# The Dwarf, the Fox and the Princess

"The Dwarf, the Fox and the Princess" (German: Hurleburlebutz, literal translation: "impulsively sworn promise"; ATU Index 425A) is a fairy tale. It appears as the 66th tale the Grimms' Fairy Tales (Children's and Household Tales) of the Brothers Grimm published in 1843.

## Story (Hurleburlebutz version)

A king is lost in the forest and comes across a munchkin (a dwarf), in exchange for being led out of the forest, he promises his youngest daughter's hand in marriage to the munchkin. The dwarf thereby delivers the king safely back to his castle and informs him that he will be back in a week for the king's daughter, who was sad, for his youngest was his favorite and his daughters, informed of his obligation, promised to get rid of the dwarf. A week later, a fox comes to the castle and the daughters having persuaded an unsuspecting cowherd's daughter to be dressed her up in royalty clothes, send her out with the fox into the forest. The fox then orders the cowherd's daughter; to "sit down on my furry tail, Hurleburlebutz!" and then orders her to pick the fleas out of his fur which she readily agrees to, with the fox realizing it wasn't the princess and then sends her back. The next week, the fox comes back and is sent off with the gooseherd's daughter where in the forest; the fox again orders a delousing by the cowherd's daughter to which she agrees to and is then sent back. The third week, the fox returns and the king sends his daughter off into the forest with the fox, whereby upon demanding a delousing, she expresses her dismay, "I'm a king's daughter and yet I must delouse a fox!" With the fox knowing he has the right bride, so he then transforms back into his munchkin form, and then lives for a few years with the daughter in his hut. One day, having to leave, he then predicts to the daughter that three doves will soon come flying here, and that upon swooping down to the ground, orders her to specifically catch the middle one, and then immediately cut off that dove's head, to which she then does, with the munchkin reappearing as a handsome prince and explains to her that he was a prince that was cursed upon by a fairy, and that he was the munchkin all along, and then hereby a redeemed young prince, and they then inherit the princess father's kingdom.

## Sources

The tale Hurleburleburtz was first provided to the Brothers Grimm by teller Jeanette Hassenpflug. It later appears only in the note to the similar fairy tale The Iron Stove, the 127th in the collection.

## Analysis
### Tale type

The tale belongs to international cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom or The Search for the Lost Husband, which corresponds to tale type ATU 425 of the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index. American folklorist D. L. Ashliman classified the tale as type 425A, "The Monster (Animal) as Bridegroom".

### Motifs

The fox also appears in the 57th tale of the Grimm Brothers' compilation, The Golden Bird.

## Publications

In some editions of Children's and Household Tales, this fairy tale, as well as other fairy tales that are no longer published, can be found in the appendix. See Ludwig Bechstein's The White Wolf.
The fairy tale has been distributed several times as a radio play (audio book) in a performance by the Detmold theater ensemble.

## Media adaptations

* The very loose East German film adaptation The Singing Ringing Tree (1957), produced and distributed by DEFA, was theatrically released in East Germany on December 13, 1957, then theatrically released in West Germany on September 14, 1958, seen by almost 6 million viewers. In 1964, the film was broadcast on British television on BBC 1 on 19 November as part of the Tales from Europe strand as a three part miniseries with a English-language commentary, broadcast in reruns until 1980, attaining a cult status. It was first broadcast on East German television broadcaster DFF 1 on 2 July 1977, and then on West German television on 3 January 1988 on West 3. It was released on VHS cassette tape in 1998. In 2013, a live stage production adaptation of the fairy tale debuted in Dresden. A 2016 remake of the 1957 film directed by Wolfgang Eißler was released with Hamburg actress Jytte-Merle Böhrnsen as the princess, with Christel Bodenstein who played the princess role of the 1957 film, making a cameo as a herbalist. It was featured in the 9th season of German TV broadcaster ARD series Six in One Go.