To start the week’s reading, I decided to take notes over the story of Gold-Tree and Silver-tree, which is like a twist on Snow White with a dash of Bluebeard thrown in. This story comes from Joseph Jacobs’ Celtic Fairy Tales.
Reading Notes
- A king had a wife with the name of Silver-tree, and they together had a daughter they named Gold-tree.
- One day, Silver-tree and Gold-tree went to a well where a trout resided; Silver-tree asked the trout if she was the most beautiful queen in the world.
- The trout told her no, that Gold-tree was.
- Enraged, Silver-tree went home and lay sick in her bed, and vowed that she wouldn’t become well until she could get Gold-tree’s liver and heart to eat.
- When the king came home that night and was told that Silver-tree was ill, he asked what he could do to make her well, and swore he would do anything.
- Silver-tree demanded the heart and liver of Gold-tree to eat, and be well.
- As it happened, the son of a king had come to visit and asked for Gold-tree’s hand in marriage; the king approved and sent Gold-tree on her way abroad.
- The king then sent out his men to catch and kill a goat; he took the heart and liver from the goat and gave it to Silver-tree, who became well.
- A year later, Silver-tree came by the well again and saw the trout, and again asked the same question.
- Again, the trout told her that Gold-tree was, and that Gold-tree was married to a great prince abroad.
- Silver-tree went to her husband and begged to let her go to see Gold-tree, since it had been a year since she’d seen her; the king agreed.
- Silver-tree steered the ship herself, and they arrived in a short amount of time to Gold-tree’s new home.
- Gold-tree’s husband was out hunting, and she saw her father’s ship coming.
- She told her servants how she was worried about her mother trying to kill her, and they agreed to lock her in a room where her mother couldn’t get at her.
- When Silver-tree got off the ship, she cried out for Gold-tree, who told her she was locked in the room and couldn’t get out.
- Silver-tree begged Gold-tree to stick out her finger so Silver-tree could kiss it; when Gold-tree did, Silver-tree stuck a poisoned thorn into Gold-tree’s finger, and she fell down dead.
- When Gold-tree’s husband came home, he was greatly distressed and insisted on Gold-tree being laid to rest in a locked room, rather than being buried.
- After a time, the prince married again, and his new wife had access to the whole house except for that one room.
- One day, he left the key lying around, and his new wife took it and entered the locked room, to discover Gold-tree.
- As the new wife examined her, she took the poisoned thorn out of Gold-tree’s finger, and Gold-tree came to life again.
- That night, the prince was delighted to discover that Gold-tree was alive again, and when his new wife offered to leave, he instead said that he would keep both of them as his wife.
- At the end of the year, Silver-tree went to the well and found the trout again, and again asked if she was the most beautiful queen in the world.
- Of course, the trout told her that Gold-tree was still alive and doing fine.
- Once again, Silver-tree went to her husband and begged to take a ship to Gold-tree’s new home to visit her, and was given permission.
- Once again, the prince was out hunting, and Gold-tree recognized her father’s ship.
- When she told the second wife that her mother was coming back to kill her, the second wife proposed that they go meet Silver-tree.
- Silver-tree came ashore and offered Gold-tree a drink she had prepared, but the second wife told her that it was custom in their country for the person who offered a drink to take a sip first.
- Silver-tree tried to fake it, but the second wife struck the cup so that some of the drink went into Silver-tree’s throat, and she immediately fell down dead.
- Silver-tree’s body was taken home for burial, and Gold-tree, her husband, and the second wife lived long after this.
Silver-tree preparing to stick Gold-tree’s finger through the locked door (Source)
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