Fairy Tale Spotlight: Three Sons

I ran into this one quite often. Three sons of a poor man are sent out to accomplish a great act. This often had to do with appeasing a princess in some way so that they could be married and naturally inherit the kingdom. The task they are given is often a puzzle, riddle, and sometimes even a quest of some sort. The personality of the three brothers, where they sometimes vary, are usually pretty similar between each story.

Son number one has a tendency to be brash. In the puzzle, he will be proven too stupid for it. For a riddle, he will often simply guess without giving it much thought. On a quest, he will take actions that harm innocents or use poor judgement that may cost him his life.

The second son is lazier than the first. In a puzzle, he will spend too much time on it and ultimately give up. He may out rightly get the riddle wrong or pass at the attempt. On a quest, he shall prove the coward. In short, he was not a boy made for greatness.

The emphasis of the story always falls on the third and final son. Son number three is often considered the least likely choice even by his own father. Often, he is called stupid and told that he should not even bother. Nevertheless, he tries. This boy is the meek and thoughtful one. He is curious by nature, and although he may be stupid, he sees the world in his own way. Somehow, that gives him an advantage. In a puzzle, he will cheat in a way that is seen as acceptable by his judges. In a riddle, he will either answer correctly or give a better answer than was expected. On a quest, he shall be more clever than bold.

Needless to say, this boy is a long shot, but he is always the one who wins the contest. This fairy tale trope is positively ancient and even has a counterpart in the Bible. What is it about the small and meek that seem destined to inherit the treasures of the Earth? We always assume that people of great power and influence are the ones who come out on top, but our legends seem to point in another direction.

We don't really live in a world where son number three has inherited the Earth. And what do we get for it? It seems rather corrupt, doesn't it? It seems to me that brash, selfish, and lazy does not do this world any good at all. Why not give kind and meek a whirl? See what happens. After all, our legends and fairy tales seem to think that it's a better idea.

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