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In fairy tales, a donor is a character that tests the hero (and sometimes other characters as well) and provides magical assistance to the hero when he succeeds. The fairy godmother is a well-known form of this character. Many other supernatural patrons feature in fairy tales; these include various kinds of animals and the spirit of a dead mother.〔Katharine Briggs, ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Boogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures,'' "Fairy godmother", p147. ISBN 0-394-73467-X〕 ==In fairy tale and legend== In his analysis of fairy tales, Vladimir Propp identified this role as the ''donor'' and listed it as one of the seven roles found in fairy tales. Before giving the hero magical support or advice, the donor may also test the hero, by questioning him, setting him tasks, or making requests of him. Then, the donor may directly give the hero a magical agent, advise him on how to find one, or offer to act on his behalf.〔 If the character itself acts on behalf of the hero, it also takes on the role of ''helper'' in Propp's analysis.〔 Because a donor is defined by acts, other characters may fill the role, even the villain; a boy escaping a witch may steal her magical handkerchief, making the witch an involuntary donor.〔 Conversely, the donor of ''Rumpelstiltskin'' converts himself into the villain by demanding the heroine's baby as the price of his work. In ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'', the hero often meets the vital helper in the woods, in liminal areas between other realms.〔Jack Zipes, ''The Brothers Grimm: From Enchanted Forests to the Modern World'', p 115, ISBN 0-312-29380-1〕 When more than one character attempts the tasks, such as when the youngest son sets out last, all of them commonly met the donor. It is through failing in the test that the older sons are marked out as not being the hero; only the youngest son passes the test and receives the aid. There may be three donors, distinguished by the fact that the first two are unable to help and so send him on to the next. A common motif, as in ''Farmer Weathersky'', is that one can consult all the beasts, the next all the fish, the third all the birds, and only the last can discover what the hero needs. In other cases, each of the three may give the hero or heroine something, but only the third has the information necessary to them. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Donor (fairy tale)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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