Modes of Travel – part 2

“It rained and snowed terribly; besides, the wind was so high, that it threw him twice off his horse, and night coming on, he began to apprehend being either starved to death with cold and hunger, or else devoured by the wolves, whom he heard howling all round him, when, on a sudden, looking through a long walk of trees, he saw a light at some distance, and going on a little farther perceived it came from a palace illuminated from top to bottom. ”

This is how he father of ‘Beauty’ arrives at the palace of ‘The Beast’ – in Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont’s version of the tale.

Welcome to my second selection of ways of traveling other than ‘on foot’ – for the first three see Modes of Travel – part 1

4. On an animal (other than a horse)
some ‘just’ for getting across a lake, for example a swan (or a duck) in Hänsel & Gretel, or a wolf in the Swedish tale The Princess in the Earth cave.

By Leutemann or Offterdinger, photo by Harke [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Illustration: Brigitte Smith – from “Märchen aus aller Welt – Schweden’ Heyne Verlag

Some animals are not what they seem but a human who has been cast under a spell, as in the Scottish tale The Black Bull of Norroway.

5.  On a boat
as in The Twelve Dancing Princesses or The shoes that were danced to pieces

6.  Travels with a May Bug, anyone?
This classic (and much loved*) German ‘fairytale for children’ tells the story of how Peter and Anneli help Mr. Sumsemann, a May Bug, bring his leg back from the Moon.

The three set off together on a fantastic  journey which includes riding on the ‘Great Bear’.
* Here’s the lovely (and in my view, best) TV-version (German only, I’m sorry!)