The Green Serpent

Le Serpentin Vert (translated as Green Serpent or Green Dragon) is a French fairy tale written by Marie Catherine d'Aulnoy, popular in its day and representative of European folklore, that was published in her book New Tales, or Fairies in Fashion (Contes Nouveaux ou Les Fées à la Mode), in 1698.

In many ways the tale is based on the story of Eros and Psyche, to which the narration pays conscious homage when referring to the "discovery" of the Green Dragon.

He starts talking to her at night, and proves such a good conversation companion over the years that she falls in love with this kind stranger, sight unseen, and they get married.

The king convinces his wife to wait until the end of the seven-year period to see what he looks like, or else the wicked enchantment which forces him to hide his appearance will start all over again.

[1] In her third errand as a servant, Queen Laideronnette is commanded to find the "Fount of Discretion" and to bring back its water with her in a pitcher full of holes, which she achieves with the help of magical birds.

Well pleased, the good fairy then renames her Queen Discreet and sends her into an enchanted forest to hide for several years, as her challenge had been expected to last a long time and coming back early would imply that she had received outside help.

Finally however when a period of time or imprisonment for the Green Serpent has come to an end, Queen Discreet returns to Magotine, who is much displeased by her transformations.

Now cured of her curiosity, Discreet successfully refrains from drinking from the water, although the flask was intentionally badly stoppered by Proserpina, to induce her into temptation, as had been expected by Magotine.

German philologist Ludwig Friedländer listed Le Serpentin Vert (translated as "The Green Dragon") as part of the "Cupid and Psyche" cycle of stories (which later became known as "The Search for the Lost Husband").

[4] According to scholar Jack Zipes, the tale of The Green Serpent is classified in the international system as Aarne–Thompson–Uther type ATU 425, "The Search for The Lost Husband", stories where a girl or a princess is betrothed to a monstrous bridegroom, à la Beauty and the Beast.