The Flea is a dark and unusual fairy tale by Giambattista Basile, published in his collection The Pentamerone. The story begins when the King of High Hill decides to raise a flea in a bottle, feeding it until it grows larger than a sheep. What begins as a curious experiment soon becomes a terrible mistake when the king offers his daughter’s hand in marriage to anyone who can identify the creature’s skin. An ogre solves the challenge, and the king must face the consequences of his promise. Princess Porziella’s only hope lies with an old woman and her seven extraordinary sons.
The King’s Extraordinary Flea
Once upon a time, the King of High Hill was bitten by a flea. He caught the tiny creature and examined it closely. Finding it unusually handsome, he decided not to kill it.
Instead, he placed the flea inside a bottle and fed it daily with blood from his own arm.
The creature grew steadily. After seven months, it had become larger than a sheep. The king was astonished by its enormous size and decided to discover just how unusual his creature had become.
He ordered the flea to be skinned and its hide prepared. Then he issued a proclamation throughout his kingdom.
Whoever could identify the animal from which the skin had come would receive the king’s daughter, Princess Porziella, in marriage.
The announcement attracted people from distant lands. Many came hoping to win the beautiful princess, but none could identify the strange hide. Some believed it belonged to an ape, others guessed a lynx, and several suggested a crocodile. Every answer was wrong.
At last, an ogre arrived.
He was so frightening in appearance that even the bravest people trembled at the sight of him. He examined the skin, turned it over, and smelled it. Almost immediately, he declared that it belonged to a flea.
The king recognised that the ogre had answered correctly. He had made a promise before the entire kingdom, and now he faced the consequences.
Princess Porziella’s Unwanted Marriage
The king summoned Porziella and explained that he had promised her hand to the ogre.
The princess was devastated. She could not understand why her father would give her to such a terrifying creature. She reminded him of the love he had once shown her and begged him not to force her into a marriage that filled her with dread.
Porziella argued that she had committed no wrongdoing and did not deserve such a punishment. She pleaded with her father to reconsider his decision.
The king refused.
He insisted that a ruler must keep his word, even when doing so brings sorrow. He also became angry at his daughter for questioning his judgement. Rather than protect her from the ogre, he ordered her to leave with him immediately.
Porziella had no choice but to obey.
The ogre took her far from the city, through a lonely forest where the trees stood close together and sunlight barely reached the ground. Deep in the wilderness stood his dreadful house, decorated with the bones of people he had devoured.
The princess was terrified. She had grown up in a royal palace, surrounded by comfort and fine food, but now she found herself trapped in a place of horror.
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Life in the Ogre’s House
Porziella’s new husband showed little concern for her distress.
Her meals were miserable, and the ogre’s behaviour made her situation worse. When he returned from hunting, he brought home the remains of people he had killed and expected her to prepare food from them.
Porziella could scarcely bear to look at what he brought. She turned away in disgust, but the ogre became annoyed by her reaction.
He told her that he planned to go hunting wild boars and would return with food for a feast. He intended to celebrate their marriage with his relatives the following day.
When the ogre left the house, Porziella stood by a window and wept.
An old woman passing by noticed her distress and stopped to ask what was wrong. The woman was hungry and hoped to receive something to eat.
Porziella explained that she was the daughter of a king but had been given to a monstrous husband who filled her home with human remains. She told the old woman how miserable she was and confessed that she could see no way to escape.
The old woman listened with sympathy.
She promised that Porziella would not remain a prisoner forever. She had seven sons, each possessing a remarkable ability, and she believed they could help the princess return safely to her father.
The Seven Remarkable Brothers
The old woman introduced her seven sons: Mase, Nardo, Cola, Micco, Petrullo, Ascaddeo, and Ceccone.
Each brother possessed a different power.
Mase could hear everything happening within thirty miles whenever he placed his ear against the ground. Nardo could produce an enormous sea of soap suds simply by spitting. Cola could create a field of sharp razors by throwing a piece of iron onto the ground.
Micco could make a dense forest appear by throwing down a small stick. Petrullo could create a tremendous river with a drop of water. Ascaddeo could raise a strong tower by throwing a stone onto the ground. Ceccone was an extraordinary marksman who could strike a target as small as a hen’s eye from a mile away with his crossbow.
The old woman explained that her sons were kind and compassionate. She believed they would willingly help Porziella escape from the ogre.
The princess was encouraged by this promise. She asked whether they could rescue her immediately, but the old woman explained that she lived too far away to gather her sons that evening.
She promised to return with them the following morning.
For the first time since her forced marriage, Porziella felt some hope. She went to bed and slept more peacefully than she had in many days.
The Escape Begins
At dawn, the old woman returned with all seven sons.
They placed Porziella among them and began the journey towards the city. Their escape seemed promising until Mase placed his ear against the ground.
He heard the ogre approaching.
The monster had returned home, discovered that his wife was missing, and immediately set out to pursue her.
Mase warned his brothers that the ogre was coming. Nardo responded by spitting onto the ground, creating a vast sea of soap suds that blocked the path.
When the ogre reached the slippery obstacle, he could not cross it easily. He hurried home, fetched a sack of bran, and scattered it over the suds until he could make his way across.
The brothers continued their journey, but Mase soon heard the ogre approaching again.
This time, Cola threw a piece of iron onto the ground. A field of sharp razors appeared, stretching across the route ahead.
The ogre could not cross the dangerous field in his ordinary condition. He returned home, covered himself in iron armor, and came back prepared to endure the sharp blades.
Once again, he overcame the obstacle and continued the pursuit.
The Forest and the River
Mase listened to the ground and discovered that the ogre was coming once more.
Micco threw down his little stick, and a thick forest sprang up before the travelers. The trees stood so closely together that the path became almost impossible to cross.
The ogre, however, refused to give up. He drew a large knife and began cutting through the trees. He chopped down the trunks and cleared a route through the forest until he could continue after the fleeing party.
Soon, Mase heard the ogre approaching at an even greater speed.
Petrullo took some water from a nearby fountain and sprinkled it onto the ground. In an instant, a broad river appeared across the path.
The ogre reached the river and realised that he could not cross it by ordinary means. Determined to catch Porziella, he removed his clothes, held them above his head, and swam to the other side.
The brothers and their mother knew that the ogre was still close behind them. Their magical barriers had delayed him, but none had stopped him for long.
They needed a safer place where they could defend themselves.
The Tower and the Final Battle
Mase soon heard the ogre approaching yet again.
Ascaddeo threw a stone onto the ground, and a strong tower rose before them. The group hurried inside and barred the door.
For a moment, they were safe.
But the ogre was not ready to abandon his pursuit. He returned home, fetched a ladder, and carried it back to the tower. He intended to climb up and reach the people hiding inside.
Mase listened carefully and warned his brothers that the ogre was almost upon them. Their escape depended on Ceccone, the youngest brother and the finest marksman among them.
Ceccone remained calm.
When the ogre placed the ladder against the tower and began climbing, Ceccone raised his crossbow and took aim. He shot the ogre in the eye, bringing the monster crashing to the ground.
The brothers had finally defeated their pursuer.
Ceccone went outside and cut off the ogre’s head, ensuring that he could not threaten Porziella again.
The long and dangerous pursuit was over. Porziella, the old woman, and her seven sons could now return to the city without fear of being captured.
Porziella Returns to Her Father
The group carried the ogre’s head to the king.
When the king saw his daughter alive, he was overjoyed. He had regretted his decision many times, realizing that his promise had placed Porziella in terrible danger.
He welcomed her home and acknowledged the suffering caused by his foolish choice.
The king rewarded the old woman and her seven sons with great riches for rescuing his daughter. He also arranged a marriage for Porziella with a handsome man who could become a suitable husband.
The king continued to blame himself for exposing his daughter to such danger simply to preserve a rash promise.
His strange experiment with the flea had begun as an act of curiosity, but his decision to turn its skin into a test of marriage had nearly destroyed his daughter’s life.
Porziella was finally free, and the king had learned a painful lesson about responsibility. A promise made without thought can have consequences far beyond what the person making it expects.
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Moral Lesson
Think carefully before making promises or decisions that affect other people. The King of High Hill allowed his pride and rash judgement to endanger his daughter, while the old woman and her seven sons used courage, loyalty, and their individual abilities to rescue her.
Knowledge Check
1. How did the flea grow larger than a sheep?
The King of High Hill kept it in a bottle and fed it daily with blood from his own arm for seven months.
2. What did the king promise to the person who identified the flea’s skin?
He promised that person the hand of his daughter, Princess Porziella, in marriage.
3. Who correctly identified the skin?
A frightening ogre recognised that the skin belonged to a flea.
4. How did the old woman offer to help Porziella?
She promised to return with her seven sons, each of whom possessed a special ability that could help them escape the ogre.
5. How did the brothers delay the ogre during the pursuit?
They created soap suds, a field of razors, a dense forest, a river, and finally a tower to slow him down and protect themselves.
6. How was the ogre finally defeated?
Ceccone shot him in the eye with his crossbow when he climbed the ladder towards the tower. Ceccone then cut off the ogre’s head.
Source
Giambattista Basile. The Pentamerone, or The Story of Stories, translated from the Neapolitan by John Edward Taylor, second edition, David Bogue, 1850. First Day, Tale V, “The Flea.”
