A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

After the prince forgets her, Snow-white-fire-red stays with an old woman who owns a male and female dove. The girl obtains scraps from the royal palace and dresses the birds attractively. She whispers instructions assigning one the prince’s part and the other her own, then sends them to speak before the royal household. They are performers representing the lovers, rather than those people in changed bodies.

At the dining table, one dove asks whether its companion remembers the fountains provided at the prince’s birth, the broken pitcher, the ensuing curse, the meeting and escape. The answering bird repeatedly confirms the memories. When their conversation reaches the queen’s kiss and the ogress’s forgetting curse, the prince himself remembers. The birds bow and fly back to the country house, leading his servants and then the prince to Snow-white-fire-red. Their dialogue reveals and repairs the separation without giving either bird a personal name or an independent supernatural origin.

Male and female dove pairCostumed with palace clothHuman speechGuides prince back to forgotten companion
01

Origins & earliest records

Crane, Italian Popular Tales (1885), XV: Snow-white-fire-red, pp. 72–76; selected source: Pitrè, no. 13, Bianca-comu-nivi-russa-comu-focu.

02

Records & interpretation

Crane’s selected English narrative supplies the actions and stated outcome. His prefatory qualification allows altered tenses and omitted repetitions; the cited Italian version has not been independently collated here.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Italian Popular Tales, XV: Snow-white-fire-red, pp. 72–76

    Thomas Frederick Crane; selected source: Pitrè, no. 13, Bianca-comu-nivi-russa-comu-focu · 1885

    Complete selected tale and its attached comparative note; adjacent versions remain separate.

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. Primary textCrane 1885, XV: Snow-white-fire-redResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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