KidLit Forum

I liked very much the description of the mug The mug was a very odd mug to look at. The handle was formed of two wreaths of flowing golden hair, so finely spun that it looked more like silk than metal, and these wreaths descended into and mixed with a beard and whiskers of the same exquisite workmanship, which surrounded and decorated a very fierce little face, of the reddest gold imaginable, right in the front of the mug, with a pair of eyes in it which seemed to command its whole circumference and the description of the dwarf He was dressed in a slashed doublet of spun gold, so fine in its texture that the prismatic colors gleamed over it as if on a surface of mother-of-pearl; and over this brilliant doublet his hair and beard fell full halfway to the ground in waving curls, so exquisitely delicate that Gluck could hardly tell where they ended; they seemed to melt into the air. Not only that he is shaped as a beautiful creature but he is also superior when he talks to Gluck and names him “mortal” Listen! said the little man, deigning no reply to this polite inquiry. I am the king of what you mortals call the Golden River. The shape you saw me in was owing to the malice of a stronger king from whose enchantments you have this instant freed me.

As far as we could see there are numerous aspects that are present in the most fairy tales: the three brothers, the little brother is the best one, he has the greatest heart, there is a spell put on somebody – in this case the king was transformed in a dwarf, in others the king was transformed in a frog -, there is a travelling they have to make and the little brother is the chosen one; he’s the only one who’s able to make this journey in order to be initiated and become the king of the Golden River. In this complex process they had to be honest and have a good heart. Hans is not able to finish the journey because he stole the holy water, he didn’t give water to the dog that appeared in his way, he didn’t help the child in need and he didn’t give water to the old man. I think the water is a powerful symbol because we usually give water to strangers and it should be the one thing that we could not refuse to offer; it is also called the water of life. Unfortunately Schwartz had the same fate as his brother and Gluck was the only one who finished the journey and became the king of the Golden River. The end is a happy one as in many other fairy tales. The unusual thing for a fairy tale is the content that is present at the beginning of the tale. There is also the geographical setting In a secluded and mountainous part of Stiria

"The King of the Golden River" is a story where human weakness is explored (curiosity, pride) throw the facts of two ugly elder brothers Schwartz and Hans, that's the reason why they are turned in the end in stones. Also human strenght is glorified here (generosity, patiance, kindness) throw Gluck's facts.
The story doesn't begin like any other story with some special beginning formulas, instead it has 5 chapters, each of them having a title. I like the plot of the story, how surroundings are presented (the Treasure Valley) how action went on, but i didn't like the protagonists name, to strange for a fairy tale (Schwartz, Hans,Gluck). It's obvious what the author wanted to underline, that a pure soul will win in any situation.