The Flea is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone.
[1] It combines Aarne-Thompson-Uther types 857, "The Louse-Skin"[2] and ATU 653, "The Four Skillful Brothers".
The oldest son heard the ogre whenever he approached, and each of his brothers put up an obstacle: one washed his hands and produced a sea of soapsuds, one transformed a piece of iron into a field of razors, one turned a little stick into a forest, and one turned a little bit of water into a river.
The last one turned a pebble into a tower where they could take refuge, but they were trapped there, and the ogre came with a ladder.
The youngest son shot the ogre's eye out and cut his head off.