There once lived a man named Jannuccio, who had two little children Nennillo and Nennella, whom he loved dearly. But when their mother died, he married another woman who was in character a hideous witch, who almost immedately began to complain bitterly about having to care for another woman’s children, saying things like, "Have I come here just to clean the lice and shit from other people’s children?" and "It would have been better for me to have broken my neck than to have to live with these annoying, crying brats," or "I agreed to be a wife, not a servant to these two nuisances," and other such complaints. Finally, she began to threaten that she would leave unless her husband got rid of the children. Her husband, who was in love with her, and somewhat weak in will, finally said, "Don’t be angry, wife. Tomorrow morning I will take the children away, and you will be happy."

So the next morning, Jannuccio filled a large basket with food, and taking the two children, he went deep into the woods, where the sun scarcely shone. Jannuccio gave the children the basket of food, saying "have a picnic and play here, and when evening comes, follow the trail of ashes I dropped as we were coming through the forest, and you will find your way home." He then gave each child a kiss, and left them. He hoped, you see, that his wife would come to her senses during the day and be horrified to think he had abandoned them in the woods.

The children played until the shadows lengthened, and then with difficulty began to follow the trail of ashes back to their house. It was nearly midnight when they finally reached home. Their father, who had begun to worry, was overjoyed to see them, but their stepmother began to shout and scream like a fiend, "This is a fine thing! Where did these children come from? I thought you got rid of them! This is the final straw! Tomorrow I am going to leave you and go back to my parents, for I brought too many nice things to this house when I married you to see them all ruined and stained by a couple of snotty urchins, and then see if I ever sleep with you again!"

The wretched father immediately took the little ones out into the forest again with another basket of food, and this time he said to them, "My dearest ones, you see how your stepmother hates you, so you will have to stay out here in the forest for a time. There is enough food in the basket for a few days, and when you need more, follow the trail of bran that I laid down in the forest, and you will be able to find your way back, and then I will give you more food." This time when he left them, he had to turn his face away from them so they wouldn’t be able to tell he was weeping.

After a few days, the food was gone, but when the children tried to follow the trail of bran, they discovered that it was gone, for animals had eaten it up, and they lost their way, and wandered about in the forest for days on end, eating acorns and chestnuts. But, since heaven always protects the innocent, one day a prince happened to be hunting with his dogs in the forest, and the pack of dogs picked up the scent of the two children, and began to pursue them. The children begin very small were terrified of the barking mastiffs, and tried to run away. Nennillo hid himself in a hollow tree, while Nennella, who was a faster runner and older, ran right out of the forest and down to the seashore. Some pirates happened to be gathering wood for fuel on the shore, and when they saw the pretty child, they took her to their captain. This pirate captain, who was grieving the recent death of his wife, was so charmed by the lovely little Nennella that he kept her and raised her as his own daughter.

Back in the forest, the hunting dogs soon found the tree where Nennello was hiding, and surrounded the tree, barking furiously. The prince and his followers, thinking the dogs had treed an animal, were astonished to discover a lovely little boy, not much older than a toddler, hidden in the tree. The child was too young to tell them sensibly who his mother and father were, and so the prince ordered that he should be taken back to the palace, and raised gently and carefully. The prince had Nenello educated and taught virtue, and had him taught a trade. The boy soon showed an aptitude for working with horses, and before many years went by he had become an expert at shoeing horses and caring for their health.

Nennella was cared for with great love by her pirate stepfather, but the pirate’s luck eventually ran out, for his reputation was such that he was discovered and pursued by the law. Having been warned by officials whom he had bribed, he attempted to make his escape by sea with his men and his daughter, but a great storm arose, which capsized the ship, and they all drowned, except for Nennella, who was innocent of all their crimes. When she sank down into the water, a giant fish came swimming by, and swallowed her in one gulp. She thought her life was over, but imagine her amazement when she discovered that the fish was enchanted, and that its belly was a little country, filled with hills and valleys and plains, and gardens, and orchards, and a little palace for her to live in, where all her needs were provided for, like a princess.

One day this great fish happened to swim into shallow water, and beached itself upon a rock. Overlooking the rock was the terrace of a great palace, where a handsome young man sat sharpening his knives. Yes, it was Nennillo, who was using the time to good effect while a great banquet was being prepared in the palace. As the fish gasped for air, Nenella could see the young man, whom she recognized at once as her brother. She cried out to him in a voice full of emotion, "O my brother, my brother, you have sharpened the knives, and spread the table, do you think you can rescue me from the belly of this fish?" Nennillo at first paid no attention to the voice, but then the prince, who came walking out onto the terrace, heard it too, and was full of amazement. He sent servants down to the shore to draw the fish further out of the water. As they listened to the voice, the prince asked all the courtiers if any of them had lost a sister. Finally Nennillo said, "I remember as if it were a dream, that I was very small, and hiding in the woods, and that I had a sister then." The prince told him to go down to the shore and go up to the fish, and as soon as Nennillo drew near, the fish opened its mouth very wide, and Nennilla stepped out onto the shore, so beautiful that she seemed an enchanted mermaid. When the prince questioned her, she told him the story of their stepmother’s hatred, and of her life with the pirate, but she was unable to remember what her father’s name had been so many years ago when she was a small child. The prince immediately published an edict than anyone who had lost two children named Nenillo and Nenella many years ago in the forest, should come to the palace.

Jannucio, who had all this time been grieving, because he believed that wolves had eaten up his children, came immediately to the palace. The prince questioned him closely, and when he heard the man’s story of how his wife had harangued him into taking the children into the woods, he began to berate him, calling him worthless, and a coward, to let an evil-tempered woman talk him into doing what he knew was not right, and causing his two beautiful children to have to wander the wood. But afterward, he called in Nennillo and Nennella, and the father was overcome with joy, and caressed them, and embraced them, and kissed them for a long time. Then the prince called for fine clothes to be brought in, and he had Jannuccio dressed like a gentleman, and had him given a room in the palace.

In the meantime, he sent for Jannuccio’s cruel wife, who was still living, and called her before him. He brought in Nennella and Nennillo and showed them to her, and said, "What do you think should happen to someone who would harm these two beautiful young people, and put them in danger of death?" The woman, who did not recognize the pair, since after all she had hardly looked at them when they had been in her charge, said brazenly, "I would put the person in a barrel and push it off a mountain top." "So be it," said the prince, "You have pronounced your own sentence, for the hatred you showed toward your beautiful step-children." Then he had the sentence carried out. But he found a wealthy and gentlemanly husband for Nennella, and a wealthy and aristocratic wife for Nennillo, and gave them money sufficient for their lives, and also their father, so that they needed no one’s help for the rest of their days to be happy and content. As for the evil stepmother, as she was rolling down the mountain to her death, she could be heard to cry out, "The person who seeks mischief shall soon find it!"