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Majorcan Tales & The Oral Tradition
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Oral Tradition
 Explore Majorca
 Majorcan Tales
 The Princess With The Golden Hair
 Questions for Review
 Bibliography

What is an Oral Tradition?
An Oral Tradition is a story or group of stories
passed down orally from one generation to the next
in a civilization without a system of writing, in order
to pass on cultural information that would
otherwise be lost.
Key Points:
The repetition of certain words and phrases
gives the audience clues about what to
expect in the story, and also help the
storyteller remember the story.
More than just entertainment, oral traditions
can preserve important cultural values,
traditions, or even laws.
Majorca: The Place
“Majorca is the central
and largest of the
Balearic Islands off of the
east coast of Spain. A
mountain range along the
northwest side protects
is from harsh
Mediterranean winds,
thus giving Majorca a
warm temperate climate
all year round, ideal for
agriculture.”
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Pictures
of
Majorca
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Info!
Quick Facts
Size: Approximately 1400 square miles.
 Population: 638,874
 Languages Spoken: Mallorquin, Spanish, English,
and French.
 Economy: Tourism is the main revenue for the
island of Majorca. Agriculture comes second.
The island produces almonds, oranges and
lemons. Melons and potatoes are also grown
here as well as many vegetables, olives and
excellent cheeses.

The Princess With The Golden Hair
Long before snow fell on the Rock, there lived a little boy called Jordi.
When he was thirteen years old a group of bandits attacked his home and
kidnapped Jordi and took him with them to their cave. The bandits put a
heavy chain around his ankles and forced him to cook for them and guard
the cave. They gave him only scraps of food to eat and they whipped him
and laughed at him when he couldn’t do the work fast enough.
And so several years passed, and Jordi managed to keep alive.
The Princess With The Golden Hair
One day the king was out on a hunt. Two of his
hunters stumbled on the hidden cave and the thieves ran into
the forest leaving Jordi behind. As the hunters neared him, they
said, “Young man, what are you doing here?”
“I am the slave of a group of bandits who live in this
cave,” answered Jordi. “The kidnapped me from my home and I
have been forced to serve them ever since.”
At that moment the king rode up and saw the thin
young man in chains. The king asked him, “Do you want to
come with us? I am the king and these are my hunters.”
“Yes, I would like to come with you,” said Jordi.
When they arrived at the palace, Jordi washed and ate
a big meal. The king saw how fine a boy Jordi was, and he said,
“Do you want to become my page?”
“Yes, sir,” answered Jordi. And so he became the king’s
page.
The Princess With The Golden Hair
Several years later, the king decided he wished to marry.
He assembled all of the nobles of his court and said to them, “The
woman I must marry is called the Princess with the Golden Hair.”
“And where is she?” the nobles asked him.
“Search for her and you will find her,” answered the king.
“All I know is that she was kidnapped by two giants from her home
at night and they put strange curses on her. You’ll recognize her for
she is the most beautiful girl your eyes will ever have seen.”
The nobles showered the king with questions, but he knew
no more about the Princess with the Golden Hair than he had
already told them.
The Princess With The Golden Hair
“I do not wish to spend twenty or thirty years of my life,”
said one noble, “looking for a girl with beautiful hair.”
“How can I look if I don’t know where?” said another.
“What if she is already dead?” said a third.
And so, one by one they all found an excuse for not going
out and searching for the princess.
“If only I could go myself,” said the king to himself, “but
who would rule the country?”
When Jordi heard what had happened, he said, “Senor
King, you always have me.”
“You mean,” said the king, “that you would go and try to
bring back the Princess with the Golden Hair?”
“Yes,” said Jordi.
The Princess With The Golden Hair
And so, before the first rays of the sun came up the next
morning, Jordi took a horse, a sword, a bow-and-arrows, and galloped
away. He rode, trit-trot, trit-trot, and after seven leagues he came to a
river. In a little puddle on the bank of the river he saw a little shiny
fish that was flipping and flapping about, trying to get back to the river.
There was so little water that the fish was dying slowly.
The Princess With The Golden Hair
Jordi felt sorry for the little fish; he dismounted his horse
and picked up the tiny fish by its tail and threw it into the river. The
fish regained its strength and stuck out its head and said, “Oh Jordi,
Jordi, I hope one day I can repay you this kind deed.” And with a flip
of its tail it disappeared down the river.
He rode and rode, trit-trot, trit-trot, and after seven leagues
he passed by an olive tree and saw a nightingale’s nest. There was a
huge serpent slowly twining its way up the tree trunk to eat the three
baby nightingales in the nest. Jordi felt so sorry for the baby birds
that he took out an arrow and shot the serpent through the head.
The serpent curled up and fell like a piece of rope, and before it
touched the ground it was dead.
The mother nightingale exclaimed, “Oh Jordi, Jordi, I hope
one day I can repay you for this kind deed.”
The Princess With The Golden Hair
Jordi rode and rode, trit-trot, trit-trot, and after seven more
leagues he spied a falcon high in the air fighting a small crow which
was just about to flap its wings for the last time. Feeling sorry for the
crow, Jordi shot his arrow at the falcon, and it fell to the ground as
lifeless as its feathers.
The little crow flew down and said, “Oh, Jordi, Jordi, I hope
one day I can repay you for this kind deed.”
The Princess With The Golden Hair
And so Jordi went on his way. He asked everyone he met for news
about the Princess with the Golden Hair, but no one could answer
him. After seven leagues he met an old shepherd. “Brother,” said
Jordi, “can you give me any news of the Princess with the Golden
Hair?”
“I know where she is,” answered the shepherd, “but….”
“Tell me,” said Jordi, “for I have come to take her to the
palace as the king wants to marry her.”
“Oh, don’t continue your search,” said the shepherd.
“Whole armies have gone to get her, but they have never returned
and no one has ever seen them again. Unless you want to stop
breathing, do not go.”
“I must,” said Jordi.
“If you are so stubborn,” said the old shepherd, “head for
the rising sun and you will find a deep ravine. Follow the ravine till
you come to two tall cypress trees. If you dare go beyond them
you will come to two large piles of bones in front of a cave.”
The Princess With The Golden Hair
“In that cave lives the Princess with the Golden Hair. Two giants
guard the entrance and they can smell anyone approaching, even if
he were no bigger than a mosquito. The bones are the bones of
those who have tried to rescue the Princess with the Golden Hair!”
“Thank you, kind shepherd,” said Jordi, “for what you have
told me. And now I must go and rescue her, come what may, for I
owe my life to the king and shall gladly risk it for his happiness.”
So Jordi turned his horse’s head towards the rising sun and
soon he came to the ravine. He followed the ravine till he came to
the two cypress trees, and in the distance he could see two piles of
white bones. Jordi shuddered but he did not put one foot behind the
other in retreat.
The Princess With The Golden Hair
All of a sudden there appeared a small crow. “I am the
crow you saved from the falcon. I’ve come to repay your good
deed. You must advance towards the cave, and do not fear the two
giants for I shall help you.”
Jordi took out his sword and advanced. The giants were
already licking their chops for they had smelled him from a long way
off. Step by step Jordi went nearer. When the two giants were
about to rush at him, the crow suddenly flew down like a streak of
lightning, and with four pecks the giant’s eyes were gone. Jordi
pierced the two giants with his sword and they fell dead, one on
each pile of bones.
The Princess with the Golden Hair came out of the depths
of the cave and, when she saw the two giants dead, she cried and
trembled with happiness.
The Princess With The Golden Hair
Jordi was taken aback by the sight of this beautiful girl. How
gentle she looked. The king had been right. She was the most
beautiful girl the sun had ever warmed.
“Young man, do not leave,” cried the Princess.
“How could I leave?” said Jordi, “for I come to take you to the
king who wishes to marry you. He who dares to touch a thread of your
clothing will have to step over my body first. Let us start our trip
home.”
“Oh, young man,” said the Princess with the Golden Hair, “I
cannot go with you.”
“Why not?” said Jordi.
“Those two giants never allowed me to leave this cave. They
put a spell on me. If I leave I will turn to dust the moment I pass the
two cypress trees. But the spell can be broken if I wash my hair in
water as clear as dew.”
The Princess With The Golden Hair
Jordi.
“Well, I will go to the river and bring you some water,” said
“But river water is not pure enough. I must have water
from the Fountain of Dew,” said the Princess.
“Do you need much of this water?”
“Oh, a thimbleful is plenty, for then I can mix it with any
water and wash my hair.”
“I shall go to the Fountain of Dew,” said Jordi.
“But I do not know where this fountain is,” said the
Princess with the Golden Hair.
“As I have found you, I will find this fountain.” And so
Jordi rode and rode, trit-trot, trit-trot, and asked everyone he met
for news of the Fountain of Dew, but he met no one who could
enlighten him.
The Princess With The Golden Hair
Finally he met an old shepherd. “Do you know where the
Fountain of Dew is?” said Jordi.
“Yes, I know,” said the old shepherd.
“Tell me! I must go there right away,” said Jordi.
“Oh, don’t go. Don’t go,” said the shepherd. “There are
many monstrous snakes around the Fountain of Dew who can eat a
man and his horse without chewing. Everyone who has ever gone
there has never been seen again.”
“Don’t bid me stay,” said Jordi. “Tell me where this fountain
is.”
“If you are so stubborn and bored with life,” said the
shepherd, “just turn your horse to the rising sunand it won’t be long
before you will find the Fountain of Dew.”
Jordi thanked the shepherd and went on his way. Soon he
saw in the distance the heads of many snakes guarding a fountain.
Jordi froze in his steps.
The Princess With The Golden Hair
To Be Continued….
Bibliography

Mehdevi, Alexander. Bungling Pedro and
Other Majorcan Tales. Knopf, Inc. New
York: 1970.