The Princess in the Suit of Leather

The Princess in the Suit of Leather is an Egyptian folktale. It may also be referred to as The Princess in the Leather Burqa. This story was originally published in translation in Inea Bushnaq's 1986 collection Arab Folktales.[1]

Summary

In the middle of anywhere a king had a wife whom he loved and a daughter who was the light of his eyes. Before the princess reached womanhood, the queen grew ill and died. The king mourned for one year as he sat by her tomb. Eventually he called upon a matchmaker, and told her that he wished to marry again. He took the anklet from his deceased wife and told the matchmaker he would marry the foot the anklet fit. The matchmaker searched throughout the kingdom but found no single girl whom the anklet would fit. Finally, the anklet slipped onto a princess' foot. This princess agreed to marry the king without knowing who she was to marry.[2] The night before the wedding, the princess asked the minister's daughter why so much talk filled the palace. The princess bribed her with her golden bangle, so the minister's daughter told her that the bridegroom was her father.

The princess turned pale then sent everyone away and escaped. She first went to the tanner's home and gave him a handful of gold. She requested him to make her a suit of leather from head to toe; she left when it was completed. In the morning to king entered the bridal chamber to find that the princess had left. Soldiers at every gate asked if she had seen the king's daughter and she replied:

My name is Juleidah for my coat of skins
My eyes are weak, my sight is dim
My ears are deaf, I cannot hear
I care for no one far or near

Juleidah ran until she collapsed. She passed out and a slave girl noticed her. The slave girl called upon her queen to show her the great pile of leather outside of her palace. They asked her who she was and the princess said her refrain once more. She was invited to join the servants and slaves. The queen's son noticed her and wanted to ask her hand in marriage. He prince asked Juleidah where she was from and she replied that she was from the land of the paddles and the ladles so the prince decided to travel there. Without the prince noticing, Juleidah slipped his ring off his hand. At the palace, Juleidah wanted to help the cook but the cook was reluctant. Eventually she was given a piece of dough to shape and she placed the prince's ring inside of it. For the prince's trek, he was given the bread holding the ring. Once he discovered it he ordered everyone to turn back. The two wed shortly after.

The king put the matchmaker in chains. He searched from city to city until he reached the city where Juleidah resided. When the king reached the palace, Juleidah invited them in. She gave them food and a place to stay. Juleidah revealed to her father that she was his daughter. After it was revealed that Juleidah was the princess, the matchmaker was thrown into a ravine. The king gifted Juleidah and the prince, half of the kingdom and they lived happily ever after.[3]

Analogs

The folklore is in similar style to the story Donkeyskin published by Charles Perrault. It is Aarne-Thompson folktale type510B, unnatural love. Other tales of this type are Allerleirauh, Cap O' Rushes, Mossycoat, The Bear, The She-Bear and The King who Wished to Marry his Daughter.

References
  1. Bushnaq, Inea (1986). Arab Folktales. New York: Pantheon. ISBN 978-0394501048.
  2. Carter, Angela (2015). Angela Carter's Book Of Fairy Tales. Little, Brown Book Group. pp. 43–49. ISBN 9780349008219.
  3. Tatar, Maria (2016). The Classic Fairy Tales (Second Edition) (Norton Critical Editions). W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393602975.
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