Tradition / Region: Hungarian Folklore
Alternate Names: —
Category: Fairy
The Myth
The tündér is a supernatural being in Hungarian folklore, often appearing as a beautiful woman with magical abilities, including granting wishes.
A poor couple lived together and loved each other, but they were very poor and sometimes argued because of it. One evening, the husband returned home and told his wife that on the road he had encountered a beautiful woman sitting in a golden carriage pulled by black dogs. The carriage had been stuck in the mud, and he helped her out. The woman then revealed that she was a tündér and promised to grant three wishes to his wife.
At home, the husband told his wife to try wishing for something. She wished for a sausage, and immediately a large sausage appeared in a pot from the chimney. They were happy and began planning how to use the remaining wishes wisely. While preparing to eat, the husband accidentally knocked the pot into the fire. The wife, upset, wished that the sausage would grow onto her husband’s nose. At once, the sausage appeared hanging from his nose.
They argued about what to do. The husband did not want to cut it off, and after a long dispute, they used their final wish to return the sausage to the pot. With this, all three wishes were gone, and they remained as poor as before.
They ate the sausage and realized that their arguing had caused them to waste the wishes. After that, they decided to live in peace and stopped quarreling. Over time, through work and thrift, they improved their lives.
Sources
László, B. (ed.). (1982). Hungarian Folktale Catalog 3: Types of Hungarian legendary tales (AaTh 750–849). In Budapest: MTA Ethnographic Research Group.