The Young Slave

The Young Slave is an Italian fairy tale by Giambattista Basile.

Plot
A queen eats a rose petal and becomes pregnant with a girl.

While seeing the fairies a fairy trips, who then curses the child to die at seven years.

Seven years later, the queen, while combing her daughter's hair, scrapes her scalp. The daughter falls as if dead and the mother laments, placing her in seven crystal coffins. She entrusts the key to her brother and later dies.

The wife of the queen's brother becomes curious of the coffins and steals the key. When she opens it, the princess has grown. The wife suspects that she is her husband's mistress and so takes the girl from the coffin and makes her, her slave.

One day, the uncle goes away and asks what presents the household would like him to bring back. The girl asks for a doll, a knife, and something to sharpen it with. He brings her these things. While sharpening the knife, the girl tells the doll her story. When finished, she goes to kill herself, but her uncle––having overheard her tale––stops her. He sends his wife away and gives his sister's daughter to a king to marry.

Tales of Evermagic
The Young Slave is a pivotal key plot source in the second tale of Evermagic, Fire's Hart. According to Fire's Hart, Snow White is the daughter of Lisa, the heroine of ''The Young Slave. From these two tales and women, the main character of Fire's Hart ''is descended.

Relivings
None