Charles Godfrey Leland

The Unpublished Legends of Virgil Charles Godfrey Leland

There was of old a King who had a beautiful wife, and also two children, twins, who were exactly alike. This King was named Romo and his wife Roma, and the children were called Romolo and Remolo. Now, it came to pass that the Queen and her twins, both as yet sucklings (ancora poppanti), were besieged in a castle when the King was far away. The enemy had sworn to kill the whole royal family and to extirpate the kingly race. Now, when the Queen was in sore distress, seeing death close upon her, there came to her a wizard, who said: "There is only one way by which you can save your life and that of your babes. I can change you all three into lupi manari, or were-wolves, and thus in the form of wolves you may escape."Then the Queen had the power to become a she-wolf or a human being at her will, and it was the same with the children. So they fled away, and lived in the woods for seven years; and the boys grew up like young giants, as strong as six common children. And the Queen became more beautiful than ever, for she lived under a spell.