"Corvetto" is an Italian literary

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

written by

Giambattista Basile Giambattista Basile (February 1566 – February 1632) was an Italian poet, courtier, and fairy tale collector. His collections include the oldest recorded forms of many well-known (and more obscure) European fairy tales. He is chiefly remembere ...

in his 1634 work, the "

Pentamerone The ''Pentamerone'', subtitled ''Lo cunto de li cunti'' ("The Tale of Tales"), is a seventeenth-century Neapolitan fairy tale collection by Italian poet and courtier Giambattista Basile. Background The stories in the ''Pentamerone'' were collec ...

". It is Aarne-Thompson type 531. Other tales of this type include "

The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa (russian: Жар-птица и царевна Василиса) is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in ''Narodnye russkie skazki''. It is one of many tales written about the mythical Firebir ...

", "

Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful "Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 126. It is Aarne-Thompson type 531. Other tales of this type include '' The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa'', '' Corvetto' ...

", "

King Fortunatus's Golden Wig "King Fortunatus's Golden Wig" ( Breton: ''Barvouskenn ar roue Fortunatus'') is a French fairy tale collected by Colonel A. Troude and G. Milin in '.Paul Delarue, "The Borzoi Book of French Folk-Tales", Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York 1956 It is A ...

", and "

The Mermaid and the Boy The Mermaid and the Boy (''Gutten, Havfruen og Ridder Rød''; German: ''Der Knabe, die Meerfrau und Ritter Roth'') is a Sámi fairy tale collected by Josef Calasanz Poestion in '' Lapplandische Märchen'' ( Wein; 1886). Andrew Lang included an ...

". Another, literary variant is

Madame d'Aulnoy Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy (1650/1651 – 14 January 1705), also known as Countess d'Aulnoy, was a French author known for her literary fairy tales. When she termed her works ''contes de fées'' (fairy tales), sh ...

's "La Belle aux cheveux d'or", or "

The Story of Pretty Goldilocks The Story of Pretty Goldilocks or The Beauty with Golden Hair is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Blue Fairy Book''. It is Aarne–Thompson type 531. This type is generally called "Th ...

".Paul Delarue, "The Borzoi Book of French Folk-Tales", p 363, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York 1956

Synopsis

Corvetto served a king loyally and was favored by him. Envious fellow servants tried to slander him, but failed. An ogre lived nearby, with a magnificent horse, and finally the servants said that the king should send Corvetto to steal it. Corvetto went, and jumped on the horse. It shouted to its master, who chased after with wild animals (one of them being a

Werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...

), but Corvetto rode it off. The king was even more pleased, and the other servants told him to send Corvetto after the ogre's tapestry. Corvetto went, hid under the ogres' bed, and in the night stole both the tapestries and the counterpane from the bed (causing the ogre and ogress to argue about who hogged them). He dropped them from a window and fled back to the king. The servants then persuaded him to send Corvetto for the entire palace. He went and talked with the ogress, offering to help her. She asked him to split wood for her. He used the axe on her neck. Then he dug a deep pit in the doorway and covered it. He lured the ogre and his friends into it, stoned them to death, and gave the king the palace.

References

{{reflist Italian fairy tales Fictional servants ATU 500-559

Synopsis

See also

References