A king had a daughter, as beautiful as the light of the sun, that all princes and great lords would have wished her in marriage, if it were not for the covenant she had established with her father. We must know that once this King had offered a great meal, and while all the guests laughed and were in joy, only his daughter remained serious and dark in the face.
– why are you so sad? the guests asked her. And she: shut up. Everyone tried to make her laugh, but nobody could.
– My daughter, are you angry? – the father told her.
– No, no, my father.
– So why do not you laugh?
– I would not laugh even if it were my life.
An idea came to the king: “Good! Since you are so stubborn not to laugh, of yourself not to laugh, let’s do a test, or rather a pact. Who will marry you, will have to be able to make you laugh.”
“Ok”, said the princess, “But I add this condition: anyone will try to make me laugh and will not succeed, his head will be cut off”
And so it was established. All the guests were witnesses, the word given could no longer be withdrawn. The voice spread in the world and all the princes and great lords wanted to try to win the hand of that Princess so beautiful, but all those who tried, they ruin their head. Everyday early, the princess sat on the balcony to wait for a suitor to arrive. the year passed and the king was afraid his daughter could be alone all her life. the news also came in a small town. A boy with a ringworm on his head, the son of a poor cobbler, had been open-mouthed and he said, “I want to go!”
“Do not be silly, my son,” said his father.
“Yes, father, I want to go see. Tomorrow I leave.”
“They will kill you. Those do not joke.”
“My father, I want to became King”
“Yes, sure” – all laughed – “a bald King
The next morning, the father did not longer thought of the idea of the bo, when he saw him appear in front and say: “So I go; here everyone looks at me ugly because of the ringworm. give me three loaves, three coins and a jug of wine. I already thought of everithings” and he set off.
Walking along, he met a poor woman who was dragging herself leaning on a stick
“Are you hungry, mistress? asked the scabby.
“A lot, my boy!. You’d have to give me something to eat?”
The bald boy gave her one of her three loaves, and the woman ate it, But since the woman was still hungry, he also gave her the second and because he was really sorry for him, he ended up giving her the third one too.
Walking along, he met another woman, all in rags: “Dear boy, would you give me some money to buy me a dress?”
The bald boy gave her a coin; then he thought that maybe one was not enough, he gave him another one; but the woman gave him so much pity that he also gave her the third.
Walking along He met another woman, old, wrinkled, tongue out of thirst: “Oh boy, if you give me some water to wet my tongue, save a soul of Purgatory.”
The bald boy handed her his bowl of wine, the old woman drank a little and he invited her to drink again, until she drank it all.
He raised his face, and was no longer an old woman, but a beautiful blonde girl with a star in her hair: “I know where you are going, and I knew your good heart because the three women you met were always me. I want to help you. Take this nice goose and always take it with you. When someone touches her, she screams “Quaquà” and you must immediately say: ‘Attack yourself there’.” And the beautiful girl disappeared.
The bald continued carrying the goose with him In the evening he came to an inn and, being without money as, it was sat outside on a bench. The innkeeper came out and wanted to drive him away but his two daughters arrived and, seeing the goose, said to their father:”Please, don’t dend him away. Send him and give him food and sleep. The innkeeper looked at the goose, he understood what the daughters had in mind and said: Ok, he can sleep in a beautiful room and the goose will bring it to the stable. But the boy refused: “It’s too nice a goose to stay in a stable”.
After eating, the scabby went to sleep and the goose put it under the bed. As he slept, he thought he heard a noise and suddenly the goose said: “Quaquà” and he answer “Attack yourself there” and he got up to see, It was the innkeeper’s daughter, who had approached on all fours, with the shirt, she had clipped the goose to take her plumage away and she remained attached in that position.
“Help! Sister! Come and get me off!”
The goose said: “Quaquà” and he answer “Attack yourself there” And the sister is still there attached.
The young man looked out of the window: it was almost daylight, He got dressed and left the tavern with the goose behind and the girls glued. On the way he met a priest. Seeing the daughters of the host in a shirt the priest began to say: Ah, shameless, are you going around like this at this time? Now I’ll show you! And down a spanking. The goose said: “Quaquà” and he answer “Attack yourself there”. and the priest remains attached too.
Continue the road, with three people attached to the goose. They meet a calderaio loaded with casseroles, pots and pans. Ah, what do I have to see? A priest in that position! Wait for me! – And down a stick: “Quaquà” and he answer “Attack yourself there”. and the priest remains attached too. and we are also attacked by the calderaio, with all its pots.
The daughter of the King that morning was as usual on the balcony, when she saw that company arrive: the scabby, the goose, the first daughter of the innkeeper attached to the goose, the second daughter of the innkeeper attached to the first, the priest attached to the second, the boiler with casseroles, pots and pans attached to the priest. At that sight the Princess burst out laughing like crazy, then called her father, and he laughed too: the whole court looked out the windows and everyone laughed at the uproariously. On the most beautiful of the general laughter, the goose and all those who were attacked disappeared. Only the scabby remained. He climbed the stairs and presented himself to the King.
The King glanced at him, saw him there with the ringworm on his head, dressed in a half-moon, all patched up, and he did not know how. “Good young man,” he said, “I’ll take you for a servant. Do you want?” – But the man did not want to accept: he wanted to marry the Princess. The King, to take time, began to make him wash well, and dress like a gentleman.
When he appeared again, the young man did not recognize himself any more: it was so beautiful that the Princess fell in love with him and saw only for his own eyes. First of all, the young man wanted to go get his father. He got into the carriage, and the poor cobbler was complaining at the door, because that one child had left him. He took him to the palace, introduced him to his father-in-law and his princess, his bride, and they got married.