{{short description|Fairy tale}} {{Infobox folk tale |Folk_Tale_Name = The Bee and the Orange Tree |Image_Name = Man knielt bij de ingang van een grot voor een vrouw L'oranger et L'abeille (titel op object), RP-P-OB-50.917.jpg |Image_Caption = Illustration of the prince and Aimée in front of the cave, printed by Simon Fokke c.1722 - 1784 |Aarne-Thompson Grouping = ATU 313 (The Heroine helps the Hero flee) |AKA = |Mythology = |Country = France |Region = |Origin_Date = |Published_In = |Related = }} '''The Bee and the Orange Tree''' ({{langx|fr|L'Oranger et l'Abeille}}) is a French [[literary fairy tale]] by [[Madame d'Aulnoy]].

== Publication == A late [[17th century]] publication of Madame d'Aulnoy's tales translated the title literally as ''The Orange-Tree and the Bee''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=d' Aulnoy |first1=Madame |title=Queen Mab: containing a select collection of only the best, most instructive, and entertaining tales of the fairies |date=1799 |oclc=1087281600 |pages=292–336 }}</ref> The tale was also translated into [[German language|German]] by German author [[Karoline Stahl]] with title ''Der Pomeranzenbaum und die Biene''.<ref>Stahl, Karoline. ''Fabeln, Mährchen und Erzählungen für Kinder''. Nürnberg 21821. pp. 62-70.</ref>

==Synopsis== After many childless years, a king and queen had a daughter, whom they named Aimée. Unfortunately, a ship she was on, [[Shipwrecking|wrecked]]. As fate would have it, she drifted ashore in her cradle. Although the [[Ogre|ogres]] normally ate those washed up on the shore, she was taken in by ogre couple to marry their son when she grew up.

After fifteen years, the king and queen gave up hope of locating the princess. Her cousin, the second son of Aimée’s uncle, was chosen to become heir to the throne. Meanwhile, Aimée grew up among the ogres. A little ogre had fallen in love with her, but the thought of marrying him revolted her. Walking along the beach one day, she found a man and hid him from the ogres in a cave. The man happened to be her cousin, although neither of them knew the truth or could speak each other's language. After some time, the prince discovered her identity from a locket she wore which had her name on it.

The little ogre decided it was time for them to marry, and horror-struck, Aimée fled to the prince. When she returned, she injured her foot on a thorn and could no longer walk. The prince wondered why she did not come, and when he tried to find her, he was captured.

The princess tricked the ogres into no longer recognising some of their own, leading them to eat several fellow ogres. Using a magic wand, Aimée was then able to give herself the power to speak the prince's language. He told her who she was, and the princess decided to steal the ogres' camel so they could ride away to safety, using the wand to distract the ogress. When it was noticed that they had fled, the ogre used his [[seven-league boots]] to follow.

The princess used the wand to hide, [[Shapeshifting|transforming]] herself, the prince and the camel into different disguises every time the ogre returned to search. When the ogress came after them, Aimée, transformed into a bee, stung her to drive her away. In the chaos, some travellers stole the wand. Without it, the princess was unable to change the group back into their prior forms.

The prince, stuck as an orange tree, was admired by Linda, a local princess. When Linda tried to have the tree transplanted into her gardens, Aimée stung her out of jealousy. Linda tried to arm herself with a branch from the orange tree but, when she did, blood flowed from the tree. Aimée went to fetch a balm for the wound.

While Aimée was away, a visiting fairy detected the enchantment and restored the prince. The prince told his story to the fairy, who restored Aimée and brought them home to Aimée’s parents, where Aimée and the prince were married.

==Analysis== === Tale type === This tale belongs to the cycle of stories of a heroine helping the hero flee from their supernatural foe (e.g., an ogre, a devil, a witch, a giant). Therefore, it is classified as [[Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index|Aarne–Thompson–Uther]] ATU 313, "The Heroine helps the Hero flee", or "The Magic Flight".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Belmont |first1=Nicole |title=Orphée dans le miroir du conte merveilleux |trans-title=Orpheus in the mirror of the marvelous tale |language=fr |journal=L'Homme |date=1985 |volume=25 |issue=93 |pages=59–82 |doi=10.3406/hom.1985.368542 |jstor=25132093 }}</ref> In the French language folktale index, type ATU 313 is termed ''La Fille du Diable'' ("The Devil's Daughter").<ref>{{cite book |title=Le conte populaire français (1): Catalogue raisonné des versions de France et des pays de langue française d'outre-mer, Canada, Louisiane, îlots français des États-Unis, Antilles françaises, Haïti, Île Maurice, La Réunion |first=Paul |last=Delarue |publisher=FeniXX |date=1976 |pages=199, 207 |isbn=9782307505143 |lang=French}}</ref> These tales include a [[Shapeshifting|transformation chase]] for the heroes to elude their pursuers.<ref>Seifert, Lewis C. ''Fairy Tales, Sexuality, and Gender in France, 1690-1715: Nostalgic Utopias''. Cambridge University Press. 2006. p. 35.</ref>

=== Literary context === ''L'Oranger et l'Abeille'' was published by Madame d'Aulnoy in her 1697 collection of "fairy tales", ''Les Contes des Fées''. The book is written in ''[[Précieuses|préciosité]]'' style, inspired by the witty conversational style of popular 17th century French [[Salon (gathering)|salons]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lau |first1=Kimberly J. |title=Imperial Marvels: Race and the Colonial Imagination in the Fairy Tales of Madame d'Aulnoy |journal=Narrative Culture |date=2016 |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=141–179 |doi=10.13110/narrcult.3.2.0141 |jstor=10.13110/narrcult.3.2.0141 }}</ref> ''Les Contes des Fées'' are an example of literary fairy tales, which, unlike the [[Folklore|folktales]] in [[oral tradition]], originated with the upper classes.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Windling|first=Terri|date=2000|title=Les Contes des Fées: The Literary Fairy Tales of France|url=http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/forconte.html|url-status=usurped|access-date=2021-05-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328002739/http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/forconte.html|archive-date=2014-03-28}}</ref> Scholar Jack Zipes suggests that, due to the high number of similarities of Madame d'Aulnoy's literary work with recognizable folkloric material,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Barchilon |first1=Jacques |title=Adaptations of Folktales and Motifs in Madame d'Aulnoy's 'Contes': A Brief Survey of Influence and Diffusion |journal=Marvels & Tales |date=2009 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=353–364 |doi=10.1353/mat.2009.a369087 |jstor=41388930 }}</ref> she must have been acquainted with the oral tradition or their literary reworking during her time.<ref>Zipes, Jack (ed.). ''The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales''. Oxford University Press. 2015. p. 33. {{ISBN|978-0-19-968982-8}}</ref> Marcy Farrell similarly suggests that d'Aulnoy used elements of existing folklore to create a longer and more literary tale for an aristocratic audience.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1163/9789401206303_004 |chapter=The Heroine's Violent Compromise: Two Fairy Tales by Madame d'Aulnoy |title=Violence in French and Francophone Literature and Film |year=2008 |pages=27–38 |isbn=978-90-420-2462-5 |last1=Farrell |first1=Marcy }}</ref>

=== Legacy === ==== In literature ==== ''The Bee and the Orange Tree'' is, according to [[Johannes Bolte]] and [[Jiří Polívka (folklorist)|Jiří Polívka]], and [[Jack Zipes]],<ref>''The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: the Complete First Edition''. [Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm; translated by] Jack Zipes; [illustrated by Andrea Dezsö]. Princeton University Press. 2014. p. 501. {{ISBN|978-0-691-16059-7}}</ref> the origin of [[Brothers Grimm|Grimm]]'s fairy tale ''Der Okerlo'', a fairy tale collected in the original version of the collection, in 1812 (KHM 70), but expunged from later editions.<ref>Bolte, Johannes; Polívka, Jiri. ''Anmerkungen zu den Kinder- u. hausmärchen der brüder Grimm''. Zweiter Band (NR. 61-120). Germany, Leipzig: Dieterich'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung. 1913. pp. 77-79.</ref>

Similarly, the tale was loosely reworked as the story ''Der Riesenwald'' ("The Giant's Forest"), which was published as part of the anonymous German language ''Feen-Mahrchen'' compilation, in 1801.<ref>{{cite book |title=Feen-Mährchen: zur Unterhaltung für Freunde und Freundinnen der Feenwelt |editor=Ulrich Marzolph |publisher=Georg Olms Verlag |date=2000 |pages=308-309 (notes to tale nr. 2) |isbn=9783487106878 |lang=German}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Koehler |first=Julie L. J. |title=Navigating the Patriarchy in Variants of ‘The Bee and the Orange Tree’ by German Women |journal=Marvels & Tales |volume=35 |issue=2 |date=2021 |pages=252–70 [255-256] |doi=10.2307/48679809 |jstor=48679809}}</ref>

==== In theatre ==== The tale was one of many from d'Aulnoy's pen to be adapted to the stage by [[James Planché]], as part of his ''Fairy Extravaganza''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Feipel |first1=Louis N. |title=Dramatizations of Popular Tales |journal=The English Journal |date=September 1918 |volume=7 |issue=7 |pages=439–446 |doi=10.2307/801356 |jstor=801356 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Buczkowski |first1=Paul |title=J. R. Planché, Frederick Robson, and the Fairy Extravaganza |journal=Marvels & Tales |date=2001 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=42–65 |doi=10.1353/mat.2001.0002 |jstor=41388579 |s2cid=162378516 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=MacMillan |first1=Dougald |title=Planché's Fairy Extravaganzas |journal=Studies in Philology |date=1931 |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=790–798 |jstor=4172137 }}</ref> He also adapted the tale to the stage as ''The Bee and the Orange Tree, or The Four Wishes''.<ref>Adams, W. H. Davenport. ''The Book of Burlesque''. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Outlook Verlag GmbH. 2019. p. 74. {{ISBN|978-3-73408-011-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Planché |first=James|title=The extravaganzas of J. R. Planché, esq., (Somerset herald) 1825-1871 |editor=Croker, Thomas F.D. |editor2=Tucker, Stephen I. |year=1879|publisher =S. French|location=London|url=https://archive.org/details/theextravaganzas03planuoft/page/n7/mode/2up|volume=3|pages=Vol 3, pp. 43-78}}</ref>

==See also== *[[Aladdin]] *[[Esben and the Witch]] *[[Foundling-Bird]] *[[Hop o' My Thumb]] *[[King Kojata]] *[[Molly Whuppie]] *[[Momotarō]] *[[Snow-White-Fire-Red]] *[[The Grateful Prince]] *[[The Master Maid]] *[[The Prince Who Wanted to See the World]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * {{cite journal |last1=Duggan |first1=Anne E. |title=Nature and Culture in the Fairy Tale of Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy |journal=Marvels & Tales |date=2001 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=149–167 |doi=10.1353/mat.2001.0023 |jstor=41388595 |s2cid=162321525 }}

==External links== {{Wikisource|Fairy Tales by the Countess d'Aulnoy/The Bee and the Orange Tree|The Bee and the Orange Tree}} *[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/hopomythumb/stories/beeorangetree.html ''The Bee and the Orange Tree''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105173640/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/hopomythumb/stories/beeorangetree.html |date=2013-11-05 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bee and the Orange Tree}} [[Category:Works by Madame d'Aulnoy]] [[Category:French fairy tales]] [[Category:Fictional warrior races]] [[Category:Female characters in fairy tales]] [[Category:Bees in popular culture]] [[Category:Anthropomorphic insects]] [[Category:Anthropomorphic trees]] [[Category:Trees in culture]] [[Category:Fairy tales about shapeshifting]] [[Category:Fairy tales about ogres]] [[Category:Fairy tales about language]] [[Category:Fairy tales about magic]] [[Category:Fairy tales about fairies]] [[Category:Fairy tales about princes]] [[Category:Fairy tales about princesses]] [[Category:ATU 300-399]] [[Category:French literary fairy tales]]