The following tales are similar to the Swan Maidens fairy tale, AT-400*: The Swan Maiden and AT-400: The Quest for a Lost Bride. I have included the English language tales of this type which have been gathered by title by D. L. Ashliman in his A Guide to Folktales in the English Language. Sometimes I include tales of other classifications when I deem them relevant to the theme. The tales come from many cultures and are similar to the Swan Maidens story in various ways. I have placed the tales in alphabetical order with bibliographic information and links to texts of the stories if a text is available on the internet.
Tales of AT-400*: The Swan Maiden
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is an Arabian tale.
This tale is AT-400*.
An English language version is available in:
Mathers, Powys, translator. The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night. From the French translation by Dr. J. C. Mardrus. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, Ltd., 1964.
A web version of this tale is at Bird-Maidens.
This tale is AT-400*.
An English language version is available in:
Clouston, William Alexander. Popular Tales and Fictions. Christine Goldberg, ed. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover.
A web version of this tale is available on D. L. Ashliman's site at The Feathery Robe.
This is a Japanese tale.
This tale is AT-400*.
An English language version is available in:
Brauns, David. Japanische Märchen und Sagen. Leipzig: Verlag von Wilhelm Friedrich, 1885. pp. 349-350.
A web version of this tale is at The Golden Apple Tree and the Nine Peahens.
This is a Serbian tale.
This tale is AT-400*.
An English language version is available in:
Mijatovies, Csedomille. Serbian Folk-Lore. London: W. Isbister and Company, 1874. pp. 43-58.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a Welsh tale.
This tale is AT-400*.
An English language version is available in:
Bodker, Laurits; Hole, Christina; and D'Aronoco, G., eds. European Folk Tales. European Folklore Series, vol. 1. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde and Bagger, 1963.
A web version of this tale is at The Peacock Maiden.
This is a Chinese tale.
This tale is AT-400*.
An English language version is available in:
Folk Tales from China, third series. Peking: Foreign Language Press, 1958. pp. 16-46.
A web version of this tale is at Prince Bairâm and the Fairy Bride.
This is a tale from Pakistan.
This tale is AT-400*.
An English language version is available in:
Swynnerton, Charles. Indian Nights' Entertainment; or, Folk-Tales from the Upper Indus. London: Elliot Stock, 1892. no. 82, pp. 342-347.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is an Icelandic tale.
This tale is AT-400*.
An English language version is available in:
Cole, Joanna, ed. Best-Loved Folktales of the World. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1982.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a Turkish tale.
This tale is AT-400*.
An English language version is available in:
Walker, Warren S. and Uysal, Ahmet E., eds. Tales Alive in Turkey. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1966.
A web version of this tale is at The Story of the Swan Maiden and the King.
This is a Romanian tale.
This tale is AT-400*.
An English language version is available in:
Gaster, M. Rumanian Bird and Beast Stories. London: Folk-Lore Society, 1915. no. 83, pp. 249-254.
A web version of this tale is at The Story of the Swan Maiden and the King.
This is a Romanian tale.
This tale is AT-400*.
An English language version is available in:
Gaster, M. Rumanian Bird and Beast Stories. London: Folk-Lore Society, 1915. no. 83, pp. 249-254.
A web version of this tale is at The Swan Maiden (Pyle).
This tale is AT-400*.
An English language version is available in:
Pyle, Howard. The Wonder Clock; or, four and twenty marvellous Tales, being one for each hour of the day. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1887, 1915.
A web version of this tale is at The Swan Maiden (Sweden).
This is a Swedish tale.
This tale is AT-400*.
An English language version is available in:
Hofberg, Herman. Swedish Fairy Tales. W. H. Myers, translator. Chicago: W. B. Conkey Company, 1893. pp. 35-38.
Boose, Claire, ed. Scandinavian Folk and Fairy Tales: Tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland. New York: Avenel Books: 1984.
A web version of this tale is available on D. L. Ashliman's site at The Three Swans.
This is a German tale.
This tale is AT-400*.
An English language version is available in:
Ernst Meier, Deutsche Volksmärchen aus Schwaben.Stuttgart: C. P. Scheitlin's Verlagshandlung, 1852. no. 7. pp. 39-42. Translated by D. L. Ashliman.
Tales of AT-400: The Quest for a Lost Bride and other tale types
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Lindell, Kristina, and Jan-Ojvind Swahn and Damrong Tayanin, eds. Folk Tales from Kammu II: A Story-Teller's Tales, London and Malmo: Curson Press, 1980.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is an Armenian tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Villa, Susie Hoogasian. 100 Armenian Tales. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1966.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is an Italian tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Calvino, Italo. Italian Folktales. George Martin, translator. New York: Pantheon Books, 1980.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.
A web version of this tale is at The Drummer.
This is a German tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm. Household Tales. Margaret Hunt, translator. London: George Bell, 1884, 1892. 2 volumes.
Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm. The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. Jack Zipes, translator. New York: Bantam, 1987.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is an Italian tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Calvino, Italo. Italian Folktales. George Martin, translator. New York: Pantheon Books, 1980.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a Hungarian tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Degh, Linda, ed. Folktales of Hungary. Judit Halasz, translator. Folktales of the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a British tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Briggs, Katherine M., ed. A Dictionary of British Folk-Tales in the English Language. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1970, 1971. pt. A. v. 1. p. 298.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback (Part A).
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a Hungarian tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Degh, Linda, ed. Folktales of Hungary. Judit Halasz, translator. Folktales of the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965.
A web version of this tale is at Herman Perk and the Seal.
This is a tale from the Shetland Islands.
This tale is not AT-400, but contains the element of keeping a wife by capturing an article of her clothing.
An English language version is available in:
Nicolson, John. Some Folk-Tales and Legends of Shetland. Edinburgh: Thomas Allan and Sons, 1920. pp. 62-63.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is an Arabian tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Bushnaq, Inea, ed. and trans. Arab Folktales. New York: Pantheon Books, 1986.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a French tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Massignon, Genevieve, ed. Folktales of France. Jacqueline Hyland, translator. Folktales of the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a tale from Chile.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Pino-Saaverdra, Yolando, ed. Folktales of Chile. Rockwell Gray, ed. Folktales of the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a tale from Denmark.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Cole, Joanna, ed. Best-Loved Folktales of the World. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1982.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.
Thompson, Stith, ed. One Hundred Favorite Folktales. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1974.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Afanasyev, Aleksandr. Russian Fairy Tales. Norbert Guterman, translator. New York: Pantheon Books, 1945.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.
You can read several Melusina tales on D. L. Ashliman's site at Melusina.
These tales are similar to AT-400.
A web version of this tale is at The Mermaid Wife.
This tale is from the Shetland Islands.
This tale is Christiansen type 4080, similar to AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Douglas, George. Scottish Fairy and Folk Tales. London: Walter Scott Publishing Co., 1901. pp. 153-155.
A web version of this tale is at The Monkey Boy.
This is a tale from India.
This tale is not AT-400, but contains the element of keeping a wife by capturing an article of her clothing.
An English language version is available in:
Bompas, Cecil Henry. Folklore of the Santal Parganas. London: David Nutt, 1909. no. 15, pp. 56-60.
A web version of this tale is at The Monkey Husband.
This is a tale from India.
This tale is not AT-400, but contains the element of keeping a wife by capturing an article of her clothing.
An English language version is available in:
Bompas, Cecil Henry. Folklore of the Santal Parganas. London: David Nutt, 1909. no. 70, pp. 212-214.
A web version of this tale is at The Nine Pea-Hens and the Golden Apples. Compare to The Golden Apple Tree and the Nine Peahens.
This is a Serbian tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Lang, Andrew, ed. The Violet Fairy Book. New York: Dover, 1966. (Original published 1901.)
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a German tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm. Grimm's Other Tales. William Hansen, selector. Ruth Michael-Jenas and Arthur Ratcliff, translators. London: Golden Cockerel Press, 1956.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a British tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Briggs, Katherine M., ed. A Dictionary of British Folk-Tales in the English Language. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1970, 1971. p. 448.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback (Part A).
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is an Icelandic tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Simpson, Jacqueline, ed. Icelandic Folktales and Legends. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is an Icelandic tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Simpson, Jacqueline, ed. Icelandic Folktales and Legends. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972.
A text for this story is not available on the web due to copyright restrictions.
This tale is AT-709.
An English language version is available in:
Schwartz, Howard. Miriam's Tambourine: Jewish Folktales from Around the World. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. pp. 67-78
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a tale from the Philippines.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Dorson, Richard M., ed. Folktales Told Around the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.
A web version of this tale is at The Silkie Wife.
This is a tale from the Shetland and Orkney Islands.
This tale is Christiansen type 4080, similar to AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Kennedy, Patrick. Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts. London: Macmillan and Company, 1866. pp.122-124.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a tale from the Ozarks, USA.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Randolph, Vance. The Devil's Pretty Daughter and Other Ozark Folk Tales. New York: Columbia University Press, 1955.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a southern USA tale, specifically eastern Kentucky.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Campbell, Marie. Tales from the Cloud Walking Country. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1958. (Reprint available from Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1976.)
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a Greek tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Dawkins, R. M., ed. and trans. Modern Greek Folktales. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1953.
A web version of this tale is at Soria Moria Castle.
This is a Norwegian tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Asbjornsen, Peter Christen and Moe, Jorgen. Norwegian Folk Tales. Pat Shaw Iverson and Carl Norman, translators. New York: Pantheon Books, 1960.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.
Asbjornsen, Peter Christen and Moe, Jorgen. East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon. George Webbe Dasent. New York: Dover, 1970. (This is a reprint of all the Asbjornsen and Moe stories in Popular Tales from the Norse. Edinburgh: David Douglass, 1888.)
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions. Compare it to The Three Princesses of Whiteland below.
This is a Norwegian tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Christiansen, Reidar, ed. Folktales of Norway. Pat Shaw Iversen, translator. Folktales of the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1964.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.
A web version of this tale is at The Three Princesses of Whiteland.
This is a Norwegian tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Asbjornsen, Peter Christen and Moe, Jorgen. East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon. George Webbe Dasent. New York: Dover, 1970. (This is a reprint of all the Asbjornsen and Moe stories in Popular Tales from the Norse. Edinburgh: David Douglass, 1888.)
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.
Thompson, Stith, ed. One Hundred Favorite Folktales. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1974.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is an Italian American tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Mathias, Elizabeth and Richard Raspa. Italian Folktales in America. Wayne State University Folklore Archive Study Series. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1985.
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a British tale. Briggs presents two versions. One in Part A, volume 1, p.574 and one in Part B, volume 1, p. 405.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Briggs, Katherine M., ed. A Dictionary of British Folk-Tales in the English Language. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1970, 1971.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback (Part A).
A web version of this tale does not exist due to copyright restrictions.
This is a Japanese tale.
This tale is AT-400.
An English language version is available in:
Seki, Keigo. Folktales of Japan. Robert J. Adams, translator. Folktales of the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963.
