History Literature / Drakestail

* PlotTailoredToTheParty: Each of Drakestail's friends is conveniently suited to save him from specifically one of the king's murder attempts.

Although the story of Drakestail is not so well-known, there have been a few noteworthy adaptations over the years. This include an episode of the children’s radio series ''Radio/LetsPretend'', which also had a ComicBookAdaptation; an episode of the series [[Franchise/HelloKitty ''Hello Kitty’s Animation Theater'']] starring [[Creator/{{Sanrio}} Pekkle the duck]] as the main role; and the picture books ''Drakestail'' by Jan Wahl, ''Quackling'' by Aaron Shepard and ''You Can’t Have Too Many Friends!'' by Mordecai Gerstein.

Although the story of Drakestail is not so well-known, there have been a few noteworthy adaptations over the years. This include an episode of the children’s radio series ''Radio/LetsPretend'', which also had a ComicBookAdaptation; an episode of [[Franchise/HelloKitty ''Hello Kitty’s Animation Theater'']] starring [[Creator/{{Sanrio}} Pekkle the duck]] as the main role; and the picture books ''Drakestail'' by Jan Wahl, ''Quackling'' by Aaron Shepard and ''You Can’t Have Too Many Friends!'' by Mordecai Gerstein.

The tale is classified as Type 715 in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther index. Notable direct variants include the Spanish ''Half Chick'' (''Medio Pollito''[[note]]Not to be confused with a similar story on which the titular character refuses to help the water, fire and wind, only to later get punished by becoming a weather vane[[/note]]), the Indian ''The Valiant Blackbird'' and the African-American ''Teenchy Tiny Duck'' (collected by Joel Chandler Harris as part of the Uncle Remus stories). In other variants of the story ―like the Hungarian ''The Little Rooster and the Turkish Sultan'', the Russian ''The Cock and the Hand Mill'' and the Romanian ''The Little Bag With Two Coins'' (''Punguta cu doi bani'')― the bird protagonist doesn’t meet other animals and objects on his way to meet a high class person, but rather shallows the whole objects with whom said person tries to kill it. That way, after getting thrown in the well, the bird drinks all of the water, and once he’s thrown in the furnace, he spits out all the water it consumed in order to put out the fire.

Although the story of Drakestail is not so well-known, there have been a few noteworthy adaptations over the years. This include an episode of the children’s radio series ''Radio/LetsPretend'' and a later ComicBookAdaptation, an episode of [[Franchise/HelloKitty ''Hello Kitty’s Animation Theater'']] starring [[Creator/{{Sanrio}} Pekkle the duck]] as the main role and the picture books ''Drakestail'' by Jan Wahl, ''Quackling'' by Aaron Shepard and ''You Can’t Have Too Many Friends!'' by Mordecai Gerstein.

* MeaningfulName: As the tale puts it: “Drakestail was very little, that is why he was called Drakestail”.

[[caption-width-right:340:Illustration by H. J. Ford]]

* AdaptationalNameChange: Drakestail is sometimes named "Drakesbill".

* KilledOffForReal: The king’s poultry first (courtesy of the fox) and the king himself along with his ministers afterwards (thanks to the wasps).

** Subverted in the Hello Kitty adaptation, which sets the story on a Main/WorldOfFunnyAnimals (and Funny Inert Beings of course). The king and his men are all dogs.

Although the story of Drakestail is not so well-known, there have been a few noteworthy adaptations over the years. This include an episode of the children’s radio series ''Radio/LetsPretend'' and a later ComicBookAdaptation, an episode of [[Franchise/HelloKitty ''Hello Kitty’s Animation Theater'']] starring [[Creator/{{Sanrio}} Pekkle the duck]] as the main role and the picture books ''Quackling'' by Aaron Shepard and ''You Can’t Have Too Many Friends!'' by Mordecai Gerstein.

* MurderByCremation: At one part, the king tries to kill Drakestail by having him being thrown in the furnace. Drakestail simply calls upon her river friend for help.

* {{Bowdlerize}}: Some modern versions of the story have Drakestail putting his friends on his clothing pockets or on a bag (see BagOfHolding above) in order to reduce the possible Main/{{Squick}} that the mention of his gizzard could ensue.

A king borrows all of the titular drake’s money, but doesn’t return it after a couple of years have passed. Drakestail decides to go see the king personally and demand the money back. On the way, he comes across four of his friends: a fox, a ladder, a river and a wasp nest. They all want to come along with him, so Drakestail asks them to make themselves small so he can swallow and carry them on his gizzard.

The tale is classified as Type 715 in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther index. Notable direct variants include the Spanish ''Half Chick'' (''Medio Pollito''[[note]]Not to be confused with a similar story on which the titular character refuses to help the water, fire and wind, only to later get punished by becoming a weather vane[[/note]]), the Indian ''The Valiant Blackbird'' and the African-American ''Teenchy Tiny Duck'' (collected by Joel Chandler Harris as part of the Uncle Remus stories). In other variants of the story – like the Hungarian ''The Little Rooster and the Turkish Sultan'', the Russian ''The Cock and the Hand Mill'' and the Romanian ''The Little Bag With Two Coins'' (''Punguta cu doi bani'') – the bird protagonist doesn’t meet other animals and objects on his way to meet a high class person, but rather shallows the whole objects with whom said person tries to kill it. That way, after getting thrown in the well, the bird drinks all of the water, and once he’s thrown in the furnace, he spits out all the water it consumed in order to put out the fire.

The tale is classified as Type 715 in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther index. Notable direct variants include the Spanish ''Half Chick'' (''Medio Pollito''[[note]]Not to be confused with a similar story on which the titular character refuses to help the water, fire and wind, only to later get punished by becoming a weather vane[[/note]]), the Indian ''The Valiant Blackbird'' and the African-American ''Teenchy Tiny Duck'' (collected by Joel Chandler Harris as part of the Uncle Remus stories). In other variants of the story - like the Hungarian ''The Little Rooster and the Turkish Sultan'', the Russian ''The Cock and the Hand Mill'' and the Romanian ''The Little Bag With Two Coins'' (''Punguta cu doi bani'') – the bird protagonist doesn’t meet other animals and objects on his way to meet a high class person, but rather shallows the whole objects with whom said person tries to kill it. That way, after getting thrown in the well, the bird drinks all of the water, and once he’s thrown in the furnace, he spits out all the water it consumed in order to put out the fire.

A king borrows all of the titular drake’s money, but doesn’t return it after a couple of years have passed. Drakestail decides to go see the king personally and demand the money back. On the way, he comes across four of his friends: a fox, a ladder, a river and a wasp nest. They all want to come along with him, so Drakestail asks them to make themselves small so he can shallow and carry them on his gizzard.

* {{Sizeshifter}}: Drakestail’s friends can shrink so as to travel inside his gizzard. Once he needs one of them, that friend comes out in his normal size.

** Exaggerated even more in the adaptations on which Drakestail straight up shallows his friends without them having to shrink first.

* StomachOfHolding: More like “Gizzard Of Holding”. Drakestail shallows his shrunken-down allies so they can travel along with him without getting tired.

* HitchhikerHeroes: Drakestail collects his friends en route to the king.

** Subverted in the Hello Kitty adaptation, which sets the story on a Main/WorldOfFunnyAnimals (and Funny Inert Beings of course).

-->Townspeople: The king is dead, long live the king! / Heaven has sent us down this thing!