It is the story of two old sisters, ugly and deformed by age. A king falls madly in love with one of them after hearing her voice and tries to win her, unaware of her appearance. The old lady decides to fool him by showing him only one finger, which she has sucked for days to make smooth. She spends a night of love with him, but when, on waking, the king discovers the appearance of the woman, he has her thrown out the window. The old woman survives by landing in and remaining hanging from a tree and, thanks to the spell of some fairies who were amused to witness the scene; she turns into a beautiful girl. The king then decides to take her hand in marriage. The other sister, mad with envy about the lucky break of her sibling, runs in search of a barber to flay her alive, believing she could also rejuvenate herself in this way. The story ends in bloodshed and pain with the dying old lady confiding in the barber: “envy, my son, destroys itself“.