"The Twins" (Albanian: ; Italian: ) is an Albanian folk tale firstly recorded by Arbëreshë folklorist Giuseppe Schirò in Piana degli Albanesi and published in his 1923 book, , in Albanian and Italian. American journalist George Post Wheeler published an English translation of a similar tale from Albania in his 1936 book, Albanian Wonder Tales, entitling his version "The Boy who was Brother to the Drague", with the same twin protagonists but also including a drangue as a blood brother of one of the twins.
The tale is Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index type 303, "The Twins or Blood Brothers," and includes ATU type 300 ("The Dragon Slayer"). In The Folktale (1946), Stith Thompson indicated four Albanian reported versions of "The Twins or Blood Brothers".
Gerlando Bennici recorded and published a shorter variant in Albanian and Italian, , by Giuseppe Pitrè in his 1875 . This version does not include the ATU 300 "dragon slayer" type.
"The Twins" includes common Albanian mythological figures such as the ora, zana, kulshedra, shtriga, and e Bukura e Dheut ("the Earthly Beauty"). The story also features the traditional Albanian motif of the "pair of heroic brothers", one of the main themes in the Albanian epic cycle of the Kângë Kreshnikësh (Songs of Heroes). The protagonists are twins Zjerma (Zjermi in Wheeler's version) and Handa; one is born with the Sun (Dielli) on his forehead, and the other has the Moon (Hëna). After their father dies, they decide to travel the world with their two horses and two dogs in search of glory and riches.
Story The twins' birth A king loses his kingdom. 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. He spends his days hoeing the garden, while his wife spins linen and wool. They are happy in the quiet of the fields and the tranquility of a solitary life. The only thing they miss is having a son. One morning, the king goes to the seashore and catches a large, red fish. He discovers that the red fish is magical and can speak. The fish tells the king to divide the fish's body into four pieces: the side of the head, the middle, the tail, and the bones. 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. The king follows the fish's instructions. His wife gives birth to two male twins, Zjerma and Handa; one has the Sun (Dielli) on his forehead, and the other has the Moon (Hëna). The mare gives birth to two foals, the dog two puppies, and two silver swords appear in the garden. The king's wife raises her twins carefully. The king teaches them to ride their horses without a saddle, fight with a variety of weapons, and hunt in the mountains and forests.
The king dies and the twins leave When the twins are nineteen years old, the king becomes ill and realizes that he was joined by the ora. 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. Before dying, he gives each of them one of his gold rings. They bury him with his weapons, mourning him for nine days and nights. The queen grieves for her husband, but her sons comfort her as they promised their father. 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.
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. He is unconcerned about their mother, who is old but healthy and has people helping her. Handa accepts his brother's proposal, so they say goodbye to their mother and leave with the horses and dogs.
On their journey, they come to a water source at the foot of a flowering almond tree where the road splits. They decide to separate and follow their fate according to the choice of the horses, vowing to reunite there every year on the same day. If one of the twins was in danger and needed help from the other, the gem in the ring would lose its brightness and turn black. The two brothers hug each other; Zjerma's horse takes the right path, and Handa's the left.
Zjerma's journey Kulshedra: the seven-headed dragon After a few days, Zjerma comes to a city whose streets are empty and houses shuttered. He approaches the temple of the Sun (Dielli), where he sees an old man crying. Zjerma asks the old man what is going on. 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. The elders suggested that the king bargain with the monster to release the water. The kulshedra offers to release the water if she receives an offering of a beautiful maiden daily. The old man says that his daughter had been sent the day before and the king's daughter, Bardhakuqja, had been sent that day. The king promises his daughter in marriage to whoever slays the dragon.
Zjerma promises the old man that he will avenge his daughter, and leaves with his animal companions. He reaches a dark river valley in the mountains. The source of the river is a deep, wide abyss where the monster lives. The princess is tied to a boulder, almost lifeless. Zjerma's blood stirs in his veins when he sees the still-radiant princess, who sees him and tells him to leave to save his life. Zjerma refuses, dismounts, and frees the princess. Exhausted, he rests his head on the princess' knees and falls asleep.
At noon, the water begins to move and the princess realizes that the kulshedra is about to emerge. Not wanting to wake Zjerma, she begins to cry. A tear falls on Zjerma's face and awakens him; he mounts his horse and brandishes the silver sword, waiting for the monster. The water boils, and from it the seven heads of the kulshedra emerge; the central one is horned, with a seven-pointed crown. Poison flows through her teeth; her forked tongues hiss, and her mouths spit fire. 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. Her serpentine tail has nine knots, covered with hard scales. Her legs are short, wide and strong, with curved claws as hard as iron. On her back she has a fish-type fin which opens and closes with antennae like boar tusks. She has wings like a bat, nine times larger than those of a hawk.
Dragon-slayer When the kulshedra is about to pounce, Zjerma and his horse approach her; Zjerma's dog follows. Zjerma attacks the monster, while his dog bites her behind. The kulshedra writhes, spitting flames. She hisses, trying to bite her enemies and crush them with her tail. The horse tramples her, denting her bony armor and breaking the scales protecting her body. Zjerma cuts off her heads with his sword, but the heads reattach to the monster's bloody necks; he realizes that he will have to cut off her central head to kill her. A dark cloud covers the valley, with thunder and lightning. 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. The cloud dissipates, the sun shines, and the river begins to flow again.
Zjerma cuts off the kulshedra's tongues and puts them in his saddlebag with her crowned head. He washes himself in the river with his horse and dog. Zjerma helps the princess mount the horse and brings her back to the city, where he is greeted with celebrations and honors. Meanwhile, Barkulku ("Wolfbelly") passes the source of the river and sees the dead kulshedra. Not knowing what had happened, he cuts off the remaining heads and put them in a sack in the hope of receiving a reward. Barkulku arrives in the city when Zjerma and Bardhakuqja are being married. He approaches the throne, announces that he has killed the kulshedra, and claims the reward. The king asks him to substantiate his claim, and Barkulku pulls out the heads of the kulshedra. Zjerma points out that the crowned head and tongues are missing, and takes them out of his saddlebag. The king swears by the Sun that if Barkulku has no other arguments to defend himself, he will give the order to burn him. Barkulku attacks Zjerma, and the dragonslayer kills him.
When Zjerma and Bardhakuqja are about to put garlands on their heads, Zjerma realizes that the gem on his ring has darkened. He stops the ceremony, saying that he must leave immediately. Zjerma kisses his bride, telling her to wait for him for a year, a month and a day; if he has not returned, she will be free to remarry. He says goodbye, and leaves with his horse and dog to rescue his brother.
Handa's journey After leaving his brother, Handa and his animal companions cross plains, hills and mountains before reaching a dense forest. He proceeds with difficulty, cutting through the vegetation to make his way. When the forest thins out, Handa sees a hut near a stream where an old man is resting. They greet each other, and the man advises Handa not to continue because he will face risks worse than death. Handa says that he must follow his destiny, and continues. Handa arrives in the garden of the Zanas. White-clothed nymphs welcome him with laughter, songs and dances, charming the young man with kisses and caresses. They tell him that e Bukura e Dheut ("the Earthly Beauty") lives in the cave at the foot of the mountain. Inebriated, Handa wants to find the Earthly Beauty.
He leaves the Zanas, arriving with his horse and dog at the entrance of a garden surrounded by a hedge of brambles and briars. An old woman asks him what he is looking for; Handa replies that he wants to meet (and marry) the Earthly Beauty. The old woman allows him to enter if he passes a test of intelligence, sword-wielding and riding ability. 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. Handa fails all of them. 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.
Rescue by Zjerma 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. The old man says that before meeting Handa, he saw many other men take the same path and never return. The wise old man invites Zjerma into his hut, where he shares secret teachings to help save Handa. Zjerma says goodbye to the old man and leaves. In the garden of the Zanas, the nymphs try to entertain him with songs and dances. He does not stop, telling them that they are very beautiful but not for him.