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Donkeyskin is a French fairy tale told by Charles Perrault. It is Aarne-Thompson folktale type 510B, the persecuted heroine. Doré photographed by Felix Nadar. ...
A fairy tale is a story, either told to children or as if told to children, concerning the adventures of mythical characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others. ...
Charles Perrault, 1665 Charles Perrault (January 12, 1628 – May 16, 1703) was a French author who laid foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, and whose best known tales include Le Petit Chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), La Belle au bois dormant (Sleeping Beauty), Le Chat bott...
Antti Amatus Aarne (1867 - 1925) was a Finnish folklorist, who developed the initial version of what became the Aarne-Thompson classification system of classifying folktales, first published in 1910. ...
Andrew Lang included it, somewhat euphemized, in The Grey Fairy Book. For the former National Basketball Association player, see Andrew Lang (basketball). ...
Synopsis
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. A king had a beautiful wife and a rich castle, including a marvelous donkey whose droppings were gold. One day his wife died, after making him promise not to marry except to a woman whose beauty equaled hers. The king grieved, but was, in time, persuaded to seek another wife. It became clear that the only woman who would fit the promise was his own daughter.
She went to her fairy godmother who advised her to make impossible demands as a condition of her consent: a dress the color of the sky, a dress the color of the moon, a dress as bright as the sun, and finally, the hide of his marvelous donkey. Such was the king's desire to marry her that he granted all of them. The fairy godmother gave her a marvelous chest to contain all she owned, and told her that the donkeyskin would make an excellent disguise. In fairy tales, a fairy godmother is a fairy or person with magical powers who acts as a mentor or parent to someone. ...
She fled. Eventually, she found a royal farm where they let her, despite her ugliness in the donkeyskin, work in the kitchen. On feast days, she would dress herself in the fine gowns her father had given her, and one such day, the prince came by her room and peeped through the keyhole. He fell in love at once, fell ill with his longing, and declared that nothing would cure him but a cake baked by Donkeyskin, and nothing they could say of what a dirty creature she was dissuaded him.
When Donkeyskin baked the cake, a ring of hers fell in it. The prince found it, and declared that he would marry only the woman whose finger it fit. Every other woman having failed, he insisted that Donkeyskin try, and it fit. When she had dressed herself in her fine gowns, his parents were reconciled with the match.
Spoilers end here.
Modern variants Robin McKinley retold this in Deerskin. Robin McKinley (born November 16, 1952 as Jennifer Carolyn Robin McKinley) is a fantasy author especially known for her Newbery Medal-winning novel The Hero and the Crown. ...
Peau d'âne (1970), a film directed by Jacques Demy and starring Jean Marais and Catherine Deneuve. The director and screenwriter Jacques Demy (1931 - 1990) was one of the most approachable filmmakers of the French New Wave. ...
Jean Marais photo taken by Carl Van Vechten, 1947 Jean Marais, born Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (December 11, 1913 - November 8, 1998) was a French actor, and the lover of Jean Cocteau. ...
Catherine Deneuve at Cannes in 2000 Catherine Deneuve (born October 22, 1943, Paris) is an Oscar-nominated French actress. ...
See also Allerleirauh or All-Kinds-of-Fur is a fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm. ...
Catskin is a fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs. ...
Cap O Rushes is an English fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in English Fairy Tales. ...
Katie Woodencloak or Kari Woodengown is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe and included by Andrew Lang in The Red Fairy Book It is Aarne-Thompson type 510A, the persecuted heroine. ...
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