Ricky of the Tuft (Perrault)
Short summary
A fairy tale kingdom. A queen gave birth to an ugly son with a tuft of hair. A fairy granted him great intelligence and the power to bestow wit on his beloved.
Years later, a neighboring queen had twin daughters. The elder was beautiful but stupid; the younger was ugly but clever.
Ricky met the beautiful princess in a forest. He offered to give her intelligence if she promised to marry him in a year. She agreed and instantly became witty. A year later, she hesitated to marry him due to his ugliness. Ricky revealed she could make him handsome if she loved him. The princess declared:
I wish with all my heart that you may become the handsomest and most attractive prince in the world, and I give you without reserve the boon which it is mine to bestow.
Ricky transformed into a handsome prince. They married the next day.
Detailed summary
The title has been normalized from "PICKY" to "Ricky" to match the story content. Subtitles are editorial.
Ricky of the Tuft: The tale of beauty, intelligence, and true love
A queen bore a son so ugly and misshapen that it was doubtful whether he would have human form at all. A fairy present at his birth promised he would have plenty of brains and the ability to bestow intelligence upon the person he loved most. The child proved remarkably clever despite his appearance, and because he was born with a tuft of hair, he was called Ricky of the Tuft.
Seven or eight years later, a neighboring queen gave birth to twin daughters. The first was extraordinarily beautiful, causing the queen great joy. The same fairy attended this birth and declared that the beautiful princess would have no sense at all and be as stupid as she was beautiful. The second daughter proved extremely ugly, but the fairy promised she would have so much good sense that her lack of beauty would scarcely be noticed.
The fairy also granted the beautiful princess the power to make beautiful anyone who greatly pleased her. As the princesses grew up, their perfections and defects both increased. The beautiful princess became more stupid and awkward, while the ugly sister grew more intelligent and charming. In company, people initially gathered around the beauty but soon clustered around her clever sister, leaving the elder princess alone.
One day, the beautiful princess retired to a wood to bemoan her misfortune when she encountered Ricky of the Tuft, who had fallen in love with her portrait and left his kingdom to meet her. Finding her melancholy, he complimented her beauty, but she replied:
I would rather be as plain as you are and have some sense, than be as beautiful as I am and at the same time stupid.
Ricky offered to bestow upon her as much intelligence as possible, as he had the power to grant this gift to the woman he loved most. The only condition was that she must consent to marry him. The princess, having so little sense but desiring it ardently, accepted his proposal for marriage within one year.
The princess had so little sense, and at the same time desired it so ardently, that she persuaded herself the end of this year would never come.
Immediately after giving her word, the princess felt a complete transformation. She could express herself elegantly and naturally, engaging Ricky in brilliant conversation. Upon returning to the palace, everyone marveled at the sudden change. The court was overjoyed, though the younger sister was displeased at losing her advantage. The king often sought the elder princess's advice, and many princes sought her hand in marriage, but she found none with sufficient sense.
Eventually, a powerful, rich, witty, and handsome prince attracted her attention. Her father told her she could choose her own husband. To ponder her decision, she walked in the same wood where she had met Ricky. There she heard sounds beneath her feet and discovered an underground kitchen where cooks prepared for Prince Ricky's wedding the next day. She suddenly remembered her promise, made exactly one year ago.
Ricky appeared before her, gallant and resplendent, ready to claim her hand. The princess frankly admitted she had not yet decided and feared she never could take the decision he desired. She argued that possessing intelligence made her even more difficult to please than before. Ricky countered that if she liked everything about him except his ugliness, happiness could still be theirs, for she had the power to make him the most attractive of men.
The fairy had granted her the power to bestow beauty upon the man she loved. The princess wished with all her heart that Ricky become the handsomest prince in the world, and immediately he appeared transformed before her eyes.
Some people assert that this was not the work of fairy enchantment, but that love alone brought about the transformation.
The princess promised to marry him immediately, provided he obtained her father's consent. The king, knowing Ricky to be wise and witty, gladly accepted him as a son-in-law. The wedding took place the next day, exactly as Ricky had foreseen.
Moral: The power of love to transform perception
What we love is always fair,
Clever, deft, and debonair.
'Tis some quality that lies
All unseen to other eyes—
Something in the heart or mind
Love alone knows how to find.