The Wishing Skin

Does it still feel like you have immense power when your crown is bigger than you are?

This week's folk tales comes to us from Hungary, and it's called The Wishing Skin. It's got everything from talking rabbits to royalty, and it focuses on a woodcutter who rises to immense power and prestige.

One of my main problems with this story is the scope of the woodcutter's wishes. It's understandable that he would want all of the luxury and riches that he never had, but I don't understand why it takes him so long to wish he were taller. All he has to do is wish that the wishing skin wouldn't change his height and then he could have as many wishes as he liked. That would break the story, so it makes sense that he doesn't do it, but it still bothers me.

Let's take a moment to look at his wife, Joan. At first, she stops her husband from wishing for more. When they first become a lord and lady, Joan interrupts her husband mid-wish. He's only three feet tall and she is satisfied with what they have and doesn't want to sacrifice his height for even more. However, after she sees that they only have about as much as their neighbors do, suddenly she values power over her husband's size and convinces him to wish for more. She allows herself to be taken over by the ability to get whatever she wants with no direct consequences. After the first time, she doesn't seem to mind too much that her husband is a midget and, eventually, doll-sized.

I also find it interesting that the woodcutter decides to make these further wishes, even though he has to bear the consequences. It seems to be worth more to him to have peace in his household than to have his usual height. We can tell who truly has the power in this relationship. That is especially obvious when the woodcutter lives in a doll house in the garden and has no say in how their kingdom is run. Sometimes I have to wonder about men being afraid of having women in power, but this is unfairness sent far to the other side of the spectrum. In any event, the woodcutter finally wishes to have everything back that he had before and that's where we leave him. With the experiences they just had, I have to wonder if they were able to go back to the way things were before, or if something has changed in their relationship.

I suppose the moral of this story is either, "Don't follow the advice of your wife if she's greedy for power," or "Be satisfied with what you've worked for and not what you have handed to you through magic."

Know a folktale you'd like me to write about? Comment below!