Original Fairy Tales

The Unicorn [El Oricuerno]

A folktale collected by Aurelio Espinosa in 1947 from an unidentified informant in the town of Cuenca, in central Spain. Translated by Donna M. Lanclos in: A Case Study in Folktale Analysis: AT 514, "The Shift of Sex," in Hispanic Societies. The Abbot of Druimenaig: Genderbending in Gaelic Tradition          Pacific Coast Philology, Vol. 31, No. 1 (1996), pp. 68-87.

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Once upon a time there was a young maiden who had a sweetheart. And in the town where she lived there was another boy who was in love with her, and he always was walking around her, pursuing her. And one time when she was talking with her sweetheart at the window of her house, the other one approached and killed her sweetheart. And, as she knew well who the assassin was, she left one night to seek her revenge. And on coming to a streetcomer, she met him and shot him with a blunderbuss. But instead of killing only him, she killed both him and his companion.

And seeing that she could not escape the law, she left that same night from her house. And walking, walking in the woods, she arrived at a cabin of shepherds, and she told them what had happened to her, and asked them if they would do her the favor of giving her shepherd's clothes, so that she would not be recognized. And she dressed herself as a man, and cut her hair, and went out into the world.

And she arrived at a town, and put herself into service at a house of commerce. And she said that her name was Carlos. And the daughter of the house fell in love with Carlos, and she told her father that she wanted to marry "him." And her father said, "But, daughter, it is he who must declare his love for you. Women never speak first."

But she was so insistent that her father went and told Carlos that his daughter was in love with "him," and that she wanted to marry "him." And the poor girl [Carlos] didn't know what to do. But there was no other solution but to get married.

And so they went to bed. And the man is always supposed to get in bed first. But Carlos did not get in bed, and finally the girl got in bed first. And Carlos did not want to get in bed. Then the girl, tired of waiting, said, "Carlos, aren't you coming to bed?"

So Carlos went to bed. And "he" approached the bed very sadly, without saying a word. And the girl said to "him," "What's wrong, Carlos? Why are you sad? Aren't you happy?"

And so Carlos told her the truth, and told her that she was not a man, but a woman. And the girl told her, "Well, look, don't worry about it; we won't say anything and we'll carry on as if you were a man." And they lived this way for many years. But, as they did not have a family, all started to suspect that Carlos was a woman. And all started to say that Carlos was a woman. And the father [of the girl] said, "We will have a banquet, and put high chairs and low chairs, for if Carlos is a woman, 'he' will sit in a low chair."

And they went to the banquet. And Carlos went and sat on the highest chair that there was. In this way, no one found out anything.

So the father said, "Now we will go on a hunt, and afterwards to the baths at the river, for if Carlos is a woman, 'he' will not want to bathe." And they all went on the hunt, and then they went to eat. And after eating the father said to the horsemen, "Now to the baths, to bathe ourselves in the river."

And then Carlos said, "Wait for me a bit, I have to go do my business [relieve 'him'self]."

In this way "he" left alone, very sad, and sat on a stone, when "he" saw a creature with very large antlers. And the creature approached and told "him" to take off "his" clothes. And "he" took off his clothes, and the creature, which was the oricuerno, made the sign of the cross over "his" groin, and in a moment the maiden became a man. And the oricuerno disappeared, and Carlos went back to the river where the men were, and took off his clothes, and went to bathe, and all saw that he was a man.

In this way all saw that he was not a woman. And all went back to the house. And when they saw that Carlos came too, the servant entered and told the girl, "Do you know, mistress, that Carlos is coming, too?"

And she, as she knew that now all would know that Carlos was not a man, had already said goodbye [to "him"] for all eternity, was very surprised, and said to the servant, "But, how is it possible? Do you know what you are saying?"

And she went to the balcony and saw them coming. And then Carlos arrived, and he told her what had happened.