ATU 510B: Donkey Skin

**ATU 510B: Donkey Skin**, formerly known as **AT 510B: The Dress of Gold, of Silver and of Stars (Cap O' Rushes)**, is a wonder tale type in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index.

## History

The first European versions of stories about princesses running away from incestous father were recorded in Italy. In the first volume of *The Facetious Nights* by Gianfrancesco Straparola, published in 1550, appeared the story of Doralice, daughter of Prince Teobaldo of Salerno, who ran away hidden inside a chest who could only be locked from the inside. This story has the peculiarity that it doesn't end when Doralice marries, but instead continues with Teobaldo, who after discovering where his daughter is slains the two children she had and frames her for the murder. Later the first volume of *Il Pentamerone* by Giambattista Basile, published in 1634, included the fairy tale *The She-Bear*, in which Preziosa, the king of Roccaforte's daughter, runs away turning into a bear with her nurse's help. In this two Italian version there's no wonderful dresses that the princesses request to her father before running away neither ring hidden in the food.

Those elements were introduced much later, when French author Charles Perrault published in 1694 the fairy tale in verse *Donkey Skin*. Like in Straparola's and Basile's versions Perrault's tale tells the story of a princess who runs away to prevent an incestous union, but instead of completely turning into an animal like Preziosa in Basile's, here the princess disguises wearing the hide of her father's donkey that defecates golden coins instead of dung. As we already said Perrault introduced many elements that became staples in almost every variant that was collected after this, like the three wonderful dresses and the ring hidden in the lover's food. The tale remains one of Perrault's most famous ones, with a version in prose included in a revised edition of *Histoires ou contes du temps passé* published in 1781. Less known is the fairy tale *Bearskin*, that can be considered the missing link between Basile's and Straparola's versions with the next variants, using some elements from both stories that haven't become as common in oral versions. The tale appeared for the first time in the revised edition of Henriette-Julie de Murat's novel *Les Lutins du château de Kernosy* published in 1773. In this version the heroine Noble-Epine turns into a bear like in Basile's *The She-Bear*, not to prevent a marriage with her own father, but with the Ogre Rhinoceros. Like in Straparola's tale, Rhinoceros discover what happened to Noble-Epine, follows her, kills the princess' kids and frames her for the murders, although like in many 18th Century French fairy tales everything's resolved thanks to the intervention of a fairy godmother.

Meanwhile in Germany in 1783 Johann Karl August Musäus published the second volume of his collection *Volksmährchen der Deutschen*, which included the fairy tale *The Nymph of the Fountain*. Although the story has un unusual start compared to other variants, with the heroine called Mathilde not running away from an unwanted suitor but because she has lost everything after her father's castle burned down. Without nowhere to go her godmother, the titular nymph, gives her magic pomanders that will grant three wishes. After receiving the magic castle Mathilde is hired as a kitchen-maid on a knight's castle while pretending to be a hunchback. She gets the dresses to go to the ball from the magic pomader her godmother gave her, and after finging on the food she preparedthe ring he gave her on the last ball Mathilde's employer realises who she really is and he marries her. Like Straparola's and Murat's this tale continues after the heroine gets married, but here she's framed by a nurse instead of the unwanted suitor for her children's disappearance, being saved by the pomader's last wish.

In 1812 the first volume of the first edition of *Children and Household's Tales* by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm was published. The book included a tale titled *All-Kinds-of-Fur*, that was told to the brothers by Henriette Dorothea Wild, who latter married Wilhelm. In this variant the heroine runs away again from an incestuous father, like in Straparola's, Basile's and Perrault's version. Like in Perrault's, the heroine hides her identity wearing animal hides, but this time is a coat made with a piece of fur from every animal species in the kingdom. The biggest novelty presented in the Grimm's version is the absence of a Fairy Godmother or some other kind of female mentor that aids the heroine like in almost all the previous versions, implying that the princess is the one who devises everything.

## Variants

Despite most variants having such a strong taboo theme as it's incest, that didn't prevent this tale subtype to became one of the most worldwide popular in folklore.