The Months 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 collect ...
''.
Synopsis
Cianne and Lise were brothers, and Cianne was rich and Lise poor. Lise set out to wander the world. He met with twelve youths, who welcomed him and asked him about the months. Lise said they each had their place and purpose, and it was arrogant of people to want to rearrange them. One told him that March, which was the month, was very burdensome; he answered that it advanced spring; the youth, who was the month of March, gave him a casket that granted
wish
A wish is a hope or desire for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used.
In fiction
In fiction a ...
es. With it, he had an easy journey home and was prosperous.
His brother was jealous of him, and Lise told him of the inn and the twelve youths, but not how they had talked. Cianne went there and received a whip. When he tried to use it, it whipped him until his brother came and used the casket to stop it. Then Lise shared his good fortune with Cianne.
Commentary
The tale follows a common pattern, of one sibling being polite to a powerful being and receiving gifts, of the second sibling being rude and receiving punishment, but in most such tales – "
Diamonds and Toads
Diamonds and Toads or Toads and Diamonds is a French fairy tale by Charles Perrault, and titled by him "Les Fées" or "The Fairies". Andrew Lang included it in ''The Blue Fairy Book''. It was illustrated by Laura Valentine in ''Aunt Louisa's nurse ...
", "
Mother Hulda
"Frau Holle" ( ; also known as "Mother Holle", "Mother Hulda" or "Old Mother Frost") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in ''Children's and Household Tales'' in 1812 (KHM 24). It is of Aarne-Thompson type 480.
Frau Holle (als ...
", "
The Three Heads in the Well
The Three Heads in the Well is a fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in ''English Fairy Tales''.
It is Aarne–Thompson tale 480, the kind and the unkind girls. Others of this type include ''Shita-kiri Suzume'', ''Diamonds and Toads'', ''Mot ...
", "
Father Frost", or "
The Two Caskets
The Two Caskets is a Scandinavian fairy tale included by Benjamin Thorpe in his ''Yule-Tide Stories: A Collection of Scandinavian and North German Popular Tales and Traditions''. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Orange Fairy Book''.
It is Aarne- ...
" – the siblings are sisters or stepsisters in
Aarne-Thompson type 480, The Kind and the Unkind Girls.
See also
*
The Twelve Months
External links
''The Months''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Months, The
Months
Fictional duos
ATU 460-499