Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 4 1886.djvu/331

 Rh responsible for the variant just referred to, are in a much lower stratum of civilization than were the Hebrews when the "history" of Joseph took final shape. Hence the events assume a much ruder and more marvellous form. There is, however, sufficient agreement to prove the essential identity of the two tales, while the differences preclude any suggestion of borrowing by the heathen Tartars from Christian or Jewish sources. I have mentioned this variant first because it is impossible to assume any such borrowing. Some of the European traditions I am about to cite under this and the following type contain similarities to the Biblical narrative which may to some readers seem incredible as independent growths in the face of the long dominance of Christianity in the West. Hence it is that this Siberian story, and some others I shall refer to later on, are of value. Take, for example, the Sicilian variant called The King of France. Here the king has three daughters, one of whom dreams that she has become queen, and seven kings, including her own father, bow down before her. Her father sends her into a wood to be put to death, but she is set free, despite his commands. The rest of the story follows the Sicilian tale of Water and Salt, given under the previous type, except that the Deus ex machinâ is a parrot instead of a turkey-cock.

In the variants of this type, it will be noticed, the expelled child is sometimes of one sex and sometimes of the other. It is natural that where a father takes offence at a daughter the after events should bear more affinity with those of the last preceding type than in the other case. Accordingly other stories of this genus, beside the King of France, exhibit this affinity. One current among the people of the Abruzzi follows the same lines. We are told that a certain king has three daughters, two of whom are ugly, and the other (the youngest) beautiful. The two former, driven by envy, conspire to have their sister put to death. For this purpose they tell their father that they have dreamt she would dishonour them by eloping with a common soldier. The father accordingly orders one of his generals