"Harap Alb" or "Harap-Alb" (Romanian pronunciation: [harap alb]), known in full as Povestea lui

Harap Alb ("The Story of Harap Alb"), is a Romanian-language fairy tale. Based on traditional
themes found in Romanian folklore, it was recorded and reworked in 1877 by writer Ion Creang,
becoming one of his main contributions tofantasy and Romanian literature. The narrative centers on
an eponymous prince traveling into a faraway land whose throne he has inherited, showing him
being made into a slave by the treacherous Bald Man and eventually redeeming himself through
acts of bravery. The plot introduces intricate symbolism, notably illustrated by the secondary
characters. Among these are the helpful and sage old woman Holy Sunday, the tyrannical Red
Emperor, and a band of five monstrous characters who provide the prince with serendipitous
assistance.
An influential work, "Harap Alb" received much attention from Creang's critical posterity, and
became the inspiration for contributions in several fields. These include Ion Popescu-Gopo's film Dea fi Harap Alb, aPostmodernist novel by Stelian urlea and a comic book by Sandu Florea,
alongside one of Gabriel Liiceanu's theses in the field of political philosophy.
Contents
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1Name

2Plot summary
o

2.1Beginning

2.2In bondage to the Bald Man

2.3Final trials and conclusion

3Style and symbolism

o

3.1Generic traits

3.2The protagonist and his aides

3.3The enemies

3.4Other characters

4Cultural impact and tributes

5Notes

6References

Name[edit]
The title of the work and name of the protagonist originate with the
antiquated Romanian word harap, which, like its more common version arap, originates with the
"Arab" and covers the sense of "Black person" (or "Moor"), and alb, meaning "white". The notion

of Harap Alb has therefore often been translated as "White Moor"[1][2][3][4][5][6] or "White Arab".
[2]
Both arap and harap are akin to a narrative theme present throughout the Balkans, from Turkey in
the south to modern Romania in the north.[7] Similar words exist in Albanian (arap in
the Tosk, harap in Gheg), and define a character in Albanian folklore: a Black man often, but not
always, portrayed in a negative light.[7] The character, also bearing negative connotations, can be
found in Bulgarian folklore as well; the Bulgarian-languagename is (arap) or (arapin).[8]
The use of harap in this case primarily refers to the protagonist's slave condition, in distant relation to
the African slave trade (see Slavery in Romania). According to Romanian literary historian George
Bdru, it suggests the hero's state of "degradation and submission", leaving the story itself to
outline his recovery of a "human status."[9]Contrarily, comparatist Vasile Mru underlines the implicit
meaning of harap as "black", which leads him to translate the title as "White Black", and to propose
that it stands as proof of an absurdist tradition in local folklore.[10]

Plot summary[edit]
Beginning[edit]
The narrative[11] begins by introducing two rulers, an unnamed king and his brother, the Green
Emperor, whose domains are located in on separate "margins" of the Earth, being separated by
desolate lands. Sensing himself at death's door and not having any male children, the emperor
addresses a letter to the king, asking him to send either of his three sons, and promising to grant the
one who would reach him his entire country. The eldest son agrees to follow up on his uncle's
request, and embarks on the journey. Deciding to use the occasion as a test of his progeny's
courage, the king heads off on the same path and, having disguised himself in a bear skin, blocks
the prince's path at the end of a bridge. The latter makes a terrified return home, and the monarch
subsequently plays the same trick on his second son, with much the same result. Without revealing
his ruse, the parent makes known his disappointment, which prompts the junior to burst out into
tears and run out into the palace's garden. He is visited there by an old woman beggar, who
suggests that she has the powers of a fortune teller and receives his alms. The woman then predicts
that the youngest prince will become a glorious emperor, urges him to attempt his uncle's quest, but
warns him that he should use only items his father had used as a groom: ragged clothes, rusty
weapons and an old stallion. She subsequently disappears from the prince's sight, rising to the
skies.
Following up on the beggar's advice, the young man confronts his father's ridicule, but eventually
persuades him into giving his blessing and lending him his old items. The horse itself is identified
using a test of character suggested by the old woman: it is the only one in the stable who will
approach and eat off a tray of embers. The prince is initially disappointed by the stud's poor
condition, but is pleasantly surprised when the animal "shakes three times" and turns into the most
beautiful of its kind. There follows a discovery that the horse can talk to his new master, and test
rides which see it leaping to the clouds and then to the Moon. Armed with such powers, the prince
then reaches the bridge and braves the ruse, being congratulated by his emotional father, and
receiving the bear skin as a trophy. As parting words, the father lets his son know that he is to
beware "of the red man, and especially of the bald one".

In bondage to the Bald Man[edit]

The next leg of the journey takes the prince into a deep forest inhabited by the evil Spnul, or Bald
Man. There follow three consecutive encounters between the protagonist and the Bald Man: after
twice refusing the latter's insidious offer of services, the prince is eventually forced by dire
circumstance into accepting it. After another elaborate deception, the creature is able to trap the
prince into a well, and only leaves him out in exchange for swearing on his backsword that they
would exchange roles: the Bald Man will be introduced as the king's son to his uncle, while the
young man will become a slave under the name of Harap Alb. They proceed to the Green Emperor's

palace, who innocently welcomes the Bald Man as his son. During the meeting, the master makes a
point of mistreating and hitting his slave. This upsets the emperor's daughter, who asks him to
behave with more reserve, and secretly begins to wonder about his actual identity.
The prince-servant's first challenge begins after banquet during which the Green Emperor shows his
appreciation for the precious "lettuce form the garden of the bear". The Bald Man then brags about
his slave's abilities in retrieving such items, and orders him to head off in search of the plant. Upon
the end of this journey, his trusted stallion descends upon a lonely island, which holds a small mosscovered house belonging to the old beggar at the beginning of the story. She reveals to the prince
her miraculous identity, that of "Holy Sunday" (Sfnta Duminic), and helps him obtain lettuce by
planning a ruse: while she dulls the ferocious bear's senses with a mixture of honey and milk, Harap
Alb covers himself in his father's bear skin and roams through the garden in peace. The prince is
again made to leave his uncle's palace once the Bald Man, envious of the Green Emperor's wealth
of "gems from forest of the stag", claims that his slave can obtain the deer's skull and hide, with all
the precious stones that cover them. The stallion again flies his master to meet Holy Sunday, who
hands him "the helmet and sword of Statu-Palm-Barb-Cot" (a dwarfish character) and
subsequently accompanies him into the forest. Following her directions, Harap Alb digs a deep pit
nearby at the stag's water source and place of rest, proceeds to hide there, and attacks the animal in
the night, decapitating him with a chop of the blade on the neck. Also instructed to avoid the stag's
"poisoned eye", he again withdraws to the pit and waits there for another full day. This is the interval
needed for the animal to die, during which it calls out with a human voice, attempting to lure its
adversary into the reach of his poison.
The triumphant return with the gems in hand greatly increases Harap Alb's prestige, and positively
impresses the Green Emperor himself. Envious, the Bald Man explains to the imperial court that the
feats were entirely attributable to himself, the master, and to his stern ways. While the monarch
agrees with the explanation, his daughter and her sisters are yet more skeptical, and decide to
investigate further. Just prior to a feast, they ask the Bald Man to allow Harap Alb the honor of
serving at their table, which he agrees to only after making the servant swear not to engage in
conversation with the ladies. During the celebrations, the court is unexpectedly visited by an
enchanted bird-like creature, Pasrea miastr, who announces: "You are eating, drinking and
enjoying yourselves, but you fail to think about the Red Emperor's daughter!" There follows a debate
concerning the tyrannical Red Emperor and his daughter, during which some of the guests claim that
the latter is a malevolent witch, and some still that she is the bird itself, on a mission to propagate
fear. After witnessing this, the Bald Man proposes to send Harap Alb on a quest to capture the Red
Emperor's daughter and reveal the mystery, the servant being forced to leave before the feast is
over. While he is gone, the Bald Man continues to undermine his reputation, but also inadvertently
sparks more suspicions about his background and character.

Final trials and conclusion[edit]