A similar story, of Sicilian origin, was also collected by author and folklorist Andrew Lang in The Pink Fairy Book.

One day, the broommaker saw a golden bird in the woods, knocked off a feather, and sold it to his brother for a great sum.

A third time, he brought back the bird itself, and his brother, who knew its powers—that whoever ate its heart and liver would find a gold coin beneath his pillow every night—had his wife cook it.

But his nephews came to the kitchen to beg, and when two bits fell from the bird, they ate them, and the gold coins appeared beneath their pillows.

The seven-headed dragon came and breathed fire, setting all the grass ablaze, but the animals trampled the flames out.

The innkeeper would bet no more, but he sent the fox, wolf, bear, and lion for meat, vegetables, confectionery, and wine.

Hearing what his younger brother had been doing, he set out to the same woods and found the same witch, but refused to strike his animals.

On hearing that his older brother had been accepted as him and slept in his bed, the young king cut off his head, but repented of it.

They returned to the town, and the princess could recognize her husband by the necklace on his animals, and asked him why he had put the sword in the bed that night, revealing to him that his brother had been true.

Folktale collectors noted that the tale is of fragmentary origin, pieced together to shape its current form.

In this version, the brothers are named Gottlieb and Wilfrid and each of them recruit a lion, a bear, a hare, a wolf and a fox.