to the castle to tell his, and the princess went with him to the palace. When her husband gave that toast, she ran to him. He asked if she would stay with him the three months until the enchantment was done. She agreed and sent back the old man to tell her parents. They were not pleased, but when the three months were done, the prince and princess went back home and were happy.
Megas's variant In Megas's tale, titled in , and translated as Der Krebs ("The Crab"),Megas, Georgios A. Begegnung der Völker im Märchen, Griechenland - Deutschland. Gesellschaft zur Pflege des Märchengutes der Europäischen. Aschendorff, Münster, 1968. pp. 182-189 (Greek text); 189-196 (German translation). a priest and his wife lived near a king and queen. They were so fond of each other that they agreed that their children would marry. The queen gave birth to a daughter, and the priest's wife to a crab. When the crab and the princess were grown, the crab asked the king to fulfill his promise. The king asked him to remove a nearby mountain in one night. The crab did so, and the marriage was held. He took off his shell at night and became a handsome young man, but cautioned his wife to silence. The princess was pleased, but her mother was grief-stricken. On Sundays, the crab sent his wife to church ahead of him and came in human form; her mother said that the prince must have come to woo her and she lost him by marrying the crab. On the third Sunday, the queen wept so much that her daughter feared she would become ill, and the princess revealed the truth. When she went back, the crab was gone.
She had three pairs of iron shoes made and wandered the world until she had worn out two. Then she built an inn and asked all travellers for news. Two beggars came. One told how he had tried to eat some bread, but when he dipped it into a stream to soften it, the current bore it off. He had chased it to a palace, where he was forbidden to eat until the lords had eaten. Three doves flew in and turned to young men. Two toasted the health of a fair one who could not keep a secret, and ordered the windows and doors to weep; they wept, and the young men wept with them. The third toasted the fair lady who could not keep her promise for one more day, and wept with the windows and doors. When they were done, the beggar ate and left. The princess asked him to lead her there. The oven and cauldron welcomed her, and the door told her to hide behind it. When the first two men gave their toasts, the doors and windows wept, but when the third did, they laughed. He went to break them, and found his wife. She threw his wings on the fire and saved him from possible danger or death.
Kretschmer's variant German linguist Paul Kretschmer collected a similar tale from the island of Lesbos with the title Die Krebs ("The Crab"), which was translated by Richard McGillivray Dawkins in his book Modern Greek Folktales.Dawkins, Richard McGillivray. Modern Greek folktales. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1953. pp. 56-60. In this tale, a childless woman lives just before the palace. Seeing the children playing about, she declares she will have a child, even if it is a crab. So God gives her one. After the crab is born, she takes him to play with other human children, but their parents don't allow their children to play with him.
In time, the crab grows larger and larger. One day, the mother leaves home and returns later, only to find the kitchen clean. She pretends to leave the next day, and sees that a young man comes out of the crab shell to do the chores. The woman surprises him, and he confesses he is the crab, and convinces his mother to go to the palace and ask for the hand of the princess in marriage.
The woman goes to the king in her son's stead, and the king orders the crab to fulfill some tasks first: to build a palace, with a garden with all types of trees and fruits; and to have the Sun illuminate the garden. The crab fulfills both tasks, and his mother goes to the king's court to announce her son is to marry the king's daughter. The princess's sisters complain that she is marrying a crab, not a prince, but the princess answers that it is her fate.
The princess and the crab marry. One day, the whole kingdom is abuzz due to a festival or some such. The crab tells his wife he will take part in the competition as a human rider on a black horse, but she cannot tell anything to her sisters. He goes to the festival and returns home. Next, the crab comes in red clothes, and returns home. Every time, the princess's sisters mock her for her choice of husband. On the third day, the crab warns his wife that, this time, she will betray him, but she assures him she will not. At any rate, the crab goes to the festival as a man, and the princess, in a moment of pride, reveals the youth is her husband, the crab. The youth disappears.
The princess orders the construction of an inn and a tailor's workshop, where people can come, eat, tell stories and get finer clothes. One day, a blind man and his son Wohlan want to go to the inn. They walk a bit and stop by a river. The boy takes out a loaf of bread, but it slips from his hands and rolls out on the ground. The bread just keeps rolling, and the boy follows it until it stops near a palace. The boy enters the palace and sees three doves coming, becoming men and making a toast to someone.
The boy and his blind father go to the princess's inn and tells the whole story. The princess goes to the same castle and sees the three doves. The three birds become man and the third makes a toast to the one that betrayed him. The princess reveals herself and intends to release him from the "Drachin", although her husband says she cannot do so. Eventually, the princess faces off the Drachin, who makes her choose her husband, and she chooses the middle one.Kretschmer, Paul. Neugriechische Märchen. Jena Didierichs Verlag, 1919. pp. 18-23, 325.
Analysis Tale type The tale is related to the cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom or the Search for the Lost Husband, and classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 425D, "The Vanished Husband". This type refers to a human girl marrying a supernatural husband in animal form; she betrays his secret and he disappears. In order to find him, she builds an inn, hospital or bath house to listen to passers-by's stories. One day, she listens to a person's narration about a flock of birds transforming into men in a place somewhere. The heroine recognizes it is about her husband and asks to be taken there.Angelopoulou, Anna; Broskou, Aigle. "ΕΠΕΞΕΡΓΑΣΙΑ ΠΑΡΑΜΥΘΙΑΚΩΝ ΤΥΠΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΡΑΛΛΑΓΩΝ AT 300-499". Tome B: AT 400-499. Athens, Greece: ΚΕΝΤΡΟ ΝΕΟΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΩΝ ΕΡΕΥΝΩΝ Ε.Ι.Ε. 1999. pp. 772-774.Ashliman, D. L. A Guide to Folktales in the English Language: Based on the Aarne-Thompson Classification System. Bibliographies and Indexes in World Literature, vol. 11. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1987. p. 89. .
Similarly, Greek folktale scholars Anna Angelopoulou and Aigle Brouskou, editors of the Greek Folktale Catalogue, classified Schmidt's tale as type 425D,Angelopoulou, Anna; Brouskou, Aígle. "ΚΑΤΑΛΟΓΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΩΝ ΠΑΡΑΜΥΘΙΩΝ". Vol. 3: ΕΠΕΞΕΡΓΑΣΙΑ ΤΥΠΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΡΑΛΛΑΓΩΝ AT 300-499. Tome B. Athens: ΚΕΝΤΡΟ ΝΕΟΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΩΝ ΕΡΕΥΝΩΝ Ε.Ι.Ε, 1999. p. 731 (entry nr. 234). . Kretschmer's as type 425D,Angelopoulou, Anna; Brouskou, Aígle. "ΚΑΤΑΛΟΓΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΩΝ ΠΑΡΑΜΥΘΙΩΝ". Vol. 3: ΕΠΕΞΕΡΓΑΣΙΑ ΤΥΠΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΡΑΛΛΑΓΩΝ AT 300-499. Tome B. Athens: ΚΕΝΤΡΟ ΝΕΟΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΩΝ ΕΡΕΥΝΩΝ Ε.Ι.Ε, 1999. p. 729 (entry nr. 205). . and Megas's also as type 425D.Angelopoulou, Anna; Brouskou, Aígle. "ΚΑΤΑΛΟΓΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΩΝ ΠΑΡΑΜΥΘΙΩΝ". Vol. 3: ΕΠΕΞΕΡΓΑΣΙΑ ΤΥΠΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΡΑΛΛΑΓΩΝ AT 300-499. Tome B. Athens: ΚΕΝΤΡΟ ΝΕΟΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΩΝ ΕΡΕΥΝΩΝ Ε.Ι.Ε, 1999. p. 730 (entry nr. 212). . American folklorist D. L. Ashliman classified tale The Crab as type 425D, "A wife finds her lost husband by keeping an inn".Ashliman, D. L. A Guide to Folktales in the English Language: Based on the Aarne-Thompson Classification System. Bibliographies and Indexes in World Literature, vol. 11. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1987. p. 89. .
Motifs The husband's vanishing