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Overview
A king fattens a louse and displays its skin as a riddle whose successful solver will marry his daughter. A robber obtains the answer from a witch’s head that tells him whatever he wishes to know. He marries the eldest princess, then uses the same head to discover what she has said about him while he is absent. After it reports her criticism, he kills her; the second sister meets the same fate. The youngest is more discreet, so the head can give only favourable reports.
The youngest wife later finds the head and throws it into an oven. The robber dies because his life is connected with it, although Crane’s summary does not explain the mechanism. She uses a life-restoring salve on her murdered sisters, and all three return to their father before later marriages. The head is both an information source and a vulnerable point in the antagonist’s existence. Its former owner’s body, the circumstances of severing and the robber’s acquisition of it are not described. This follows Crane’s published comparative summary rather than an independently read complete Gonzenbach original.
Origins & earliest records
Crane, Italian Popular Tales (1885), Discussion following XIII, pp. 66–67; discussed source: Gonzenbach, no. 22: The Robber who had a Witch’s Head.
Records & interpretation
Crane’s complete comparative notice provides the listed creature actions. The summary and quoted episode are distinguished from uninspected full originals.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Italian Popular Tales: Discussion following XIII, pp. 66–67
Complete published comparative notice, not a claimed independent full reading of the source collection’s original story.
Family & connections
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References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary literary discussionCrane1885: discussion of Gonzenbach, no. 22: The Robber who had a Witch’s HeadResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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