May 18 - "The Three Castles"

“The Three Castles”
by Italo Calvino
Italian Folktales (1980)

* * (Okay) Folktale

A would-be thief takes a job from the king shepherding sheep. He kills a three-headed snake while protecting the flock and finds keys to three magical kingdoms hidden inside its heads. Using the gifts of the kingdoms, he wins the princess’s hand in marriage.

This story is like a bad mash-up of multiple ideas. The boy’s exploration of thieving is briefly explored at the beginning of the story and then completely forgotten as the story moves along into its magical kingdoms of crystal, silver, and gold. The disjointed tale has potential, but you never feel as though either story is fully realized. Each one could have been its own fascinating story, but smashed together neither lives up to its potential.