In Calvino's version, the heroine is a princess, not a merchant's daughter, the king gives her flour and sugar when she declares she will make her own husband if she wishes to marry, and she brings the hero, King Pepper, to life by singing a charm about how she had done various things for six months to make him.
In Calvino's narrative, the heroine is a princess rather than a merchant's daughter, and the king presents her with flour and sugar upon her declaration that she will create her own husband if she chooses to marry. She then animates the hero, King Pepper, through an enchanting song about the six months' worth of endeavors she undertook to bring him into being.