Household Tales · Chapter
The Sea-Hare explained
A haughty princess with twelve all-seeing windows declares she will only marry a man who can hide from her so she cannot find him; those who fail are beheaded.
What happens
A haughty princess with twelve all-seeing windows declares she will only marry a man who can hide from her so she cannot find him; those who fail are beheaded. Three brothers attempt the challenge: the eldest two are quickly discovered and killed. The youngest brother, after receiving help from a raven, a fish, and a fox, hides in an egg, then in a fish's stomach, but is discovered both times. On his third attempt, the fox transforms him into a sea-hare, which the princess buys and unknowingly carries in her hair. When she fails to find him, she smashes the windows in anger, discovers the sea-hare, and throws it away. The youth regains his form, marries the princess, and becomes king, keeping his secret helper unknown.
Themes in this chapter
Transformation and Redemption
The youth's transformation into a sea-hare and his eventual success and marriage represent a redemptive arc from failure to triumph.
Virtue Rewarded and Vice Punished
The youth's kindness to the raven, fish, and fox is rewarded with their help, while the princess's haughtiness is humbled.
Social Class and Marriage
The princess's demand for a husband who can outwit her challenges traditional power dynamics in marriage, ultimately leading to a union where the youth becomes king.
Characters to notice
- the princess
The haughty princess who can see all from her twelve windows and demands a husband who can hide from her.
- the youth
The youngest brother who successfully hides from the princess on his third attempt with the help of a fox.
- the servant
The merchant (the fox in disguise) who sells the sea-hare to the princess.
- Unknown
The raven that hides the youth in an egg, but the princess discovers him from the eleventh window.
- Unknown
The fish that swallows the youth, but the princess sees him from the twelfth window.
- Unknown
The fox that transforms the youth into a sea-hare and helps him succeed on the third attempt.
Key passages
“There was once upon a time a princess, who, high under the battlements in her castle, had an apartment with twelve windows, which looked out in every possible direction, and when she climbed up to it and looked around her, she could inspect her whole kingdom.”
A princess had a room with twelve windows that let her see everything in her kingdom.
Establishes the princess's all-seeing ability and the setting.
“He who tried this, however, and was discovered by her, was to have his head struck off, and stuck on a post.”
Any suitor she found would be executed and his head displayed on a post.
Highlights the deadly stakes of the challenge.
“The youth thanked the fox, and said, 'The raven and the fish are idiots compared with thee; thou knowest the right tune to play, there is no denying that!'”
The youth praised the fox as the cleverest of his animal helpers.
Shows the youth's gratitude and the fox's superior cunning.