“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 sprig in a pot and took good care of it, and one day the King’s son was passing by and took a fancy to it, and convinced the woman to give it to him, and afterwards placed it in his bedchamber and treated it with care. One night after he had gone to bed, a young woman slipped in beside him, and realizing she was a fairy, he felt affection for her. She left before the sun rose, and after seven days like this he burned with desire to see her. So, he tied one of her tresses to his arm, and called one of his chamberlains to light a candle, and found her to be very beautiful. Out loud he expressed his amazement and woke her to confess his love, to which she replied she was his servant and would do anything to please him. He promised to marry her, and after several days of affection, he was called away to hunt a terrible wild boar. Fearful of what might happen in his absence, and feeling jealousy, he orders the fairy to hide back inside the myrtle pot. She asked only that he tie a piece of silk with a bell to the top of the myrtle, and to ring it when he arrived back home so that she could come back out. The prince did this and told his chamberlain to make the bed every day, and to water the myrtle, too. Seven wicked women who knew the prince had a secret passage dug to his chamber, and entered when he left. They came across the myrtle and plucked leaves from it, but the youngest took the whole top, and jingled the bell as she did it. The fairy, who thought the prince was back home, lept out. Jealous of her, the wicked women tore her to shreds (the youngest did not partake) and then left. The chamberlain went to tend to the room, found a bloody mess of body parts, which he placed in the pot. He watered it, made the bed, and ran off in fear. When the prince came home to this, he was distraught, and stopped eating and drinking. The myrtle regrew from what was planted in the pot, and the fairy came out to comfort her love. She told him everything, and the prince called back the blameless chamberlain, and was married to the fairy. All were invited, including the seven wicked women, and he asked everyone what they thought was proper punishment for whoever it was that hurt his wife. When it came to the seven women’s turn to speak, they said whoever did it deserved to be buried alive in the dungeon. The prince obliged, and that is what became of them. The youngest, who did not injure the fairy, was married to the chamberlain, and the prince gave the myrtle’s parents a good sum of money. He lived with the fairy happily.