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Overview

Orlanda occupies a palace without a stairway or doorkeeper and appears at its window with twelve maidens when a travelling merchant plays a violin. Guided there by an old man, he carries a life-sized doll that the prince insists is his daughter. The queen has threatened him unless he presents the supposed girl. Orlanda tells him to set a silk ladder against the wall and hand up the doll. After two hours she returns it able to converse with everyone except the prince.

The doll-princess marries him but remains silent toward him, leading to their separation. At night she addresses an enchanted lamp and oil-cruet and repeatedly praises Orlanda’s beauty. A servant overhears this dialogue; the prince later conceals himself beneath the bed to hear it directly. When he responds with a blessing for the fairy, the princess speaks to him and they reconcile. The narrative supplies this resolution without explaining why the blessing was required or identifying Orlanda with the doll. The twelve attendants are not stated to be her daughters.

Fairy magicSilence toward the princeEnchanted household dialogueFinal spoken reconciliation
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Origins & earliest records

Crane, Italian Popular Tales (1885), XXX: The Fairy Orlanda, pp. 114–118; source listed as Imbriani, Novellaja fiorentina, p. 333, ’A Fata Orlanna.

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Records & interpretation

The complete selected English tale supplies the actions, objects and stated ending. Attached notes identify parallel versions, which are not merged into this account.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Italian Popular Tales: XXX: The Fairy Orlanda, pp. 114–118

    Thomas Frederick Crane; selected source: Imbriani, Novellaja fiorentina, p. 333, ’A Fata Orlanna · 1885

    Complete selected English tale and attached comparative note; no original Italian collation asserted.

Family & connections

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References

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  1. Primary textCrane 1885: XXX: The Fairy Orlanda, pp. 114–118Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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