fully listed in the article for the Italian counterpart. Another tale of similar plot and setting is the Scottish "The Widow and her Daughters", Campbell's Popular Tales, No. 41. Insofar as the "Fitcher's Bird" is a tale of a serial-killing husband who compels his brides to the rule of the "Forbidden Chamber" (motif C611), it is closely similar to the Bluebeard (AT 312) type tales. And just as in Grimm's tale the bloodied egg gives away the misconduct of the elder sisters, the bloody key is the telltale sign that Bluebeard's wives have peeked in the forbidden chamber (motif C913 "Bloody key as sign of disobedience"). Among Grimm's fairy tales, the forbidden door features here and in Mary's Child (AT 710), as have been remarked in the notes to that tale. Some European variants of the ballad Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight, Child ballad 4, closely resemble this tale. Modern adaptations Gregory Frost sets the tale among the doomsday religious cults of 19th century New York in his 2002 novel Fitcher's Brides. In 2007, the theatre group BooTown adapted a short play based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, called Fitcher's a Bastard, but his bird's alright. American artist Cindy Sherman adapted the story in a photographic spread for Vanity Fair. See also The Robber Bridegroom Footnotes Explanatory notes Citations References texts (notes) translations e-text at: critical studies External links Fitcher's Bird with links to variants Grimms' Fairy Tales Fictional birds Fiction about magic Fiction about shapeshifting ATU 300-399