How The Beggar Boy Turned Into Count Piro
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - How The Beggar Boy Turned Into Count Piro
OR:
How The Beggar Boy Turned Into Count Piro on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

How the Beggar Boy turned into Count Piro is an Italian
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 ...
collected by
Laura Gonzenbach Laura Gonzenbach (1842–1878) was a fairy-tale collector of Swiss-German origins, active in Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = ...
in ''Sicilianische Märchen''.
Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University ...
included it in ''
The Crimson Fairy Book ''The Langs' Fairy Books'' are a series of 25 collections of true and fictional stories for children published between 1889 and 1913 by Andrew Lang and his wife, Leonora Blanche Alleyne. The best known books of the series are the 12 collections ...
''. It is Aarne-Thompson type 545B, the Cat as Helper. Other tales of this type include
Don Joseph Pear Don Joseph Pear is an Italian fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in his ''Italian Popular Tales''. It is Aarne-Thompson type 545B. Synopsis Three brothers owned a pear tree and lived on the pears. One day, all the pears were sto ...
,
Puss in Boots "Puss in Boots" ( it, Il gatto con gli stivali) is an Italian fairy tale, later spread throughout the rest of Europe, about an anthropomorphic cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand of a princess in marriage for hi ...
, and
Lord Peter ''Lord Peter'' is a collection of short stories featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. First published in 1972 (), it includes all the short stories about Lord Peter written by Dorothy L. Sayers, most of which were published elsewhere soon after they were ...
.


Synopsis

A beggar boy's father left his son a pear tree that bore pears year round. One day, a fox persuaded the boy to give it the pears, because it would bring him luck, and the kind-hearted boy did. The fox brought the basket to the king, who was astounded that anyone had pears that time of year. The next day, it did the same, and asked for the princess's hand in marriage for his master, Count Piro, saying his master was so rich he would ask for no
dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...
. The fox tricked a tailor into providing him a fine suit, saying it would be paid for the next day. The boy went to the castle and said very little, but the fox explained it was his great concerns that kept him quiet. Then the fox took a third basket of pears and arranged for the wedding. Once they were married, the king and princess set out with the boy. The fox told a shepherd for an
ogre An ogre ( feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the wor ...
that if he told the men that the sheep belonged to an ogre, the men would kill the sheep, and the ogre would kill him; he should say they belonged to Count Piro. It did the same with a pigherd and a horseherd. The king was impressed by the wealth. At the ogre's castle, the fox told the ogre and ogress that the king had sent men to kill them, and it was best to hide in the oven until they passed. It trapped them in, and after the princess and her bridegroom were abed, the fox burned the ogre and ogress to death. The beggar boy lived out his life in wealth and prosperity, and when the fox died, he held him a proper funeral.


Theater

The Fox & Beggar Theater is a circus troop based in Asheville, NC. They have mentioned this story as inspiration for the troop, citing the fox's wild creativity and the boy's kind heart as the perfect pairing to achieve incredible goals.


External links


''How the Beggar Boy turned into Count Piro''

''The Fox & Beggar Theater''
{{DEFAULTSORT:How the Beggar Boy turned into Count Piro Italian fairy tales ATU 500-559 Laura Gonzenbach