Drakestail

Did You Know?

• The tale was translated as Drakesbill and his Friends and published in the compilation Fairy stories my children love best of all.
• The original version was told in French as Bout-d’-Canard in the book Affenschwanz et Cetera by Charles Marelle in 1888.

The tale

Drakestail, a small male duck, finds a coin but is asked to donate it to the king, who promises future repayment. After some time passes, Drakestail heads to the palace, singing: Quack! Quack! Quack! When shall I get my money back? Along the way he meets a fox, a ladder, a river, and a bees' nest. Each asks where he is going and, upon learning he is going to see the King, requests to come along. Drakestail warns it is a long way, and each replies that it will make itself small and go down into his gullet so he can carry it. At the palace, the king, having already spent the coin, orders Drakestail thrown into the chicken yard. The chickens attack, but the fox emerges and kills them. The ladder saves Drakestail from a well, and the river saves him from a furnace. Each time he returns to the gates and repeats his song. Finally the king sits on Drakestail, and the bees' nest stings the king to death or causes him to jump out a window. Drakestail cannot find his money, but the townsfolk rejoice at the king's death and make Drakestail the new king.

Analysis

In the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, this story is listed as type ATU 715, known as "Half-Chick" or, in French, "Demi-Coq." French scholars Paul Delarue and Marie-Louise Thèneze also classify it as type 715, "Moitié de Coq (Jau)," in their Catalogue of French Folktales. The French name for this tale type appears in the 1759 play La Fausse Agnes by Philippe Néricault Destouches, according to researchers Stith Thompson and Paul Delarue. Folklorist Paul Delarue noted the story's strong popularity in France, adding that it is well known across Europe and in Turkey. Scholar González Sanz observed that the tale type is most widespread in France, Spain, and Iberian America. Folklorist Jonas Balys, in his 1936 study of Lithuanian folktales, recorded 41 Lithuanian versions. Adults might find such repetitive tales predictable, but children often love them because the repeated lines are easy to remember and recite, encouraging interaction and giving the plot a clear structure.