There are many recognizable aspects to this tale, including the wicked
stepmother, the three wishes, the magic nuts, the journey, invisibility, the lowly
young girl who marries the prince, and magic clothing. Dwarfs often appear in
folktales as magicians, and in this case the dwarf was connected to the magic
nuts. The nuts help the heroine in reversing her fortune, which is connected to an
ancient belief in amulets. In every culture, there are tales about magic journeys.
This kind of traveling is always about some kind of transformation or life change.
Magic clothes are also found in numerous folk tales and can be thought of as
revealing a hidden persona through the use of a mask, or a shaman-like covering.
The number three appears often in European-based folktales, as it is used here
with the three wishes granted by the nuts, whereas the number four is prevalent in
Native American folklore.
“The Turkey Maiden” is a Spanish tale told to Ralph Steel Boggs in the
Ybor City area in the 1930s. Maria Redmon recently translated it.
ONCE UPON A TIME there was a widower who had a daughter. He fell in love with a
widow who had two daughters, and they soon married. The widower’s daughter, whose name
was Rosa, was mistreated by her stepsisters and stepmother. One day she decided she could take
the mistreatment no longer and would leave home and live on her own. Her father was very sad,
but could see that his daughter was determined to leave. Before she left, her father gave her a
gift of three nuts, and he told her that whenever she was in danger she should break open one of
the nuts, and she would be protected. Then they kissed and said good-bye.
Rosa walked for a long time. She went from town to town, looking for work. One day,
while she was walking through the forest, she noticed some men were following her. She
became very frightened and broke open one of the nuts. To her surprise, from inside the nut
appeared a dress made of wood. She put on the dress, which made her invisible in the forest of
trees. And so she was saved from the danger in the woods and eagerly continued on her way.
One day, feeling very hungry and cold, she decided to open another nut. Suddenly there
appeared before her a dwarf that only she could see.
“And what do you want, Miss Rosa?” said the dwarf.
She was so surprised that it took her a long time to tell the dwarf how hungry and cold
she was. In a flash Rosa had the best food and warm fire before her. Of course, the dwarf was
magical and could do all of these things.
She continued on her journey, and the dwarf accompanied her. Finally they arrived at a
beautiful palace. The dwarf told her to go to the palace and ask for work. She did as he asked,
and she was given work caring for the turkeys because she looked like an honest girl.
The dwarf told her that every day at sunset she should say:
Turkey, Turkey,
Oh, if only the king’s son were to fall in love with me!
And every evening, as the sun set, she would say:
Turkey, Turkey,
Oh, if only the king’s son were to fall in love with me!
And the Turkeys would answer:
Yes, yes, yes!
Gobble, gobble, gobble!
And one of the turkeys would die. No one noticed that the turkeys were missing until one
day the king, looking at the fields from his palace, saw that there were not as many turkeys as
before, and he wanted to know why. Then one day he looked at the field where the turkey
maiden had been, and he saw nothing. Every day afterwards was the same.
One day the king’s son arrived from school, and as he was inspecting his father’s lands,
he saw Rosa dressed in her dress of wood. He thought she looked strange in a dress of wood, but
he said nothing and continued on his way. Rosa fell in love with him at once, but she was very
sad, because she knew that the prince did not love her. The dwarf saw that she was sad and told
her to make a dress of flowers and to dance, because it was springtime. She did as he asked, and
one day the king saw her as he looked at the field. He thought she was a fairy, so every day he
looked for her. The prince saw her too, and he fell in love with her. No one realized that this
fairy was really the turkey maiden.
One day the prince fell ill, and none of the doctors could cure him, because his illness
was of the heart. The dwarf told Rosa to go to the king and tell him that she could cure the
prince. She did as the dwarf had told her, but no one would let her see the prince. Finally,
seeing that the prince was not getting better, the king decided to allow the girl to see him. While
she walked through the magnificent hallways, she thought of how she looked. She decided to
open the third nut and from it appeared a beautiful dress. She put it on immediately. When they
arrived at the prince’s room, and he saw her, he began to feel better. He told her that he loved
her with all his heart, and that he wanted to marry her. She told him that she also loved him, and
so, they soon were married and lived happily ever after.
This tale is finished and yours has just begun.
REFLECTIONS: Magic clothes are used in numerous folktales. Can you name
three? Do you have any clothes that make you feel powerful or different? Can
you tell a story about them?