The Flea
Giambattista Basile, Italy
Once upon a time the King of High-Hill, being bitten by a flea, caught him by a wonderful feat of dexterity; and seeing how handsome and stately he was, he had not the conscience to sentence him to death. So he put him into a bottle, and feeding him every day himself, the little animal grew at such a rate that at the end of seven months it was necessary to shift his quarters, for he was grown bigger than a sheep. The King then had him flayed and his skin dressed. Then he issued a proclamation that whoever could tell what this skin was should marry the Princess.
As soon as this decree was made known the people flocked in crowds from all the ends of the world to try their luck. One said that it belonged to an ape, another to a lynx, a third to a crocodi
