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But Paperarello took no notice of her, and said to the king: 'It was kind of you to offer me your daughter in marriage, and for that I thank you; but I have a wife at home whom I love better, and it is to her that I am going.
And in order that no one should guess that he was any better than a goose-boy should be, he rubbed his face and his rags over with mud, and made himself altogether such a disgusting object that every one crossed over to the other side of the road when he was seen coming. 'Do go and wash yourself, Paperarello! said the queen sometimes, for he did his work so well that she took an interest in him.
The cook was still trembling with the thought of what he had escaped, but to his surprise Paperarello did not seem disturbed at all, and when night came he went to sleep as usual. 'Paperarello, cried the other servants, when they saw him quietly taking off his clothes, 'you cannot go to bed; you will need every moment of the night for your work. Remember, the king is not to be played with!
When the battle was over, the king sent for him to thank him for his timely help, and to ask what reward he should give him. 'Nothing but your little finger, your Majesty, was his answer; and the king cut off his little finger and gave it to Paperarello, who bowed and hid it in his surcoat.
Then he left the field, and when the soldiers rode back they found him still sitting in the road making whole rows of little clay dolls. The next day the king went out to fight another battle, and again Paperarello appeared, mounted on his lame horse.
The servants stood and stared in surprise, and the king said: 'Well done, Paperarello, you have won my daughter. And he thought to himself: 'This fellow must really be a magician. But when the princess heard what was in store for her she wept bitterly, and declared that never, never would she marry that dirty Paperarello!
That night, when the king sat at dinner, Paperarello came in, and laying down the ear, and the nose, and the finger on the table, turned and said to the nobles and courtiers who were waiting on the king: 'I am the invincible knight, who rode three times to your help, and I also am a king's son, and no goose-boy as you all think. And he went away and washed himself, and dressed himself in fine clothes and entered the hall again, looking so handsome that the proud princess fell in love with him on the spot.
However, he had always prided himself on being an honourable man, so he cut off his nose, and handed it to Paperarello. Paperarello bowed, put the nose in his surcoat, and rode away. In the evening, when the king returned from the battle, he found Paperarello sitting in the road making clay dolls. And Paperarello got up and said to him: 'Do you know who I am?
Now Paperarello, who was passing through the hall where the king was giving his orders, heard these words, and said: 'Your Majesty, have no fears; I will bake your bread. 'Very well, answered the king; 'but if you fail, you will pay for it with your head! and signed that both should leave his presence.
Tell him that he can be our goose-boy if he likes. The youth answered that he was quite content to be goose-boy; and that was how he got his nickname of Paperarello.
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