The Myrtle

“The Myrtle." Stories from the Pentamerone, by Giambattista Basile; selected and edited by E.F. Strange, London: Macmillan; 1911, pp. 11-21.

Tale Summary There was once a couple living in Miano who desperately wanted a child. The woman often said out loud that she would not even care if the child was a sprig of myrtle, and eventually she wore down the heavens and her wish was granted. She planted the...