"Snow-White-Fire-Red" is an Italian Fairy Tale, collected by Thomas Crane.
A small prince breaks a pitcher wherein an ogress had carefully caught the last of an oil fountain (built in honor of his birth). She curses him to be unable to marry anyone but Snow-White-Fire-Red.
When he grows up, he remembers this and goes in search of her. He finds a tower, where an ogress arrives and calls Snow-White-Fire-Red to let down her hair. As soon as the ogress leaves, he does the same, and woos the girl. She hides him and when the ogress, whom she calls her mother, returns, asks her how she could escape if she ever wanted to. The ogress, believing her just curious, explains.
The girl enchants all the furniture to answer for her, and she and the prince run off. The ogress keeps calling up the tower and the furniture answers until finally she figures it out and chases after them. The girl throws down the balls of yarn she had taken, each of which transform into an obstacle until the last one drowns the ogress — but not before she curses Snow White Fire Red, to have the prince forget her as soon as his mother kisses him.
The prince goes to fetch proper clothes for her to appear in, his mother kisses him, and Snow-White-Fire-Red had to enchant two doves to go to the prince and jog his memory loose.
This is not a form of Snow White (or Snow-White and Rose-Red, either), of course, but related to Rapunzel. It appears to be an older form, still more closely related to the fairy tale types "The girl helps the hero flee" (such as The White Dove) and "the forsaken fiancee" (such as the ending of The Love of Three Oranges). While in "Rapunzel" the heroine is kidnapped young, and in "the girl helps the hero flee", the heroine often is actually the witch/ogress/other villain's child, here it is ambiguous. Compare to the Child Ballad Young Beichan and Prunella.
Not to be confused with Pokemon FireRed.
Tropes included
- Curse: Both ogresses cast them.
- When the prince accidentally breaks the first ogress' pitcher, she curses him to be unable to marry anyone but Snow-White-Fire-Red.
- After the prince rescues Snow-White-Fire-Red from the second ogress, she curses the prince to forget about Snow-White-Fire-Red after his mother kisses him.
- Curse Escape Clause:
- The first ogress curses the prince to be unable to marry until he finds Snow-White-Fire-Red.
- The second ogress curses the prince to forget about Snow-White-Fire-Red after his mother kisses him, the curse is broken after Snow-White-Fire-Red sends doves to remind him.
- Damsel in Distress: Snow-White-Fire-Red is kept trapped by an ogress, but the prince rescues her.
- Distressed Dude: The prince is cursed to forget about Snow-White-Fire-Red, but Snow-White-Fire-Red helps him by sending doves that remind him.
- Evil Tower of Ominousness: Snow-White-Fire-Red is kept trapped in a tall tower by an ogress, but the prince rescues her.
- Geas: The prince is cursed so that he will be unable to marry until he finds the title character. It's not mentioned what will happen if he tries; he just goes looking for her once his parents start talking about him getting married.
- Girl in the Tower: Snow-White-Fire-Red is kept trapped in a tower by an ogress, but the prince rescues her.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Before dying, the ogress casts another curse, so that the prince forgets his bride as soon as his mother kisses him.
- Love at First Sight: Snow-White-Fire-Red runs off very easily with the prince after they just meeting and plan to marry.
- Mage Tower: The ogress has magical abilities and a tower where she keeps Snow-White-Fire-Red.
- No Name Given: Snow-White-Fire-Red is the only one mentioned with a name.
- Polly Wants a Microphone: When the prince is cursed to forget Snow-White-Fire-Red after his mother kisses him, Snow-White-Fire-Red borrows two doves from an old woman that tell the prince to remind him about her.
- Rescue Romance: The prince rescues Snow-White-Fire-Red from an ogress before the ogress curses him to forget about Snow-White-Fire-Red when his mother kisses him, then Snow-White-Fire-Red saves him by sending doves that remind him about her.
- Unnamed Parent: The prince's parents are never mentioned to have any names.