The Imp Prince

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The Imp Prince (known as Le Prince Lutin in French) is a French fairy tale writt
en by Marie Catherine d'Aulnoy and published in her book Fairy Tales (Les Contes
des Fees) in 1697.
The word
his case
ormandy,
gives a

used, Lutin, in French can have several translations and meanings, in t

and implies: A lutin was like an imp or hobgoblin in the mythology of N
similar to house-spirits of Germany and Scandinavia. Notably, the story
description of the Lutin:

Synopsis[edit]
The story is about the life of Landre, a handsome prince who was a human but turn
ed into a lutin (imp) after the ruling prince forced his retreat from court into
the countryside.
There was once a king and queen who had a malformed son named Furibon. He was as
large as the largest man and small as smallest dwarf, he had an ugly face, defo
rmed body and mean spirit, but the queen was insane and thought Furibon was the
most beautiful child in the world. Furibon's governor was a rival prince, who ha
d claims to the throne. This governor (a rival prince) brought with him his own
son named prince Landre.
Landre was very well liked in court, the ladies loved him, thought him very hands
ome, and called him the "beautiful indifferent one" (translated). Furibon was ha
ted. Furibon insulted people and reported their secret faults to the King and Qu
een.
One day, ambassadors came from afar and seeing Landre with Furibon together, they
bowed to Landre thinking he was the prince, and thinking Furibon was just a dwar
f. They teased Furibon and laughed at him. After that, when no one was looking,
Furibon angrily took Landre by the hair and tore out three handfuls. Thus Landre's
father sent Landre to live in a castle in the countryside, to be safely far away
from Furibon. In the countryside, Landre was free to hunt, fish, walk, paint, re
ad and play musical instruments. Landre was happy but lonely. While living alone
in the country, Landre almost killed a grass snake, but then brought it home and
gave it a room and brought it milk, flowers and food, out of kindness.
One day Furibon came into the woods with assassins to hunt Landre down and kill h
im. This convinced Landre that he must travel the world and away from the kingdom
.
Before leaving, Landre visited the room of the grass snake and found out that it
had turned into a beautiful jewel-studded fairy named Gentille. She said she too
k the form of a grass snake for 8 days every 100 years and could have been kille
d. Gentille was indebted to Landre for protecting her life when she was a grass s
nake and offered him all sorts of rewards: riches, a long life, a kingdom with h
ouses full of gold, the life of an excellent orator, poet, musician, or painter.
Finally she suggested he become an "air, water and terrestrial lutin." Gentille
described the benefits of being a lutin (imp): "You are invisible when you like
it; you cross in one moment the vast space of the universe; you rise without ha
ving wings; you go through the ground without dying; you penetrate the abysses o
f the sea without drowning; you enter everywhere, though the windows and the doo
rs are closed; and, when you decide to, you can let yourself be seen in your nat
ural form."
Landre agreed to be a lutin (imp). So Gentille said "Be Imp" and passed her hands

three times over his eyes and face. Then she gave him a small red hat, trimmed
with two parrot feathers, that would make him invisible when he wore it.
As an imp, Landre began to travel. First Landre took revenge on Foribon and the qu
een, by sneaking invisible into their palace where he nailed Foribond's ear to a
door, beat them a 1000 times with a rod used on the king's dogs, and tore up al
l the fruit and flowers in the queen's garden.
Landre then traveled far away. In one kingdom, he fell in love with a maid of hon
or named Blondine, but learned by putting a magic pink rose on her throat, that
she was in love with a hateful musician, so left her kingdom and was sad a long
time.
In three separate adventures, Landre came to the invisible aid of young maidens b
y cursing and battling with people that were going to harm them: He saved the fi
rst maiden from being married to an old man, another from being sacrificed in a
temple by her family, and the third a young girl named Abricotine (which transla
tes to "Apricot-plum"), who he found enslaved in the forest by four robbers.
After rescuing Abricotine, Landre learned she was a fairy who lived on a secluded
island that was only for females. An old fairy mother had created this island a
nd retreated from the world because she had been hurt in a love affair and so dr
ove out all the male guards and the officers and replaced them with women from t
he Amazon race instead. She named this place the Island of Quiet Pleasures. Abri
contine served the daughter princess who had inherited the Island. Landre asked t
o see the island, but Abricotine could not allow a man inside. So he went invisi
bly by himself and saw a palace made of pure gold; crystal figures and precious
stones, and all the wonders of nature, sciences and arts, the elements, the sea a
nd fish, the ground and the animals, hunting of Diane with her nymphs, (and) the
noble exercises of the Amazons."
The fairy princess had lived here in seclusion for 600 years, but looked like a
young girl of incomparable beauty to him. Landre pretended to be the voice of the
parrots in her house, and told her about a man had saved Abricotine's life, and
tried to convince her to give this man (himself) a chance to meet her. The prin
cess appeared interested but suspicious. He stayed invisible a long time in her
palace, and listened to her conversations, ate invisibly beside her at her table
every night, spoke as the parrot sometimes, and slowly convinced her that she m
ight be able to trust a man. He brought her monkeys and fine clothes from around
the world when she mentioned them. The fairy princess could not decide if the i
nvisible presence was good or evil. One day Landre painted and put a portrait of
himself out. She liked it very much, but was afraid it was done by a demon. Landr
e finally wrote her a love note:
Landre, intending to speak, wrote these words on its shelves and threw them to th
e feet of the princess:
"No I am not demon nor fairy,
I am an unhappy lover
Who does not dare to appear in your eyes:
Feel sorry for my destiny at least
THE PRINCE LUTIN."
At the same time, Furibon wanted the same princess, and planned to attack the Is
land of Quiet Pleasures with an army 1400 men in order to break in and take her.
Landre dressed himself as an Amazon woman in disguise, and went out to buy off F
uribon, giving Furibon rooms full of gold if he left without attacking the islan
d. Furibon planned to take the gold, then kill the Amazon and attack the palace
anyway but Landre put on his hat, and then killed and beheaded Furibon. Furibon's
army was so happy that the evil Furibon had been killed. Landre became their new
and rightful king, and he spread all the gold among them. Landre took Furibon's
head into the palace to show the fairies they were safe.

Much tired, Landre went back into the palace and fell asleep as if dead, not wear
ing his invisibility hat. The princess saw him sleeping, and most of her fears w
ere resolved. Her mother the "old hag" (as translated) who had secluded the isla
nd for 600 years was angry with his appearance and against their marriage. Landre
's friend Gentille came to his aid and convinced the old fairy to trust Landre. T
he marriage festivals were very joyful.
Context[edit]
The story notably gives a good description of a Lutin (imp), and mentions three
types: air, water and terrestrial lutin. The lutin has no notable physical obsta
cles.
The storyteller would have known of legends of the Amazons as an ancient nation
of female warriors, in this story protecting an all-female society. The mention
of Diana on her hunt alludes to the mythology of the Ancient Roman Goddess Diana
, huntress goddess, associated with wild animals and woodlands. In this story sh
e lives with the women on the independent island, they pursue art and science.
The period of 600 years of seclusion may have significance as a period in histor
y.