[2] Gerlando Bennici recorded and published a shorter variant in Albanian and Italian, I due gemelli fatati,[b] by Giuseppe Pitrè in his 1875 Fiabe, novelle e racconti popolari siciliani.
[1] "The Twins" includes common Albanian mythological figures such as the ora, zana, kulshedra, shtriga, and e Bukura e Dheut ("the Earthly Beauty").
[9] The protagonists are twins Zjerma (Zjermi[d] in Wheeler's version) and Handa;[e] one is born with the Sun (Dielli) on his forehead, and the other has the Moon (Hëna).
All that remains of his wealth are two gold rings, each adorned with a gem, a mare, a brave female dog, and a vegetable garden where he lives with his wife.
It instructs the king to give his wife the side of the head, eat the middle part himself, feed the tail to the mare and the dog, and bury the bones in the garden.
His wife gives birth to two male twins, Zjerma[f] and Handa;[g] one has the Sun (Dielli) on his forehead, and the other has the Moon (Hëna).
The king teaches them to ride their horses without a saddle, fight with a variety of weapons, and hunt in the mountains and forests.
He summons his sons to his bedside, reminding them that they have royal blood, to love each other, to take care of their mother, and to do good.
After mourning, the queen returns to spinning linen and wool; the brothers hire a farmer to work in the garden, and his wife does the housework.
[14] A year later, Zjerma tells Handa that he wants to travel the world to win fame and conquer their father's kingdom so they could regain their ancestors' glory.
He suggests girding their silver swords, mounting their steeds, taking their two dogs (who are unafraid to attack a drangue), and leaving their home.
[15] The man says that the kulshedra had blocked the source of the river about a month earlier; the heroes who tried to kill the monster all died.
A tear falls on Zjerma's face and awakens him; he mounts his horse and brandishes the silver sword, waiting for the monster.
When the kulshedra jumps to the ground, Zjerma sees that her body is like a giant lizard's with segmented armor made of steel-hard bone.
[17] Zjerma cuts off the kusheldra's central head; a torrent of boiling black blood and flames erupt from the monster's neck, accompanied by a loud screech.
Zjerma helps the princess mount the horse and brings her back to the city, where he is greeted with celebrations and honors.
[21] After leaving his brother, Handa and his animal companions cross plains, hills and mountains before reaching a dense forest.
[23] He leaves the Zanas, arriving with his horse and dog at the entrance of a garden surrounded by a hedge of brambles and briars.
The test consists of solving a riddle, cutting a woolen bow in two, and climbing over the hedge onto his horse's back without touching it.
The witch sprays him, his horse, and his dog with an herbal ointment which turns them into stone; Zjerma then notices the darkening of his ring.
[24] Zjerma reaches the source under the flowering almond tree, follows the path Handa had taken, and arrives at the old man's hut.
The old man tells Zjerma that his brother followed the path leading to the garden of the Earthly Beauty; he tried to convince Handa not to go, but he did not listen.
He solves the witch's riddle, uses the silver sword to cut the woolen bow in two, and jumps the hedge with his horse.
[26] The twins and their followers arrive at the Earthly Beauty's cave and find her in the shade of a vine and a cypress tree, surrounded by her maids.
[27] Zjerma gathers his companions and invites them to help free the kingdom of the twins' ancestors from foreign domination.
Heir of his father-in-law's throne, Zjerma leaves Handa what he owed of his ancestor's crown and recognizes his brother as king.
[28] In Wheeler's version the characters and their actions are almost the same: Zjermi, Handa, their parents, Bardhakuqja, Barkulku, e Bukura e Dheut, kulshedra, shtriga (witch), the unpetrified companions, etc.
[1][2] Instead of the rise of a young man from humble circumstances found in variants from other traditions, the Albanian version is about two brothers who regain their father's kingdom.
[1] It includes the following elements of Thompson's motif-index: Giuseppe Pitrè published a shorter version in Albanian and Italian in his 1875 Fiabe, novelle e racconti popolari siciliani (Sicilian Fairy Tales, Stories, and Folktales), entitled "I due gemelli fatati" ("The Two Fairy Twins").
It includes the first part of the twins' magic birth (also found in Schiro's version), consisting of Thompson's motifs T511.5.1, "Conception from eating fish" and T589.7.1, "Simultaneous birth of [domestic] animal and child", but omits the king's death and the magic rings (Thompson's motif D1076) which allow one twin to know the other's condition.