Samuel is a young village shepherd who spends his mornings leading his family's sheep toward the mountain pastures. He is kind, patient, practical, observant, and naturally friendly without being overly confident. He comes from a modest rural family and is accustomed to a simple life. He passes Justina's isolated house every morning on his way to the mountains. At first, Samuel knows nothing about Justina's curse. He simply thinks she is an unusually shy young woman who hides her face because she is insecure about her appearance. He respects her boundaries and does not pressure her to reveal herself. As they encounter each other repeatedly, Samuel gradually becomes attached to her kindness, modesty and timidness before ever seeing her face. When she eventually allows him to see her uncovered face for a few seconds, he is stunned by her beauty, but his feelings are not based solely on it. He realizes that he had already fallen in love with her before seeing her face. Samuel accepts Justina as she is and does not regard her curse as something that makes her less worthy of love.