| Bear Prince | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Unknown |
|
First Appearance |
Snow-White and Rose-Red |
|
Original Publisher |
German Folklore |
|
Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
The prince transforms back from being a bear after the death of the wicked dwarf.
The bear prince was cursed by the spell of a wicked dwarf spell to become an animal after the dwarf had stolen the prince's precious stones. The curse could only be broken with the death of the one who cursed him.
One winter night, there is a knock at the door. Rose-Red opens the door to find a bear. At first, she is terrified, but the bear tells her not to be afraid. "I'm half frozen and I merely want to warm up a little at your place," he says. They let the bear in, and he lies down in front of the fire. Snow-White and Rose-Red beat the snow off the bear, and they quickly become quite friendly with him. They play with the bear and roll him around playfully. They let the bear spend the night in front of the fire. In the morning, he leaves trotting out into the woods. The bear comes back every night for the rest of that winter and the family grows used to him.
When summer comes, the bear tells them that he must go away for a while to guard his treasure from a wicked dwarf. During the summer, when the girls are walking through the forest, they find a dwarf whose beard is stuck in a tree. The girls rescue him by cutting his beard free, but the dwarf is ungrateful and yells at them for cutting his beautiful beard. The girls encounter the dwarf several times that summer and rescue him from some peril each time, for which he is ungrateful.
Then one day, they meet the dwarf once again. This time, he is terrified because the bear is about to kill him. The dwarf pleads with the bear and begs it to eat the girls. Instead, the bear pays no heed to his plea and kills the dwarf with one swipe of his paw. Instantly, the bear turns back into a prince. Snow-White marries the prince and Rose-Red marries the prince's brother.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of the Bear Prince from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- Hours in Fairy Land (1883)
- The Blue Fairy Book (1889)
- Grimm's Household Tales, Vol. 2 No. 161
- Snow-White and Rose-Red and the Big Black Bear (1913)
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Fairy Tale Parade #2
Notes[]
- Although most believe the Snow-White contained in this story is a different character than the one who appears in other tales, there is no solid evidence to confirm this (other than this Snow-White having a hyphen and the other one not). With the original author of this tale being lost to time, no one will ever know the true intention of this Snow-White's origin versus the other's.
- In the comic book series Fables, the prince is named Brandish Descry.