and the next morning the youth goes hunting; and
as soon as he has departed a giant appears and solicits the
step-mother's love, saying that if she will marry him, she will always
be healthy and never lose her youth. But first it will be necessary to
remove from her step-son's head a golden hair, and then he will become
so weak that he can be killed by a blow. She was unwilling at first,
because he had saved her life, but finally yielded. First she tried to
get rid of him by pretending to be ill, and sending him for some water
from a fountain near which was a lion. He obtained the water safely.
Then his step-mother, pretending to comb his hair, cut off the golden
hair, and the giant dragged him by the feet fifty miles, and let him
fall first in the bushes and then on the ground. From the wounds in his
head he became blind, but recovered his sight by means of the princess
mentioned in the first part of the story, whom he married. After his
golden lock had grown out again he returned to the cave and killed the
giant, punishing his step-mother by leaving her there without even
looking at her.

The story in Pitre (No. 71, "The Cyclops") is more detailed. A queen who
has been unfaithful to her husband is put in confinement, gives birth to
a son, and afterward, through his aid, escapes. They encounter some
cyclops, a number of whom the son kills; but one becomes secretly the
mother's lover. To get rid of her son, she sends him for the water of a
certain fountain, which he brings back safely. Finally the mother binds
the son fast, under the pretence of playing a game, and delivers him to
the cyclops, who kills him and cuts him into small bits, which he loads
on his horse and turns him loose. The youth is, however, restored to
life by the same water that he had brought back, and kills the cyclops
and his mother, finally marrying the princess to whom he owes his
life.[19]

In marked contrast to the above class is the one in which a number of
brothers owe their deliverance from enchantment to the self-sacrifice of
a sister. Generally the sister is the innocent cause of her brothers'
transformation. They live far from home, and their sister is not aware
for a long time of their existence. When she learns it she departs in
search of them, finds them, and, after great risk to herself, delivers
them. But two versions of this story have yet been published in Italy:
one from Naples (Pent. IV. 8), the other from Bologna (Coronedi-Berti