The story known in Icelandic as “Bóndadæturnar” and in English as “The Farmer’s Daughters” occupies a distinctive place in Icelandic folklore. First collected by Jón Árnason in 1864, this fairy tale has captivated generations with its themes of jealousy, adventure and the triumph of truth. The tale is a local adaptation of a much-travelled motif, connecting Icelandic tradition to a broader international web of similar stories.
Family, fate and deception
The plot opens with a wealthy farmer and his three adult daughters. Their quiet rural life changes when they spot the king riding past, accompanied by the cobbler and the royal scribe. Each daughter voices her wish: the oldest would marry the cobbler, the middle sister the scribe and the youngest aspires to wed the king himself. The king overhears, grants their wishes and the sisters’ destinies diverge along these lines.
As in many old stories, fortune and misfortune are deeply entwined. The king’s marriage to the youngest sister sparks envy in her siblings. When the new queen gives birth to her first son, the elder sisters conspire to remove the child, replacing him with a puppy and abandoning him outside the city. The displaced infant is taken in by a poor man, a fate repeated for the queen’s second son and third child, a daughter. The queen, accused of unnatural births, is locked away in a house with a lion, yet survives.
The journey to reveal the truth
Years later, the lost children, now grown, learn from an old visitor of a mysterious bird that can communicate with people, but which is difficult to reach. The eldest brother attempts to find the bird, leaving a knife as a sign of his fate, and disappears. His siblings, Vilhjámur and Sigurður, follow in turn, both meeting the same unknown fate. Their sister, who remains unnamed in the story, is finally able to reach the bird atop a dangerous rock, enduring supernatural voices and ignoring threats until she succeeds.
With the magical bird in her possession, she revives her brothers and others who were turned to stone for their failures. The bird reveals the children’s origins and leads them to confront their past. With the help of a prince, one of the revived, who falls in love with the sister, the siblings rescue their mother, restore her dignity at the king’s palace, and expose the wrongdoing of their aunts. The king acts to correct past wrongs, restores his wife to the throne, and arranges marriages for the siblings.
Scholars have long recognised “The Farmer’s Three Daughters” as Iceland’s version of a widespread folk tale. Known internationally as ATU 707, “The Three Golden Children,” this story shares motifs with tales collected in Germany, France, and the Middle East, though the Icelandic version stands out for its setting and local details. Compared by scholars to stories from the Brothers Grimm and The Arabian Nights, the Icelandic version’s journey from oral tradition to publication reflects how folk tales both travel across cultures and adapt to the landscapes of their telling.
