Once upon a time, a king and queen had a son who was slow-witted and rarely laughed. His mother worried deeply about him and could not imagine what might bring happiness to his face.
One day, she sought divine counsel, hoping to discover what she could do for her son. She was advised to give away a jar of oil to anyone who came to receive some. Among the visitors, there would surely be people whose unusual appearances might amuse the prince and make him laugh.
The queen followed the advice and announced that everyone was welcome to come and collect oil from her jar. People arrived in great numbers, taking what they needed until hardly a drop remained.
At last, an old witch appeared and asked for some oil. The queen told her that everything had been given away. But the old woman insisted on looking inside the jar. The queen opened it, and the witch climbed right inside, covering herself with the oily remains at the bottom.
Explore more stories from our Italian Popular Tales collection.
When she emerged, she was such a ridiculous sight that the prince burst into laughter. He laughed and laughed, delighted by the spectacle.
The old woman noticed his happiness and, before leaving, pronounced a strange curse upon him.
“May you never know happiness until you go and find the Love of the Three Oranges!”
The prince immediately became determined to undertake this journey. His mother tried to discourage him, wondering how he could possibly find such a mysterious thing. But he would not change his mind. He mounted his horse and rode away in search of the three oranges.
After travelling for a long time, he arrived at an enormous gate. He knocked, and a voice from within demanded to know who was there.
“A soul created by God,” the prince answered.
The voice expressed surprise, for nobody had knocked at that gate in many years. Eventually, an old man came down to open it. His eyelids were so long that they reached his feet.
“Take those little forks and lift my eyelids, my son,” he instructed.
The prince helped him, and the old man asked where he was travelling.
“I am going to find the Love of the Three Oranges,” the prince replied.
The old man warned him that many people had gone in search of it and never returned. Nevertheless, seeing that the prince was determined, he gave him some little twigs.
“You will meet enormous witches who sweep their ovens with their hands. Give them these twigs, and they will allow you to pass.”
The prince thanked him and continued his journey. Before long, he encountered the enormous witches. Remembering the old man’s instructions, he threw them the twigs, and they let him go safely through.
He travelled farther until he reached a second gate, larger than the first. Once again, an old man with extraordinarily long eyelids appeared and helped him.
The prince explained his quest, and the old man warned him of another danger. He gave him some ropes, telling him that he would meet witches who drew water using their long hair. If he threw them the ropes, they would allow him to pass.
The prince followed his instructions and escaped that danger as well.
Eventually, he reached a third gate, even larger than the second. There he met another old man whose eyelids were longer still.
After hearing the prince’s purpose, the old man gave him two bags, one containing bread and the other containing tallow.
“Take this bread,” he said. “You will meet three enormous dogs that will try to devour you. Throw them the bread, and they will let you pass. After that, you will reach a great gate covered with rusty padlocks. Use the tallow to grease them so that you can open the gate. Beyond it stands a tower. The three oranges you seek are hanging from a nail inside. But be careful. An old woman lives there with her son, an ogre who has eaten every Christian who has ventured into that place.”
The prince thanked the old man and continued.
As predicted, three enormous dogs appeared, their mouths wide open as they rushed towards him. He threw them the bread, and they stopped to eat, allowing him to pass.
He soon reached the gate covered with rusty padlocks. Dismounting from his horse, he tied it nearby and carefully rubbed the tallow into the locks. After much creaking and groaning, the gate finally opened.
Inside, he discovered the tower and climbed towards it. There he encountered an old woman who immediately asked what he was doing in such a dangerous place.
“Dear son, why have you come here? My son is an ogre, and if he finds you, he will certainly eat you!”
Before she could say anything more, the ogre arrived. His mother quickly hid the prince beneath a bed.
The ogre entered and began sniffing the air suspiciously.
“Geîn geîn, I smell a Christian! Giàn giàn, I smell a Christian!”
His mother insisted that nobody else was in the house, but the ogre continued complaining. To distract him, she gave him a large piece of meat, which he devoured greedily.
While he was occupied, she secretly handed the prince the three oranges.
“Take them and escape quickly,” she whispered. “Once he finishes eating, he will come looking for you.”
However, almost immediately after helping the prince, the old woman regretted her decision. She began calling upon the very things around him to destroy him.
“Stairs, throw him down! Lock, crush him!”
But the stairs and the lock refused.
“We will not harm him. He gave us tallow!”
She then commanded the dogs to devour him, but they refused because he had fed them bread.
Next, she called upon the witches to strangle and kill him. They also refused, remembering the ropes and twigs he had given them.
Thus, the prince escaped every danger and rode away with the three precious oranges.
He continued his journey, but after travelling for some time, he became terribly thirsty. Unable to find water, he decided to open one of the oranges.
As soon as he did, a beautiful young woman appeared before him.
“Love, give me something to drink!” she pleaded.
The prince had no water to offer.
“Love, I have none,” he answered.
“Love, I shall die!” she cried.
And immediately, the beautiful maiden died.
Heartbroken, the prince threw away the empty orange and continued travelling. Before long, his thirst returned. In desperation, he opened the second orange, and another beautiful maiden appeared.
She too begged him for water, but he had nothing to give her. When he admitted this, she also died.
The prince was devastated. He had already lost two extraordinary women and could not bear to lose the last one.
He resolved to wait until he found water before opening the final orange.
Fortunately, he soon came upon a well. He opened the third orange, and a maiden appeared, more beautiful than the first two.
As soon as she asked for water, the prince gave her some from the well. This time, she survived.
Overjoyed, he helped her out of the orange, placed her on his horse, and began the journey home with her.
When they were almost at his kingdom, he stopped beneath two remarkable trees. One had golden leaves and silver fruit, while the other had silver leaves and golden fruit.
He prepared a comfortable resting place for the maiden between the trees.
“Wait here for me,” he told her. “I must go to my mother and tell her that I have found you. Then I will return, and we shall be married.”
The maiden agreed, and the prince rode off towards the palace.
While she waited, an old witch approached her.
“Dear daughter, allow me to comb your hair,” the woman requested.
The maiden refused at first, believing that someone like herself should not accept such an offer from a stranger. But the old woman continued asking until the girl finally became tired of refusing and allowed her to proceed.
The witch took the opportunity to drive a pin through the maiden’s head, piercing her temples from side to side.
Immediately, the beautiful girl was transformed into a white dove.
The witch then climbed into the maiden’s resting place and took her position, pretending to be the prince’s bride.
Meanwhile, the prince reached the palace and happily told his mother about the beautiful woman he had found.
“Where have you left her, my son?” the queen asked.
“She is resting between two wonderful trees. One has golden leaves and silver fruit, while the other has silver leaves and golden fruit.”
The queen was delighted and immediately organised a grand celebration. She invited many guests, prepared carriages, and arranged for everyone to accompany her to bring the future bride to the palace.
But when they arrived at the trees, they found no beautiful maiden waiting for them. Instead, an ugly, wrinkled old woman occupied the resting place, while a white dove perched above the two trees.
The prince was heartbroken and terribly embarrassed. He could hardly believe that the beautiful bride he had promised his mother had been replaced by such an unpleasant-looking woman.
Nevertheless, his parents decided to bring the old woman back to the palace to satisfy him. The wedding feast had already been prepared, and the queen reassured her son that the woman would become beautiful again.
But the prince was too miserable to eat or speak.
As the guests gathered around the table, the white dove flew to the kitchen balcony. There it began singing a strange song, asking that the cook fall asleep, the roast meat burn, and the old witch be unable to eat.
The cook immediately became overwhelmed by sleep. He could not stay awake long enough to prepare the meal properly, and the roast was ruined.
The guests waited impatiently. Eventually, they went to the kitchen and found the cook asleep. They woke him, but he soon became drowsy again.
He tried to prepare another roast, but the dove returned to the balcony and sang the same song.
Once again, the cook fell asleep, and the meat burned.
This time, the prince himself went to investigate. He found the cook sleeping and demanded to know what was happening.
The cook explained that a dove kept appearing on the balcony, singing the same strange words. Each time he heard its song, he became helplessly sleepy.
The prince went outside and saw the beautiful white dove.
“Cuócula, pretty cuócula, come here and let me see you!” he called gently.
The dove approached, and the prince caught it carefully. As he held and caressed the little bird, he noticed something unusual. Several pins were stuck in its head, one in the forehead and two in the temples.
He gently removed the first pin from its forehead, then pulled out the others.
Suddenly, the dove was transformed back into the beautiful maiden he had rescued from the orange. Indeed, she appeared even more beautiful than before.
The prince was overjoyed.
“Mother, come and see! This is my bride!”
The queen and king were delighted to see the young woman, while the false bride, recognising that her deception had been uncovered, began crying out in terror.
“Take me away! Take me away! I am afraid!”
The true bride then explained everything that had happened, from the witch’s approach beneath the trees to the pins that had transformed her into a dove.
The guests were furious when they learned how the old woman had deceived the prince and stolen the maiden’s place.
One of the most distinguished guests suggested that she should be covered in grease and burned.
Everyone agreed.
They seized the witch, gathered wood, and burned her in the middle of the city.
With the wicked witch finally gone and the true bride restored, the prince and the beautiful maiden could at last be together.
The wedding celebration was held again, this time with even greater joy and splendour. The prince had found the Love of the Three Oranges, overcome every danger, and recovered the bride he had travelled so far to find.
And so, they celebrated their marriage with a finer wedding than the first.
Explore our complete Historic Folklore & Fairy-Tale Collections archive.
Moral
The story suggests that kindness and generosity can become a source of protection when danger appears. The prince’s willingness to help others enables him to overcome obstacles that would otherwise have ended his journey.
It also teaches the importance of learning from experience. After losing the first two maidens because he lacked water, the prince becomes more careful and ensures that he can meet the final maiden’s needs before opening the last orange.
Above all, the story celebrates perseverance. The prince’s journey is filled with danger, disappointment, and deception, but he continues until he recovers the bride he has sought.
Knowledge Check
1. Why did the prince begin his journey to find the Three Oranges?
The old witch cursed him after making him laugh, declaring that he would never be happy until he found the Love of the Three Oranges.
2. What gifts did the three old men give the prince?
The first gave him twigs, the second gave him ropes, and the third gave him bread and tallow.
3. Why did the first two maidens die?
They emerged from the oranges and asked for water, but the prince had none to give them.
4. How did the third maiden survive?
The prince waited until he reached a well before opening the final orange, allowing him to give her water immediately.
5. How did the witch transform the maiden into a dove?
She pretended to comb the maiden’s hair and secretly drove pins through her head, transforming her into a white dove.
6. How did the prince discover the dove’s true identity?
He noticed the pins in its forehead and temples and removed them, restoring the maiden to human form.
7. What does the story suggest about generosity?
The prince’s kindness towards the witches, dogs, and other supernatural beings becomes the reason they refuse to harm him when the old woman commands them.
Source
Thomas Frederick Crane, Italian Popular Tales (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1885), Chapter II, Fairy Tales Continued, Tale XXIV, “The Love of the Three Oranges,” pp. 338–342.
Explore More Italian Popular Tales
