"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