The White Doe

by Andrew Lang

Genre: Folktale
Setting:
Format of Original Source: Short Story
Recommended Adaptation Length:

Candidate for Adaptation? Not Likely

EXCERPT:

Weak as he was from his long illness, the prince descended the staircase, supported by the ministers, and entered the room just in time to hear his father’s loud cry of astonishment and disgust at the sight of Cerisette. “There has been treachery at work,” he exclaimed, while the prince leant, dumb with horror, against the doorpost.

COMMENTS:

When a cursed young princess defies an angry fairy, she is destined to spend her days as a white doe and her nights as a human being. This creates a problem when a prince comes looking for a future bride, and falls in love with the white doe. “The White Doe” might be adapted as a childrenʼs musical, but it has elements that are too reminiscent of other popular stories. The cursed princess and her friendly fairies were used in Disneyʼs “Sleeping Beauty”, and the princess who is one creature by day and another by night is like Fiona in “Shrek”. I donʼt know how one would solve the physical transformation of the princess into a white doe. The moral isnʼt very clear, either. Why does the princess want to marry a spoiled prince who tries to kill her with a bow and arrow? [RC]

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