The Merchant (fairy tale)
Encyclopedia
The Merchant is an Italian literary fairy tale
written by Giambattista Basile
in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone
.
s, lamenting their treasure. He lamented with them. In the morning, they gave him it and warned him to keep care of it. He could not see a ladder up and called for help; the owner of the house came with a ladder and they found a treasure, which Cienzo refused to take part of and went on. Another time, he crossed a river to find a fairy
being attacked by robbers; he helped her, but refused to come to her palace to be rewarded.
He came to a town where a seven-headed dragon
devoured a maiden every day, and now the lot had fallen the princess, Menechella. He went to fight the dragon, found its heads reattached themselves, but cut them all off with one blow, cut off their tongues, and threw them about the countryside, where they were too far apart.
The king declared that whoever had killed the dragon would marry his daughter. A countryman
gathered all the heads and claimed the prize. Cienzo wrote a letter to the princess and had his dog deliver it. The king had the dog followed back to Cienzo, who revealed that the heads that the man had brought as proof were missing the tongues, which he had. The king married his daughter to Cienzo and sent for Cienzo's father.
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 merchant's son, Cienzo, was throwing stones with the son of the king of Naples, and cracked the prince's head. His father, fearing the consequences, threw him out with some money, an enchanted horse, and an enchanted dog. In the evening, Cienzo found a tower by a ruined house; the master of the tower would not let him in, for fear of robbers. Cienzo went to the house. In the night, he found it was haunted by three ghostGhost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s, lamenting their treasure. He lamented with them. In the morning, they gave him it and warned him to keep care of it. He could not see a ladder up and called for help; the owner of the house came with a ladder and they found a treasure, which Cienzo refused to take part of and went on. Another time, he crossed a river to find a fairy
Fairy
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
being attacked by robbers; he helped her, but refused to come to her palace to be rewarded.
He came to a town where a seven-headed dragon
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...
devoured a maiden every day, and now the lot had fallen the princess, Menechella. He went to fight the dragon, found its heads reattached themselves, but cut them all off with one blow, cut off their tongues, and threw them about the countryside, where they were too far apart.
The king declared that whoever had killed the dragon would marry his daughter. A countryman
False hero
The false hero is a stock character in fairy tales, and sometimes also in ballads. The character appears near the end of a story in order to claim to be the hero or heroine and is, therefore, always of the same sex as the hero or heroine. The false hero presents some claim to the position. By...
gathered all the heads and claimed the prize. Cienzo wrote a letter to the princess and had his dog deliver it. The king had the dog followed back to Cienzo, who revealed that the heads that the man had brought as proof were missing the tongues, which he had. The king married his daughter to Cienzo and sent for Cienzo's father.