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Overview
Thirteenth is sent by the king to steal an ogre’s coverlet, horse and bell-covered bolster. The ogre detects human flesh by smell but the ogress dismisses the first disturbance; the boy’s imitated cat-call assists his theft. For the bolster, the ogre pretends to sleep and catches the intruder when the bells sound. He imprisons the boy in a barrel and fattens him on raisins and figs. Thirteenth delays the test of his finger by offering first a mouse’s tail, then a spindle, but eventually cannot hide his growing body.
The ogre orders his wife to heat the oven for three days and nights and invites relatives to the proposed feast. Thirteenth tricks the ogress into bending forward, pushes her inside and later serves portions of her body while manipulating the remaining head with strings to mimic responses. A relative discovers the deception, allowing him to escape amid the alarm. Finally he returns disguised as a monk and persuades the widowed ogre to test a chest supposedly intended for Thirteenth. The boy nails it shut and delivers his living captive to the king, who chains the ogre’s hands and feet and keeps him gnawing bones. The ogress’s death and the ogre’s lifelong captivity are distinct outcomes.
Origins & earliest records
Crane, Italian Popular Tales (1885), XVIII: Thirteenth, pp. 90–94; source listed as Pitrè, no. 33, Tridicinu.
Records & interpretation
The complete selected English tale supplies the actions, objects and stated ending. Attached notes identify parallel versions, which are not merged into this account.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Italian Popular Tales: XVIII: Thirteenth, pp. 90–94
Complete selected English tale and attached comparative note; no original Italian collation asserted.
Family, evolution & connections
The ogre and ogress of Thirteenth
The narrator calls the ogress the ogre’s wife. Their invited relatives are unnamed; no offspring are supplied. The boy’s father-ogre and mother-ogress addresses do not make the captive their child.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary textCrane 1885: XVIII: Thirteenth, pp. 90–94Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.