Note 80. The Witch and the Grain of Peas.

80. The Witch and the Grain of Peas.

There are two parts to this story. (1) The witch step-mother discovers that the girl has eaten food in her house and threatens to drown her. (2) The lover comes to rescue her and fights the step-mother.

(1) Compare Jacottet, 166-175, and Lewis, 253-255.

(2) For the fight, compare numbers 69, 79, 88, 89, 90. For the fight with eggs see number 79 and compare Fortier, 11-13. Eggs are used as propitiatory offerings to a water monster, as in Dayrell, 130, and are among the most useful objects employed for conjuring. In Zeltner, 1-6, eggs are used for magical purposes in the fight with a witch, but arrows serve as the actual weapons.