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Overview
The younger of two travelling brothers enters an apparently deserted palace where supper and a bed appear as needed. A cold, clammy presence joins him at night and converses with him. Initially frightened, he becomes accustomed to it. This companion, eventually identified as a tick, provides clothes, money and a horse for his annual visits home.
His sister sets successive tasks: bring back spun flax, raise a puppy, and finally return with a wife. The tick supplies carefully packed, beautifully spun flax and later the dog in a small basket. She proposes marriage herself; he worries about her small size. On the appointed day the palace fills with attendants and she appears as a beautifully dressed human princess. The brothers and their wives ultimately live there together. No caster or detailed release condition is named.
Origins & earliest records
Consiglieri Pedroso, Portuguese Folk-Tales, translated from the original manuscript by Henriqueta Monteiro, London: Elliot Stock for the Folk-Lore Society, 1882; tale XXVIII, pp. 113–115. The selected account does not identify an individual narrator or collecting locality.
Records & interpretation
The located 1882 English translation presents this figure within a complete collected narrative. Pedroso’s introductory pp. 1–2 describe the thirty published selections from his larger collection.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Portuguese Folk-Tales, tale XXVIII, pp. 113–115
Located complete narrative in the original London edition; Ralston’s comparative introduction is separate commentary.
Family, evolution & connections
The unnamed younger travelling brother
The enchanted tick becomes a princess on the marriage day, and the ending expressly marries her to the younger brother. The elder brother has a different bride; no children are supplied.
The younger travelling brother
The tick becomes an enchanted princess on the marriage day and marries the younger brother. His elder brother marries a different woman. The men’s sister is therefore her sister-in-law, not a stated biological sister; no children or birth parents are given for the princess.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary textPortuguese Folk-Tales, original 1882 edition scan and transcriptionResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.