Rickey with the Tuft
French literary fairy tale / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Rickey with the Tuft" or "Riquet with the Tuft" (French: Riquet à la houppe) is a fairy tale by Charles Perrault. It was first published in Paris in 1697 by Claude Barbin in Histoires ou contes du temps passé, a collection of eight fairy tales by Perrault. The story is about an ugly but intelligent gnome prince who bestows wit on a beautiful but stupid princess in return for marriage. She renders Rickey handsome. The tale is not of folk otigins, but is a literary fairy tale. It has Cupid and Psyche and Beauty and the Beast elements. Similar tales include Catherine Bernard's version of the tale in her 1695 novel Inès du Cordoue, and Marie-Jeanne Lhéritier's "Ricdin-Ricdon". Another similar tale is Giambattista Basile's "Lo Cattenaccio" (The Padlock) from Pentamerone.