| The Twelve Dancing Princesses | |
|---|---|
 1920 illustration by Elenore Abbott | |
| Folk tale | |
| Name | The Twelve Dancing Princesses |
| Aarne–Thompson grouping | ATU 306 |
| Country | Germany |
| Region | Münster |
| Published in | Kinder- und Hausmärchen |
| Related | Kate Crackernuts |
"The Twelve Dancing Princesses" (or "The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes" or "The Shoes that were Danced to Pieces") (German: Die zertanzten Schuhe) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in Grimm's Fairy Tales in 1815 (KHM 133).[1] It is of Aarne-Thompson type 306.[1]
Charles Deulin collected another, French version in his Contes du Roi Cambrinus (1874), which he credited to the Grimm version.[2] Alexander Afanasyev collected two Russian variants, entitled "The Night Dances", in his Narodnye russkie skazki.[3]
Its closest analogue is the Scottish Kate Crackernuts, where it is a prince who is obliged to dance every night.[citation needed]
- ^ a b Ashliman, D. L. (2004). "The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces". University of Pittsburgh.
- ^ Charles Deulin, Contes du Roi Cambrinus (1874)
- ^ Afanasyev, Alexander Nikolaevich. "The Midnight Dance". Russian Folk-Tales.