Lemon Girl — Yukarıçukurova Folk Tale
ℹ️ This is an English translation of a Turkish oral folk tale. The regional dialect of the source text could not be fully preserved in translation. Read the Turkish original here.
This is a “Lemon Girl” tale from the Yukarıçukurova region. The text appears as an appendix to Gülda Çetindağ Süme’s article “Symbolic Analysis of the Tale ‘Lemon Girl’,” which in turn draws the tale from Esma Şimşek’s compilation “Yukarıçukurova Masallarında Motif ve Tip Araştırması” (A Study of Motifs and Types in Yukarıçukurova Tales).
ℹ️ This is an English translation of a Turkish oral folk tale. The regional dialect of the source text could not be fully preserved in translation. Read the Turkish original here: Limon Kız — Yukarıçukurova Masalı.
Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was a padishah, and this padishah had a son. The young man liked none of the girls brought before him. Days passed, until one day a very old, aged dede — an elder — came to the palace. The young man showed him great respect and reverence. As they sat together, the old man leaned close and whispered something in the prince’s ear. He said: “Go into such-and-such a garden. There, on such-and-such a tree, you will find three lemons. But you may take them only on one condition. In that garden there are two fountains: from one flows blood, from the other, pus. You must drink from both and say, ‘Oh, how delicious!’ After that, a dog and a mare will come before you — in front of the mare there will be meat, and in front of the dog, grass. Take the meat and give it to the dog; take the grass and give it to the mare. Then two doors will appear before you: one open, the other closed. Close the open one, and open the closed one. For these good deeds, they will give you the three lemons — but do not peel them until you reach home.”
The young man went and did just as the old man had told him. But as he carried the three lemons home, he could not restrain himself. He cut one open in the middle, and out of it stepped a girl, beautiful beyond compare. The girl cried, “Water, water!” But the young man had none with him and could not give her any — and she died of thirst. He cut open the second lemon, and again a girl of unearthly beauty stepped out. Since there was no water, she too died. He cut open the third lemon by the side of a stream. From this one too a girl emerged, saying, “Give me water.” No sooner had she said it than the young man gave her water, and she drank.
The young man then left the girl by the stream and went to fetch her some clothes. While he was gone, a Gypsy girl came upon her. “Why are you waiting here?” she asked. The girl answered, “Such and such — the padishah’s son is coming to take me away.” At this, the Gypsy girl stuck a needle into her head, turned her into a dove, and sent her flying off.
The young man sensed that something was wrong, but he said nothing. He had no choice but to take the girl — the Gypsy girl — to his palace. Meanwhile, the dove came to the palace every day, perching on the branch of a tree, and asked the gardener, “How is the padishah’s son?” The gardener would answer, “He is well,” and tell the bird all that was happening. After a time, preparations began for the wedding of the padishah’s son and the Gypsy girl. On one of her visits, the dove came close to the prince himself and asked, “Padishah’s son, how are you?” The prince caught the dove and kept it in his room.
The dove began to speak: “I am the girl you brought out of the lemon. While you had gone to fetch me clothes, a Gypsy girl came, stuck a needle into my head, and I became a dove.” The prince looked, and indeed there was a needle in the dove’s head! When he drew it out, the dove became once more a beautiful girl, just as before.
The prince at once seized the Gypsy girl, tied her to the tail of a mule, and set a dog loose behind her. The mule ran on and the dog bit at her, the mule ran on and the dog bit at her, until the Gypsy girl was torn to pieces. And the girl and the padishah’s son attained their heart’s desire.
Source: Çetindağ Süme, G. (2024). “Limon Kız” Masalının Sembolik Çözümlemesi [“Symbolic Analysis of the Tale ‘Lemon Girl’”]. Motif Akademi Halkbilimi Dergisi, 17(48), 1939-1951. DOI: 10.12981/mahder.1526070. The tale text is taken from the author’s appendix on pp. 1950-1951; the author in turn drew it from Esma Şimşek’s compilation (“Yukarıçukurova Masallarında Motif ve Tip Araştırması,” Vol. I-II, Ankara: Kültür Bakanlığı Yayınları, 2001, p. 81-82 [specific volume not stated — verification needed]). Narrator: Fatma Özbadem. Compiler: Esma Şimşek. Compilation date: 1988. Compilation location: Yukarıçukurova region (specific province/district/village not stated in the source — verification needed).
