Once upon a time, there was a prince named Gualtieri. He was the Marquis of Saluzzo. He spent a lot of his time hunting and doing other sports.
He never thought about getting married or starting a family.
All his subjects were worried that old age would come, and he would not be able to have children.
Everyone kept asking him to marry.
To stop the talk, he decided to court a beautiful but poor woman from a nearby village. She was a young woman. The prince thought that her family’s poor situation would make those who wanted him to marry feel bad. He also thought that her beauty would make living with her easier.
The prince asked Griselda if she would marry him.
He asked her if she would accept him as her husband. He also asked if she would never say anything or question his decisions.
She happily agreed, and they got married.
The lady seemed like a good addition to the prince’s house.
The marquis wasn’t sure about her character and decided to test her patience and loyalty.
After their first child was born, he told Griselda that his subjects were not happy with the child.
He said that the beautiful child should be put to death.
Without hesitation, she accepted his orders and gave up her child.
Instead of killing the girl, the prince took her spirit away and hid the child somewhere secret.
Griselda gave birth to a son.
Her husband wanted to test her more. He asked her to let the child be put to death.
Griselda agreed again.
Her husband took the child to a secret place where he was taken care of.
Gualtieri wasn’t satisfied yet and wanted to do one last test for his wife.
He publicly accused Griselda and said that the pope had allowed him to divorce her and marry someone else.
Griselda was sent back to her father.
She didn’t complain at all.
As the day of his new marriage approached, Gualtieri called Griselda to the palace because no one knew how to prepare for the guests better than her.
Griselda returned to the palace as a cleaning woman and started preparing for her former husband’s wedding.
Gualtieri dressed their daughter in bridal clothes and presented her to Griselda.
Griselda didn’t know that the bride was her daughter.
Gualtieri asked Griselda, “What do you think about my new bride?”
Griselda replied, “If the girl’s wisdom is as great as her beauty, then you and she will be very happy together.”
Seeing her faithfulness, patience, and honesty, Gualtieri told her about the tests he had made to see her character.
Griselda was happy to receive her children back and took her place as Gualtieri’s wife.
Moral:
True love is built on trust, not on cruel tests or blind obedience.
Patience and loyalty are powerful, but they should be respected and never misused.
