The Goat-faced Girl
Encyclopedia
The Goat-faced Girl is an Italian fairy tale
. Giambattista Basile
included a version in his Pentamerone
. Andrew Lang
included a version, collected by Hermann Kletke, in The Grey Fairy Book.
The Brothers Grimm
noted its similarity to their Mary's Child
, and also to the Norwegian The Lassie and Her Godmother
.
into a beautiful woman and let him in. He fell in love with Renzolla. The lizard agreed to their marriage and gave Renzolla a large marriage portion, but Renzolla left without thanking her.
Angry, the lizard turned
Renzolla's head into a goat's head. The king was horror-struck. He put Renzolla to work with a maid, carding flax; the maid obeyed, but Renzolla threw it out the window. When she saw what the maid had done, she begged aid from the lizard, who gave her spun flax. Then the king gave them both dogs, and the maid raised hers with care, but Renzolla threw hers out the window, so it died. When the king sent to hear how the dogs were doing, Renzolla hurried off to the fairy's, but met an old man there. He showed her in a mirror what had happened to her and told her to beg the fairy's pardon. She obeyed, and the fairy turned her back. The king fell in love again and they married
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...
. 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...
included a version in his Pentamerone
Pentamerone
The Pentamerone is a seventeenth-century fairy tale collection by Italian poet and courtier Giambattista Basile.-Background:...
. 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 a version, collected by Hermann Kletke, in The Grey Fairy Book.
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...
noted its similarity to their Mary's Child
Mary's Child
Mary's Child or Our Lady's Child is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales as tale number 3.The Brothers Grimm noted its similarity to the Italian The Goat-faced Girl and the Norwegian The Lassie and Her Godmother...
, and also to the Norwegian The Lassie and Her Godmother
The Lassie and Her Godmother
The Lassie and Her Godmother is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr....
.
Synopsis
A poor peasant had twelve daughters, one year apart. He could not feed them all. A huge lizard offered to take his youngest daughter, Renzolla, and raise her, and if he refused, it would be the worse for him. His wife persuaded him that he did not know it meant ill, and he brought her. The lizard gave him great wealth, which enabled him to marry off his other daughters, and raised Renzolla in a palace. A king came by, and when he knocked on the door, the lizard turnedShapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
into a beautiful woman and let him in. He fell in love with Renzolla. The lizard agreed to their marriage and gave Renzolla a large marriage portion, but Renzolla left without thanking her.
Angry, the lizard turned
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
Renzolla's head into a goat's head. The king was horror-struck. He put Renzolla to work with a maid, carding flax; the maid obeyed, but Renzolla threw it out the window. When she saw what the maid had done, she begged aid from the lizard, who gave her spun flax. Then the king gave them both dogs, and the maid raised hers with care, but Renzolla threw hers out the window, so it died. When the king sent to hear how the dogs were doing, Renzolla hurried off to the fairy's, but met an old man there. He showed her in a mirror what had happened to her and told her to beg the fairy's pardon. She obeyed, and the fairy turned her back. The king fell in love again and they married