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Faith Moore
Hello and welcome to Storytime for Grown Ups. I'm Faith Moore and this is Summer Session. Normally on Storytime for Grown Ups, we read classic literature a few chapters at a time with a few notes along the way, like an audiobook with built in notes. But during the summer, we switch things up a little. From now until September, we will be in Summer Session, which is sort of like a college class, only fun. This summer we're exploring fairy tales and their relationship to the books we've read this year on storytime and storytelling more broadly. We'll do this in once a week episodes, which will drop on Mondays. If this doesn't sound like your thing, don't worry. Storytime will be back with a new book in September. But for now, brew a pot of tea, find a cozy chair and settle in. Class is in session. Hi everyone. Welcome back. I've just realized that we're kind of getting down to the end of Summer Session here. I kind of hadn't realized it until just now, but there are only a few weeks left and then done, and we're going to move on to our book. I imagine that some of you who have kids are in back to school mode, or maybe even school has started again. I don't know where I am. School does not start until after labor day. I think September 4th is the first day of school this year. So this thing where people start to go back to school in August is kind of strange to me. But I know that in a lot of the country that's what's going on. So if you are in back to school mode, you might be starting to feel like, hey, school summer is over. Let's get to the next book. And I completely understand that. And I think it's happening. It's going to happen very soon. As I said last week, the trailer for the new book is going to drop into your podcast feed on August 21st. That's a Thursday, but only if you're subscribed. So please make sure you're subscribed to the show. So that will come out and that will be very exciting. We'll know what we're going to be reading in September and this then we'll have a couple more Summer Session episodes and then we'll get started with the book. So for those of you who like to plan ahead, I'm someone who loves to plan ahead, so I understand. So for those of you who like to plan ahead, the last Summer Session episode will be Monday, September 2nd, and then that same week we'll have a Thursday episode. So we'll start with the twice a week episodes again starting the first week of September. So September 2nd will be the last week of summer session. Then September 4th, 4th, that's the Thursday of this week. We will have an introductory episode to our next book. So we do that at the start of every book. I just kind of talk a little bit about the book that some of the context around the book, some historical stuff, something about the author, nothing that gives anything away, no spoilers at all, but just a little bit of context for you to get started with the book. So that'll be on September 4th and then the following Monday we will start the book. So that's kind of what's coming up. And while you're marking your calendars, one other date to remember is August tea time. So tea time is over in our online community, which is called the Drawing Room. We have monthly voice chats over there for those of you who are signed up for the Landed Gentry membership tier over there. And the next one is going to be Thursday, August 28th at 8pm Eastern. And that's going to be a really fun one because we'll have just learned the week before what book book we're going to be doing. So we'll be chatting about our reactions to finding that out as well as whatever you guys want to talk about. You can ask me anything. We can continue talking about fairy tales, but also we'll react to our thoughts on the book for September. So if you haven't joined us before, if you're not signed up to be a member of the Drawing Room, there's a link in the show notes. You can check that out and decide if you'd like to be a part of it. This would be a really fun one to join, so I hope we'll have some new people, but I also am really excited to chat with my old friends over there in the drawing room. I love these monthly tea times. So we mark your calendar for that Thursday, August 28th at 8pm Eastern. And I'll remind you again as it gets closer. All right, so this is our second episode, our second of two episodes on animal bridegroom fairy tales. Last week we talked a little bit about what that means and I also referred you back to some episodes from last year's summer session that went even further into some detail about animal bridegrooms. And we read an animal bridegroom fairy tale which was called Snow White and Rose Red. And if you missed the last week's episode, I encourage you to go back and Check that out. It's still there. It's the one right before this one. And you can learn a bit more about animal bridegrooms and what's going on with them there. But this week we're continuing on with this topic and we're going to read one more animal bridegroom story before we move on. There are lots, and if this is a strain of story that interests you, as I said last time, this is my favorite kind of fairy tale. So I understand if it does kind of grab your fancy, you can go away and just Google animal bridegroom stories and tons will come up. You can read to your heart's content about men, usually men who've been turned into beasts and need to be turned back via, often via true love, but also just via something to do with a woman. And you can compare and contrast. And I would love it if you did that and sent me your thoughts as you go along. But we're going to do one more here on the show and then we're going to move on to something else. But before we do that, I have one comment that I would like to read and talk about for just a couple of minutes. I'm not going to talk too much in the opening here, because the story that we're going to read today is actually a bit of a longer one. So I'm going to keep things a bit brief here at the beginning, but I'm going to read one question or comment and talk a little bit. Then I'm going to talk just very, very briefly about the story that we're going to read today. And then after you write in with comments and questions, we can talk a bit more about it next week. Okay, so this week's question comes to us from John. John writes, maybe I've just been listening to this podcast too much, but it was really hard not to see Snow White and Rose Red as Laura and Marian from the Woman in White. One was sweet and domestic, the other was adventurous and outspoken. And the sweet, domestic one got the guy in the end, even though in this her sister also got a guy, too, but not the one we'd already gotten to know. Am I totally crazy here? Okay, so no, you are not totally crazy at all. And I am so glad that John brought this up, because I was gonna bring it up myself somehow if someone else didn't do it. I had the exact same thought when I was reading this story for the show this summer, because the story of Snow White and Rose Red, which we read last week, it gives us These two sisters, right, Snow White and Rose Red, who are described very much like Laura and Marian from the Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, which is the book that we read last spring, by the way. For those of you, you who've just joined us for the summer, and Laura and Marian were two of the main characters. That book is still available, by the way. You can listen to it. If you missed it, it's in your podcast feed. I highly recommend it. It's so good. It was a big favorite here on Storytime with Listeners. So if you haven't read that, go back, you're in for a treat. But in Snow White and Rose Red, here is how the two sisters are described. Okay, this is a quote. Snow White was more gentle and quieter than her sister, who. Who liked better skipping about the fields, seeking flowers and catching summer birds, while Snow White stayed at home with her mother, either helping her in her work or, when that was done, reading aloud. Okay, so Snow White is gentle and quiet and she stays at home with her mother, helping her with her work, meaning her sewing in this context and reading aloud. Rose Red likes to skip through the fields. She's looking for flowers, she's catching birds. So Rose Red is kind of boisterous and adventurous, and Snow White is quiet and domestic. Okay, here is how Marian Halcombe from the Woman in White describes herself and her sister, Laura Fairley in the book the Woman in White. She says I am dark and ugly and she is fair and pretty. Everybody thinks me crabbed and odd with perfect justice, and everybody thinks her sweet tempered and charming with more justice still. In short, she is an angel and I am. Try some of that marmalade, Mr. Hartright, and finish the sentence in the name of female propriety for yourself. Okay, so not identical descriptions, but the gist is definitely the same. One sister is sweet tempered and charming and an angel, and the other is, well, not that. Right. And even though Marian's description of herself is much more negative than the description we get of Rose Red, those of you who have read the Woman in White know that actually Marian is much more like Rose Red than she gives herself credit for. Right? She's adventurous and brave and loyal, and she isn't quiet and demure and domestic like Laura. So I think that the comparison that John is making is really apt. And I think it's fun to see how these character tropes that you find in fairy tales like this one appear in other things and even in books that we've read on this show. I am not, though, saying that Wilkie Collins specifically modeled his characters on Snow White and Rose Red, Right. I'm. I'm actually not saying that. My guess is that he didn't do that. But the point that I've been trying to make this summer, like, one of the points anyway, is that fairy tales are so basic and so elemental that they're universal, and they encapsulate a lot of the tropes and ideas and themes that speak to us as human beings. Right? So if you've read a bunch of fairy tales and spent some time thinking about their themes and ideas, then you're going to be pretty well versed in literary tropes and themes and ideas more broadly. Right? So the other thing I want to point out about the story of Snow White and Rose Red, just before we move on, is that that in it, we get an example of a good older woman character. Okay. Last time we talked about the wicked older women, right? The stepmothers, the mothers in law, even the wives in some of the stories. And we were unpacking that a little bit, and we were talking about why all of these characters are evil in fairy tales. And I was suggesting that their evilness doesn't come from their oldness, but rather that their evilness comes from their unwillingness to accept. Accept that they are aging. Right? Their unwillingness to cede the role of young, fertile maiden and enter into the new role of menopausal older woman. So it's not that their age turns them evil, it's that they're refusing to follow the natural order of things. But in Snow White and Rose Red, we have the character of the mother. She is described as being an old woman, which I actually think is interesting, since she's probably not actually that old because she has these two young daughters who are still at home. Right? But in fairy tale lingo, she is old because she's no longer the young maiden. The daughters are now the maidens, and she is the older woman. And in this story, the older woman is actually a really positive character and not at all evil, right? She takes care of her two daughters. She loves them dearly. She takes in the bear and lets him get warm by the fire. And in doing that, she leads by example and shows the two girls to be kind and to have help. Cold and hungry travelers, even if they don't look exactly as you might expect them to look, right? In this case, you. They look like a bear. And at the end, she's allowed to spend many happy years with Snow White and Rose Red after they are married and I think the inclusion of that detail that. That she gets to stay with them for many years is really important. Right. The evil older woman had to be disposed of after the marriage of the maiden to the prince or the king, right? Because they wanted that spot for themselves. So in order for the maiden to take her rightful place, the woman who's trying to occupy that place falsely has to go. But Snow White and Rose Red's mother is content to be the mother. She's allowed herself to move on from fertile maiden, which she clearly was at some point, since she's got these two daughters. So she's allowed herself to move on from that role and given it up so that her daughters can take it instead. Dead. And because of that, she has a place in the natural order. She belongs. And she's allowed to spend many happy years with her children and presumably become a grandmother and help care for those children as well. So this is an example of a positive older woman character in a fairy tale. And she's a positive character because she isn't barring her children from growing up. So I did just want to point that out, since we talked about that a lot last time. And of course, we have the animal bridegroom element of this story, which in this story, like I said last time, feels to me at least, like a kind of precursor to some of the other animal bridegroom stories. This one feels more like a bridge between the maidenhood stories and the animal bridegroom stories, because I was saying last time that I feel like animal bridegroom stories are often about, like, the next phase of life after the girl becomes a woman. Then it's like, how does she actually interact with. With this man that she's going to marry or the man that she has married? And there's a bit of that in Snow White and Rose Ride. Right. The sisters have to see past the bear's bareness and befriend him and allow him to come in and rest by the fire and everything. But if you read other animal bridegroom stories, you'll find the maidens having to get a bit more into the, like, nitty gritty of who these guys actually are and how they want to behave around them. And often there's a kind of arc to this where the woman initially feels one way and has to change her mind. So Snow White and Rose Red is a good starter animal bridegroom story, I think. But we're going to read another animal bridegroom story today, and this one is a bit longer, and it gets a bit more detailed. This one is perhaps even lesser known than Snow White and Rose Red, because even though Snow White and Rose Red is fairly obscure, it is from the Brothers Grimm, so it's possible to encounter it if you're, like, flipping. Flipping through that book or something. But this one comes to us actually from Norway, so we're branching out from our Italian, French and German stories that we've been reading. And this is partly why I picked it, because we're getting down to the last few weeks of summer session, like I was saying. And so I wanted to offer you a few stories that were somehow different from the ones that we've been reading. So this one is a Norwegian story, but it can be found in the Blue Fairy Book, which is that compilation of fairy tales by Andrew Lang that we've talked about before. Remember, there are several fairy books, all with different colors, but the story we're going to read today, it can be found in the Blue Fairy Book, and the story is called east of the sun and west of the Moon. Okay. It was another one of these oral tales that was passed down through generations, but this time it was passed down in Norway rather than in Germany. And it was eventually collected by two scholars who, like the Brothers Grimm, collected these oral tales and wrote them down. Okay. Their names were Peter Christian Asbjornsen and Joran Moe. So they collected this story, and then Andrew Lang and his wife Leonora Blanche Aline, who we also talked about before they translated it into English and included it in the Blue Fairy Book. So I'm actually not going to say too much up front about this story. Okay. Next week, I'll read your comments and questions, like I was saying before, and then we can talk about the themes and ideas that you noticed and what we think is going on symbolically. But just remember, we. We're talking about animal bridegrooms here, right? These are stories where a man has been transformed into a beast of some kind, and some contact with a woman is what can change him back. So see what you can pick up that's related to that and maybe what the story might be saying with these various images. And also see if you can notice any other fairy tale symbolism or imagery from any of the other stories and ideas that we've been talking about this summer, because there's a lot going on in this one. So. So it's a bit of a longer story, as I said, I think you'll pick up quite a few different themes and ideas here. So I'm going to let you listen first. And then next week we will discuss this story and then move on to something else after that. So write into me. It's faith k.moore.com Then you click on Contact and you fill in the little form that's there. Or you can just click on the link in the show notes and that will go to my email as well. So I hope you will get in touch and I hope you enjoy this story and we will be back again next week to discuss it and then to read something else. All right, let's get started with east of the sun and west of the Moon. It's story time. East of the sun and west of the Moon, which can be found in the Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Once upon a time there was a poor husbandman, meaning a farmer essentially, who had many children and little to give them in the way either of food or clothing. They were all pretty, but the prettiest of all was the youngest daughter, who was so beautiful that there were no bounds to her beauty. So once it was late on a Thursday evening in autumn and wild weather outside, terribly dark, and raining so heavily and blowing so hard that the walls of the cottage shook again. They were all sitting together by the fireside, each of them busy with something or other, when suddenly someone rapped three times against the window pane. The man went out to see what could be the matter, and when he got out, there stood a great big white bear. Good evening to you, said the white bear. Good evening, said the man. Will you give me your youngest daughter? Said the white bear. If you will, you shall be as rich as you are now poor. Truly, the man would have had no objection to be rich, but he thought to himself, I must first ask my daughter about this. So he went in and told them that there was a great white bear outside who had faithfully promised to make them all rich if he might but have the youngest daughter. She said no, and would not hear of it. So the man went out again, and settled with the white bear that he should come again next Thursday evening and get her answer. Then the man persuaded her, and talked so much to her about the wealth that they would have, and what a good thing it would be for herself that at last she made up her mind to go and washed and mended all her rags, made herself as smart as she could, meaning as neat and tidy as she could, and held herself in readiness to set out little enough had she to take away with her. Next Thursday evening the white bear came to fetch her. She seated herself on his back with her bundle, and Thus they departed. When they had gone a great part of the way, the white bear said, are you afraid? No, that I am not, said she. Keep tight hold of my fur and then there is no danger, said he. And thus she rode far, far away, until they came to a great mountain. Then the white bear knocked on it and a door opened, and they went into a castle where there were many brilliantly lighted rooms which shone with gold and silver. Likewise a large hall in which there was a well spread table. And it was so magnificent that it would be hard to make anyone understand how splendid it was. The white bear gave her a silver bell and told her that when she needed anything, she had but to ring this bell and what she wanted would appear. So after she had eaten and night was drawing near, she grew sleepy after her journey and thought she would like to go to bed. She rang the bell and. And scarcely had she touched it before she found herself in a chamber where a bed stood ready, made for her, which was as pretty as anyone could wish to sleep in. It had pillows of silk and curtains of silk fringed with gold. And everything that was in the room was of gold or silver. But when she had lain down and put out the light, a man came and lay down beside her. And behold, it was the white bear who cast off the form of a beast during the night. She never saw him, however, for he always came after she had put out her light and went away before daylight appeared. So all went well and happily for a time. But then she began to be very sad and sorrowful, for all day long she had to go about alone, and she did so wish to go home to her father and mother and brothers and sisters. Then the white bear asked what it was that she wanted, and she told him that it was so dull there in the mountain and that she had to go about all alone and. And that in her parents house at home there were all her brothers and sisters, and it was because she could not go to them that she was so sorrowful. There might be a cure for that, said the white bear, if you would but promise me never to talk with your mother alone, but only when the others are there too, for she will take hold of your hand, he said, and will want to lead you into a room to talk with you alone. But that you must by no means do, or you will bring great misery on both of us. So one Sunday the white bear came and said that they could now set out to see her father and mother, and they journeyed thither, she sitting on his Back. And they went a long, long way. And it took a long, long time. But at last they came to a large white farmhouse. And her brothers and sisters were running about outside it, playing. And it was so pretty that it was a pleasure to look at Your parents. Dwell here now, said the white bear, but do not forget what I said to you, or you will do much harm both to yourself and me. No, indeed, said she, I shall never forget. And as soon as she was at home, the white bear turned round and went back again. There were such rejoicings when she went in to her parents that it seemed as if they would never come to an end. Everyone thought that he could never be sufficiently grateful to her for all she had done for them all. Now they had everything that they wanted, and everything was as good as it could be. They all asked her how she was getting on, where she was. All was well with her too, she said, and she had everything that she could want. What other answers she gave I cannot say. But I am pretty sure that they did not learn much from her. But in the afternoon, after they had dined at midday, all happened just as the white bear had said. Her mother wanted to talk with her alone in her own chamber. But she remembered what the white bear had said and would on no account go. What we have to say can be said at any time, she answered. But somehow or other her mother at last persuaded her, and she was forced to tell the whole story. So she told how every night a man came and lay down beside her when the lights were all put out, and how she never saw him because he always went away before it grew light in the morning, and how she continually went about in sadness, thinking how happy she would be if she could but see him, and how all day long she had to go about alone, and it was so dull and solitary. Oh. Cried the mother in horror, you are very likely sleeping with a troll. But I will teach you a way to see him. You shall have a bit of one of my candles, which you can take away with you, hidden in your breast. Look at him with that when he is asleep, but take care not to let any tallow drop upon him. So she took the candle and hid it in her breast. And when evening drew near, the white bear came to fetch her away. When they had gone some distance on their way, the white bear asked her if everything had not happened just as he had foretold, and she could not but own that it had. Then if you have done what your mother wished, said he, you have brought great misery on both of us. No, she said, I have not done anything at all. So when she had reached home and had gone to bed, it was just the same as it had been before. And a man came and lay down beside her. And late at night, when she could hear that he was sleeping, she got up and kindled a light, lit her candle, let her light shine on him and saw him. And he was the handsomest prince that eyes had ever beheld. And she loved him so much that it seemed to her that she must die if she did not kiss him that very moment. So she did kiss him. But while she was doing it, she let three drops of hot tallow fall upon his shirt. And he awoke. What have you done now? Said he. You have brought misery on both of us. If you had but held out for the space of one year, I should have been free. I. I have a stepmother who has bewitched me so that I am a white bear by day and a man by night. But now all is at an end between you and me, and I must leave you and go to her. She lives in a castle which lies east of the sun and west of the moon. And there too is a princess with a nose which is three ells long. And she now is the one whom I must marry. So an ell is a measurement, usually a fabric that's around 45 inches. So now the prince has to go back to his castle and marry an ugly princess. She wept and lamented, but all in vain, for go he must. Then she asked him if she could not go with him. But no, that could not be. Can you tell me the way then? And I will seek you? That I may surely be allowed to do? Yes, you may do that, said he. But there is no way thither. It lies east of the sun and west of the moon. And never would you find your way there. When she awoke in the morning, both the prince and the castle were gone. And she was lying on a small green patch in the midst of a dark thick wood. By her side lay the self same bundle of rags which she had brought with her from her own home. So when she had rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and wept till she was weary, she set out on her way. And thus she walked for many and many a long day, until at last she came to a great mountain. Outside it an aged woman was sitting playing with a golden apple. The girl asked her if she knew the way to the prince who lived with his stepmother in the castle which lay east of the sun and west of the Moon, and who was to marry a princess with a nose which was three ells long. How do you happen to know about him? Inquired the old woman. Maybe you are she who ought to have had him. Yes, indeed I am, she said. So is it you, then? Said the old woman. I know nothing about him, but that he dwells in the castle which is east of the sun and west of the moon. You will be a long time in getting to it, if you ever get to it at all. But you shall have the loan of my horse, and then you can ride on it to an old woman who is a neighbor of mine. Perhaps she can tell you about him. When you have got there, you must just strike the horse beneath the left ear and bid it go home again. But you may take the golden apple with you. So the girl seated herself on the horse and rode for a long, long way. And at last she came to the mountain where an aged woman was sitting outside with a gold carding comb. A carding comb is a tool for winding wool or thread. The girl asked her if she knew the way to the castle which lay east of the sun and west of the moon. But she said what the first old woman had said. I know nothing about it but that it is east of the sun and west of the moon, and that you will be a long time in getting to it, if ever you get there at all. But you shall have the loan of my horse to an old woman who lives the nearest to me. Perhaps she may know where the castle is. And when you have got to her, you may just strike the horse beneath the left ear and bid it go home again. Then she gave her the gold carding comb, for it might perhaps be of use to her, she said. So the girl seated herself on the horse and rode a wearisome long way onward again. And after a very long time she came to a great mountain where an aged woman was sitting spinning at a golden spinning wheel. Of this woman, too, she inquired if she knew the way to the prince and where to find the castle which lay east of the sun and west of the moon. But it was only the same thing. Once again, maybe it was you who should have had the prince, said the old woman. Yes, indeed, I should have been the one, said the girl. But this old crone knew the way no better than the others. It was east of the sun and west of the moon. She knew that. And you will be a long time in getting to it, if ever you get to it at all, she said. But you may have the loan of my Horse. And I think you had better ride to the East Wind and ask him. Perhaps he may know where the castle is and will blow you thither. But when you have got to him, you must just strike the horse beneath the left ear, and he will come home again. And then she gave her the golden spinning wheel, saying, perhaps you may find that you have a use for it. The girl had to ride for a great many days. And for a long and wearisome time before she got there. But at last she did arrive. And then she asked the East Wind if he could tell her the way to the prince who dwelt east of the sun and west of the Moon. Well, said the East Wind, I have heard tell of the prince and of his castle, but I do not know the way to it, for I have never blown so far. But if you like, I will go with you to my brother, the West Wind. He may know that, for he is much stronger than I am. You may sit on my back, and then I can carry you there. So she seated herself on his back, and they did go so swiftly. When they got there, the East Wind went in and said that the girl whom he had brought was the one who ought to have had the prince up at the castle, which lay east of the sun and west of the Moon, and that now she was traveling about to find him again. So he had come there with her and would like to hear if the West Wind knew whereabout the castle was. No, said the West Wind, so far as that have I never blown. But if you like, I will go with you to the South Wind, for he is much stronger than either of us, and he has roamed far and wide. And perhaps he can tell you what you want to know. You may seat yourself on my back, and then I will carry you to him. So she did this and journeyed to the South Wind. Neither was she very long on the way. When they had got there, the West Wind asked him if he could tell her the way to the castle that lay east of the sun and west of the moon, for she was the girl who ought to marry the prince who lived there. Oh, indeed, said the South Wind. Is that she? Well, said he, I have wandered about a great deal in my time and in all kinds of places, but I have never blown so far as that. If you like, however, I will go with you to my brother, the North Wind. He is the oldest and strongest of all of us, and if he does not know where it is, no one in the whole world will be able to tell you, you may sit upon my back, and then I will carry you there. So she seated herself on his back, and off he went from his house in great haste, and they were not long on the way. When they came near the North Wind's dwelling. He was so wild and frantic that they felt cold gusts a long while before they got there. What do you want? He roared out from afar, and they froze as they heard. Said the South Wind, it is I. And this is she who should have had the prince who lives in the castle which lies east of the sun and west of the Moon. And now she wishes to ask you if you have ever been there and can tell her the way, for she would gladly find him again. Yes, said the North Wind, I know where it is. I once blew an aspen leaf there, but I was so tired that for many days afterwards I was not able to blow at all. However, if you really are anxious to go there, and are not afraid to go with me, I will take you on my back and try. If I can blow you there, get there I must, said she. And if there is any way of going, I will. And I have no fear, no matter how fast you go. Very well, then, said the North Wind. But you must sleep here to night, for if we are ever to get there, we must have the day before us. The North Wind woke her betimes next morning and puffed himself up and made himself so big and so strong that it was frightful to see him. And away they went, high up through the air, as if they would not stop until they had reached the very end of the world. Down below there was such a storm. It blew down woods and houses, and when they were above the sea, the ships were wrecked by hundreds. And thus they tore on and on, and a long time went by. And then yet more time passed, and still they were above the sea. And the North Wind grew tired and more tired, and at last so utterly weary that he was scarcely able to blow any longer. And he sank and sank, lower and lower, until at last he was so low that the waves dashed against the heels of the poor girl he was carrying. Art thou afraid? Said the North Wind. I have no fear, said she. And it was true. But they were not very, very far from land, and there was just enough strength left in the North Wind to enable him to throw her on to the shore immediately under the windows of a castle which lay east of the sun and west of the Moon. But then he was so weary and worn out that he was forced to rest for several days before he could go to his own home again. Next morning she sat down beneath the walls of the castle to play with the golden apple. And the first person she saw was the maiden with the long nose who was to have the prince. How much do you want for that gold apple of yours, girl? Said she, opening the window. It can't be bought either for gold or money, answered the girl. If it cannot be bought either for gold or money, what will buy it? You may say what you please, said the princess. Well, if I may go to the prince who is here and be with him tonight, you shall have it, said the girl who had come with the north wind. You may do that, said the princess, for she had made up her mind what she would do. So the princess got the golden apple. But when the girl went up to the prince's apartment that night, he was asleep, for the princess had so contrived it. The poor girl called to him and shook him and between while she wept, but she could not wake him. In the morning, as soon as day dawned, in came the princess with the long nose and drove her out again. In the daytime she sat down once more beneath the windows of the castle and began to card with her golden carding comb. And then all happened as it had before. The princess asked her what she wanted for it, and she replied that it was not for sale, either for gold or money, but that if she could get leave to go to the prince and be with him during the night, she should have it. But when she went up to the prince's room, he was again asleep, and let her call him or shake him, or weep as she would, he still slept on, and she could not put any life in him. When daylight came in the morning, the princess with the long nose came to and once more drove her away. When day had quite come, the the girl seated herself under the castle windows to spin with her golden spinning wheel, and the princess with the long nose wanted to have that also. So she opened the window and asked what she would take for it. The girl said what she had said on each of the former occasions, that it was not for sale either for gold or for money, but if she could get leave to go to the prince who lived there and be with him during the night, she should have it. Yes, said the princess, I will gladly consent to that. But in that place there were some Christian folk who had been carried off, and they had been sitting in the chamber which was next to that of the prince, and had heard how a woman had been in there who had wept and called on him two nights running. And they told the prince of this. So that evening, when the princess came once more with her sleeping drink, he pretended to drink, but threw it away behind him, for he suspected that it was a sleeping drink. So when the girl went into the prince's room, this time he he was awake, and she had to tell him how she had come. There you have come just in time, said the prince, for I should have been married tomorrow, But I will not have the long nosed princess, and you alone can save me. I will say that I want to see what my bride can do, and bid her wash the shirt which has the three drops of tallow on it. This she will consent to do, for she does not know that it is you who let them fall on it. But no one can wash them out but one born of Christian folk. It cannot be done by one of a pack of trolls. And then I will say that no one shall ever be my bride but the woman who can do this. And I know that you can. There was great joy and gladness between them all that night. But the next day when the wedding was to take place, the prince said, I must see what my bride can do. That you may do, said the stepmother. I have a fine shirt which I want to wear as my wedding shirt, but three drops of tallow have got upon it, which I want to have washed off. And I have vowed to marry no one but the woman who is able to do it. If she cannot do that, she is not worth having. Well, that was a very small matter, they thought, and agreed to do it. The princess with the long nose began to wash as well as she could, but the more she washed and rubbed, the larger the spots grew. Ah, you cannot wash at all, Said the old troll hag who was her mother. Give it to me. But she too had not had the shirt very long in her hands before it looked worse still. And the more she washed it and rubbed it, the larger and blacker grew the spots. So the other trolls had to come and wash. But the more they did, the blacker and uglier grew the shirt, until at length it was as black as if it had been up the chimney. Oh, cried the prince, not one of you is good for anything at all. There is a beggar girl sitting outside the window, and I'll be bound that she can wash better than any of you. Come in, you girl. There. He cried. So she came in. Can you wash this shirt clean? He cried. Oh, I don't know, she said, but I will try. And no sooner had she taken the shirt and dipped it in the water than it was white as driven snow, and even whiter than that. I will marry you, said the prince. Then the old troll hag flew into such a rage that she burst, and the princess with the long nose and all the little trolls must have burst too, for they have never been heard of since the prince and his bride set free all the Christian folk who were imprisoned there, and took away with them all the gold and silver that they could carry, and moved far away from the castle which lay east of the sun and west of the moon. Thank you so much for listening. Storytime will return in September with a new book read aloud in twice weekly episodes with a few notes along the way. Like an audiobook with built in notes. The new book will be revealed sometime in August. In the meantime, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Is there anything you'd like me to clarify? Did something particularly interest you? Please go to my website, faithkmoore.com, click on Contact and send me your questions and thoughts. Or you can click on the link in the Show Notes to contact me. I'll feature some of your thoughts as we go along. Speaking of links, please check out the other links in the Show Notes. You can learn more about me, pick up Storytime Merch, or become a member of our online community. Before I go, I'd like to ask a quick favor. This is an independent podcast. It's produced, recorded and marketed by me, so I need your help. Spread the word about the show by posting about it on social media or texting a link to your friends. Subscribe, tap those five stars and leave a positive review wherever you're listening. If you are able to support the show financially, there's a link in the Show Notes to make a donation. I would really, really appreciate it. All right everyone, class is dismissed. I'll see you next.