The Serpent Prince

The tale is classified in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 425A, "The Animal (Monster) as Bridegroom".[3][4] In this tale type, the princess burns the husband's animal skin and she must seek him out, even paying a visit to the Sun, the Moon and the Wind and gaining their help.[5][6] In tale type ATU 425A, the heroine journeys far and wide to encounter her husband, and finds him at the mercy of a second spouse. The supernatural husband, now human, is put to sleep by the magic potion of the second spouse, so that the heroine has no chance of rescuing him.[7]

Others of this type include The Black Bull of Norroway, The Brown Bear of Norway, The Daughter of the Skies, East of the Sun and West of the Moon, The Tale of the Hoodie, The Sprig of Rosemary, and White-Bear-King-Valemon.

Similarly, the Hungarian Folktale Catalogue (MNK) indexes it as type AaTh 425A, Ámor és Psükhé ("Amor and Psyche"): the heroine marries an animal husband that is human underneath the animal skin, burns the animal skin, and loses him; to get him back, she travels to the houses of the Mother of the Sun, the Mother of the Moon and the Mother of the Wind, and gains objects she uses to bribe the false bride for a night with her husband.[8]

According to Hans-Jörg Uther, the main feature of tale type ATU 425A is "bribing the false bride for three nights with the husband".[9] In fact, when he developed his revision of Aarne-Thompson's system, Uther remarked that an "essential" trait of the tale type ATU 425A was the "wife's quest and gifts" and "nights bought".[10]

In a study published posthumously, Romanian folklorist Petru Caraman noted that, in Romanian and in some South Slavic variants, instead of meeting the Sun, the Moon and the Wind on the way to her husband, the heroine finds incarnations of the days of the week, like Holy Wednesday and Holy Friday. They function the same as the elements and gift the heroine with golden objects.[11] Also, according to Hungarian scholar Ágnes Kovács, the heroine's helpers are three old ladies: the mother of the Sun, the mother of the Moon and the Mother of the Wind in Hungarian variants, and Holy Friday, Holy Saturday and Holy Sunday in Romania.[12]

In Balkanic variants of the tale type, the supernatural husband curses his wife not to give birth to their child for a long period of time until she finds him again.[13] In addition, according to Lithuanian professor Bronislava Kerbelyte, similar tales from Hungary, Romania and Moldova contain the motif of the supernatural husband wrapping iron hoops around the heroine's belly so she cannot give birth to their child until he lays a hand on her again.[14]

In this regard, Hungarian scholar Ákos Dömötör, in the 1988 revised edition of the Hungarian Folktale Catalogue, separated this motif under a second typing indexed as AaTh 425L, Abroncs a Testen ("Rings on Body"): the husband places iron rings around the heroine's body so she is unable to give birth until he touches her again. Despite its own typing, Dömötör remarked that it is "identical" to type AaTh 425A (see above).[15]

Linda Dégh also saw a sexual component in the character of the snake bridegroom in the Hungarian variants.[16] In the same vein, researcher Donald Ward observed an erotic element "in almost every variant" of the tale type: the defloration of a virgin by a phallic-shaped monster.[17]

Dégh also remarked that these tales refer to a patriarchal peasant order: the preference for a male firstborn; the arranged marriage for women; the double marriage of the male character.[18]

In a tale published by György Gaal with the title A kigyó-királyfi ("The Serpent-Prince"), a childless royal couple longs to have a child of their own. One day, an old woman brings a bouquet of flowers that the queen smells. She becomes pregnant and gives birth to a snake. They decide to keep it alive instead of killing it. Years later, the snake whistles from a tree. The king wonders why, but the old woman explains the snake wants to be married. The royal couple finds him a princess that he soon kills. They find later him a poor peasant girl from that town whom he marries and treats kindly. The girl notices her husband takes off the snakeskin at night and becomes a handsome prince. The queen mother learns of this through her daughter-in-law steals the snakeskin and burns it in the oven. The snake prince wakes up, realizes the situation and curses his wife not to give birth until he puts his hand on her. He vanishes to the Fairy Realm and marries the Fairy Queen. Meanwhile, his human wife decides to go after him. She passes by the King of the Winds, the Castle of Moon and the Castle of the Day, and gains a golden spindle, a golden spinning wheel and a third golden instrument. She reaches the palace of the Fairy Queen and trades the golden objects for three nights with her husband. The human wife begs for her husband to let her give birth to their golden-haired child.[25]

In Hungarian variant A kigyóbör (Die Schlangenhaut or "The Snakeskin"), collected by László Merényi and translated by Elisabeth Rona-Sklárek, a poor woman prays to God for a son, even if it is a half-man, half-snake child. Thus she bears a son as she described. Eighteen years pass, the snake son grows and talks to his mother that he want to marry the local king's daughter, she who is famed for her beauty. His mother goes to the king to tell him of her son's proposal, and the king wants as a wedding gift a basket of gem-made flowers and golden apples. The poor mother returns to her poor hut and tells her son about it. The son asks his mother to wait outside, takes off his snakeskin and shakes it seven times: magical servants appear to get the requested items. The mother delivers the basket to the princess and her father asks for a golden bridge to be built overnight between both their houses - which is also accomplished. That night, the princess dreams of a handsome man on her bed, and, when she wakes up, she finds a strand of golden hair and a golden scale on her bed. The king consents to their marriage, but they have to wait three days. The snake son uses this time to summon his magical servants to prepare the couple's castle, a wedding retinue for his bride, a magnificent bride's dress and a splendid carriage. After they marry, the snake husband takes off his skin, becomes a man and tells his human bride his secret: he truly is a human man underneath the snakeskin. Some time later, the princess is pregnant and tells her mother his secret, and the queen convinces her to burn the snakeskin. She follows through with the instructions and tosses the snakeskin into the oven. As the snakeskin burns, the magical servants also burn with it, and sing a lament before disappearing. The snake husband notices the loss of the snakeskin and curses his wife not to give birth until he embraces her again. In return, she curses him that three drops of her spilled blood, staining his white shirt, will not be washed save by her own hands. The husbands then vanishes in a puff of smoke. Seven years, seven monts, seven days pass, and the princess goes on a quest for her husband: she passes by the houses of the Mother of the Moon, the Mother of the Sun, the Mother of the Wind, and gains two goldfishes, a golden cup and two golden spindles, and lastly a golden yarn. The princess takes a ride on the back of the Wind and goes to the palace of the false bride. The princess washes her husband's bloodied shirt in the lake. Her husband puts his hand on her breast and she gives birth to their children: a pair of golden-haired twins, a boy and a girl, one with the sun, the other with a star on the front.[26][27]

In a Yugoslavian-Hungarian variant titled A kígyó-vőlegény ("The Snake-Groom"), a poor couple wishes for a son and a snake is born. Time passes, and the snake whistles for his mother. The woman talks to her son and he says he wishes to be married. He sets his eyes on a neighbouring girls. They invite the first girl: she enters the bedroom, sees the snake and screams; the snake coils around her neck and strangles her. The same thing happens to a second girl. When it is time for a third candidate, the girl caresses the snake and survives the ordeal. She discovers the snake is a handsome man at night and wears the snakeskin during the day. Her mother-in-law convinces the girl to burn the skin. She prepares the oven with some hot coals and throws the skin in the fire. The snake son wakes up and admonishes his wife, and curses her to not give birth and for her ring to stick to her finger until she has found him in a black castle in the north. He vanishes and she goes after him, passing by the house of three old women and gaining golden objects: the Sun and his mother (who gives her a golden spinning wheel), the Moon and his mother (who gives her a golden "viszálló" or spindle), and the Whirlwind ("forgószél", in the original) and his mother (who gives her a golden bobbin). Still in the third house, the old woman asks her son to help the girl reach the black castle up north in no time. At last she arrives at the castle of the fairy queen, where she sees launderesses trying to wash a bloodied shirt. The pregnant girl manages to do it when the other women failed, and a maidservant reports to the fairy queen about her presence. She is brought to the monarch's court room and trades the golden objects for three nights with her husband. She sits by his bedside and begs him to wake up and touch her. He does on her third attempt and at last she gives birth to their child. The next day, the fairy princess and her court disappear from the castle.[28]

Hungarian linguist Antal Hoger collected the tale A sárig kicsi kígyó ("A small snake from the mud"), a poor couple does not have any children. One morning, the wife tells her husband about a dream she had: in her dream, an old man says they have to stand outside the house and get the first animal that passes by them as their son. The man stays outside and takes a small snake as their son. One day, the snake tells their parents he wants a bride, and says he wants the king's daughter as his wife. The snake's father goes to the king and make a bid for his daughter. The king agrees, but orders three tasks before he allows the marriage: first, he wants three golden apples from the garden of Tündér Ilona (Fairy Ilona); next, to build a palace in place of their poor hut; and finally to connect both palaces with a golden bridge and a golden chain, with golden birds singing alongside it. The snake fulfills all tasks and weds the princess, who cries over her marriage with the snake. However, on the wedding night, the snake slithers to the princess's room and takes off the snakeskin, becoming a man. He explains his father cursed him to wear a snakeskin for seven years, seven months and seven days, and that the secret must stay between them. The next morning, the princess tells her mother that her snake husband is a man. The queen orders an old maidservant to hide in the couple's room at night and steal the snakeskin. The maidservant obeys the queen's orders. The prince awakens the next day and sees that the snakeskin is nowhere to be seen. He tells his wife they need to separate, ties a golden ring around her belly, and tells her to go to his kingdom, stand outside his window and shout at him for seven days and seven nights - the remaining time of his curse. The princess follows him to his father's kingdom, stays under his window and shouts for him to come take off the golden ring around her belly. The curse is lifted and the princess and prince live happily.[29]

In a tale from Szék, Romania, collected by Olga Nagy and József Faragó with the title A kígyófiú ("The Snake Child"), an old man finds a snake and adopts it as his son. One day, the snake announces it wants to marry the princess. The old woman talks to he king, who agrees to their marriage, if the snake child fulfills some tasks: first, to build a palace overnight; second, to fill the king's castle with silver. After fulfilling the tasks, the snake marries the princess, and reveals to her his true identity: the son of the Green King. She betrays his secret and he disappears, so she begins a quest for him. The princess passes by the Sun, the Moon and the King of the Birds, and gains a gift from each. The King of the Birds also asks his subjects, the birds, for the location of the Green King's son (the princess's husband), and they do not know, save for a little woodpecker, who says it has just flown from there. The King of the Bird then orders the woodpecker to fly back and carry the princess there. The woodpecker refuses, since it was almost shot in his lands, so the King of the Birds turns the bird into a horse, and gives the princess a final piece of advice before she departs: once she arrives at her destination, she is to take out the gifts she received, and let fate do the rest. The princess follows his words, and reaches the location of the Green King, then sits on a hill by the palace.[30][31]

In a Hungarian tale collected by Hungarian historian Arnold Ipolyi with the title Kígyó Jancsi (Snake Johnny),[32] a rich couple in a village is childless, and the woman makes a wish to have a son, even if he is a creeping snake. Thus, a snake is born to them. When he is fifteen years old, he climbs a tree and begins to whistle. His mother asks the reason for this, and he replies he wants to get marries, and chooses a neighbouring girl named Örzsikét. They marry and, during the wedding feast, the snake places his head on her lap, but the girl kicks him away. In retaliation, he bites her to death on the wedding night. Next, he marries Julis, the daughter of a judge. She also rebuffs him during the wedding feast and dies for her actions. The third time, the snake son asks his parents to find him the most beautiful girl in the village. They bring him a girl named Mariska, who treats him with kindness and allows him to place his head on her lap. After seven months, the snake's mother asks Mariska how she can live with a snake for a husband, but Mariska tells her that he is human underneath the snakeskin, although he wears it again in the morning. Thus, his mother suggests she steals the snakeskin and give it to her, so his mother can burn it in a oven. Their plan is carried out in the same night. The next morning, the now human snake son tries to find his snakeskin, and admonishes his wife for doing it; he pricks his hand on a pin, so that three drops of blood fall on his shirt, then embraces Mariska and places three iron rings around her body, cursing that she will only be released after he kisses her again, then vanishes. Mariska then begins a quest for him: she passes by the house of the Sun and his mother (where she gains a golden distaff) and the house of the Moon and his mother (where she gains a golden spindle and a golden rod). Lastly, she reaches the house of the mother of the Wind, and learns her husband is to be married to another princess. Mariska finally reaches the princess's castle and offers her services as a maidservant. One day, she takes out the golden objects and bribes the princess for three nights with her husband. Anticipating Mariska's plans, the princess gives a sleeping draught to Jancsi, who cannot be stirred awake. The next day, the servants are trying to wash the bloodied shirt, which Mariska offers to do. She washes the shirt and the princess shows the results to Jancsi, who wishes to see this girl. However, the princess gives him another potion for the second night. The third night, he avoids drinking the potion and talks to Mariska, his true wife, whom he embraces and marries again. As for the princess, she gains the golden spinning intruments, and the tale ends.[33]

In a tale titled Kégyókirályfi ("Snake Prince"), collected from a Székely informant named Fábián Ágostonné, a royal couple worries for not having a son. One day, the queen sees a small snake creeping near her in the garden and makes a wish to have a child, even if he is a snakeling. As if to answer the queen's prayers, the little snake coils around the queen's leg until it reaches her arm. The queen then rushes to the king and declares the little snake she found to be their son. They place him in a secret room, afraid of people finding out they adopted a snake as a prince, and he grows larger with time. One day, he begins to whistle, and the queen goes to check on the reason: he says he wants to get married. The queen asks whom he has in mind, and the snake prince says there is a beautiful princess in the neighbouring kingdom. The king sends a representative to court the neighbouring princess, who agrees to a marriage. The princess goes to the other kingdom to be introduced to her fiancée, and the royal couple lock her up in the room with the large snake. The princess screams at the sight and cries for help, but the snake does not harm her and gazes at her. After three days, the princess, exhausted, goes to sleep on the bed, when she sees a blinding light nearby: a handsome youth. The youth explains he is the snake, and the princess questions why he does not discard the snakeskin, but he answers he has to still wear it for some time. They spend the days like this: the prince remains a snake by day and removes the snake disguise at night, until one winter's day, when the queen, noticing the silence in the princess's face, talks to her. The princess tells her mother-in-law about the prince's snakeskin and asks how they can destroy it. The queen suggests the takes the snakeskin and bring it to her, so she could throw it in the oven. Their plan is carried out on that same night. Meanwhile, the snake prince, in human form, wakes up and, not finding his disguise, asks his wife where it is. The princess feigns ignorance, but the prince can sense the burning smell. He then laments that she could not wait for three weeks and three days, when his curse would have ended, but now he has to go to the land of the snakes ("kégyóországba"), to marry the daughter of their king, who cursed him in the first place for not marrying his daughter. However, the princess can find him again, after she sows wheat, harvest it and make bread with it. With this, he vanishes. The queen enters the room and finds her daughter-in-law in tears, who reveals the prince went missing and she will search for him. The princess plants the wheat and makes bread with with, then begins her quest through plains and valleys, until she reaches a dense forest, where the Moon lives with his old mother, and is given a golden distaff. Next, she travels to the house of the Sun and its old mother and gains a golden spindle. Lastly, she arrives at the house of the Wind and its mother, and the Wind agrees to carry her to her husband's location the next morning. Before she leaves, the Wind's mother gives her a "motollát" and the princess departs on the back of the Wind to the snake prince's location. They reach a palace, and the girl takes out the golden objects. From up the castle, a witch princess spots the shiny golden object and says she must have them. The first princess, the snake-prince's true wife, offers the golden objects for three nights with the now human snake prince, and the witch accepts, but douses his drink with a sleeping powder so that he falls asleep, since she wants to marry him. The princess cannot wake him up on the first two nights, due to the sleeping potion, and says she will only return for one more night, and no more. The next morning, a person invited to the prince's wedding tells him about a person that comes at night to the prince's bed and crying to him, but he does not seem to react. On the third and last night, the princess manages to wake the snake prince, who is glad to see her again, and they hatch a plan to escape the witches' castle: they will sit on a broom and utter a magical command to fly back to the snake prince's father's palace. It happens thus, and the couple return safely to their kingdom. Since it has been so long since his departure, the snake prince and his wife are welcomed with a grand party.[34] Hungarian folklorist Ágnes Kovács suggested that the tale derived from the Székely tradition in Bukovina.[35]

In a tale collected from teller János Puji, in Marosszentkirály (Sâncraiu de Mureș) by ethnographer Olga Nagy (hu), titled A rest léany ("The Lazy Girl"), an old woman has a daughter that is so very lazy. One day, fed up with the girl's behaviour, curses that a dog shall take the girl for wife. The same night, a dog knocks on the woman's door and comes to collect the girl as his wife. The woman gives her daughter to the dog and they leave for the dog's castle. When night comes, the dog takes off the dogskin and becomes human, and wears the dogskin by day. Time passes, the girl asks the dog to visit her mother. The dog agrees, but warns him to say nothing to her mother. The girl is taken to her mother's house and tells that her husband becomes a man at night by taking off the dogskin. The woman, then, advises the girl to place some hot coals by the bed, so that her husband kicks off the dogskin and it falls on the coals. The girl goes home and follows her instructions; the dogskin begins to burn and the husband wakes up. He complains that he only had to wear the skin for another 9 days, and curses his wife not to give birth until he embraces her again. The girl returns to her mother's house and explains the situation. She commissions a pair of iron rings from a blacksmith and begins her quest. She reaches the house of the Holy Friday and takes shelter with her. Holy Friday is sorry she cannot help the girl, but gives her a golden spindle and directs her to the house of Holy Saturday. The girl next passes by the house of Holy Saturday, who also cannot help her but give her a golden bundle and directs her to the house of Holy Sunday. At last, Holy Sunday can provide further help: she gives the girl a chicken with 12 golden chicks, and tells her to go to the castle just before the end of the world; use the golden gifts to draw the attention of the empress. Following her advice, the girl takes out each of the golden gifts; the empress sends her maidservant to ask the strange girl the price for the gifts: one night with the emperor in his chambers. The girl spends two nights, but is not able to wake him, only on the third night. The girl's husband wakes and places her hand on his wife; she gives birth to twins, a golden-haired boy and a golden-haired girl, each with a golden apple on hand.[36]

Antal Hoger collected the tale Az agárbőrös királyfi és felesége ("The Greyhound Prince and his Wife"), a woman has no sons and prays to God to have one, even if it is a hound. So, she gives birth to a puppy, which grows into a hound and demands from his mother a bride. The woman questions his son's decision, and the animal tells her he knows of a king with three daughters. The woman takes the elder princess to him, but she utters she will treat him like a dog, and the hound kills her. The same happens to the middle princess. When it is the youngest's turn, she says she will treat him like a king's son, and the hound takes her as his wife. Some time later, the woman asks her daughter-in-law about the hound son, and the princess tells him he is beautiful underneath, and both conspire to burn the dogskin. One night, the princess takes the dogskin and burns it. The hound prince smells the burning, but the princess dismisses it as just burnt food. The next day, the human hound prince bedecks his wife with ten golden rings on her fingers, a silver girdle around her belly, and a pair of silk footwear. He then curses her not to take off the jewels and not to give birth to their children (a pair of golden-haired twins) until she finds him again and he places his hand on her. He vanishes. She goes after him with an iron cane. She goes to the Mother of the Moon, who gives her a golden distaff. Next, she goes to the Mother of the Sun, who gives her a golden spindle. Lastly, she pays a visit to the Mother of the Wind, who gives her a golden matollát and directs her to a nearby village, where her husband is. The Wind also advises her to go to the village gates and draw out the golden objects to attract the attention of her husband's second spouse. The princess follows the Wind's advice and uses the golden gifts to bribe the second spouse for three nights with her husband. She fails twice, because the human greyhound is fast asleep, due to a sleeping draught given to him. On the third time, the prince pretends to be asleep so he can listen to the woman crying in his room, and wakes up. He touches his wife and she gives birth to their golden-haired twins.[37]

In a tale collected from teller Matild Horváth with the title Az elátkozott leány ("The Cursed Maiden"), a girl goes to fetch water for her father and goes to a well, but she is stopped by an ugly frog that demands to sleep on her bed in exchange for allowing access to the water. She goes back home with the water and lets the frog sleep on her bed, but, to her surprise, the frog takes off its skin to become a handsome youth. The next evening, while they go to sleep, the neighbours take the frogskin and burn it. The morning after, as soon as the human frog wakes up and does not see the amphibian skin, he curses the girl not to give birth to any child for seven years, until he places three fingers on her and a golden circle around her. He also tells her to find him where the herbs sing and dance, then vanishes. After seven years of a long journey, she finds God, who gives her a golden key and a golden locket. The girl then arrives at the well of her husband, which the story names Király Dávid ("King David"), and asks for a bit of water, since she has not drunk anything in seven years. She then gives the cook the golden objects to allow access to her husband, King Dávid, so he can touch her. The cook, however, receives the golden objects, but gives a plate with sleeping potion to King Dávid and he is asleep when the girl tries to wake him up. On the third time, King Dávid does not eat the food the cook prepared and touches his wife's belly, so she can give birth to their child. The cook is then punished.[38]