Myth-Folklore Unit: Italian Popular Tales

Overview. This selection of stories from the Italian Popular Tales by Thomas Crane provides a great introduction to the fabulously rich tradition of Italian folktales and fairy tales. You will find here the distinctively Italian versions of famous European fairy tales, such as Zelinda and the Monster, which is like Beauty and the Beast; The Fair Angiola, which is like Rapunzel; and The Three Goslings, which is a story like The Three Little Pigs, but with little geese whose adventures are much more satisfying (I think) than the traditional pigs-and-wolf story, and not just because the story features macaroni. In addition, you will find some marvelous stories that will be new to you, such as the weird and enchanting fairy tale of "Catherine and her Fate" or the story of the child Crivoliu, who started out his life as an accursed child but who ended up as the Pope of Rome. There's also a story about a rooster who wanted to become the Pope, but, alas, things do not turn out so well for the rooster as they do for Crivoliu!

Language. Crane tells the fairy tales in modern literary prose, so it is not difficult reading.

Story Length. These are almost all single-page stories with just a couple of stories that are two pages long.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on a single page: Italian Popular Tales.

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READING A:

1. Zelinda and the Monster
2. The Fair Angiola
3. The Fair Angiola (cont.)
4. How the Devil Married Three Sisters
5. Sir Fiorante, Magician
6. Water and Salt
7. Catherine and Her Fate
8. Catherine and Her Fate (cont.)
9. The Man, the Serpent, and the Fox
10. The Ingrates

READING B:

1. The Language of Animals
2. An Incident in Rome
3. The Story of Crivoliu
4. The Sexton's Nose
5. The Cat and the Mouse
6. A Feast Day
7. Buchettino
8. The Three Goslings
9. The Cock That Wished to Become Pope