The Flea (fairy tale)
Encyclopedia
The Flea is an Italian literary fairy tale
written by Giambattista Basile
in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone
.
guessed, and the king had to marry his daughter to him. The ogre
took her to his house, decorated by the bones of men he had eaten, and brought her back men's bodies to eat. She wept by the window and told an old woman her plight. The old woman told her that she had seven marvelous sons who could help her. The next day, the old woman and her sons came and carried her off.
The oldest son heard the ogre whenever he approached, and each of his brothers put up an obstacle: one washed his hands and produced a sea of soapsuds, one transformed a piece of iron into a field of razors, one turned a little stick into a forest, and one turned a little water into a river. The last one turned a pebble into a tower where they could take refuge, but they were trapped there, and the ogre came with a ladder. The youngest son shot his eye out and cut his head off.
The sons brought her to her father and were richly rewarded. The princess was married to a suitable prince and lived happily.
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 Giambattista Basile
Giambattista Basile
Giambattista Basile was an Italian poet, courtier, and fairy tale collector.- Biography :Born to a Neapolitan middle-class family, Basile was, during his career, a courtier and soldier to various Italian princes, including the doge of Venice. According to Benedetto Croce he was born in 1575, while...
in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone
Pentamerone
The Pentamerone is a seventeenth-century fairy tale collection by Italian poet and courtier Giambattista Basile.-Background:...
.
Synopsis
A king raised a flea until it was the size of a sheep. Then he had it skinned and promised his daughter in marriage to whoever could guess what the skin came from. An ogreOgre
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...
guessed, and the king had to marry his daughter to him. The ogre
Princess and dragon
Princess and dragon is a generic premise common to many legends and fairy tales. It is not a fairy tale itself, but along with Prince Charming, is a repeated cliché...
took her to his house, decorated by the bones of men he had eaten, and brought her back men's bodies to eat. She wept by the window and told an old woman her plight. The old woman told her that she had seven marvelous sons who could help her. The next day, the old woman and her sons came and carried her off.
The oldest son heard the ogre whenever he approached, and each of his brothers put up an obstacle: one washed his hands and produced a sea of soapsuds, one transformed a piece of iron into a field of razors, one turned a little stick into a forest, and one turned a little water into a river. The last one turned a pebble into a tower where they could take refuge, but they were trapped there, and the ogre came with a ladder. The youngest son shot his eye out and cut his head off.
The sons brought her to her father and were richly rewarded. The princess was married to a suitable prince and lived happily.