The Months facts for kids

The Months is a classic Italian fairy tale. It was written by Giambattista Basile in 1634. This story is part of his famous collection called the Pentamerone.

The Story of The Months

Lise's Journey

Once upon a time, there were two brothers named Cianne and Lise. Cianne was very rich, but Lise was poor. Lise decided to leave home and explore the world.

During his travels, Lise met twelve young people. They were very welcoming and asked him about the different months of the year. Lise replied that every month has its own special place and purpose. He believed it was wrong for anyone to wish for the months to be different.

One of the youths, who was the month of March, said that his month was often difficult. Lise answered that March was important because it helped bring spring. Because of Lise's kind and wise words, the youth (who was actually the month of March) gave him a special gift. It was a small box, or casket, that could grant wishes!

With this magical casket, Lise had an easy trip back home. He also became very successful and wealthy.

Cianne's Lesson

When Cianne saw how well Lise was doing, he became very jealous. Lise told him about the inn where he met the twelve youths. However, Lise did not tell Cianne exactly how they had talked or about the magic casket.

Cianne went to the same inn. Instead of a casket, he received a magical whip. When Cianne tried to use the whip, it began to whip him instead! It kept whipping him until Lise arrived and used his wish-granting casket to make it stop.

After this, Lise decided to share his good fortune with Cianne. They both lived well from then on.