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Overview

In the tale, three fairy sisters come to a lake as white pigeons and turn into women by somersaulting. On his third attempt, a giant's adopted son takes the youngest one's dress without looking back. His foster father hides it inside a walnut sewn into his waistcoat. Elizabeth then arrives in a carriage that vanishes, and she marries the youth.

On a visit to his human family, she dances with her feet never touching the floor. Her mother-in-law drugs the husband and hands Elizabeth the dress at her request. Elizabeth dances again, becomes a pigeon and flies to a pear tree. A tear she sheds wakes him, and she tells him to seek her at Johara in the country of Black Sorrow.

The husband grows old during his long search. When he finally reaches her palace, she openly mocks his aged body while secretly ordering a bath of rejuvenating plants and youth-giving water. The couple renew their wedding and go back to the giant's home rather than to the family where the betrayal happened.

Changes between white-pigeon and human form by somersaultingDances above the floor and leaves once her dress is returnedCommands a bath of plants and youth-giving water that makes her husband young again
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Origins & earliest records

A collected Magyar tale linked in the translators' notes to Kriza (no. xv). It is read here as tale XIX, pp. 95–109, of the 1889 Jones/Kropf translation. The individual teller is not identified.

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Records & interpretation

The narrative was read directly in the public-domain Project Gutenberg text of the translation. It was not collated against a Hungarian original.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    The Folk-Tales of the Magyars

    Collected by Kriza, Erdélyi, Pap and others; translated and edited by W. Henry Jones and Lewis L. Kropf · 1889

    Selected bibliography; tale XIX, Fairy Elizabeth, pp. 95–109, with the translators' note on Kriza xv.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Public-domain primary translationThe Folk-Tales of the Magyars (Project Gutenberg plain text)Research access: 2026-10-07
  2. Catalogue recordThe Folk-Tales of the Magyars (Project Gutenberg catalogue)Research access: 2026-10-07

Image credits

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