es. The hero leaves his bride, to prepare
his parents to receive her; but at a kiss, usually from his mother, he
entirely forgets his bride until she recalls herself to his memory, and
they are both united. The trait of difficult tasks performed by the hero
is sometimes omitted, as well as flight with magic obstacles or
transformations. All the episodes of the above story, down to the
forgetting bride at mother's kiss, are found in many stories; notably in
the class "True Bride," already mentioned.

A Sicilian story (Pitre, No. 13) will best illustrate this class. It is
entitled:

XV. SNOW-WHITE-FIRE-RED.

There was once a king and queen who had no son, and they were always
making vows to obtain one; and they promised that if they had a son, or
even a daughter, they would maintain two fountains for seven years: one
running wine, the other oil. After this vow the queen gave birth to a
handsome boy.

As soon as the child was born, the two fountains were erected, and
everybody went and took oil and wine. At the end of seven years the
fountains began to dry up. An ogress, wishing to collect the drops that
still fell from the fountain, went there with a sponge and pitcher. She
sopped up the drops with the sponge and then squeezed it in the pitcher.
After she had worked so hard to fill this pitcher, the little son of the
king, who was playing ball, from caprice threw a ball and broke the
pitcher. When the old woman saw this, she said: "Listen. I can do
nothing to you, for you are the king's son; but I can bestow upon
you an imprecation: May you be unable to marry until you find
Snow-white-fire-red!" The cunning child took a piece of paper and wrote
down the old woman's words, put it away in a drawer, and said nothing
about it. When he was eighteen the king and queen wished him to marry.
Then he remembered the old woman's imprecation, took the piece of paper,
and said: "Ah! if I do not find Snow-white-fire-red I cannot marry!"
When it seemed fit, he took leave of his father and mother, and began
his journey entirely alone. Months passed without meeting any one. One
evening, night overtook him, tired and discouraged, in a plain in the
midst of which was a large house.

At daybreak he saw an ogress coming, frightfully tall and stout, who
cried: "Snow-white-fire-red, lower your tresses for me to climb up!"
When the prince heard this he took heart, and said: "There she is!"
Snow-white-fire-red lowered her tresses, which se