There’s no denying it. I was a foolish boy! And I did a lot of foolish things, mostly because I didn’t know when to keep my mouth shut.

What I regret most, however, is the way I treated the Ogre. He was a monster to look at, but a prince at heart. He took me in when I ran away from home, and gave me the position of a servant. He treated me well in every way. I received good wages and had very little work to do. In only a few days I became fat as a quail, round as a barrel, red as a lobster, and impudent as a bantam-cock.

When I decided that I wanted to go home, the Ogre let me go, though he was very unhappy about it. He gave me a wonderful donkey, an animal that would give wealth to my family in perpetuity. Did I thank him? No! I jumped on the donkey’s back and rode away without so much as a fare-thee-well. Now that’s what I call foolish!

Foolish Antonio in The Ogre, Grey Fairy Book. Illustration by H.J. Ford.