"The Pink (Carnation)," by the Brothers Grimm

A queen was without child, and an angel came to her and told her she would have a child who would have the power of wishing.  After she had the child, the cook, who knew of the son’s ability, staged the son’s death and blamed the queen, who was imprisoned by the king for seven years.  The cook, who was afraid the son would have him discovered, had the boy wish for a palace to live in, and then a beautiful companion.  The cook would go out and hunt like a nobleman every day.  But soon, he was again afraid the boy would tell the truth, and told the girl to kill him, on pain of death.  She refused, but he persisted, and she eventually told the boy of the plan. He had her kill a hind and present the cook with the heart and tongue.  He had the cook turned into a poodle   The girl was afraid to accompany him back to his kingdom, so he turned her into a carnation and put her in his pocket, and they walked with the poodle chained behind him.  He visited his mother in the tower, then worked as a huntsman for the king, and during a feast he wished for others to bring up the topic of his mother.  He revealed the truth to the king, who rejoiced and freed the queen.  Hot coals were poured down the poodle’s throat, and then he was executed; the father and queen soon died of grief and relief.  The boy and girl were married.   Chapters: 00:00 Reading of the Story 10:25 The Ambivalent Power of Wishing 12:25 Like the Garden of Eden and Corruption of Greed for Power 16:34 The King’s Gullibility 18:40 The Upside Down Kingdom 22:41 The Cook Feels Himself Losing Control 29:21 Why Does the Boy Turn the Cook into a Black Poodle? 36:26 Returning Home and Seeing Mother in the Tower 40:11 Why Does the Prince Refuse to Sit Next to his Father? 43:19 The Prince Wishes His Mother Into the Room 50:33 The Queen’s Virtue 53:32 The Ironic Power of Wishing 54:58 Final Reflections   Thank you for watching!  If you’re interested in the full discussion, see below:   The full video episode: https://youtu.be/1a8GjTiQYNM   The Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqfEOVgfclRgZNXO4boyP3T   For more in this podcast, please go to: Podbean: https://benomtad.podbean.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863 YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ X: https://x.com/Benomtad Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benomtad   I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.   Pink Carnation Girl Photo by Alka Rautela on Unsplash