The Three Golden Children (folklore)
A folktale cycle of wondrous children, betrayal, and reunion.
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The Three Golden Children is a cycle of folktales classified as motif K2110.1 in the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, centered on the calumniated wife. The tales involve a woman who gives birth to wondrous children, who are then taken by jealous relatives, leading to the mother's punishment and eventual reunion with her children years later. Folklorist Stith Thompson described it as 'one of the eight or ten best known plots in the world.'
Quick Facts
- Type
- Folktale cycle
- Motif index
- K2110.1
- Key folklorist
- Stith Thompson
- Associated scholars
- Joseph Jacobs
- Arthur Bernard Cook
- Emmanuel Cosquin
- Rodolfo Lenz
- Verrier Elwin
- Paul Ottino
Facts from the source article.
Background
The tale begins with a king overhearing three sisters talking; the youngest promises to bear him wondrous children, often marked with astronomical motifs like sun, moon, or stars. The king marries her, but jealous older sisters or a mother-in-law replace the newborns with animals or accuse the mother of devouring them. The mother is banished or imprisoned, while the children are hidden or cast into water, later raised by a childless foster family. Years later, the children, aided by a magical helper, move near the palace.
The jealous relatives, recognizing them, trick the sister into sending her brothers on perilous quests for three treasures: magical water, a singing tree, and a truth-telling bird that turns people to stone. The brothers fail and are petrified; the sister rescues them and completes the quests. The bird reveals the truth at a feast, reuniting the family and punishing the jealous relatives.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: The Three Golden Children (folklore) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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