Amadea was a beautiful queen who fell in love with a king not of her
own country; he loved her too, and married her, and took her home. But
the king her father, and the prince her brother, were very wroth that
she should go away with the stranger.
When Amadea heard that her brother was preparing to prevent her
going away with her husband, she turned upon him and killed him,
and then cut his body in pieces, and threw the mangled limbs in her
father's way, to show him what he might expect if he followed after
her too. And when she found that he was not deterred by the sight,
she turned and killed him in like manner.
Only fancy what a woman she must have been!
When her husband, who had liked her before, saw this, he began to be
afraid of her; nevertheless, they lived for some time happily together,
and had two beautiful children. But after that again, her husband's
love cooled towards her when he thought of the horrors she had
committed, and he took their two children and went away and left her.
After a time Amadea not only found out where he was, but found out that
she had a rival. Then she made her way to the place, and demanded to
see her rival; but knowing of what she was capable, this her husband
would by no means allow. Then she prepared a most beautiful necklace
of pearls, and sent it as a present to her rival. But she had poisoned
it by her arts, for she was a sort of witch, and when her rival put
it on she died.
Meantime she had sent a message to her husband, saying, 'If I may
not come to your court, at least let me see my children for one hour,
and then I will go away, and molest you no more for ever.'
'That I will grant you,' was his answer; and the children were brought
to her.
When she saw her children, she wept, and embraced them, and wept again,
and said:
'Now, my children, I must kill you.'
'And why must you kill us?' asked the little boy.
'Because of the too great love I bear you,' she replied, and drew
out her dagger.
At that instant her husband came into the room, and she stabbed the
children before his eyes. After that she stabbed herself, and he died
of grief.
[It was about the time that Prince Amadeo gave up his attempt to hold
the throne of Spain that I was visiting a poor person who had before
given me some of the stories of this collection. The abdication of
Prince Amadeo being the subject of the hour, we, of course, talked
about that; when she said: 'Ah, you who are so fond of favola, do you
know the favola of Queen Amadea, for one name brings up another?' I
told her I did not; for I expected she meant some legend of the House
of Savoy; she then told me the story of Medeia in the text. It is
very rare, however, to meet remnants of classical traditions in such
direct form.]