Ancilotto, King of Provino
Encyclopedia
Ancilotto, King of Provino is an Italian literary fairy tale
written by Giovanni Francesco Straparola
in The Facetious Nights of Straparola
.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 707: the dancing water, the singing apple, and the speaking bird. It is the oldest known variant of this tale, and influenced Madame d'Aulnoy
's Princess Belle-Etoile
. A variant of this tale appears in Antoine Galland
's Arabian Nights collection, but no Arab manuscript exists, and Galland, reporting an oral source, may also have been influenced by this version. It spread to appear as The Three Little Birds
in the Brothers Grimm
's collection.
sisters talking: Brunora, the eldest sister, said if she married the king's majordomo, she could give the entire court a drink from one glass of water; Lionella, the second, said if she married the king's chamberlain, she could turn one spindle of linen to give fine shifts to the entire court; Chiaretta, the youngest said if she married the king, she would give him triplets who would have fine hair with gold, a gold necklace, and a star on their forehead. The king married them off as they had said. The queen mother was angry to have such a daughter-in-law. The king had to leave, and while he was gone, Chiaretta gave birth to two sons and a daughter, as she had described. Three black puppies with white stars had been born, and Chiaretta's sisters brought them to the queen. The queen substituted them for the babies, and the babies were put in a box and thrown into the river. A miller, Marmiato, found them. His wife, Gordiana, named the boys Acquirino and Fluvio, and the girl Serena.
Ancilotto was grief-stricken by the story, but when the queen-mother, the midwife, and the queen's sisters all agreed that Chiaretta had given birth to the puppies, he ordered her kept in the dungeon.
Gordiana gave birth to a son, named Borghino. Marmiato and Gordiana learned that if they cut the children's hair, gems fell out of it, and they lived prosperously; but when the children grew up, they learned that they were foundlings and set out. They found Ancilotto's land and met him; he told his mother that he thought they were the children Chiaretta had borne him.
The queen mother sent the midwife after them, and she tricked Serena into asking for the dancing water. Acquirino and Fluvio went after it; a dove warned them of the danger and then filled up a vial for them. Ancilotto saw them again, and the queen mother heard of their survival. The midwife tricked Serena into asking for the singing apple. Acquirino and Fluvio went after it, and on the way, their host one night warned them of the danger, and then gave them a robe of mirrors. This would trick the monster that guarded it, when it saw its own reflection. Fluvio used it and picked the apple. Ancilotto saw them again, and the queen learned they had survived. The midwife tricked Serena into asking for a beautiful green bird that could speak words of wisdom day and night, and when Acquirino and Fluvio found the garden with the bird, they looked a marble statues in it, and were turned into statues themselves.
Serena awaited them anxiously and finally set out after them. She reached the garden, sneaked up on the bird, and caught it. It begged for its freedom, showed her how to turn her brothers back to life, and begged for its freedom; Serena said she would free it only if it brought them to their mother and father.
They went to Ancilotto's palace for dinner and brought the water, apple, and bird. The king and guests marveled at the water and apple, and the bird asked what punishment should be imposed on those who tried to kill two brothers and a sister. The queen mother said death by burning, and everyone agreed. The bird told the story of Chiaretta's children; the king freed her and had his mother, her sisters, and the midwife burned.
, the Spanish The Bird of Truth
, the Russian The Wicked Sisters
, and the Romanian The Boys with the Golden Stars
and A String of Pearls Twined with Golden Flowers
.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
written by Giovanni Francesco Straparola
Giovanni Francesco Straparola
Giovanni Francesco "Gianfrancesco" Straparola was an Italian writer and fairy tale collector from Caravaggio, Italy. He has been termed the progenitor of the literary form of the fairy tale in Europe...
in The Facetious Nights of Straparola
The Facetious Nights of Straparola
]The Facetious Nights of Straparola , also known as The Nights of Straparola, is a two-volume collection of 75 stories by Italian author and fairy-tale collector Giovanni Francesco Straparola...
.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 707: the dancing water, the singing apple, and the speaking bird. It is the oldest known variant of this tale, and influenced Madame d'Aulnoy
Madame d'Aulnoy
Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy , also known as Countess d'Aulnoy, was a French writer known for her fairy tales...
's Princess Belle-Etoile
Princess Belle-Etoile
Princess Belle-Etoile is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Her source for the tale was Ancilotto, King of Provino, by Giovanni Francesco Straparola....
. A variant of this tale appears in Antoine Galland
Antoine Galland
Antoine Galland was a French orientalist and archaeologist, most famous as the first European translator of The Thousand and One Nights...
's Arabian Nights collection, but no Arab manuscript exists, and Galland, reporting an oral source, may also have been influenced by this version. It spread to appear as The Three Little Birds
The Three Little Birds
The Three Little Birds is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 96. The story is originally written in Low German.It is Aarne-Thompson type 707, the dancing water, the singing apple, and the speaking bird....
in the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
's collection.
Synopsis
Ancilotto, the king, heard threeRule of three (writing)
The "rule of three" is a principle in writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader/audience of this form of text is also more likely to consume information if it is written in groups of...
sisters talking: Brunora, the eldest sister, said if she married the king's majordomo, she could give the entire court a drink from one glass of water; Lionella, the second, said if she married the king's chamberlain, she could turn one spindle of linen to give fine shifts to the entire court; Chiaretta, the youngest said if she married the king, she would give him triplets who would have fine hair with gold, a gold necklace, and a star on their forehead. The king married them off as they had said. The queen mother was angry to have such a daughter-in-law. The king had to leave, and while he was gone, Chiaretta gave birth to two sons and a daughter, as she had described. Three black puppies with white stars had been born, and Chiaretta's sisters brought them to the queen. The queen substituted them for the babies, and the babies were put in a box and thrown into the river. A miller, Marmiato, found them. His wife, Gordiana, named the boys Acquirino and Fluvio, and the girl Serena.
Ancilotto was grief-stricken by the story, but when the queen-mother, the midwife, and the queen's sisters all agreed that Chiaretta had given birth to the puppies, he ordered her kept in the dungeon.
Gordiana gave birth to a son, named Borghino. Marmiato and Gordiana learned that if they cut the children's hair, gems fell out of it, and they lived prosperously; but when the children grew up, they learned that they were foundlings and set out. They found Ancilotto's land and met him; he told his mother that he thought they were the children Chiaretta had borne him.
The queen mother sent the midwife after them, and she tricked Serena into asking for the dancing water. Acquirino and Fluvio went after it; a dove warned them of the danger and then filled up a vial for them. Ancilotto saw them again, and the queen mother heard of their survival. The midwife tricked Serena into asking for the singing apple. Acquirino and Fluvio went after it, and on the way, their host one night warned them of the danger, and then gave them a robe of mirrors. This would trick the monster that guarded it, when it saw its own reflection. Fluvio used it and picked the apple. Ancilotto saw them again, and the queen learned they had survived. The midwife tricked Serena into asking for a beautiful green bird that could speak words of wisdom day and night, and when Acquirino and Fluvio found the garden with the bird, they looked a marble statues in it, and were turned into statues themselves.
Serena awaited them anxiously and finally set out after them. She reached the garden, sneaked up on the bird, and caught it. It begged for its freedom, showed her how to turn her brothers back to life, and begged for its freedom; Serena said she would free it only if it brought them to their mother and father.
They went to Ancilotto's palace for dinner and brought the water, apple, and bird. The king and guests marveled at the water and apple, and the bird asked what punishment should be imposed on those who tried to kill two brothers and a sister. The queen mother said death by burning, and everyone agreed. The bird told the story of Chiaretta's children; the king freed her and had his mother, her sisters, and the midwife burned.
Other variants
Other variants of this tale include an oral Italian version, The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Speaking BirdThe Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Speaking Bird
The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Speaking Bird is an Italian fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in Italian Popular Tales...
, the Spanish The Bird of Truth
The Bird of Truth
The Bird of Truth is a Spanish fairy tale collected by Cecilia Böhl de Faber in her Cuentos de encantamiento. Andrew Lang included it in The Orange Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
, the Russian The Wicked Sisters
The Wicked Sisters
The Wicked Sisters is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.Ruth Manning-Sanders included it, as "The Queen's Children", in A Book of Kings and Queens.-Synopsis:...
, and the Romanian The Boys with the Golden Stars
The Boys with the Golden Stars
The Boys with the Golden Stars is a Romanian fairy tale collected in Rumanische Märchen. Andrew Lang included it in The Violet Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
and A String of Pearls Twined with Golden Flowers
A String of Pearls Twined with Golden Flowers
A String of Pearls Twined with Golden Flowers or The Golden Twins is a Romanian fairy tale collected by Petre Ispirescu in Legende sau basmele românilor.-Synopsis:...
.