The Ludicrous Wishes
.png) Jupiter granting the wishes. Illustration by Harry Clarke, 1922 | |
| Original Title: | Les Souhaits ridicules |
|---|---|
| Written by: | Charles Perrault |
| Central Theme: | Be careful what you wish for, |
| Synopsis: | Man gains and wastes three wishes. |
| Genre(s): | Fairy tale |
| First published: | 1697 |
"The Ludicrous Wishes" (or "The Three Ridiculous Wishes") is a French literary Fairy Tale by Charles Perrault.
The tale follows a woodcutter, down on his luck. Depending on the version he is granted three wishes by either the God Jupiter, a fish whose life he spared or, alternatively, a tree spirit, for his help in their time of need. The woodcutter went home, and his wife persuaded him to put off the wishing until the next day, but while sitting by the fire he wished for sausages. His wife taxed him for his folly, and angry, he wished the sausages on her nose. Finally, they agreed to use the last wish to take the sausages off her nose, leaving them no better off than before.
Tropes used in The Ludicrous Wishes include:
- Closer to Earth: Likely unintentional, but the wife can come of as this in some versions. Many versions make them equally incompetent however.
- The Fool: The woodcutter.
- Good Samaritan: The woodcutter.
- No Name Given: The woodcutter and his wife.
- Rule of Three: Three wishes.
- Talking Animal: In the version when it's a fish.
- Three Wishes: This may be the Trope Maker.