The Knights of the Fish

The usual tale involves the birth of twins from the ingestion of the flesh of the fish. Very rarely, there are born triplets,[16][17] such as in a variant from Brittany, France, collected by folklorist Adolphe Orain: in Les chevaliers de la belle étoile, instead of the usual twins, three sons are born when their mother is given the flesh of the enchanted eel (which replaces the fish). Each of the brothers is born with a star on the forehead.[18]

Other similar variant is Le rei des peiches, collected from Bélesta, Ariège, where there are also three sons born from the magical fish.[19]

In Czech fairy tale The Twin Brothers, the enchanted fish is described as a princess cursed into piscian form. When a woman catches her (as fish) to eat, the princess says she will be delivered from her curse "as soon as [her] body has rotted".[20]

The ATU 303 type usually involves the birth of twins (or triplets), but in variants there are born two similar-looking individuals from a rich mother (queen, lady) and a poor one (maid, servant), who both ate the magical item that, according to some in-story superstition, is said to have pregnancy-inducing properties, such as a fruit or herb. Despite their different origins, both youths hold great affection and loyalty towards each other. One example is the Swedish folktale Silfver-hvit och Lill-vacker (English: "Silverwhite and Lillwacker").[21][22]

In a Romanian fairy tale, Der Morgenstern und der Abendstern ("The Morning-Star and the Evening-Star"),[23] a king and a queen have tried to conceive a child, but no such luck. One night, the empress dreams that God told her the method: the king must catch a fish, cook it and give it to the queen, who gives birth to a boy. A maid also tastes the queen's plate and gives birth to another boy. The prince is named Busujok and the maid's son Siminok.[24]

If the characters are named in the tale, both brothers may have water-related names. For instance, in Swedish variant Wattuman und Wattusin (Wassermann und Wasserjunge),[25][26] in the Brothers Grimm tale Johann Wassersprung und Kaspar Wassersprung ("Johannes Waterspring and Casper Waterspring"),[27] in another German variant Wasserpaul and Wasserpeter,[28] or in a Hungarian variant Vízi Péter és Vízi Pál (vízi means "water" in Hungarian).[29]

In another German variant, The Two Foundlings of the Spring, or, The Story of Brunnenhold and Brunnenstark, an exiled princess finds two babies near a spring and decided that "they shall both take their names from the water": Brunnenhold, with "blue eyes and hair", and Brunnenstark, because he is stronger than his brother.[30][31] The tale of brothers Brunnnenhold and Brunnenstark was also given a somewhat abridged format by 19th century theologue Johann Andreas Christian Löhr, with the name Die Söhne der Quelle.[32]

The general narrative of the tale type separates the twins: one defeats the dragon and, after he marries the princesss, goes to an illuminated castle (or tower) in the distance, where a witch resides. In Iberian variants, this castle is known as "Castle of No Return" (Spanish: Castillo de Irás y No Volverás) or "Tower of the Ill-Hour" (Portuguese: Torre da Má Hora). Later, his twin (or younger triplet) defeats the witch and rescues the older brother.[33]

Some versions preserve the motif of the helping animals, attested in the pure form of ATU 300, "The Dragonslayer", where the sole hero is helped by four different animals[34] or by three powerful dogs. One example of the latter type is the Romanian variant Măr și Păr: the prince Măr names his dogs "Florian, Cioban and Frunză de megheran", and the servant's son Păr gives his hounds the names of "Bujor, Rozor and Cetina brazilor".[35]

The dragon of the tale, in Scadinavian variants, is sometimes replaced by a troll that lives in the sea.[36][37]

In a tale collected from Wallonia, Le Garçon avec Ses Trois Chiens, triplets are born from the ingestion of the fish's flesh. This variant is peculiar in that it inverts the usual narrative: the brothers' petrification by the witch occurs before the episode of the dragon-slaying. The youngest triplet rescues his older brothers and later the princess demanded by the dragon.[38]

A similar inversion of the twins' adventures occurs in Cossack (Ukrainian) tale The Two Princes: the younger twin rescues his older brother from the pagan witch that petrified him and his dog, and later the dragon-slaying episode happens.[39]

In an unsourced tale published by Andrew Lang in his The Grey Fairy Book, The Twin Brothers, an old woman reveals that the infertility of a fisherman's wife can be cured by ingesting the flesh of a gold-fish, and after some should be given to her she-dogs and mares. Male twins are born, two foals and two puppies - each brother getting a hound and a horse. When the older twin leaves home, he arrives in a kingdom and tries to woo the princess Fairest in the Land, by performing her father's three tasks. Later, he arrives in another kingdom, where a giant has blocked the flow of waters and only releases it once a year when he is given a maiden to devour.[40]

Some variants skip the birth implement altogether and begin with the twin (triplet) princes going their separates ways at the crossroads, after they gather their animal retinues.[41]