Danilo’s dying father told his son to marry a sensible, hard-working girl from the village and not to go looking for the Peerless Beauty. Danilo became so curious that he wished to find this Beauty and marry her! Everyone in the village told him to forget the idea and marry one of the village girls, but he took a bag of gold given by his father and set off to search for her. Danilo found an old woman sitting outside her hut. He gave her a gold coin and asked her the way to reach the Beauty. When she failed to turn him back, she showed him the path through the forest to her castle. At the gates, the guards took his bag of gold and led him in. The Peerless Beauty showed him just a finger and asked him for more gold. In this way, she got five bags from him.
The Deceitful Beauty
Danilo went home to look for more gold, but found a cap that made him invisible. He wore that cap, entered the castle and finally saw the beautiful, enchanted maiden. But she discovered his presence, hearing him breathe, and asked to see the cap. As soon as she got it, she put it on and became invisible! Then she asked her guards to throw him out. Wandering in the woods, he discovered a pitcher. When he rubbed it clean, it gave him a great army of soldiers to serve him! He defeated her guards, but once again, he told her the secret and she took away his pitcher! Since the soldiers of the pitcher were now her servants, she ordered them to drive Danilo out! He wandered through forests, surviving on berries and fruits. One day, he ate some red berries that made antlers grow on his head and he couldn’t pull them out!
The Antlers
Danilo searched for some way to remove the antlers from his head. One day, he ate some white berries. They made the antlers fall off! Danilo decided to teach the Beauty a lesson. He collected two basketfuls of red and white berries. Disguised as a hawker, he went to sell the red berries at the castle. The Beauty sent her maid to buy some. Unfortunately, the maid tasted some berries and sprouted horns! Frightened of her mistress, she ran home and sent the berries to the Beauty. As soon as she ate them, she too sprouted antlers! She was shocked, for she would not be considered the Peerless Beauty if she went about with horns! Doctors were called in from everywhere and all kinds of treatments were tried, but nothing could take the antlers off her head. The Beauty was in utter despair,
when she heard of a strange new doctor.
Teaching a Lesson
Danilo had come disguised as a doctor. He carried both berries. “Have you kept something belonging to someone else?” he asked. The Beauty denied it, so he gave her some red berries. She grew more horns! “You are lying!” said the doctor, “This medicine will work only if you speak the truth.” One by one, he made the Peerless Beauty admit to taking five bags of gold, the magic cap and the pitcher of soldiers. Danilo made her return all the things to him, and then gave her the white berries. The antlers on her head vanished. She tried to get Danilo in order to give her the berries, but he simply refused to give her anything more. His firmness broke the spell cast on her and she became a sweet, sensible girl. He married her and took her home with all his lost gifts. There, he built a great mansion and lived with her happily!
