SALAMONE THE ORPHAN

Once, there was a boy, Salamone, whose father was dead. The boy mourned for him day after day, until at last his mother went to the chief and asked that the boy be put to death.
The chief agreed to this request. He sent the boy out with a hunting party so that he might be killed while hunting.
But the servant of his father told Salamone what had been decided with regard to him, and warned him to be wary as they intended to kill him during the hunt.
The hunters spread themselves in such a manner that it seemed impossible for Salamone to escape, but he managed to evade them. He ran to the chief, but as no man had laid hands on him, he could not substantiate his complaint.
He ran away then, and during his flight he met an ant.
The ant asked him where he was going.
He told the ant what had happened, and said that he did not know where to go.
Then the ant pulled out one of its antennae, and gave it to him, saying, "If you have difficulty, think of me."
The lad went on his way, and after a time he met a dove.
The dove asked him where he was going.
His reply was, "I don't know."
The dove gave him a feather from its wing, saying, like the ant, "If you have difficulty, think of me."
Salamone proceeded on his journey, and after a time he came to a house that had no door or opening except at the pinnacle of the roof.
He did not know what to do.
Then he remembered the words of the ant, and, taking its little antenna, he put it into his hair. He was instantly transformed into an ant, and was able to enter the house by means of the little cracks through which the ants went in.
He found a woman inside who was surprised to see him.
She asked him where he was going.
Salamone also found inside the house a large flower. He asked what it was.
The woman said, "I live here with an ogre, and this flower is his strength. If you can sever it, you will have conquered him."
After a time, the ogre, who had ten heads, came home, and Salamone changed himself into an ant once more.
But the ogre, as it entered the house, said, "Where does the scent of a human being come from?"
The woman denied that anyone had entered the house.
Then the ogre slept.
When the ogre was asleep, Salamone broke off the flower.
Immediately, the ogre awoke. As they started to fight, Salamone cut off one of the ogre's heads.
But the ogre only said, "Nine heads remain! You shall not cut off another!"
Then Salamone cut off the second head, but the ogre said, "You shall not cut off any of the remaining heads!"
The fight went on in that way until all the heads were cut off. With each cut, the ogre said, "You shall not cut off another!"
When all the heads had been cut off and the ogre was dead, Salamone took the woman and the cattle, and they departed from that place and built a house in another part of the country.
Now, war had scattered the society from which Salamone had fled. Among the refugees was the servant who had warned Salamone of the plot of his enemies. In his flight, the servant came to the house of Salamone, who asked him where he had come from.
The servant told the story of the war and how the people had fled. He said, "Your mother and some other people are just behind me, quite near!"
Salamone sent the servant to call his mother.
When she arrived, he slaughtered a beast for her. While the meat was still in the pot on the hearth, he told someone to get a bowl and give her some of the soup. But while his mother was still drinking the soup, he pushed the bowl into her face. The hot soup was forced into her mouth and nostrils, and she died.
Then Salamone took the people back to their deserted town and became their chief, for their former chief had been killed in the war.

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