Once upon a time there lived a poor mother who had three daughters. They were in such reduced circumstances that they had nothing at all, and were forced to beg or pick through garbage to stay alive. One day the old mother returned from begging with a few greens and other vegetables which she wanted to cook, so she asked that one of her daughters go to the fountain for her with the pitcher. Each one kept saying to the other, "You do it," and none of them did, so that eventually the old mother said in disgust, "If you want anything done, do it yourself," and painfully got up to go to the fountain. Seeing her like this in pain from age and sickness, the youngest daughter, Luciella, took pity on her, and said, "Give me the pitcher, Mother. Although I am faint from hunger, I am stronger than you, and I don’t like to see you carry the pitcher all that way." So saying, she took the pitcher from her mother and went out of the city to the fountain. While she was there filling her jug, a handsome young slave came up to her and said, "Will you come with me, beautiful maiden? I wish you to go with me to a nearby grotto, where I will give you many wonderful things."

Luciella had never been treated so kindly before, so she said, "Let me return with this water to my mother, and then I will follow you." She took the water home, and told her mother she was going begging. When she returned to the fountain, the handsome youth was waiting for her. He led her to a little cave where the opening was all covered with creeper and ivy, and when they went in, she was amazed, for it was an underground palace, shining with gold appointments. The slave took her to a dining room where there was a table all covered with delicious things to eat, and after she had eaten her fill, two female servants came and helped her out of her rags, washed her, and gave her costly and beautiful clothes to wear. In the evening they took her to a charming bedroom, where the bed cover was all sewn with pearls. As soon as she retired, and the candles were put out, someone came into bed with her, and made love to her. Thus her life continued for some time.

After awhile the maiden felt a longing to see her old mother, and she told the handsome slave. The slave went into an inner chamber and spoke with someone. Soon he came back to her with a bag full of gold. "Take this gold to your mother," he said, "but do not stay long, and do not tell anyone where you have been, nor let anyone follow you when you leave." The young girl went home, where her mother and sisters were overjoyed to see her, but the sisters, upon seeing her beautiful clothes, were overcome with envy. When she got up to go back to the grotto, they offered to accompany her, but she politely declined, and then hurriedly returned to the cave.

Two more months passed, and the maiden again asked for permission to visit her mother, and was again given gifts for her family and given the same cautions, which she followed carefully. Several more times she visited her family, and each time she visited, her sisters became even more curious and more envious. At last the two talked it over, and decided to consult with a witch, so that they could find out how their sister got her beautiful clothes and her money. They went to the witch, who told them what they wanted to know.

The next time Luciella visited them, they said to her, "Although you would not tell us anything, we have found out that you live in a cave that is a hidden palace, and that every night a handsome man comes and makes love to you, but that you have never seen him because your evening drink is laced with a sleeping potion. We have learned that things will always remain as they are unless you follow our advice. We are your flesh and blood, after all, and we want only what is best for you. Tonight when you go to bed, the servant will bring you a soothing drink as usual, but instead of drinking it, send the servant away for a towel to wipe your mouth, and while he is gone, pour the drink out. Later when your lover is asleep, light the lamp, and take this magic padlock which we will give you, and open it. That will break the spell your lover is under, so that you will be able to see him by day and by night, and you will be the happiest woman in the world.

Poor Lucilla did not know, of course, that their advice was motivated by envy and not by love of her, that their flowery words hid an evil snake, that the golden bowl of their advice was a container for poison. She believed them, and when she went to bed that night, she did as they had told her. When she lit the lamp, what a sight met her eyes! Her sleeping lover was so beautiful, a young man with skin like lilies and cheeks like roses, that her heart jumped within her, and she whispered, "Oh, that I could keep you with me forever!" And she unlocked the padlock. Instantly she beheld a vision of women carrying large skeins of thread. And as she was watching, one of the women dropped a skein on the ground, whereupon Lucilla cried out to her to pick it up, the dream was so real. The sound of her cry woke her lover, who, when he knew that Lucilla had seen him, shouted out to his slave to come and take her, and send her home in her own rags to her mother and sisters.

Back she went to her former hovel, pale and weeping, and when her sisters saw her, they laughed and sent her away with insults. Lucilla was forced to beg for her bread again, and wander the world, not knowing where to lay her head. After some months, the weary young girl, now big with child, came to the city of Torre-Longa. As she was walking near the royal palace, she could go no further, and stumbling to the stables, collapsed on the straw. There she was found by a serving-maid, who took pity on her, cared for her, and brought her bits of food from the kitchen. Soon it was time for her child to be born, and when the little boy was born, he was so beautiful and golden that he seemed half a god. That night when the mother and child were asleep, the maid, lying near them and seeming to sleep, observed a handsome youth appear. He took the child in his arms, and said to it, "Oh my beautiful little son, if my mother knew of you, she would wash you in a golden bath. If only I were not under this enchantment! If the cock never crew, I would never leave you and your mother again." While he was saying these words, the cock crew, and he disappeared.

The maid, not sure if she were waking or dreaming, lay wakeful the next night to see what she could see. The young man appeared again, and every night thereafter, and he seemed so sorrowful that her heart went out to him. Finally the maid determined to tell the queen of what she had seen and heard. When the queen heard the story, she started up from her chair in a great frenzy, and sent out an edict that all cockerels in the village around the palace should be slain. The village people thought this order very cruel, but they dared not disobey, and so all the hens in the village instantly became widows. That night the queen herself attended the bedside of the new mother, and when the handsome young man appeared, she recognized him as her own son, taken from her side many years before and placed under an enchantment by a witch. The witch’s curse was that he should wander the world, never seen by any person, until his mother should find him and embrace him, and the cock should not crow. Any person who saw him by deceit would add more years to his enchantment. As the dawn approached, the queen rose up and embraced her son, and when the first rays of the sun pierced the sky, no cocks crowed. The spell was broken, and the prince’s long years of enchantment ended. The happy queen found that she had gained not only her son, but a grandson as beautiful as a pearl. Luciella had regained her lover, now to be her husband, and the royal family went back to the palace, full of happiness and contentment.