The Three Feathers — Obscure Fairy Tales

Once upon a time, an old king had three sons. Two of those were smart and well-spoken, while the third one lacked in both wit and charisma. This son, the middle child, was always saying and doing dumb things. So much so, that his brothers nicknamed him Dumbo.

The king was starting to worry about his succession, yet he didn’t know which son could be the next ruler. Thus, the king decided to send his sons on a quest.

“You will have one month to bring me the best crafted carpet you can find,” proclaimed the king to his three sons. “In order to decide which way you will go, I will blow these three feathers in the wind.”

Each prince was assigned either a black, white or brown feather,. which the king blew in the courtyard. The eldest son’s feather blew towards the east and the youngest’s towards the west. The two sons went their own way immediately. The middle son’s feather just fluttered up and fell right down where it had started. The king sighed and touched his son’s arm.

“It seems he’s not going far. Maybe it’s not the worst thing to take Dumbo out of the running,” thought the king.

Dumbo looked at the poor feather in front of him and sat down on the ground, defeated. What could he do? Perhaps he could choose a carpet from inside the castle?

Suddenly, he noticed a small trap door under a bush beside him. He could hear faint whispers coming from underneath it. Dumbo walked over and opened the trap, before squeezing himself in the hole and going down the ladder on the inside wall.

As he reached the bottom, Dumbo heard water trickling and loud croaking. He lit a match.

From what he could discern in the dark, he was in a tunnel under the castle. Dumbo followed the croaking, taking care not to fall down. His small match didn’t last long before burning his fingers, but he seemed to be closing in on a light source.

When he reached the enlightened area, he saw a frog wearing a crown and gown on a piedestal. By instinct, he bowed to her. She croaked loudly, followed by dozens of croaks in the dark.

“Who may you be, young man?” asked the frog. “What brings you to my lair?”

“They call me Dumbo. I am looking for the nicest carpet in the kingdom.”

The frog turned towards one of her subordinates and croaked. The little frog jumped away and soon came back with the most beautiful carpet Dumbo had ever seen. He thanked the frog profusely and went back to the surface with his newly acquired object.

Then, the young prince spent the rest of the month enjoying himself, for his quest was completed early. He also made sure to bring a jarful of bugs down the trap door tunnel to thank the queen frog of her kindness.

Once the end of the month came near, the eldest and the youngest brothers returned. The first had brought a magnificent imported carpet he had bought from a wandering merchant. The second had brought a delicate carpet made by local artisans. Despite the splendor of the two carpets, nothing could beat the middle child’s object in beauty. Still, the brothers didn’t even ask Dumbo to show them his find while they were parading their own, convinced he hadn’t managed to complete the task at all.

When the king asked his sons to shows him their present, so he could choose his favourite one, neither the eldest nor the youngest bothered waiting for the third brother to arrived before displaying their carpets in front of their father. The king was deep in thought, admiring the two pieces and about to decreet a winner, when Dumbo came in with his own carpet. He laid the piece in between his brothers’ and the winner became obvious.

“What a carpet! I’ve never seen anything like it,” said the king. “Dumbo, you must be declared the winner!”

Dumbo’s brothers were fuming with rage. How could they let their slow-witted brothers steal the crown? They pleaded with the king to give them another chance. The king sighed and admitted another round would be good idea.

“You have one week to bring me the most beautiful ring in the kingdom. Then, I will decide who deserves the succession.”

Thus, the king again blew the three feathers in the courtyard. The eldest headed north, the youngest south and the middle child… would stay in place once again.

“What did I do to deserve this?” asked Dumbo to himself.

He then walked around the courtyard kicking rocks, until he thought about the queen frog again. Perhaps she could lend him a hand once more?

Dumbo headed for the little trap door hidden under a bush and went to see the frog again. Bowing in front of her, he humbly asked for her help once again. The frog agreed signaled one of her subjects to deliver an object to Dumbo. The ring was stunning. It was made of platinum and gold, intertwined around small incrusted diamonds and emeralds. Dumbo was mesmorized, as he had never seen anything so precious. He thanked the frog profusely and returned to the surface.

On the day of the reveals, Dumbo patiently waited for his brothers in the courtroom. They had searched far and wide for the rings and were confident Dumbo had ran out of luck for this second round.

The eldest first showed the ring he had acquired on his journey. It was a fine golden ring with a hefty diamond on top. It was impressive in weight, but the craftsmanship left nothing to be desired.

The youngest followed by showing off his own ring, which was of complex craftsmanship, but only made out of wood. The intricate carvings made it look quite valuable, but its nature wouldn’t be durable.

Thus, the king turned towards his second-born son and asked him to show off the ring he had brought. When he revealed the piece of jewellery, those present in the court gasped in surprise. Where had Dumbo found this magnificent ring?

The king took the ring and put it in his palms to observe closely.

“There is no question, this is the best ring!” said the king.

As soon as he uttered those words, the two losing princes started protesting, asking for a rematch. Their father sighed. He would give them one last chance to redeem themselves and try to win the throne.

“Bring me the prettiest maiden you can find within a day.”

The king blew the feathers in the courtyard for a third time. Both the oldest and the youngest sons’ feathers flew right ahead towards a neighbouring village. Both princes ran for their lives towards the town, while Dumbo watched his feather fall right down again.

Dumbo waited until he was alone in the courtyard and slipped in the tunnel again. He walked quickly towards the frog in a crown and gown and bowed down so low his forehead touched the wet ground.

“Please, Your Majesty, may you help me once again?” said the young rpince.

The frog sized him up and down and nodded.

“Here, take this carrot and these six mice. Once at the surface, place one of my frog servant on the carrot and see what happens.”

The good thing about Dumbo’s limited wit is that he never questioned such a request, as it made total sense in his mind. Therefore, he thanked the frog profusely and climbed back to the surface with the carrot, mice and servant frog in hand.

Then, he placed the mice in two lines in front of the carrot and carefully laid the frog on top of the vegetable. To his surprise, the carrot, mice and frog transformed within a few seconds. The carrot became a beautiful carriage, the mice turned into six horses pulling said carriage and the frog grew into a beautiful woman like Dumbo had never seen.

The young man helped the lady to the carriage before riding towards the court. There, he brought the woman in front of the king. His brothers were already waiting with two gorgeous maidens by the ruler’s throne. The king proclaimed that all three ladies were beautiful, so they needed another way to pick a warrior. The frog woman offered a solution. The three ladies could jump in a box of sand to see who could jump the highest and furthest.

The tall woman brought by the eldest brother started the contest, using her long legs to jump far into the box. Then, the petite woman brought by the youngest brother did her jump. She jumped quite high, but not very far. Finally, the woman brought by Dumbo jumped so far and so high the onlookers barely believed it!

Without question, Dumbo was finally awarded the throne. As soon as he reached power, he built a giant pond for frogs to enjoy in the royal gardens.

The serie Obscure Fairy Tales encompasses an array of tales, myths and legends from around the world. To read more, visit this page dedicated to fiction writing.