Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time, there was an empire whose borders stretched as far as the ends of the world they knew. It was a land where emperors ruled, heroes were worshipped and legends were only beginning.

But even the bright light of the Roman Empire eventually died out and the empire faded. Its magnificent glory dulled; its beautiful buildings reduced to rubble. Throughout its decline as an empire, though, Rome never really died...and to this day, the city remains as a great cultural center of the world.

Yet through this transformation from empire to city, the Italian culture was born, a culture whose tales and stories have treated children to nighttime stories and have even influenced storytelling across the world.

While stories like Beauty and the Beast are familiar to American children, what about Zelinda and the Monster? Or what about the story of a clever fox named Giovannuzza?

The following are a few of those stories that have grabbed the attention of children and adults across the world:

Zelinda and the Monster

In America, we call this tale "Beauty and the Beast." Most recently, the version of the tale with which most people identify is one in which a beautiful girl, Belle, falls in love with a young prince who has been transformed into a hideous beast. The prince was under a magic spell cast by an enchantress who found no love in his heart. If the beast doesn't fall in love - and earn another's love in return - his transformation will be forever. As the beast keeps himself locked in his castle, his only connection remains a magic mirror, through which he can see the outside world.

In Italy, the story is a bit different, but many of the elements are the same. A father seeks to bring home a beautiful rose for his daughter Zelinda. After picking one from the garden of the Monster (aka, the beast), the father is threatened with death unless he gives his youngest daughter to the Monster in marriage. (The monster, of course, is looking to marry before the spell becomes permanent, as in the Disney version). Eventually, Zelinda and the Monster marry, and in doing so, the spell is broken and the Monster as he really is - a young prince.

Giovannuzza the Fox

Foxes tend to be portrayed in fairy tales as swift and cunning. Certainly the story of Giovannuzza the Fox is no exception.

As the story begins, we are saddened to see a young lad named Joseph whose father is dying. The father, a poor man, tells his son he has nothing to leave him but a small cottage and the pear tree beside it.

After his father passes away, Joseph notices that someone is stealing what little he has left - each night, someone is stealing pears from his little tree, his only inheritance. To protect his livelihood, Joseph stays up all night, waiting for the thief to come again - and sure enough, the thief comes back. But the thief turns out to be not a person, but a fox - Giovannuzza.

Joseph wants to shoot the fox, but before he can get off a shot, the fox convinces him that she could be of great use to him - if he'd only trust her. And as one can only do in a fairy tale, Joseph believes the fox and entrusts his future to her, at the cost of a few pears.

Throughout the story, the fox connives and convinces a King and other noblemen of the high character of her master, Count Peartree - aka, Joseph. She sets up a great masquerade in which Joseph even ends up marrying a princess.

Despite all Giovannuzza does for Joseph in helping him to gain great fortune and status, she fears the young lad is ungrateful. To test her theory, she plays dead. "Count Peartree's" wife is horrified and asks that an elaborate coffin be made for the fox. But, Joseph refuses, insisting that no animal deserves such an expensive coffin and the seemingly dead fox should be pitched out the window. At this, Giovannuzza ends her masquerade and leaves the poor boy to explain his fortune - or lack thereof - to his princess wife.

For more links to other Italian fairy tales and folklore, click here.