Donor (fairy tale) by Giambattista Basile. In the Grimm Brothers' variant of "Cinderella", the protagonist is aided not by her fairy godmother but by her dead mother, as is the heroine of the Finnish variant, "The Wonderful Birch". A great variety of other figures may also take this place. In "Vasilissa the Beautiful", the heroine is aided by a wooden doll that her dying mother had given her; in "Rushen Coatie", by a red calf sent to her by her dead mother, a calf that can continue to aid her after its death; in "Katie Woodencloak" by a mysterious dun bull; in "Tattercoats",
The Angel (fairy tale) The Angel (fairy tale) "The Angel" () is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about an angel and a dead child gathering flowers to carry to Heaven. The tale was first published with three others in "New Fairy Tales" by C.A. Reitzel in November 1843. The four tales were received by the Danish critics with great acclaim. A print depicting the angel and child became very popular. When the tale opens, a child has died, and an angel is escorting him to Heaven. They wander over the Earth for a while, visiting well-known places. Along the way they