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_Tittone, son of the King of Verde-colle, goes in search of his three sisters, who are married to a Falcon, a Stag, and a Dolphin. After a long journey he finds them, and on his way home discovers a king’s daughter held captive by a Dragon in a tower. By means of the tokens his three brothers-in-law have given him, he summons all three to her aid. With their help he kills the Dragon, frees the Princess, and takes her for his wife, then returns to his own kingdom with his brothers-in-law and sisters._ _More than a few were moved by the compassion Marcuccio had shown Parmiero, and all the women agreed that virtue bestows lasting riches, which neither time consumes, nor storms carry off, nor woodworm gnaws away; whereas the other blessings of this life come and go, and ill-gotten wealth never reaches the third generation. At last Meneca, taking her cue from the events just related, brought the following tale to their storytelling table._ Once upon a time there was a King of Verde-colle who had three daughters, three precious jewels. Three sons of the King of Bello-prato were burning with love for them, but because a fairy’s curse had turned all three into animals, the King of Verde-colle scorned to give them his daughters in marriage. So the eldest, who was a handsome Falcon and possessed magical powers, summoned all the birds to a parliament. Finches, wrens, golden orioles, greenfinches, flycatchers, kestrels, hoopoes, larks, cuckoos, magpies, and every other feathered tribe came at his call, and he sent them all to ravage the blossoms on the trees of Verde-colle, where they left neither flower nor leaf. The second, who was a Stag, called together all the goats, rabbits, hares, porcupines, and other animals of that country, and had them lay waste the crops, until not so much as a blade of grass remained.

The third, who was a Dolphin, conspired with a hundred sea monsters and raised such a storm along the coast that not one boat was left whole. Seeing that matters were going from bad to worse, and that he could do nothing to prevent the damage these three wild lovers were causing, the King resolved to free himself from his troubles and consented to give them his daughters in marriage. Without asking for festivities or music, they carried the girls out of the kingdom. As the brides were leaving, Queen Grazolla gave her daughters three identical rings, one apiece, telling them that if they should be parted and meet again after some time, or encounter anyone else of their blood, they would recognize one another by these rings. So they took their leave and departed. The Falcon carried Fabiella, the eldest sister, to a mountain so immensely high that it pierced the clouds and held its dry head where rain never falls. There he provided her with a magnificent palace and kept her like a queen.

The Stag carried Vasta, the second sister, into a forest so tangled that the shadows, when night called them out, could not find their way to attend her. There, in a splendid house with a garden whose beauty had no equal, he maintained her in a style worthy of himself. The Dolphin swam with Rita, the youngest, on his back, out into the open sea, where he provided her with a house on a lovely rock, spacious enough for three crowned kings. Meanwhile Grazolla gave birth to a handsome boy, whom she named Tittone. When he was fifteen, hearing his mother forever lamenting her three daughters, married to three animals and never heard of again, he took it into his head to travel the world until he found some trace of them. After much entreating of his father and mother, the Queen gave him another ring like those she had given her daughters, and they granted him leave to go, furnishing him with all the comforts and attendants necessary and fitting for a prince of his rank. He left no hole in Italy, no nook in France, no corner of Spain unsearched; he passed through England, roamed Slavonia, visited Poland, and, in short, journeyed east and west. At last, having left all his servants behind, some in taverns and some in hospitals, and finding himself without a penny, he reached the mountain where the Falcon and Fabiella lived. As he stood beside himself with wonder at the beauty of the palace, with its porphyry cornerstones, alabaster walls, golden windows, and silver roof tiles, his sister saw him. She had him called in and asked who he was, where he came from, and what chance had brought him to those parts. When Tittone told her his country, his father’s and mother’s names, and his own, Fabiella recognized him as her brother, all the more surely when she compared the ring he wore with the one her mother had given her. She embraced him with great joy, but, fearing her husband might resent his coming, she hid him away. When the Sparrowhawk returned, Fabiella began by saying that she had been longing for her family. The Sparrowhawk answered, “Let the feeling pass, my wife, for that cannot be until I am in the mood.” “At least,” said Fabiella, “let us send for some relation of mine to comfort me.” “And who would come so far to see you?” replied the Sparrowhawk. “But if someone did come,” Fabiella asked again, “would you be displeased?” “Why should I be displeased?” answered the Sparrowhawk. “So long as he is of your blood, I would cherish him like the apple of my eye.” Hearing this, Fabiella took courage, brought her brother out, and presented him to the Sparrowhawk, who said, “Five and five make ten; love gets through a glove, and water through a boot:

you are welcome here! You are master of this house: give your orders and make yourself at home.” And he commanded that Tittone should be honored and served as though he were himself. But after spending a fortnight on that mountain, Tittone began to think of searching for his other sisters. When he asked leave of his sister and brother-in-law, the Sparrowhawk gave him one of his feathers, saying, “Take this, my dear Tittone, and treasure it, for you may find yourself in such need that you will value it as a fortune. Only keep it safe, and if ever necessity presses you, throw it on the ground and say, ‘Come here, come here!’ You will have cause to thank me.” Tittone wrapped the feather in a piece of paper and put it in a little purse; then, after a thousand courtesies, he departed. After a prodigious stretch of traveling he reached the forest where the Stag lived with Vasta. Famished, he went into the garden to pick a little fruit, and his sister saw him. Recognizing him in the same way Fabiella had, she made him known to her husband, who welcomed him warmly and treated him truly like a prince. When, after another fortnight, he wished to leave in search of his remaining sister, the Stag gave him one of his hairs, with the same words the Sparrowhawk had spoken when giving him the feather. So he set off with a handful of crowns from the Sparrowhawk and as many more from the Stag, and traveled until he reached the end of the land. Unable to go farther because of the sea, he took ship, intending to search all the islands for news of her. Setting his sails to the wind, he voyaged about until he was brought to the island where the Dolphin lived with Rita. Scarcely had he landed when his sister saw him and recognized him in the same way as the others had done. His brother-in-law lavished a thousand kindnesses on him, and when he wished to leave to see his mother and father again after so long an absence, the Dolphin gave him one of his scales, with the same instructions. Then Tittone procured a horse and set out;

but he had not gone half a mile from the shore when he entered a forest that was a free port for fear and shadows, where darkness and terror made an everlasting twilight. There he found a great tower in the middle of a lake, which kissed the feet of the trees so that they would not show its ugliness to the sun. At one of the tower’s windows he saw a beautiful maiden at the feet of an ugly Dragon, who lay asleep;

and when she saw Tittone, she said in a low, piteous voice, “Oh, my handsome young man, perhaps Heaven has sent you to comfort me in my misery, to this place where no Christian face has ever been seen! Deliver me from this tyrant serpent, who stole me from my father, the King of Chiara-Valle, and carried me away to imprisonment in this wretched tower, where I have grown musty and moldy. Alas!” “What can I do to serve you, my fair lady?” said Tittone. “Who can cross this lake?

Who can climb this tower? Who can approach this hideous Dragon, whose very looks strike terror, sow fear, and set men trembling? But softly now, wait a little, and we shall see whether we can catch this serpent with someone else’s sleeve. ‘One step at a time,’ as Gradasso used to say. We shall soon see whether this is substance or wind.” With that he threw down together the feather, the hair, and the scale his brothers-in-law had given him, saying:

“Come here, come!” As they touched the earth, like summer raindrops that bring forth frogs, the Falcon, the Stag, and the Dolphin appeared, all crying together, “Here we are! What are your commands?” Overjoyed at the sight, Tittone said, “All I wish is to rescue that poor maiden from the claws of that Dragon, bring her out of the tower, pull the whole place down, and take this beautiful bride home with me.” “Say no more,” answered the Sparrowhawk. “Beans sprout where you least expect them. We shall make him turn on a farthing, and see that he has scarcely a scrap of ground to stand on.” “Let us waste no time,” replied the Stag. “Troubles and macaroni are best dealt with hot.” So saying, the Sparrowhawk summoned a flock of griffins, who flew to the tower window, plucked out the maiden, and carried her across the lake to where Tittone stood with his brothers-in-law. If from afar she had seemed a moon to him, close at hand he thought her a sun, so beautiful was she. But while he was embracing her and speaking tender words, the Dragon awoke, flung himself from the window, and came swimming over to devour Tittone. Then the Stag summoned a troop of lions, tigers, panthers, bears, and great apes, who fell upon the Dragon and shredded him with their claws. This done, Tittone was about to depart when the Dolphin said, “I too wish to do something in your service.” And so that no memory should remain of so accursed and dismal a place, he made the sea rise until it overflowed its bounds and battered the tower with such fury that it tore it up by the foundations. At the sight of these deeds, Tittone thanked his brothers-in-law as warmly and eloquently as he could, bidding his bride do the same, since it was through them that she had escaped such peril. But the animals answered, “Rather, it is we who must thank this lovely lady, for she is the means of restoring us to our own true selves. When we were born, a fairy whom our mother had offended laid a curse upon us, condemning us to remain in these animal shapes until we should rescue a king’s daughter from great distress. Now the time we longed for has come; now this cluster of sorb apples has ripened, and already we feel new life within our breasts, new blood within our veins.” As they spoke, they became three handsome young men, who one after another embraced their brother-in-law tightly and took the hand of their new kinswoman, who was beside herself with joy. At the sight, Tittone heaved so deep a sigh that he nearly fainted, and said:

“O Lord God, why are my dear mother and father not here to share this happiness? They would melt with delight to see such charming, handsome sons-in-law before them!” “The day is not over yet,” his brothers-in-law answered. “Shame at being seen so transformed drove us to shun the sight of men. But now that, by Heaven’s grace, we can appear among people again, we wish to gather beneath one roof with our dear wives and live happily. So let us make haste, for before the sun unpacks his merchandise of rays at the customhouse of the East tomorrow morning, our wives shall be with you.” Having said this, so that they need not travel on foot, since there was nothing but the broken-down nag Tittone had brought, they summoned a splendid coach drawn by six lions. All five got in, and after traveling all day they reached an inn that evening. While food was being prepared for them to tuck into, they passed the time reading the many testimonials to human ignorance scrawled upon the walls. At last, after they had eaten and retired, the three young men pretended to go to bed but busied themselves all night, so that by morning, when the stars, bashful as young brides, refuse to let the sun see them, they were back at the same inn with their wives. There was a great embracing and joy beyond all bounds; then all eight seated themselves in the same coach and, after a long journey, arrived at Verde-colle. There the King and Queen welcomed them with unspeakable tenderness, having recovered the principal of four children they had thought lost, with the bonus of three sons-in-law and a daughter-in-law who were four pillars of the temple of beauty. Word of their children’s adventures was sent to the Kings of Bel-prato and Chiara-valle, and both came to the festivities, adding the rich fat of their joy to the mingled stew of everyone’s happiness, and wiping away all their former sorrows, for _One hour of content_ _Makes a thousand years of torment forgotten._