The Goat-faced Girl

There was once a farmer named Masaniello who had twelve daughters. They were like steps on a staircase, with exactly one year between each sister. It was all the poor man could do to feed such a large family, so he dug in the fields from morning till night. Despite his hard work, he barely kept the wolf from the door, and the little girls often went to bed hungry.

One day, while Masaniello was working at the foot of a high mountain, he came across the entrance to a cave so dark and gloomy that even the sun seemed afraid to go in. Suddenly, a huge green lizard appeared from inside and stood before him. Masaniello nearly fainted with terror, for the beast was as big as a crocodile and looked just as fierce.

But the lizard sat down beside him in the friendliest way and said, "Don't be afraid, good man. I'm not going to hurt you. On the contrary, I want to help you."

When Masaniello heard these words, he knelt before the lizard and said, "Dear lady—for I don't know what else to call you—I am in your power. Please be merciful, for I have twelve wretched little daughters at home who depend on me."

"That's exactly why I came to you," said the lizard. "Bring me your youngest daughter tomorrow morning. I promise to raise her as my own child and to cherish her as the apple of my eye."

Masaniello was very unhappy, because he felt sure that the lizard wanted one of his daughters—the youngest and most tender—only to eat her for supper. At the same time, he thought, "If I refuse, she will certainly eat me on the spot. If I give her what she asks, she takes part of me, but if I refuse, she takes all of me. What am I to do? How can I escape this trouble?"

As he muttered to himself, the lizard said, "Make up your mind to do as I say at once. I want your youngest daughter. If you don't obey, I can only say it will be worse for you."

Seeing no other choice, Masaniello set off for home. He arrived looking so pale and miserable that his wife asked, "What happened, dear husband? Have you quarreled with someone, or has the poor donkey fallen down?"

"Neither," he answered, "but something far worse. A terrible lizard has almost scared me out of my senses. She threatened that if I didn't give her our youngest daughter, she would make me regret it. My head is spinning like a mill wheel, and I don't know what to do. I am truly between the devil and the deep sea. You know how dearly I love Renzolla, and yet if I don't bring her to the lizard tomorrow morning, I must say goodbye to life. Please advise me."

His wife said, "How do you know the lizard is really our enemy? Maybe she is a friend in disguise. This meeting might be the beginning of better times and the end of all our misery. Go and take the child to her. My heart tells me you will never regret it."

Masaniello felt much comforted. The next morning, as soon as it was light, he took his little daughter by the hand and led her to the cave.

The lizard was waiting for him. She came forward, took the girl by the hand, gave the father a sack full of gold, and said, "Go and marry off your other daughters. Give them dowries with this gold. Be cheerful, for Renzolla will have both a father and a mother in me. It is great luck for her that she has fallen into my hands."

Masaniello, overcome with gratitude, thanked the lizard and returned home to his wife.

As soon as people learned how rich the farmer had become, suitors for his daughters appeared quickly. He married them all off, and there was even enough gold left to keep himself and his wife comfortable for the rest of their days.

As soon as the lizard was alone with Renzolla, she changed the cave into a beautiful palace and led the girl inside. There she raised her like a little princess. Renzolla wanted for nothing. The lizard gave her delicious food, beautiful clothes, and a thousand servants to wait on her.

One day, the king of the country was hunting in a forest near the palace and was caught by darkness. Seeing a light shining in the palace, he sent a servant to ask if he could stay the night.

When the page knocked, the lizard turned herself into a beautiful woman and opened the door. Hearing the king's request, she sent word that she would be delighted to see him and give him everything he needed.

The king gladly went to the palace, where he was received most hospitably. A hundred pages with torches came to meet him, a hundred more waited on him at dinner, and another hundred waved big fans to keep the flies away. Renzolla herself poured the wine for him, and she did it so gracefully that the king could not take his eyes off her.

After the meal, the king went to sleep, and Renzolla took off his shoes—and also stole his heart, for he had fallen desperately in love with her. He called the fairy and asked for Renzolla's hand in marriage. The kind fairy wanted only what was best for the girl, so she gladly gave her consent, along with a wedding gift of seven thousand gold coins.

The king, full of delight, prepared to leave, taking Renzolla with him. She never even thanked the fairy for all she had done. When the fairy saw such ingratitude, she decided to punish the girl. She cast a spell and turned Renzolla's face into a goat's head.

In an instant, Renzolla's pretty mouth stretched into a snout with a beard a yard long, her cheeks sank in, and her shining braids became two sharp horns. When the king turned and saw her, he thought he had gone mad.

He burst into tears and cried, "Where is the hair that bound me so tightly? Where are the eyes that pierced my heart? Where are the lips I kissed? Am I to be tied to a goat for life? No!

Nothing will make me the laughingstock of my subjects for a goat-faced girl!"

When they reached his country, he locked Renzolla in a little turret room with a waiting maid. He gave each of them ten bundles of flax to spin and said the task must be finished by the end of the week.

The maid obediently set to work. She combed the flax, wound it around the spindle, and sat spinning so diligently that her work was done by Saturday evening. But Renzolla, who had been spoiled in the fairy's house and did not realize how much she had changed, threw the flax out the window and said, "What is the king thinking, giving me this work?

If he wants shirts, he can buy them. It's not as if he picked me out of the gutter. He should remember that I brought him seven thousand gold coins as my wedding gift. I am his wife, not his slave. He must be mad to treat me like this."

Nevertheless, when Saturday evening came and she saw that the maid had finished her task, Renzolla grew afraid of being punished for laziness. So she hurried to the fairy's palace and told her all her troubles. The fairy embraced her tenderly and gave her a sack full of spun flax to show the king how hard she had worked. Renzolla took the sack without a word of thanks and returned to the palace, leaving the fairy very angry at her ingratitude.

When the king saw the flax all spun, he gave Renzolla and the maid each a little dog and told them to look after the animals carefully.

The maid raised her dog with the greatest care, almost as if it were her own child. But Renzolla said, "I don't know what to think. Have I come among lunatics? Does the king think I will comb and feed a dog with my own hands?" With that, she opened the window and threw the poor little beast out. It fell to the ground as dead as a stone.

A few months later, the king sent word that he wanted to see how the dogs were doing. Renzolla, feeling very uneasy, hurried once more to the fairy. This time, an old man stood at the door of the fairy's palace. He said, "Who are you, and what do you want?"

Renzolla answered angrily, "Don't you know me, old goat-beard? How dare you speak to me that way!"

The old man replied, "The pot can't call the kettle black. It is not I, but you who have a goat's head. Wait a moment, you ungrateful wretch, and I will show you what your ingratitude has done."

He hurried away and returned with a mirror, which he held up before Renzolla. When she saw her ugly, hairy face, she nearly fainted with horror. She burst into loud sobs at seeing how her face had changed.

Then the old man said, "Remember, Renzolla, you are a farmer's daughter. The fairy made you a queen, but you were ungrateful and never thanked her for all she did. Therefore she decided to punish you. But if you want to lose your long white beard, throw yourself at the fairy's feet and beg her forgiveness. She has a tender heart and may take pity on you."

Renzolla was truly sorry for her behavior. She took the old man's advice. The fairy not only gave her back her former face but also dressed her in a gold-embroidered gown, gave her a beautiful carriage, and brought her back to her husband with a host of servants. When the king saw her looking as beautiful as ever, he fell in love with her again and bitterly regretted causing her so much suffering.

So Renzolla lived happily ever after. She loved her husband, honored the fairy, and was grateful to the old man for telling her the truth.