Once upon a time there was A king who had a daughter as beautiful as the light of the sun. She was so beautiful that all the princes and all the healthy people wanted to marry her. One day the king organized a great banquet and invited all the nobility of the kingdom.

The guests enjoyed themselves and had a lot of fun but the king’s daughter was very sad.

A guest asked her: “Why are you so sad?”. She didn’t answerhim. All the guests tried to amuse her but nobody none was able to do it.

The king said to her: “Dear daughter, are you angry?”

-“No, I’m not”
-“So, why aren’t you able to laugh?”
-“I wouldn’t laugh for anything in the world”.

Then the king had an idea:” Shall we make a pact? If a man wants to marry you, he will have to make you laugh!”

The princess answered: “ Yes, but I want to add this condition: ifthe admirer will not be able to make me laugh, he will be killed.”

The king accepted and all the table-companion witnessed to the pact.

Soon the story of the pact was known all the world and many princes and rich men went to see the princess and to try to make her laugh but noone succeeded.

Every morning the princess was waiting for the suitors on a balcony but many years passed and nothing happened.

One day the news about the pact arrived in a small village.

One evening, like many others when all the countrymen met in the cowshed to tell stories and legends, the princess’ story was mentioned.

A boy with the ringworm, a very poor cobbler’s son, listened carefully to the story and said: “I want to try to make the princess laugh!”

“Do you really want to try it? Don’t talk nonsense!” answered his father.
“Yes, I want to try it. Tomorrow I’m going to go to the princess’ palace”
“they will kill you! They don’t joke with the suitors !”
“Father! I want to be a king!”
“Yes!” all the countrymen said “a king with the ringworm on the head!!”

The next morning when her father had already forgotten the son’s idea, he came up to him and said: ”Dear father, I’m going to leave. In this village all the countrymen look down on me because of the ringworm. Give me three loaves, three coins and a flask of wine.”

-“Please, think over it!“
-“I’ve already decided everything” and he left.

After a long walk he ran into an old poor woman who was dragging herself along with a stick .

The boy asked her-“Are you hungry, lady?”
-“Yes, boy, I’m very hungry. Do you have something to it? “

The boy with ringworm gave her one of the loaves, and the woman ate it. But she was still hungry, so he gave her all the bread.

He started walking again and met a woman dressed in rags.

“Can you give me some money so I can buy myself a dress?” she asked.

The boy gave her a coin, but he grieved for her so he gave her all his coins.

After a long walk he met an old women who was very thirsty.

She said: “Boy, if you could give me some water you’ll save your soul from purgatory.”

He gave her his flask and she drank all the wine. When she lift her head and looked at the boy: she wasn’t a old woman any more, she was a beautiful blond girl with a star on her hair.

“I know where you are going,-she said,-and I know you’re a kind-hearted soul because I’m the three women you met. I want to help you. Take this goose; when somebody touches it, it says: “quaquà!” and when it happens you have to say immediately: “ cling there!”

The boy resumed walking with the goose.

In the evening he arrived near a tavern and he sat on a bench outside because he didn’t have any money.

The host went out to chase him away but his daughters came, looked at the goose and told him:” we pray you, don’t drive this foreigner away. Show him in and give him some food and a room.”

The host looked at the goose and understood what his daughters would have done and said: ”Well, the boy is going to sleep in a good room, and we are going to take the goose to the cowshed.”

“No!”- the boy said -“I’ll take it with me. The goose is a too good to be taken to the cowshed”.

After dinner he went to sleep and put the goose under the bed.

During the night he heard some noise; the goose said: ”Quaquà” and the boy said: ”Cling there!” and stood up.

One of the host’s daughters, wearing a nightdress, had come up to the goose, caught it to steal its feathers and were stuck to it.

“Sister! Help me! Remove me!” she shouted. Her sister came, with the nightdress, and took her by the waist to remove her but the goose shouted: ”Quaquà” Andthe boy said:” Cling there!” then the sistergot stuck to the goose too.

Helooked at the window: it was nearly morning. He wore and went out of the tavern with the goose and the host’s daughters. On the road he met a priest. He looked at the daughters in nightdress and said : “Ah, shamelesses you! Youare going out dressed like this!! Now I’ll punish you!” Then he gave them a spanking. “Qua qua“ shouted the goose.
“Cling there!” said the boy with theringworm. And the priest were stuck.

They resumed walking with three people stuck on the goose.

They met a coppersmith loaded with many pots. “Ah, I can’t believe what I see!!!!A priest in that position! I’ll punish you!” Then he gave him a blow.

“quaquà” said the goose. “Cling there!” said the boy and the coppersmith were stuck on the goose with all his pots.

That morning the king’s daughter was at the balcony, when that strange company arrived: the boy, the two host’ s daughters, the priest and the coppersmith.

When the princess looked at that started to laugh her head off, then called her fatherand he began laughing too: all the court appeared at the windowand started laughing heartily.

But in that moment the goose,the host’sdaughters, the priest, the coppersmith disappeared.

Only the boy with the ringworm remained. He went up the stairs and introduced himself to the king .

The king looked down on the boy, watched his ringworm and his poor dress, he didn’t know what to do.

-Good boy-he told him-I’ll take you on as a servant.Would you ?

But the boy didn’t accept:” I don’t want to be a servant, I want to marry the princess”

The king’s servant washed the boy and gave him a rich beautiful dress. When he appeared to the court and noone recognized him: he was very handsome and the princess fell in love with him. Then the boy went back home to see his father. He arrived in a carriage while his father was complaining because his only child had left him.

 

 

 

The boy led him to the palace, introduced him to the king and the princess then he married her.