The Young Slave is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone. It is Aarne-Thompson type 709, Snow White; other variants include Bella Venezia and Myrsina. The tale is based in Italy, and is often cited as one of the first Snow White stories to exist. Synopsis A few girls competed to see who could jump over a rose bush without touching it. Lilla, the baron's sister, was the last to go. She almost cleared the bush, but knocked off a single rose petal, signifying her loss. However, wanting to win, she decided to swallow the petal and claim victory. That night, she became pregnant. She confided in her fairy friends about what had happened, confused because she was a virgin, but the fairies told her not to worry, because it was the rose petal itself that had impregnated her. Eventually she bore a daughter and named her Lisa. The fairies gave Lilla gifts to commemorate the birth, but one twisted her ankle and accidentally cursed Lisa to die when she was seven. The cause of death would be by Lilla herself combing her daughters hair and forgetting about it, causing the comb to become poisonous and kill her. When Lisa turned seven, the curse became true, and Lilla fell ill. The lamenting mother put her daughter in seven crystal coffins and hid her away in a room. Before she died, she gave her brother the key to the room and made him promise not to open it. He obeyed and, eventually, married. He was always out hunting, and during one of his trips, his wife opened the door and found the casket. Lisa had continued to age into a beautiful young girl and the casket grew with her. Jealous of the girl's beauty and believing that her husband would cheat on her with Lisa, the baroness pulled her out by her hair, which knocked out the comb and brought her back to life. She cut the girls hair, dressed her in rags and beat her everyday until her husband returned. When her uncle returned, he could not recognize her as his niece, and his wife took advantage of this. She claimed that her aunt had sent her the girl to be their slave, and that she was not to be loved. She forced the girl to do work around the house and