History Literature / TheTaleOfTsarSaltan

The tale is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 707, "The Three Golden Children".

See also ''Literature/TheDancingWaterTheSingingAppleAndTheSpeakingBird'', another tale of the same type, but with a different narrative that is registed in East Slavic tale indexes from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

See also ''Literature/TheDancingWaterTheSingingAppleAndTheSpeakingBird'', another tale of the same type, but with a different narrative.

* LongTitle: The full title for the tale is ''The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son, the Glorious and Mighty Knight Prince Gvidon Saltanovich, and of the Fair Swan-Princess''.

* YoungestChildWins: The youngest sister makes the grandest promise (to bear a heroic son to the Tsar) and so gets to marry the tsar and sees her son become the ruler of a magical city.

* LongTitle: The full title for the tale is ''The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son, the Glorious and Mighty Knight Prince Gvidon Saltonovich, and of the Fair Swan-Princess''.

* LongTitle: The full title for the tale is ''The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son, the Glorious and Mighty Knight Prince Guidon Saltonovich, and of the Fair Swan-Princess''.

The tale has had two major screen adaptations (a live-action film and a cartoon) and was also adapted to the stage as Nickolai Rimsky-Korsakov's [[Theatre/TheTaleOfTsarSaltan opera of the same name]].

Tsar Saltan chooses the third sister as his wife, and promotes his sisters-in-law to royal cook and royal weaver, respectively. Spurred by envy of their cadette, the jealous sisters conspire to dethrone the queen: while Tsar Saltan is away at war, the Tsaritsa gives birth to Prince Gvidon, and writes a letter to tell her husband the good news, but a series of forged missives causes the Tsaritsa and her son to be condenmed to be cast in the sea in a barrel.

'''The Tale of Tsar Saltan''' is a versified [[Main/{{FairyTale}} fairy tale]] by Russian poet [[Creator/{{AlexanderPushkin}} Alexander Pushkin]].

!!Tropes:

* ExactEavesdropping: Tsar Saltan overhears the sisters' conversation and their boasts, which is why he chooses the third sister as his wife.

* LongTitle: Another title for the tale is ''The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son, the Glorious and Mighty Knight Prince Guidon Saltonovich, and of the Fair Swan-Princess''.

* MosquitoMiscreants: Gvidon first turns into a mosquito and flies to Tsar Saltan's court. There, he stings one of his aunts in the nose.
* RagsToRoyalty: The tsaritsa rises from impoverished to rich.

* YoungestChildWins: The youngest sister makes the grandest promise (to bear a heroic son to the Tsar) and so wins the tsar in marriage.

* Main/Animorphism:

Tsar Saltan chooses the third sister as his wife, and promotes his sisters-in-law to royal cook and royal weaver, respectively. Spurred by envy of their cadette, the jealous sisters conspire to dethrone the queen: while Tsar Saltan is away at war, the Tsaritsa gives birth to Prince Gvidon, and writes a letter to tell her husband the good news, but a series of forged missives causes the Tsaritsa and her son to condenmed to be cast in the sea in a barrel.

Tsar Saltan chooses the third sister as his wife, and promotes his sisters-in-law to royal cook and royal weaver, respectively.

* CosmicMotifs: The third sight, described by Gvidon's maternal grandmother, is a beautiful princess with a moon in her braids and a star on her brow. The swan's human form is exactly that.

On a cold, wintry night, Tsar Saltan, in his wanderings through his kingdom, spies on an illumnited house that belongs to three sisters, and eavesdrops on their conversation. They talk to each other what they would do if they were the tsaritsa: the elder one promises to make a banquet for the whole world; the middle one to weave clothes for the whole world, and the youngest to bear a son to Tsar Saltan.

* Animorphism:
** Prince Gvidon rescues a swan from a giant kite. The swan then changes shape into a human named Princess Swan.

* CosmicMoifs:

* Animorphism: Prince Gvidon rescues a swan from a giant kite. The swan then changes shape into a human named Princess Swan.

* LongTItle: Another title for the tale is ''The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son, the Glorious and Mighty Knight Prince Guidon Saltonovich, and of the Fair Swan-Princess''.

* Animorphism: Prince Gvidon rescues a swan from a giant eagle. The swan then changes shape into a human named Princess Swan.

'''The Tale of Tsar Saltan''' is a versified [[Main/FairyTale]] by Russian poet [[Creator/{{AlexanderPushkin}} Alexander Pushkin]].

'''The Tale of Tsar Saltan''' is a versified [[FairyTale]] by Russian poet [[Creator/AlexanderPushkin]].

* YoungestChildWins: The youngest sister makes the grandest promise (to bear a heroic son to the Tsar) and so wins the king in marriage.