Dwarfs in Fairy Tales

Without a doubt, seven dwarfs from Snow White are the most popular dwarfs in literature. They live in the woods and work in the mine. When Snow White finds their house, they offer her protection. Still, they are not capable of protecting her from the wicked stepmother. The witch finds the girl, tricks her, and Snow White falls. While the dwarfs can revive her twice, the poisonous apple is too strong for them. A prince has to step into the role of protector.

Not everybody is familiar with Perrault's version of the Sleeping Beauty. In short - when the princess falls asleep, the good fairy has to take care of everybody else. Everybody in the castle has to sleep just like the princess. Luckily, there is a dwarf with seven-league boots who informs the fairy, who immediately arrives at the scene and sprinkles the fairy dust everywhere. Everybody will sleep until the prince arrives!

The title characters from this fairy tale by the Grimm Brothers are typical helpers. They have a chance to meet two stepsisters. One of them is nice, and the other is not. Each of the girls gets three gifts. It's pretty easy to imagine how the story unfolds.

The same role as the Little Men above is assigned to the dwarf in the less-known fairy tale The Jew in the Thorns. He meets a nice man and gives him presents. From then on, he is out of the picture.

Again, there is a girl who needs help. Again, she wants strawberries in the middle of winter. A dwarf appears in front of her and asks her about her troubles. He can take her to the place where she needs to go. But then he disappears and she can't find the way out ... A dwarf proved as a useful helper without wanting anything in return. Yet, she has to earn her way back.

For many years, all the hard work in Cologne (Koln) was done by little men who worked by night. When the citizens woke, the shoes were already made, the bread baked, and the constructions repaired. Everybody knew about the little men, yet there was a silent agreement not to interfere in their business. Why should they?

Well, human curiosity once more proved to defeat human laziness. A woman wanted to see them. She set up a booby trap. She succeeded - and all the little men of Cologne left the town. From then on, people have to do their work just like in every other town.

This is another fairy tale by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. One morning, a shoemaker discovers a pair of shoes made from his material. They are so well-made he can sell them for a much higher price and buy more material. The next morning two new pairs of shoes are waiting for him. He sees a couple of elves who make shoes during the night. Together with his wife, they decide to give the little helpers something in return - two lovely dresses. This is a mistake. The elves take the dresses and move out of the workshop forever.

A queen is surrounded by desert lions. The Yellow Dwarf can protect her if she promises her daughter will marry him. Of course, she has no choice and agrees. As we can expect, the rest of the story is dedicated to finding a way to save the daughter from this forced marriage. This less-known fairy tale is written by Madame d'Aulnoy. While you probably don't know her, we shall at least mention she invented the term 'fairy tale'.

A merchant has financial issues. A dwarf offers a solution to his insolvency if he is willing to give the dwarf the first thing that rubs against his legs on his return home. The merchant has no idea he got a son while he was away (he was away for years) and gives his word but is very sorry later.

The situation with the miller's daughter who has to spin straw into gold is quite similar to the merchant's above. Yet, in her case there are two important differences:

• if she doesn't succeed, she will die the next morning,
• the little man who wants her firstborn demands something she actually doesn't have.

The dilemma of the miller's daughter is not so huge. She can choose between imminent death or eventual fight for her kid if she ever gets one. We all know, how Rumpelstiltskin ends.

Snow White and Red Rose are sisters who are not just best friends to each other but to every other living being as well. At least until they meet a dwarf in trouble. They help him, but he doesn't show any gratitude. He is angry and threatens both of them. They don't part as friends. Soon, he is in danger again, and they don't hesitate to give him a hand. The dwarf is even angrier. This doesn't stop the girls from saving his life for the third time. While the sisters are not directly rewarded for their good deeds, by showing their good character, they soon find happiness.

This is the only fairy tale from the list where the dwarf doesn't act as a helper, but we can't deny his role in the final sequence of events with a happy ending.

Credits and more:

https://edmunddulac.wordpress.com/2024/05/01/sleeping-beauty/
https://max-teschemacher.dorik.io/three-little-men-in-the-wood
https://brinsley-le-fanu.mystrikingly.com/blog/king-of-swans
https://oskar-herrfurth.weebly.com/gnomes.html
http://madame-d-aulnoy-fairy-tales.yolasite.com/illustrations.php