Bella Venezia facts for kids

"Bella Venezia" is a classic Italian fairy tale. It was collected by the famous writer Italo Calvino in his book Italian Folktales. This story is similar to the well-known tale of Snow White. It is known as Aarne-Thompson type 709. Other stories like it include "Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree" and "Nourie Hadig".

The Story of Bella Venezia

This fairy tale tells the story of a beautiful innkeeper named Bella Venezia. She was very proud of her looks. She would often ask her customers if they had ever seen anyone more beautiful than her. If they said no, she would give them a discount on their stay.

A Mother's Jealousy

One day, a traveler arrived at the inn. When Bella Venezia asked her usual question, the traveler gave a surprising answer. He said he had seen someone more beautiful. That person was Bella Venezia's own daughter! This made Bella Venezia very angry. Instead of giving a discount, she charged the traveler double. She then locked her daughter away in a tall tower. The tower had only one small window.

Escape and New Friends

But the daughter was clever and managed to escape the tower. She wandered through the land until she found a hidden cave. She watched as twelve robbers used a secret command to open and close the cave. They would say, "Open up, desert!" and "Close up, desert!" When the robbers left, she snuck inside. She tidied up the cave and found some food to eat. Then she hid before the robbers returned.

The robbers tried to catch the person who was cleaning their cave and eating their food. Each robber took turns watching outside. But they never caught her because she was already inside. Finally, the chief robber decided to wait inside the cave. He saw the girl and told her not to be afraid. He invited her to stay with them and be like their little sister.

The Witch's Trick

One day, one of the robbers visited Bella Venezia's inn. He told her about the beautiful girl living with them. He said this girl was even more beautiful than Bella Venezia. This news made Bella Venezia furious and very jealous.

A witch often begged for food at Bella Venezia's inn. Bella Venezia promised the witch half of her wealth. In return, the witch had to get rid of the daughter. The witch disguised herself as a pedlar, someone who sells small items. She went into the forest where the robbers' cave was. She convinced the girl to let her inside. While showing the girl a pretty hair pin, the witch secretly pushed it into the girl's head. The girl immediately fell into a deep, magic sleep.

The robbers found the girl's still form. They were very sad and wept for her. They carefully buried her inside a hollow tree.

A Prince's Discovery

Some time later, a prince was hunting in the forest. His hunting dogs sniffed out the hollow tree where the girl was resting. The prince was curious and found her. He was amazed by her beauty, even though she seemed to be sleeping forever. He gently took her back to his castle. He couldn't bear to be away from her.

The prince's mother was confused by his actions. She told him he should at least fix the girl's hair. As he gently brushed her hair, he discovered the hidden pin. When he pulled the pin out, the magic spell broke. The girl woke up! The prince was overjoyed. He asked her to marry him, and they lived happily ever after.