Once upon a time, there lived a gardener named Cola Matteo and his wife, Sapatella. They had a comfortable enough life, but one sorrow troubled them deeply: they had no children. Sapatella longed for a son with all her heart, and whenever she saw other mothers with their little ones, she wondered why such happiness had passed her by.
One day, Cola Matteo went into the mountains to gather firewood. When he returned home and opened his bundle of sticks, he discovered a little serpent hiding among the branches.
Sapatella looked at the creature and sighed.
“Even the serpents have little ones of their own,” she lamented. “Yet I have not been blessed with a child.”
To her astonishment, the little serpent lifted its head and spoke.
“If you cannot have a child of your own, take me as your son. I promise to love you even more dearly than I would love my own mother.”
Sapatella was so startled that she nearly fainted. But when she recovered, she looked at the little creature with affection.
“If you truly wish to be my child, then I shall love you as one,” she replied.
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She found a comfortable corner for him in their humble home, made it his little resting place, and shared her food with him. From that day forward, she and Cola Matteo treated the serpent as their own son.
The little serpent grew quickly. Before long, he was no longer a tiny creature that could curl up in a corner but a large serpent who could speak and reason like a human being.
One day, he approached Cola Matteo with an important request.
“Father, I wish to marry.”
Cola Matteo was delighted.
“That is wonderful news! We shall find you a suitable serpent for a wife.”
But his son was not pleased.
“A serpent? Do you take me for an ordinary snake? I want to marry the king’s daughter. Go to the palace immediately and ask for her hand. Tell the king that a serpent has come to claim his daughter as his bride.”
Cola Matteo was bewildered, but he had promised to treat the creature as his son, and he was not one to refuse a request without trying.
Three Impossible Royal Demands
The gardener made his way to the palace and delivered the extraordinary message.
The king could hardly believe his ears. A serpent wanted to marry his daughter! Rather than take the request seriously, he decided to send the foolish messenger away with an impossible condition.
“Tell your serpent that he may marry my daughter if he can turn every fruit tree in my orchard into gold.”
The king laughed as he dismissed Cola Matteo, certain that he would never see the gardener again.
But when Cola Matteo returned home and explained the condition, the serpent was not troubled.
“Go into the city tomorrow morning,” he instructed. “Gather every fruit stone you can find, then plant them throughout the royal orchard. Leave the rest to me.”
The gardener obeyed. He collected stones from peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines and cherries, then scattered them throughout the palace grounds.
Almost immediately, something astonishing happened. The seeds sprang to life, and the orchard was transformed. Every trunk, branch, leaf, blossom and fruit gleamed like pure gold.
When the king saw the result, he was overcome with amazement. Yet he was not prepared to surrender his daughter so easily.
When Cola Matteo returned to claim the promised reward, the king invented another condition.
“This time, tell the serpent that the walls and paths of my orchard must all be covered with precious stones.”
Once again, the serpent had an answer.
“Go and collect broken pottery,” he told the gardener. “Gather every piece of cracked crockery, broken plate, old tile and damaged vessel you can find. Spread them over the walls and paths of the orchard.”
Cola Matteo did as he was instructed.
As soon as the fragments were laid in place, they were transformed into magnificent jewels. The walls shone with emeralds and chalcedony, while the paths glittered with rubies and other precious stones.
The king stared in disbelief. His second condition had been fulfilled.
Still unwilling to keep his promise, he demanded one final miracle.
“If the serpent truly wants my daughter, he must turn my entire palace into gold!”
Cola Matteo carried the message home.
The serpent simply told him to gather a bundle of different herbs and vegetables, including cabbages, radishes, turnips and carrots. The gardener tied them together and used the bundle to rub the lower walls of the palace.
At once, the entire building began to shine with golden splendour.
The king had finally run out of excuses. He had made three demands, each more difficult than the last, and the serpent had fulfilled them all.
Reluctantly, he summoned his daughter, Princess Grannonia, and explained what had happened.
“My dear child, I tried to discourage a suitor by setting conditions I believed impossible. But he has overcome them all, and I must honour my promise. I beg you to accept what has been arranged.”
Grannonia listened calmly.
“Do as you think best, Father. I shall not oppose your decision.”
The king then sent word that the serpent should come to the palace.
The Serpent Reveals His True Form
The serpent arrived in magnificent fashion. He travelled in a golden carriage drawn by four golden elephants, but his appearance was so frightening that everyone who saw him fled in terror.
The courtiers scattered. The servants ran for shelter. Even the king and queen hurried into a chamber and hid themselves.
Only Grannonia remained where she was.
Her parents pleaded with her to escape, but she refused.
“Why should I run away from the husband you have given me?” she asked.
When the serpent entered the room, he approached Grannonia and gently embraced her with his tail, showering her with kisses. The sight was almost too much for the king to bear.
The serpent then led the princess into another chamber and closed the door.
There, something wonderful happened.
He began to shed his serpent skin. As the strange covering slipped away, a handsome young man appeared in its place. His golden curls framed a beautiful face, and his eyes were so captivating that Grannonia could scarcely believe what she was seeing.
The serpent was no ordinary creature. Beneath his frightening appearance was a magnificent prince.
But outside the chamber, the king had become overwhelmed by curiosity.
Believing that the serpent might have swallowed his daughter, he crept towards the door and peered through the keyhole.
What he saw astonished him. Instead of a terrible monster, there stood a handsome young man beside his daughter. The serpent’s discarded skin lay on the floor.
Without thinking about the consequences, the king burst into the room, accompanied by the queen. They seized the serpent skin and threw it into the fire.
The moment the skin was destroyed, the young prince cried out in despair.
“You have ruined me!”
He immediately changed into a dove and rushed towards the window, hoping to escape. But in his haste, he struck his head against the glass. He broke the panes and wounded himself terribly before disappearing from sight.
Grannonia was devastated.
The man she had just discovered and fallen in love with had been taken from her in a single moment. She reproached her parents for destroying her happiness, but they insisted that they had acted out of concern for her safety.
Their explanations brought her no comfort.
She wept until nightfall, mourning the loss of the young prince and wondering whether she would ever see him again.
Grannonia’s Journey and the Fox
When the palace had grown quiet and everyone was asleep, Grannonia made a decision.
She would not remain behind and accept her misfortune. If there was any possibility of finding the prince, she would search for him herself.
She gathered her jewels, slipped out through a back entrance and began travelling beneath the light of the moon.
As she journeyed away from the city, she encountered a fox.
“Would you like some company?” the animal asked.
Grannonia gladly accepted. She knew little about the surrounding countryside and was relieved to have a companion.
Together, they travelled until they reached a wood. Tired from their journey, they settled beneath the trees and slept on the soft grass.
The following morning, they awoke to the cheerful singing of birds. Grannonia listened with delight, enjoying their different calls and melodies.
The fox noticed her interest.
“You would enjoy their songs even more if you understood what they were saying,” he remarked.
Grannonia was immediately curious.
“Can you understand the language of birds?” she asked.
“Of course,” replied the fox.
She begged him to explain what the birds were discussing. After making her wait and increasing her curiosity, the fox finally revealed what he had overheard.
The birds were speaking about the king’s son, a handsome prince who had been cursed by a wicked ogress. Because he had refused to grant her wishes, she had condemned him to spend seven years living as a serpent.
The prince had nearly completed the seven years of his enchantment when he fell in love with a princess. He had removed his serpent skin in her presence, but her parents had discovered him and burned it.
Unable to return to his serpent form, he had transformed into a dove and tried to escape through a window. Unfortunately, he had struck his head against the glass and suffered terrible injuries.
The birds also revealed that the prince was now close to death. His father, the king of Big Valley, had summoned the finest doctors in the kingdom, but none could save him.
Grannonia listened with growing excitement and sorrow. She realised that the birds were speaking about the very prince she had lost.
“Is there any way to save him?” she asked anxiously.
The fox explained that the birds had revealed a secret cure. The prince’s wounds could only be healed by applying the blood of the very birds that had been discussing his misfortune.
Grannonia immediately begged the fox to help her catch them.
“If you can obtain their blood for me, we shall share whatever reward comes from saving the prince,” she promised.
The fox agreed.
“Wait until nightfall,” he said. “When the birds have settled on their branches and fallen asleep, I shall climb the trees and catch them.”
They spent the remainder of the day talking about the prince, his misfortune and the terrible mistake made by Grannonia’s parents.
When darkness finally covered the wood, the fox climbed quietly among the branches. One by one, he caught and killed the sleeping birds.
There were linnets, larks, blackbirds, thrushes, goldfinches, redbreasts and many others. When he had finished, he collected their blood in a small bottle.
Grannonia was overjoyed. At last, she had the remedy that might restore the prince to health.
But the fox had another demand.
“You have forgotten something,” he told her. “You will also need my blood. Without it, the cure will not be complete.”
Having said this, he grabbed the bottle and ran away.
Grannonia Outwits the Fox
Grannonia was horrified. After all the trouble they had taken to obtain the birds’ blood, the fox was now demanding his own life as the final ingredient.
She knew that she could not allow him to escape with the bottle.
Calling after him, she began to flatter and persuade him.
“Dear friend,” she said, “why should you fear me? I owe you so much for helping me, and there are plenty of foxes in the world. You have already done the difficult part. Do not abandon me when we are so close to success.”
She then offered to travel with him to the prince’s city, where he could even sell her as a slave if he wished.
The fox, pleased by her words and convinced that she would keep her promise, agreed to accompany her.
But he had underestimated Grannonia.
They had barely travelled fifty paces when she lifted the stick she was carrying and struck him sharply. The fox fell dead.
Grannonia quickly collected his blood and added it to the bottle containing the blood of the birds.
With the remedy secured, she continued her journey until she reached Big Valley.
There, she went directly to the royal palace and announced that she had come to cure the dying prince.
The Prince’s Recovery and the Happy Ending
The king of Big Valley was astonished when he heard that a young woman believed she could succeed where his most accomplished doctors had failed.
Nevertheless, he agreed to let her try.
Grannonia, however, had one condition.
“If I restore your son to health, you must promise that he will marry me.”
The king, who had almost given up hope of saving his child, readily agreed.
“If you return my son to me alive and well, I shall gladly give him to you as your husband.”
Grannonia was then taken to the prince’s chamber.
Because of his terrible head injuries, the room had been kept dark. The prince could barely see, and Grannonia had disguised herself, so he did not recognise her.
She approached his bed and carefully applied the mixture of blood to his wounds.
Almost immediately, the prince recovered. His injuries disappeared, his strength returned, and he was once again healthy and full of life.
The king was overwhelmed with gratitude. He had thought his son lost forever, and now he stood before him completely restored.
Remembering his promise to Grannonia, the king turned to his son.
“My child, this young woman has saved your life. I promised that if she cured you, you would become her husband. I beg you to honour my word, for I cannot repay such a kindness in any other way.”
But the prince hesitated.
“Father, I wish I could grant your request, but I have already pledged my love to another woman. You would not ask me to break a promise made to someone I truly love. I cannot abandon her, even now that I have been restored to health.”
Grannonia listened carefully, and her heart filled with unexpected happiness. The prince still remembered her. Even after everything that had happened, he had remained faithful to the woman he loved.
She decided to test his devotion once more.
“If I could persuade the woman you love to give up her claim on you, would you then agree to marry me?” she asked.
“Never,” the prince replied. “I shall never forget the woman I love. Whether she welcomes me with affection or turns away from me, my feelings will remain unchanged. I would rather face any hardship than betray her.”
At last, Grannonia could no longer contain herself.
She stepped forward and revealed her true identity.
The prince looked at her more closely. Recognition dawned upon him, and his face lit up with joy.
“Grannonia!” he exclaimed.
He embraced her, delighted to discover that the woman who had saved him was the very princess he had loved and lost. He then explained everything to his father, telling him about their meeting, the destruction of his serpent skin and all that had happened since.
The king was overjoyed. He invited Grannonia’s parents, the king and queen of Long-Field, to join them, and preparations were made for a magnificent wedding.
The prince and Grannonia were finally united, and their troubles gave way to celebration. They even found reason to laugh at the fox whose cleverness had not been enough to defeat the princess.
And so the tale concludes with a reminder that hardship can make happiness all the sweeter, and that true love is strengthened by patience and faithfulness.
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Moral
True love requires patience, loyalty and perseverance. Grannonia’s determination allows her to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles, while the prince’s faithfulness proves that genuine affection cannot easily be replaced.
The story also warns against excessive curiosity. The king’s desire to discover what was happening behind the closed door destroyed the prince’s chance of freedom and brought suffering to his daughter. Sometimes, interfering in matters we do not understand can cause more harm than good.
Knowledge Check
1. Why did Sapatella adopt the serpent?
She had longed for a child but had been unable to have one. When the serpent offered to become her son, she welcomed him into her home.
2. What did the serpent ask Cola Matteo to do when he grew older?
He asked his adopted father to approach the king and request the hand of Princess Grannonia in marriage.
3. What were the king’s three conditions?
He demanded that the serpent turn the royal orchard’s fruit trees into gold, cover the orchard’s walls and paths with precious stones, and transform the palace into gold.
4. What happened when the king burned the serpent’s skin?
The prince lost his ability to return to his former enchanted condition. He transformed into a dove and injured his head while trying to escape through the window.
5. How did Grannonia discover the prince’s whereabouts and the secret of his cure?
A fox travelling with her understood the language of birds. He revealed that the birds had discussed the prince’s condition and explained that their blood, mixed with the fox’s blood, would heal him.
6. How did Grannonia obtain the fox’s blood?
She persuaded him to accompany her by promising to reward him, then struck him with her stick and collected his blood.
7. Why did the prince initially refuse to marry Grannonia?
He believed he had already pledged his love to another woman and refused to betray her, not realising that the woman he loved was Grannonia herself.
8. What is the central lesson of the story?
The tale highlights the importance of faithfulness, perseverance and restraint, showing how love can survive hardship while excessive curiosity can bring unexpected misfortune.
Source
The 1850 second edition translated by John Edward Taylor. The book identifies Basile as the author, Taylor as translator, and George Cruikshank as illustrator. The printed contents place “The Serpent” at page 153
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