How the Beggar Boy turned into Count Piro
Encyclopedia
How the Beggar Boy turned into Count Piro is an Italian fairy tale
collected by Laura Gonzenbach
in Sicilianische Märchen. Andrew Lang
included it in The Crimson Fairy Book.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 545B, the Cat as Helper. Other tales of this type include Don Joseph Pear
, Puss in Boots
, and Lord Peter
.
. The fox tricked a tailor into providing him a fine suit, saying it would be paid for the next day.
The boy went to the castle and said very little, but the fox explained it was his great concerns that kept him quiet.
Then the fox took a third basket of pears and arranged for the wedding. Once they were married, the king and princess set out with the boy. The fox told a shepherd for an ogre
that if he told the men that the sheep belonged to an ogre, the men would kill the sheep, and the ogre would kill him; he should say they belonged to Count Piro. It did the same with a pigherd and a horseherd. The king was impressed by the wealth.
At the ogre's castle, the fox told the ogre and ogress that the king had sent men to kill them, and it was best to hide in the oven until they passed. It trapped them in, and after the princess and her bridegroom were abed, the fox burned the ogre and ogress to death.
The fox asked the boy to promise it a funeral. Then he decided to test his gratitude and feigned death. The boy went to discard the body. The fox rebuked him, and only remained after many implorings. When it did die, a proper funeral was held.
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...
collected by Laura Gonzenbach
Laura Gonzenbach
Laura Gonzenbach was a Swiss folklorist, active in Messina, who collected fairy tales in a number of European dialects.Gonzenbach was born in a Swiss-German community of Sicily, to a German speaking mercantile family, her sister, Magdelena, began a school in Messina...
in Sicilianische Märchen. Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
included it in The Crimson Fairy Book.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 545B, the Cat as Helper. Other tales of this type include Don Joseph Pear
Don Joseph Pear
Don Joseph Pear is an Italian fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in his Italian Popular Tales.It is Aarne-Thompson type 545B.-Synopsis:...
, Puss in Boots
Puss in Boots
'Puss' is a character in the fairy tale "The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots" by Charles Perrault. The tale was published in 1697 in his Histoires ou Contes du temps passé...
, and Lord Peter
Lord Peter (fairy tale)
Lord Peter or Squire Per is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe.It is Aarne-Thompson type 545B.-Synopsis:A couple died, leaving their three sons a porridge-pot, a griddle, and a cat...
.
Synopsis
An idler was left a cottage and a pear tree by his father, but he still did not work, only eating the pears, because that pear tree bore pears year round. One day, a fox persuaded him to give it the pears, because it would bring him luck. It brought the basket to the king, who was astounded that anyone had pears. The next day, it did the same, and asked for the princess's hand in marriage for his master, Count Piro, saying he was so rich he would ask for no dowryDowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
. The fox tricked a tailor into providing him a fine suit, saying it would be paid for the next day.
The boy went to the castle and said very little, but the fox explained it was his great concerns that kept him quiet.
Then the fox took a third basket of pears and arranged for the wedding. Once they were married, the king and princess set out with the boy. The fox told a shepherd for an ogre
Ogre
An ogre is a large, cruel, monstrous, and hideous humanoid monster, featured in mythology, folklore, and fiction. Ogres are often depicted in fairy tales and folklore as feeding on human beings, and have appeared in many classic works of literature...
that if he told the men that the sheep belonged to an ogre, the men would kill the sheep, and the ogre would kill him; he should say they belonged to Count Piro. It did the same with a pigherd and a horseherd. The king was impressed by the wealth.
At the ogre's castle, the fox told the ogre and ogress that the king had sent men to kill them, and it was best to hide in the oven until they passed. It trapped them in, and after the princess and her bridegroom were abed, the fox burned the ogre and ogress to death.
The fox asked the boy to promise it a funeral. Then he decided to test his gratitude and feigned death. The boy went to discard the body. The fox rebuked him, and only remained after many implorings. When it did die, a proper funeral was held.