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diff --git a/old/pntmn10.txt b/old/pntmn10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8edd557 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/pntmn10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7906 @@ +Project Gutenberg Etexts from Pentamerone, by Giambattista Basile + + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations* + +Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and +further information is included below. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +Transcribed by Batsy Bybell, cgale@turbonet.com + + + + + +Stories from Pentamerone + +by Giambattista Basile + + + + +NOTE + +The collection of folk-tales known as Il Pentamerone was first +published at Naples and in the Neopolitan dialect, by Giambattista +Basile, Conte di Torrone, who is believed to have collected them +chiefly in Crete and Venice, and to have died about the year 1637. + + + + +CONTENTS + +1. How the Tales came to be told +2. The Myrtle +3. Peruonto +4. Vardiello +5. The Flea +6. Cenerentola +7. The Merchant +8. Goat-Face +9. The Enchanted Doe +10. Parsley +11. The Three Sisters +12. Violet +13. Pippo +14. The Serpent +15. The She-Bear +16. The Dove +17. Cannetella +18. Corvetto +19. The Booby +20. The Stone in the Cock's Head +21. The Three Enchanted Princes +22. The Dragon +23. The Two Cakes +24. The Seven Doves +25. The Raven +26. The Months +27. Pintosmalto +28. The Golden Root +29. Sun, Moon, and Talia +30. Nennillo and Nennella +31. The Three Citrons +32. Conclusion + + + + +I +HOW THE TALES CAME TO BE TOLD + +It is an old saying, that he who seeks what he should not, finds +what he would not. Every one has heard of the ape who, in trying +to pull on his boots, was caught by the foot. And it happened in +like manner to a wretched slave, who, although she never had +shoes to her feet, wanted to wear a crown on her head. But the +straight road is the best; and, sooner or later, a day comes which +settles all accounts. At last, having by evil means usurped what +belonged to another, she fell to the ground; and the higher she had +mounted, the greater was her fall--as you shall see. + + +Once upon a time the King of Woody Valley had a daughter +named Zoza, who was never seen to laugh. The unhappy father, +who had no other comfort in life but this only daughter, left +nothing untried to drive away her melancholy. So he sent for folks +who walk on stilts, fellows who jump through hoops, for boxers, +for conjurers, for jugglers who perform sleight-of-hand tricks, for +strong men, for dancing dogs, for leaping clowns, for the donkey +that drinks out of a tumbler--in short, he tried first one thing and +then another to make her laugh. But all was time lost, for nothing +could bring a smile to her lips. + +So at length the poor father, at wit's end, and to make a last trial, +ordered a large fountain of oil to be set in front of the palace gates, +thinking to himself that when the oil ran down the street, along +which the people passed like a troop of ants, they would be +obliged, in order not to soil their clothes, to skip like grasshoppers, +leap like goats, and run like hares; while one would go picking and +choosing his way, and another go creeping along the wall. In short, +he hoped that something might come to pass to make his daughter +laugh. + +So the fountain was made; and as Zoza was one day standing at the +window, grave and demure, and looking as sour as vinegar, there +came by chance an old woman, who, soaking up the oil with a +sponge, began to fill a little pitcher which she had brought with +her. And as she was labouring hard at this ingenious device, a +young page of the court passing by threw a stone so exactly to a +hair that he hit the pitcher and broke it to pieces. Whereupon the +old woman, who had no hair on her tongue, turned to the page, full +of wrath, and exclaimed, "Ah, you impertinent young dog, you +mule, you gallows-rope, you spindle-legs! Ill luck to you! May you +be pierced by a Catalan lance! May a thousand ills befall you and +something more to boot, you thief, you knave!" + +The lad, who had little beard and less discretion, hearing this string +of abuse, repaid the old woman in her own coin, saying, "Have you +done, you grandmother of witches, you old hag, you child-strangler!" + +When the old woman heard these compliments she flew into such +a rage that, losing hold of the bridle and escaping from the stable +of patience, she acted as if she were mad, cutting capers in the air +and grinning like an ape. At this strange spectacle Zoza burst into +such a fit of laughter that she well-nigh fainted away. But when the +old woman saw herself played this trick, she flew into a passion, +and turning a fierce look on Zoza she exclaimed: "May you never +have the least little bit of a husband, unless you take the Prince of +Round-Field." + +Upon hearing this, Zoza ordered the old woman to be called; and +desired to know whether, in her words, she had laid on her a curse, +or had only meant to insult her. And the old woman answered, +"Know then, that the Prince of whom I spoke is a most handsome +creature, and is named Taddeo, who, by the wicked spell of a fairy, +having given the last touch to the picture of life, has been placed in +a tomb outside the walls of the city; and there is an inscription +upon a stone, saying that whatever woman shall in three days fill +with tears a pitcher that hangs there upon a hook will bring the +Prince to life and shall take him for a husband. But as it is +impossible for two human eyes to weep so much as to fill a pitcher +that would hold half a barrel, I have wished you this wish in return +for your scoffing and jeering at me. And I pray that it may come to +pass, to avenge the wrong you have done me." So saying, she +scuttled down the stairs, for fear of a beating. + +Zoza pondered over the words of the old woman, and after turning +over a hundred thoughts in her mind, until her head was like a mill +full of doubts, she was at last struck by a dart of the passion that +blinds the judgment and puts a spell on the reasoning of man. She +took a handful of dollars from her father's coffers and left the +palace, walking on and on, until she arrived at the castle of a fairy, +to whom she unburdened her heart. The fairy, out of pity for such a +fair young girl, who had two spurs to make her fall--little help and +much love for an unknown object--gave her a letter of +recommendation to a sister of hers, who was also a fairy. And this +second fairy received her likewise with great kindness; and on the +following morning, when Night commands the birds to proclaim +that whoever has seen a flock of black shadows gone astray shall +be well rewarded, she gave her a beautiful walnut, saying, "Take +this, my dear daughter, and keep it carefully; but never open it, but +in time of the greatest need." And then she gave her also a letter, +commending her to another sister. + +After journeying a long way, Zoza arrived at this fairy's castle, and +was received with the same affection. And the next morning this +fairy likewise gave her a letter to another sister, together with a +chestnut, cautioning her in the same manner. Then Zoza travelled +on to the next castle, where she was received with a thousand +caresses and given a filbert, which she was never to open, unless +the greatest necessity obliged her. So she set out upon her journey, +and passed so many forests and rivers, that at the end of seven +years, just at the time of day when the Sun, awakened by the +coming of the cocks, has saddled his steed to run his accustomed +stages, she arrived almost lame at Round-Field. + +There, at the entrance to the city, she saw a marble tomb, at the +foot of a fountain, which was weeping tears of crystal at seeing +itself shut up in a porphyry prison. And, lifting up the pitcher, she +placed it in her lap and began to weep into it, imitating the +fountain to make two little fountains of her eyes. And thus she +continued without ever raising her head from the mouth of the +pitcher--until, at the end of two days, it was full within two inches +of the top. But, being wearied with so much weeping, she was +unawares overtaken by sleep, and was obliged to rest for an hour +or so under the canopy of her eyes. + +Meanwhile a certain Slave, with the legs of a grasshopper, came, +as she was wont, to the fountain, to fill her water-cask. Now she +knew the meaning of the fountain which was talked of +everywhere; and when she saw Zoza weeping so incessantly, and +making two little streams from her eyes, she was always watching +and spying until the pitcher should be full enough for her to add +the last drops to it; and thus to leave Zoza cheated of her hopes. +Now, therefore, seeing Zoza asleep, she seized her opportunity; +and dexterously removing the pitcher from under Zoza, and +placing her own eyes over it, she filled it in four seconds. But +hardly was it full, when the Prince arose from the white marble +shrine, as if awakened from a deep sleep, and embraced that mass +of dark flesh, and carried her straightways to his palace; feasts and +marvellous illuminations were made, and he took her for his wife. + +When Zoza awoke and saw the pitcher gone, and her hopes with it, +and the shrine open, her heart grew so heavy that she was on the +point of unpacking the bales of her soul at the custom-house of +Death. But, at last, seeing that there was no help for her +misfortune, and that she could only blame her own eyes, which +had served her so ill, she went her way, step by step, into the city. +And when she heard of the feasts which the Prince had made, and +the dainty creature he had married, she instantly knew how all this +mischief had come to pass; and said to herself, sighing, "Alas, two +dark things have brought me to the ground,--sleep and a black +slave!" Then she took a fine house facing the palace of the Prince; +from whence, though she could not see the idol of her heart, she +could at least look upon the walls wherein what she sighed for was +enclosed. + +But Taddeo, who was constantly flying like a bat round that black +night of a Slave, chanced to perceive Zoza and was entranced with +her beauty. When the Slave saw this she was beside herself with +rage, and vowed that if Taddeo did not leave the window, she +would kill her baby when it was born. + +Taddeo, who was anxiously desiring an heir, was afraid to offend +his wife and tore himself away from the sight of Zoza; who seeing +this little balm for the sickness of her hopes taken away from her, +knew not, at first, what to do. But, recollecting the fairies' gifts, +she opened the walnut, and out of it hopped a little dwarf like a +doll, the most graceful toy that was ever seen in the world. Then, +seating himself upon the window, the dwarf began to sing with +such a trill and gurgling, that he seemed a veritable king of the +birds. + +The Slave, when she saw and heard this, was so enraptured that, +calling Taddeo, she said, "Bring me the little fellow who is singing +yonder, or I will kill the child when it is born." So the Prince, who +allowed this ugly woman to put the saddle on his back, sent +instantly to Zoza, to ask if she would not sell the dwarf. Zoza +answered she was not a merchant, but that he was welcome to it as +a gift. So Taddeo accepted the offer, for he was anxious to keep +his wife in good humour. + +Four days after this, Zoza opened the chestnut, when out came a +hen with twelve little chickens, all of pure gold, and, being placed +on the window, the Slave saw them and took a vast fancy to them; +and calling Taddeo, she showed him the beautiful sight, and again +ordered him to procure the hen and chickens for her. So Taddeo, +who let himself be caught in the web, and become the sport of the +ugly creature, sent again to Zoza, offering her any price she might +ask for the beautiful hen. But Zoza gave the same answer as +before, that he might have it as a gift. Taddeo, therefore, who +could not do otherwise, made necessity kick at discretion, and +accepted the beautiful present. + +But after four days more, Zoza opened the hazel-nut, and forth +came a doll which spun gold--an amazing sight. As soon as it was +placed at the same window, the Slave saw it and, calling to +Taddeo, said, "I must have that doll, or I will kill the child." +Taddeo, who let his proud wife toss him about like a shuttle, had +nevertheless not the heart to send to Zoza for the doll, but resolved +to go himself, recollecting the sayings: "No messenger is better +than yourself," and "Let him who would eat a fish take it by the +tail." So he went and besought Zoza to pardon his impertinence, +on account of the caprices of his wife; and Zoza, who was in +ecstasies at beholding the cause of her sorrow, put a constraint on +herself; and so let him entreat her the longer to keep in sight the +object of her love, who was stolen from her by an ugly slave. At +length she gave him the doll, as she had done the other things, but +before placing it in his hands, she prayed the little doll to put a +desire into the heart of the Slave to hear stories told by her. And +when Taddeo saw the doll in his hand, without his paying a single +coin, he was so filled with amazement at such courtesy that he +offered his kingdom and his life in exchange for the gift. Then, +returning to his palace, he placed it in his wife's hands; and +instantly such a longing seized her to hear stories told, that she +called her husband and said, "Bid some story-tellers come and tell +me stories, or I promise you, I will kill the child." + +Taddeo, to get rid of this madness, ordered a proclamation +instantly to be made, that all the women of the land should come +on the appointed day. And on that day, at the hour when the star of +Venus appears, who awakes the Dawn, to strew the road along +which the Sun has to pass, the ladies were all assembled at the +palace. But Taddeo, not wishing to detain such a rabble for the +mere amusement of his wife, chose ten only of the best of the city +who appeared to him most capable and eloquent. These were +Bushy-haired Zeza, Bandy-legged Cecca, Wen-necked Meneca, +Long-nosed Tolla, Humph-backed Popa, Bearded Antonella, +Dumpy Ciulla, Blear-eyed Paola, Bald-headed Civonmetella, and +Square-shouldered Jacova. Their names he wrote down on a sheet +of paper; and then, dismissing the others, he arose with the Slave +from under the canopy, and they went gently to the garden of the +palace, where the leafy branches were so closely interlaced, that +the Sun could not separate them with all the industry of his rays. +And seating themselves under a pavilion, formed by a trellis of +vines, in the middle of which ran a great fountain--the +schoolmaster of the courtiers, whom he taught everyday to +murmur--Taddeo thus began: + +"There is nothing in the world more glorious, my gentle dames, +than to listen to the deeds of others; nor was it without reason that +the great philosopher placed the highest happiness of man in +listening to pretty stories. In hearing pleasing things told, griefs +vanish, troublesome thoughts are put to flight and life is +lengthened. And, for this reason, you see the artisans leave their +workshops, the merchants their country-houses, the lawyers their +cases, the shopkeepers their business, and all repair with open +mouths to the barbers' shops and to the groups of chatterers, to +listen to stories, fictions, and news in the open air. I cannot, +therefore, but pardon my wife, who has taken this strange fancy +into her head of hearing the telling of tales. So, if you will be +pleased to satisfy the whim of the Princess and comply with my +wishes, you will, during the next four or five days, .each of you +relate daily one of those tales which old women are wont to tell for +the amusement of the little ones. And you will come regularly to +this spot; where, after a good repast, you shall begin to tell stories, +so as to pass life pleasantly--and sorrow to him that dies!" + +At these words, all bowed assent to the commands of Taddeo; and +the tables being meanwhile set out and feast spread, they sat down +to eat. And when they had done eating, the Prince took the paper +and calling on each in turn, by name, the stories that follow were +told, in due order. + + + +II +THE MYRTLE + +There lived in the village of Miano a man and his wife, who had +no children whatever, and they longed with the greatest eagerness +to have an heir. The woman, above all, was for ever saying, "O +heavens! if I might but have a little baby--I should not care, were it +even a sprig of a myrtle." And she repeated this song so often, and +so wearied Heaven with these words, that at last her wish was +granted; and at the end of nine months, instead of a little boy or +girl, she placed in the hands of the nurse a fine sprig of myrtle. +This she planted with great delight in a pot, ornamented with ever +so many beautiful figures, and set it in the window, tending it +morning and evening with more diligence than the gardener does a +bed of cabbages from which he reckons to pay the rent of his +garden. + +Now the King's son happening to pass by, as he was going to hunt, +took a prodigious fancy to this beautiful plant, and sent to ask the +mistress of the house if she would sell it, for he would give even +one of his eyes for it. The woman at last, after a thousand +difficulties and refusals, allured by his offers, dazzled by his +promises, frightened by his threats, overcome by his prayers, gave +him the pot, beseeching him to hold it dear, for she loved it more +than a daughter, and valued it as much as if it were her own +offspring. Then the Prince had the flower-pot carried with the +greatest care in the world into his own chamber, and placed it in a +balcony, and tended and watered it with his own hand. + +It happened one evening, when the Prince had gone to bed, and put +out the candles, and all were at rest and in their first sleep, that he +heard the sound of some one stealing through the house, and +coming cautiously towards his bed; whereat he thought it must be +some chamber-boy coming to lighten his purse for him, or some +mischievous imp to pull the bed-clothes off him. But as he was a +bold fellow, whom none could frighten, he acted the dead cat, +waiting to see the upshot of the affair. When he perceived the +object approach nearer, and stretching out his hand felt something +smooth, and instead of laying hold, as he expected, on the prickles +of a hedgehog, he touched a little creature more soft and fine than +Barbary wool, more pliant and tender than a marten's tail, more +delicate than thistle-down, he flew from one thought to another, +and taking her to be a fairy (as indeed she was), he conceived at +once a great affection for her. The next morning, before the Sun, +like a chief physician, went out to visit the flowers that are sick +and languid, the unknown fair one rose and disappeared, leaving +the Prince filled with curiosity and wonder. + +But when this had gone on for seven days, he was burning and +melting with desire to know what good fortune this was that the +stars had showered down on him, and what ship freighted with the +graces of Love it was that had come to its moorings in his +chamber. So one night, when the fair maiden was fast asleep, he +tied one of her tresses to his arm, that she might not escape; then +he called a chamberlain, and bidding him light the candles, he saw +the flower of beauty, the miracle of women, the looking-glass and +painted egg of Venus, the fair bait of Love--he saw a little doll, a +beautiful dove, a Fata Morgana, a banner--he saw a golden trinket, +a hunter, a falcon's eye, a moon in her fifteenth day, a pigeon's +bill, a morsel for a king, a jewel--he saw, in short, a sight to amaze +one. + +In astonishment he cried, "O sleep, sweet sleep! heap poppies on +the eyes of this lovely jewel; interrupt not my delight in viewing as +long as I desire this triumph of beauty. O lovely tress that binds +me! O lovely eyes that inflame me! O lovely lips that refresh me! +O lovely bosom that consoles me! Oh where, at what shop of the +wonders of Nature, was this living statue made? What India gave +the gold for these hairs? What Ethiopia the ivory to form these +brows? What seashore the carbuncles that compose these eyes? +What Tyre the purple to dye this face? What East the pearls to +string these teeth? And from what mountains was the snow taken +to sprinkle over this bosom--snow contrary to nature, that nurtures +the flowers and burns hearts?" + +So saying he made a vine of his arms, and clasping her neck, she +awoke from her sleep and replied, with a gentle smile, to the sigh +of the enamoured Prince; who, seeing her open her eyes, said, "O +my treasure, if viewing without candles this temple of love I was +in transports, what will become of my life now that you have +lighted two lamps? O beauteous eyes, that with a trump-card of +light make the stars bankrupt, you alone have pierced this heart, +you alone can make a poultice for it like fresh eggs! O my lovely +physician, take pity, take pity on one who is sick of love; who, +having changed the air from the darkness of night to the light of +this beauty, is seized by a fever; lay your hand on this heart, feel +my pulse, give me a prescription. But, my soul, why do I ask for a +prescription? I desire no other comfort than a touch of that little +hand; for I am certain that with the cordial of that fair grace, and +with the healing root of that tongue of thine, I shall be sound and +well again." + +At these words the lovely fairy grew as red as fire, and replied, +"Not so much praise, my lord Prince! I am your servant, and would +do anything in the world to serve that kingly face; and I esteem it +great good fortune that from a bunch of myrtle, set in a pot of +earth, I have become a branch of laurel hung over the inn-door of a +heart in which there is so much greatness and virtue." + +The Prince, melting at these words like a tallow-candle, began +again to embrace her; and sealing the latter with a kiss, he gave her +his hand, saying, "Take my faith, you shall be my wife, you shall +be mistress of my sceptre, you shall have the key of this heart, as +you hold the helm of this life." After these and a hundred other +ceremonies and discourses they arose. And so it went on for +several days. + +But as spoil-sport, marriage-parting Fate is always a hindrance to +the steps of Love, it fell out that the Prince was summoned to hunt +a great wild boar which was ravaging the country. So he was +forced to leave his wife. But as he loved her more than his life, and +saw that she was beautiful beyond all beautiful things, from this +love and beauty there sprang up the feeling of jealousy, which is a +tempest in the sea of love, a piece of soot that falls into the pottage +of the bliss of lovers--which is a serpent that bites, a worm that +gnaws, a gall that poisons, a frost that kills, making life always +restless, the mind unstable, the heart ever suspicious. So, calling +the fairy, he said to her, "I am obliged, my heart, to be away from +home for two or three days; Heaven knows with how much grief I +tear myself from you, who are my soul; and Heaven knows too +whether, ere I set out, my life may not end; but as I cannot help +going, to please my father, I must leave you. I, therefore, pray you, +by all the love you bear me, to go back into the flower-pot, and not +to come out of it till I return, which will be as soon as possible." + +"I will do so," said the fairy, "for I cannot and will not refuse what +pleases you. Go, therefore, and may the mother of good luck go +with you, for I will serve you to the best of my power. But do me +one favour; leave a thread of silk with a bell tied to the top of the +myrtle, and when you come back pull the thread and ring, and +immediately I will come out and say, Here I am.'" + +The Prince did so, and then calling a chamberlain, said to him, +"Come hither, come hither, you! Open your ears and mind what I +say. Make this bed every evening, as if I were myself to sleep in it. +Water this flower-pot regularly, and mind, I have counted the +leaves, and if I find one missing I will take from you the means of +earning your bread." So saying he mounted his horse, and went, +like a sheep that is led to the slaughter, to follow a boar. In the +meanwhile seven wicked women, with whom the Prince had been +acquainted, began to grow jealous; and being curious to pry into +the secret, they sent for a mason, and for a good sum of money got +him to make an underground passage from their house into the +Prince's chamber. Then these cunning jades went through the +passage in order to explore. But finding nothing, they opened the +window; and when they saw the beautiful myrtle standing there, +each of them plucked a leaf from it; but the youngest took off the +entire top, to which the little bell was hung; and the moment it was +touched the bell tinkled and the fairy, thinking it was the Prince, +immediately came out. + +As soon as the wicked women saw this lovely creature they +fastened their talons on her, crying, "You are she who turns to your +own mill the stream of our hopes! You it is who have stolen the +favour of the Prince! But you are come to an end of your tricks, my +fine lady! You are nimble enough in running off, but you are +caught in your tricks this time, and if you escape, you were never +born." + +So saying, they flew upon her, and instantly tore her in pieces, and +each of them took her part. But the youngest would not join in this +cruel act; and when she was invited by her sisters to do as they did, +she would take nothing but a lock of those golden hairs. So when +they had done they went quickly away by the passage through +which they had come. + +Meanwhile the chamberlain came to make the bed and water the +flower-pot, according to his master's orders, and seeing this pretty +piece of work, he had like to have died of terror. Then, biting his +nails with vexation, he set to work, gathered up the remains of the +flesh and bones that were left, and scraping the blood from the +floor, he piled them all up in a heap in the pot; and having watered +it, he made the bed, locked the door, put the key under the door, +and taking to his heels ran away out of the town. + +When the Prince came back from the chase, he pulled the silken +string and rung the little bell; but ring as he would it was all lost +time; he might sound the tocsin, and ring till he was tired, for the +fairy gave no heed. So he went straight to the chamber, and not +having patience to call the chamberlain and ask for the key, he +gave the lock a kick, burst open the door, went in, opened the +window, and seeing the myrtle stript of its leaves, he fell to +making a most doleful lamentation, crying, shouting, and bawling, +"O wretched me! unhappy me! O miserable me! Who has played +me this trick? and who has thus trumped my card? O ruined, +banished, and undone prince! O my leafless myrtle! my lost fairy! +O my wretched life! my joys vanished into smoke! my pleasures +turned to vinegar! What will you do, unhappy man! Leap quickly +over this ditch! You have fallen from all happiness, and will you +not cut your throat? You are robbed of every treasure! You are +expelled from life, and do you not go mad? Where are you? where +are you, my myrtle? And what soul more hard than marble has +destroyed this beautiful flower-pot? O cursed chase, that has +chased me from all happiness! Alas! I am done for, I am +overthrown, I am ruined, I have ended my days; it is not possible +for me to get through life without my life; I must stretch my legs, +since without my love sleep will be lamentation, food, poison, +pleasure insipid, and life sour." + +These and many other exclamations that would move the very +stones in the streets, were uttered by the Prince; and after repeating +them again and again, and wailing bitterly, full of sorrow and woe, +never shutting an eye to sleep, nor opening his mouth to eat, he +gave such way to grief, that his face, which was before of oriental +vermilion, became of gold paint, and the ham of his lips became +rusty bacon. + +The fairy, who had sprouted up again from the remains that were +put in the pot, seeing the misery and tribulation of her poor lover, +and how he was turned in a second to the colour of a sick +Spaniard, of a venomous lizard, of the sap of a leaf, of a jaundiced +person, of a dried pear, was moved with compassion; and +springing out of the pot, like the light of a candle shooting out of a +dark lantern, she stood before Cola Marchione, and embracing him +in her arms she said, "Take heart, take heart, my Prince! have done +now with this lamenting, wipe your eyes, quiet your anger, smooth +your face. Behold me alive and handsome, in spite of those wicked +women, who split my head and so ill-treated me." + +The Prince, seeing this when he least expected it, arose again from +death to life, and the colour returned to his cheeks, warmth to his +blood, breath to his breast. After giving her a thousand caresses +and embraces, he desired to know the whole affair from head to +foot; and when he found that the chamberlain was not to blame, he +ordered him to be called, and giving a great banquet, he, with the +full consent of his father, married the fairy. And he invited all the +great people of the kingdom, but, above all others, he would have +present those seven serpents who had committed the slaughter of +that sweet suckling-calf. + +And as soon as they had done eating, the Prince asked all the +guests, one after another, what he deserved who had injured that +beautiful maiden--pointing to the fairy, who looked so lovely that +she shot hearts like a sprite and drew souls like a windlass. + +Then all who sat at table, beginning with the King, said, one that +he deserved the gallows, another that he merited the wheel, a third +the pincers, a fourth to be thrown from a precipice; in short one +proposed this punishment and another that. At last it came to the +turn of the seven wicked women to speak, who, although they did +not much relish this conversation, yet, as the truth comes out when +the wine goes about, answered, that whoever had the heart basely +to touch only this quintessence of the charms of love deserved to +be buried alive in a dungeon. + +"As you have pronounced this sentence with your own lips," said +the Prince, "you have yourselves judged the cause, you have +yourselves signed the decree. It remains for me to cause your order +to be executed, since it is you who with the heart of a negro, with +the cruelty of Medea, made a fritter of this beautiful head, and +chopped up these lovely limbs like sausage-meat. So quick, make +haste, lose not a moment! throw them this very instant into a large +dungeon, where they shall end their days miserably." + +So this order was instantly carried into execution. The Prince +married the youngest sister of these wicked creatures to the +chamberlain, and gave her a good portion. And giving also to the +father and mother of the myrtle wherewithal to live comfortably, +he himself spent his days happily with the fairy; while the wicked +women ended their lives in bitter anguish, and thus verified the +proverb of the wise men of old-- + + "The lame goat will hop + If he meets with no stop." + + + +III + +PERUONTO + +A good deed is never lost. He who sows courtesy reaps benefit; +and he who gathers kindness gathers love. Pleasure bestowed on a +grateful mind was never barren, but always brings a good +recompense; and that is the moral of the story I am going to tell +you. + +Once upon a time a woman who lived in a village, and was called +Ceccarella, had a son named Peruonto, who was one of the most +stupid lads that ever was born. This made his mother very +unhappy, and all day long she would grieve because of this great +misfortune. For whether she asked him kindly, or stormed at him +till her throat was dry, the foolish fellow would not stir to do the +slightest hand's turn for her. At last, after a thousand dinnings at +his brain, and a thousand splittings of his head, and saying "I tell +you" and "I told you" day after day, she got him to go to the wood +for a faggot, saying, "Come now, it is time for us to get a morsel to +eat, so run off for some sticks, and don't forget yourself on the +way, but come back as quick as you can, and we will boil +ourselves some cabbage, to keep the life in us." + +Away went the stupid Peruonto, hanging down his head as if he +was going to gaol. Away he went, walking as if he were a jackdaw, +or treading on eggs, counting his steps, at the pace of a snail's +gallop, and making all sorts of zigzags and excursions on his way +to the wood, to come there after the fashion of a raven. And when +he reached the middle of a plain, through which ran a river +growling and murmuring at the bad manners of the stones that +were stopping its way, he saw three youths who had made +themselves a bed of grass and a pillow of a great flint stone, and +were lying sound asleep under the blaze of the Sun, who was +shooting his rays down on them point blank. When Peruonto saw +these poor creatures, looking as if they were in the midst of a +fountain of fire, he felt pity for them, and cutting some branches of +oak, he made a handsome arbour over them. Meanwhile, the +youths, who were the sons of a fairy, awoke, and, seeing the +kindness and courtesy of Peruonto, they gave him a charm, that +every thing he asked for should be done. + +Peruonto, having performed this good action, went his ways +towards the wood, where he made up such an enormous faggot +that it would have needed an engine to draw it; and, seeing that he +could not in any way get in on his back, he set himself astride of it +and cried, "Oh, what a lucky fellow I should be if this faggot +would carry me riding a-horseback!" And the word was hardly out +of his mouth when the faggot began to trot and gallop like a great +horse, and when it came in front of the King's palace it pranced +and capered and curvetted in a way that would amaze you. The +ladies who were standing at one of the windows, on seeing such a +wonderful sight, ran to call Vastolla, the daughter of the King, +who, going to the window and observing the caracoles of a faggot +and the bounds of a bundle of wood, burst out a-laughing--a thing +which, owing to a natural melancholy, she never remembered to +have done before. Peruonto raised his head, and, seeing that it was +at him that they were laughing, exclaimed, "Oh, Vastolla, I wish +that I could be your husband and I would soon cure you of +laughing at me!" And so saying, he struck his heels into the faggot, +and in a dashing gallop he was quickly at home, with such a train +of little boys at his heels that if his mother had not been quick to +shut the door they would soon have killed him with the stones and +sticks with which they pelted him. + +Now came the question of marrying Vastolla to some great prince, +and her father invited all he knew to come and visit him and pay +their respects to the Princess. But she refused to have anything to +say to either of them, and only answered, "I will marry none but +the young man who rode on the faggot." So that the King got more +and more angry with every refusal, and at last he was quite unable +to contain himself any longer, and called his Council together and +said, "You know by this time how my honour has been shamed, +and that my daughter has acted in such a manner that all the +chronicles will tell the story against me, so now speak and advise +me. I say that she is unworthy to live, seeing that she has brought +me into such discredit, and I wish to put her altogether out of the +world before she does more mischief." The Councillors, who had +in their time learned much wisdom, said, "Of a truth she deserves +to be severely punished. But, after all, it is this audacious +scoundrel who has give you the annoyance, and it is not right that +he should escape through the meshes of the net. Let us wait, then, +till he comes to light, and we discover the root of this disgrace, and +then we will think it over and resolve what were best to be done." +This counsel pleased the King, for he saw that they spoke like +sensible, prudent men, so he held his hand and said, "Let us wait +and see the end of this business." + +So then the King made a great banquet, and invited every one of +his nobles and all the gentlemen in his kingdom to come to it, and +set Vastolla at the high table at the top of the hall, for, he said, "No +common man can have done this, and when she recognises the +fellow we shall see her eyes turn to him, and we will instantly lay +hold on him and put him out of the way." But when the feasting +was done, and all the guests passed out in a line, Vastolla took no +more notice of them than Alexander's bull-dog did of the rabbits; +and the King grew more angry than ever, and vowed that he would +kill her without more delay. Again, however, the Councillors +pacified him and said, "Softly, softly, your Majesty! quiet your +wrath. Let us make another banquet to-morrow, not for people of +condition but for the lower sort. Some women always attach +themselves to the worst, and we shall find among the cutlers, and +bead-makers, and comb-sellers, the root of your anger, which we +have not discovered among the cavaliers." + +This reasoning took the fancy of the King, and he ordered a second +banquet to be prepared, to which, on proclamation being made, +came all the riff-raff and rag-tag and bob-tail of the city, such as +rogues, scavengers, tinkers, pedlars, sweeps, beggars, and such like +rabble, who were all in high glee; and, taking their seats like +noblemen at a great long table, they began to feast and gobble +away. + +Now, when Ceccarella heard this proclamation, she began to urge +Peruonto to go there too, until at last she got him to set out for the +feast. And scarcely had he arrived there when Vastolla cried out +without thinking, "That is my Knight of the Faggot." When the +King heard this he tore his beard, seeing that the bean of the cake, +the prize in the lottery, had fallen to an ugly lout, the very sight of +whom he could not endure, with a shaggy head, owl's eyes, a +parrot's nose, a deer's mouth, and legs bare and bandy. Then, +heaving a deep sigh, he said, "What can that jade of a daughter of +mine have seen to make her take a fancy to this ogre, or strike up a +dance with this hairy-foot? Ah, vile, false creature, who has cast so +base a spell on her? But why do we wait? Let her suffer the +punishment she deserves; let her undergo the penalty that shall be +decreed by you, and take her from my presence, for I cannot bear +to look longer upon her." + +Then the Councillors consulted together and they resolved that +she, as well as the evil-doer, should be shut up in a cask and +thrown into the sea; so that without staining the King's hands with +the blood of one of his family, they should carry out the sentence. +No sooner was the judgment pronounced, than the cask was +brought and both were put into it; but before they coopered it up, +some of Vastolla's ladies, crying and sobbing as if their hearts +would break, put into it a basket of raisins and dried figs that she +might have wherewithal to live on for a little while. And when the +cask was closed up, it was flung into the sea, on which it went +floating as the wind drove it. + +Meanwhile Vastolla, weeping till her eyes ran like two rivers, said +to Peruonto, "What a sad misfortune is this of ours! Oh, if I but +knew who has played me this trick, to have me caged in this +dungeon! Alas, alas, to find myself in this plight without knowing +how. Tell me, tell me, O cruel man, what incantation was it you +made, and what spell did you employ, to bring me within the circle +of this cask?" Peruonto, who had been for some time paying little +attention to her, at last said, "If you want me to tell you, you must +give me some figs and raisins." So Vastolla, to draw the secret out +of him, gave him a handful of both; and as soon as he had eaten +them he told her truly all that had befallen him, with the three +youths, and with the faggot, and with herself at the window: +which, when the poor lady heard, she took heart and said to +Peruonto, "My friend, shall we then let our lives run out in a cask? +Why don't you cause this tub to be changed into a fine ship and +run into some good harbour to escape this danger?" And Peruonto +replied-- + + "If you would have me say the spell, + With figs and raisins feed me well!" + +So Vastolla, to make him open his mouth, filled it with fruit; and +so she fished the words out of him. And lo! as soon as Peruonto +had said what she desired, the cask was turned into a beautiful +ship; with sails and sailors and everything that could be wished +for; and guns and trumpets and a splendid cabin in which Vastolla +sat filled with delight. + +It being now the hour when the Moon begins to play at see-saw +with the Sun, Vastolla said to Peruonto, "My fine lad, now make +this ship to be changed into a palace, for then we shall be more +secure; you know the saying, "Praise the Sea, but keep to the +Land." And Peruonto replied-- + + "If you would have me say the spell, + With figs and raisins feed me well!" + +So Vastolla, at once, fed him again, and Peruonto, swallowing +down the raisins and figs, did her pleasure; and immediately the +ship came to land and was changed into a beautiful palace, fitted +up in a most sumptuous manner, and so full of furniture and +curtains and hangings that there was nothing more to ask for. So +that Vastolla, who a little before would not have set the price of a +farthing on her life, did not now wish to change places with the +greatest lady in the world, seeing herself served and treated like a +queen. Then to put the seal on all her good fortune, she besought +Peruonto to obtain grace to become handsome and polished in his +manner, that they might live happy together; for though the +proverb says, "Better to have a pig for a husband, than a smile +from an emperor," still, if his appearance were changed, she +should think herself the happiest woman in the universe. And +Peruonto replied as before-- + + "If you would have me say the spell, + With figs and raisins feed me well!" + +Then Vastolla quickly opened his lips, and scarcely had he spoken +the words when he was changed, as it were from an owl to a +nightingale, from an ogre to a beautiful youth, from a scarecrow to +a fine gentleman. Vastolla, seeing such a transformation clasped +him in her arms and was almost beside herself with joy. Then they +were married and lived happily for years. + +Meanwhile the King grew old and very sad, so that, one day, the +courtiers persuaded him to go a-hunting to cheer him up. Night +overtook him, and, seeing a light in a palace, he sent a servant to +know if he could be entertained there; and he was answered that +everything was at his disposal. So the King went to the palace and +passing into a great guest-chamber he saw no living soul, but two +little boys, who skipped around him crying, "Welcome, welcome!" +The King, surprised and astonished, stood like one that was +enchanted, and sitting down to rest himself at a table, to his +amazement he saw invisibly spread on it a Flanders tablecloth, +with dishes full of roast meats and all sorts of viands; so that, in +truth, he feasted like a King, waited on by those beautiful children, +and all the while he sat at table a concert of lutes and tambourines +never ceased--such delicious music that it went to the tips of his +fingers and toes. When he had done eating, a bed suddenly +appeared all made of gold, and having his boots taken off, he went +to rest and all his courtiers did the same, after having fed heartily +at a hundred tables, which were laid out in the other rooms. + +When morning came, the King wished to thank the two little +children, but with them appeared Vastolla and her husband; and +casting herself at his feet she asked his pardon and related the +whole story. The King, seeing that he had found two grandsons +who were two jewels and a son-in-law who was a fairy, embraced +first one and then the other; and taking up the children in his arms, +they all returned to the city where there was a great festival that +lasted many days. + + + +IV + +VARDIELLO + +If Nature had given to animals the necessity of clothing +themselves, and of buying their food, the race of quadrupeds +would inevitably be destroyed. Therefore it is that they find their +food without trouble,--without gardener to gather it, purchaser to +buy it, cook to prepare it, or carver to cut it up; whilst their skin +defends them from the rain and snow, without the merchant giving +them cloth, the tailor making the dress, or the errand-boy begging +for a drink-penny. To man however, who has intelligence, Nature +did not care to grant these indulgences, since he is able to procure +for himself what he wants. This is the reason that we commonly +see clever men poor, and blockheads rich; as you may gather from +the story which I am going to tell you. + +Grannonia of Aprano was a woman of a great sense and judgment, +but she had a son named Vardiello, who was the greatest booby +and simpleton in the whole country round about. Nevertheless, as a +mother's eyes are bewitched and see what does not exist, she doted +upon him so much, that she was for ever caressing and fondling +him as if he were the handsomest creature in the world. + +Now Grannonia kept a brood-hen, that was sitting upon a nest of +eggs, in which she placed all her hope, expecting to have a fine +brood of chickens, and to make a good profit of them. And having +one day to go out on some business, she called her son, and said to +him, "My pretty son of your own mother, listen to what I say: keep +your eye upon the hen, and if she should get up to scratch and pick, +look sharp and drive her back to the nest; for otherwise the eggs +will grow cold, and then we shall have neither eggs nor chickens." + +"Leave it to me," replied Vardiello, "you are not speaking to deaf +ears." + +"One thing more," said the mother; "look-ye, my blessed son, in +yon cupboard is a pot full of certain poisonous things; take care +that ugly Sin does not tempt you to touch them, for they would +make you stretch your legs in a trice." + +"Heaven forbid!" replied Vardiello, "poison indeed will not tempt +me; but you have done wisely to give me the warning; for if I had +got at it, I should certainly have eaten it all up." + +Thereupon the mother went out, but Vardiello stayed behind; and, +in order to lose no time, he went into the garden to dig holes, +which he covered with boughs and earth, to catch the little thieves +who come to steal the fruit. And as he was in the midst of his +work, he saw the hen come running out of the room, whereupon he +began to cry, "Hish, hish! this way, that way!" But the hen did not +stir a foot; and Vardiello, seeing that she had something of the +donkey in her, after crying "Hish, hish," began to stamp with his +feet; and after stamping with his feet to throw his cap at her, and +after the cap a cudgel which hit her just upon the pate, and made +her quickly stretch her legs. + +When Vardiello saw this sad accident, he bethought himself how +to remedy the evil; and making a virtue of necessity, in order to +prevent the eggs growing cold, he set himself down upon the nest; +but in doing so, he gave the eggs an unlucky blow, and quickly +made an omelet of them. In despair at what he had done, he was on +the point of knocking his head against the wall; at last, however, as +all grief turns to hunger, feeling his stomach begin to grumble, he +resolved to eat up the hen. So he plucked her, and sticking her +upon a spit, he made a great fire, and set to work to roast her. And +when she was cooked, Vardiello, to do everything in due order, +spread a clean cloth upon an old chest; and then, taking a flagon, +he went down into the cellar to draw some wine. But just as he +was in the midst of drawing the wine, he heard a noise, a +disturbance, an uproar in the house, which seemed like the +clattering of horses' hoofs. Whereat starting up in alarm and +turning his eyes, he saw a big tom-cat, which had run off with the +hen, spit and all; and another cat chasing after him, mewing, and +crying out for a part. + +Vardiello, in order to set this mishap to rights, darted upon the cat +like an unchained lion, and in his haste he left the tap of the barrel +running. And after chasing the cat through every hole and corner +of the house, he recovered the hen; but the cask had meanwhile all +run out; and when Vardiello returned, and saw the wine running +about, he let the cask of his soul empty itself through the tap-holes +of his eyes. But at last judgment came to his aid and he hit upon a +plan to remedy the mischief, and prevent his mother's finding out +what had happened; so, taking a sack of flour, filled full to the +mouth, he sprinkled it over the wine on the floor. + +But when he meanwhile reckoned up on his fingers all the +disasters he had met with, and thought to himself that, from the +number of fooleries he had committed, he must have lost the game +in the good graces of Grannonia, he resolved in his heart not to let +his mother see him again alive. So thrusting his hand into the jar of +pickled walnuts which his mother had said contained poison, he +never stopped eating until he came to the bottom; and when he had +right well filled his stomach he went and hid himself in the oven. + +In the meanwhile his mother returned, and stood knocking for a +long time at the door; but at last, seeing that no one came, she gave +it a kick; and going in, she called her son at the top of her voice. +But as nobody answered, she imagined that some mischief must +have happened, and with increased lamentation she went on crying +louder and louder, "Vardiello! Vardiello! are you deaf, that you +don't hear? Have you the cramp, that you don't run? Have you the +pip, that you don't answer? Where are you, you rogue? Where are +you hidden, you naughty fellow?" + +Vardiello, on hearing all this hubbub and abuse, cried out at last +with a piteous voice, "Here I am! here I am in the oven; but you +will never see me again, mother!" + +"Why so?" said the poor mother. + +"Because I am poisoned," replied the son. + +"Alas! alas!" cried Grannonia, "how came you to do that? What +cause have you had to commit this homicide? And who has given +you poison?" Then Vardiello told her, one after another, all the +pretty things he had done; on which account he wished to die and +not to remain any longer a laughing-stock in the world. + +The poor woman, on hearing all this, was miserable and wretched, +and she had enough to do and to say to drive this melancholy +whimsey out of Vardiello's head. And being infatuated and +dotingly fond of him, she gave him some nice sweetmeats, and so +put the affair of the pickled walnuts out of his head, and convinced +him that they were not poison, but good and comforting to the +stomach. And having thus pacified him with cheering words, and +showered on him a thousand caresses, she drew him out of the +oven. Then giving him a fine piece of cloth, she bade him go and +sell it, but cautioning him not to do business with folks of too +many words. + +"Tut, tut!" said Vardiello, "let me alone; I know what I'm about, +never fear." So saying, he took the cloth, and went his way through +the city of Naples, crying, "Cloth! cloth!" But whenever any one +asked him, "What cloth have you there?" he replied, "You are no +customer for me; you are a man of too many words." And when +another said to him, "How do you sell your cloth?" he called him a +chatterbox, who deafened him with his noise. At length he chanced +to espy, in the courtyard of a house which was deserted on account +of the Monaciello, a plaster statue; and being tired out, and +wearied with going about and about, he sat himself down on a +bench. But not seeing any one astir in the house, which looked like +a sacked village, he was lost in amazement, and said to the statue: +"Tell me, comrade, does no one live in this house?" Vardiello +waited awhile; but as the statue gave no answer, he thought this +surely was a man of few words. So he said, "Friend, will you buy +my cloth? I'll sell it you cheap." And seeing that the statue still +remained dumb, he exclaimed, "Faith, then, I've found my man at +last! There, take the cloth, examine it, and give me what you will; +to-morrow I'll return for the money." + +So saying Vardiello left the cloth on the spot where he had been +sitting, and the first mother's son who passed that way found the +prize and carried it off. + +When Vardiello returned home without the cloth, and told his +mother all that had happened, she wellnigh swooned away, and +said to him, "When will you put that headpiece of yours in order? +See now what tricks you have played me--only think! But I am +myself to blame, for being too tender-hearted, instead of having +given you a good beating at first; and now I perceive that a pitiful +doctor only makes the wound incurable. But you'll go on with your +pranks until at last we come to a serious falling-out, and then there +will be a long reckoning, my lad!" + +"Softly, mother," replied Vardiello, "matters are not so bad as they +seem; do you want more than crown-pieces brand new from the +mint? Do you think me a fool, and that I don't know what I am +about? To-morrow is not yet here. Wait awhile, and you shall see +whether I know how to fit a handle to a shovel." + +The next morning, as soon as the shades of Night, pursued by the +constables of the Sun, had fled the country, Vardiello repaired to +the courtyard where the statue stood, and said, "Good-day, friend! +Can you give me those few pence you owe me? Come, quick, pay +me for the cloth!" But when he saw that the statue remained +speechless, he took up a stone and hurled it at its breast with such +force that it burst a vein, which proved, indeed, the cure to his own +malady; for some pieces of the statue falling off, he discovered a +pot full of golden crown-pieces. Then taking it in both his hands, +off he ran home, head over heels, as far as he could scamper, +crying out, "Mother, mother! see here! what a lot of red lupins I've +got. How many! how many!" + +His mother, seeing the crown-pieces, and knowing very well that +Vardiello would soon make the matter public, told him to stand at +the door until the man with milk and new-made cheese came past, +as she wanted to buy a pennyworth of milk. So Vardiello, who was +a great glutton, went quickly and seated himself at the door; and +his mother showered down from the window above raisins and +dried figs for more than half an hour. Whereupon Vardiello, +picking them up as fast as he could, cried aloud, "Mother, mother! +bring out some baskets; give me some bowls! Here, quick with the +tubs and buckets! for if it goes on to rain thus we shall be rich in a +trice." And when he had eaten his fill Vardiello went up to sleep. + +It happened one day that two countrymen--the food and life-blood +of the law-courts--fell out, and went to law about a gold +crown-piece which they had found on the ground. And Vardiello +passing by said, "What jackasses you are to quarrel about a red +lupin like this! For my part I don't value it at a pin's head, for I've +found a whole potful of them." + +When the judge heard this he opened wide his eyes and ears, and +examined Vardiello closely, asking him how, when, and where he +had found the crowns. And Vardiello replied, "I found them in a +palace, inside a dumb man, when it rained raisins and dried figs." +At this the judge stared with amazement; but instantly seeing how +the matter stood, he decreed that Vardiello should be sent to a +madhouse, as the most competent tribunal for him. Thus the +stupidity of the son made the mother rich, and the mother's wit +found a remedy for the foolishness of the son: whereby it is clearly +seen that-- + + "A ship when steered by a skilful hand + Will seldom strike upon rock or sand." + + + +V + +THE FLEA + +Resolutions taken without thought bring disasters without remedy. +He who behaves like a fool repents like a wise man; as happened +to the King of High-Hill, who through unexampled folly +committed an act of madness putting in jeopardy both his daughter +and his honour. + +Once upon a time the King of High-Hill being bitten by a flea +caught him by a wonderful feat of dexterity; and seeing how +handsome and stately he was he had not the conscience to sentence +him to death. So he put him into a bottle, and feeding him every +day himself the little animal grew at such a rate that at the end of +seven months it was necessary to shift his quarters, for he was +grown bigger than a sheep. The King then had him flayed and his +skin dressed. Then he issued a proclamation that whoever could +tell what this skin was should marry the Princess. + +As soon as this decree was made known the people flocked in +crowds from all the ends of the world to try their luck. One said +that it belonged to an ape, another to a lynx, a third to a crocodile, +and in short some gave it to one animal and some to another; but +they were all a hundred miles from the truth, and not one hit the +nail on the head. At last there came to this trial an ogre who was +the most ugly being in the world, the very sight of whom would +make the boldest man tremble and quake with fear. But no sooner +had he come and turned the skin round and smelt it than he +instantly guessed the truth, saying, "This skin belongs to the king +of fleas." + +Now the King saw that the ogre had hit the mark; and not to break +his word he ordered his daughter Porziella to be called. Porziella +had a face like milk and roses, and was such a miracle of beauty +that you would never be tired of looking at her. And the King said +to her, "My daughter, you know who I am. I cannot go back from +my promise whether a king or a beggar. My word is given, I must +keep it though my heart should break. Who would ever have +imagined that this prize would have fallen to an ogre! But it never +does to judge hastily. Have patience then and do not oppose your +father; for my heart tells me that you will be happy, for rich +treasures are often found inside a rough earthen jar." + + +When Porziella heard this sad saying her eyes grew dim, her face +turned pale, her lips fell, her knees shook; and at last, bursting into +tears, she said to her father, "What crime have I committed that I +should be punished thus! How have I ever behaved badly toward +you that I should be given up to this monster. Is this, O Father, the +affection you bear to your own child? Is this the love you show to +her whom you used to call the joy of your soul? Do you drive from +your sight her who is the apple of your eye? O Father, O cruel +Father! Better had it been if my cradle had been my death-bed +since I have lived to see this evil day." + +Porziella was going on to say more when the King in a furious rage +exclaimed, "Stay your anger! Fair and softly, for appearances +deceive. Is it for a girl to teach her father, forsooth? Have done, I +say, for if I lay these hands upon you I'll not leave a whole bone in +your skin. Prithee, how long has a child hardly out of the nursery +dared to oppose my will? Quick then, I say, take his hand and set +off with him home this very instant, for I will not have that saucy +face a minute longer in my sight." + +Poor Porziella, seeing herself thus caught in the net, with the face +of a person condemned to death, with the heart of one whose head +is lying between the axe and the block, took the hand of the ogre, +who dragged her off without any attendants to the wood where the +trees made a palace for the meadow to prevent its being discovered +by the sun, and the brooks murmured, having knocked against the +stones in the dark, while the wild beasts wandered where they +liked without paying toll, and went safely through the thicket +whither no man ever came unless he had lost his way. Upon this +spot, which was as black as an unswept chimney, stood the ogre's +house ornamented all round with the bones of the men whom he +had devoured. Think but for a moment of the horror of it to the +poor girl. + +But this was nothing at all in comparison with what was to come. +Before dinner she had peas and after dinner parched beans. Then +the ogre went out to hunt and returned home laden with the +quarters of the men whom he had killed, saying, "Now, wife, you +cannot complain that I don't take good care of you; here is a fine +store of eatables, take and make merry and love me well, for the +sky will fall before I will let you want for food." + +Poor Porziella could not endure this horrible sight and turned her +face away. But when the ogre saw this he cried, "Ha! this is +throwing sweetmeats before swine; never mind, however, only +have patience till to-morrow morning, for I have been invited to a +wild boar hunt and will bring you home a couple of boars, and +we'll make a grand feast with our kinsfolk and celebrate the +wedding." So saying he went into the forest. + +Now as Porziella stood weeping at the window it chanced that an +old woman passed by who, being famished with hunger, begged +some food. "Ah, my good woman," said Porziella, "Heaven knows +I am in the power of the ogre who brings me home nothing but +pieces of the men he has killed. I pass the most miserable life +possible, and yet I am the daughter of a king and have been +brought up in luxury." And so saying she began to cry like a little +girl who sees her bread and butter taken away from her. + +The old woman's heart was softened at this sight and she said to +Porziella, "Be of good heart, my pretty girl, do not spoil your +beauty with crying, for you have met with luck; I can help you to +both saddle and trappings. Listen, now. I have seven sons who, you +see, are seven giants, Mase, Nardo, Cola, Micco, Petrullo, +Ascaddeo, and Ceccone, who have more virtues that rosemary, +especially Mase, for every time he lays his ear to the ground he +hears all that is passing within thirty miles round. Nardo, every +time he washes his hands, makes a great sea of soapsuds. Every +time that Cola throws a bit of iron on the ground he makes a field +of sharp razors. Whenever Micco flings down a little stick a +tangled wood springs up. If Petrullo lets fall a drop of water it +makes a terrible river. When Ascaddeo wishes a strong tower to +spring up he has only to throw a stone; and Ceccone shoots so +straight with the cross-bow that he can hit a hen's eye a mile off. +Now with the help of my sons, who are all courteous and friendly, +and who will all take compassion on your condition, I will contrive +to free you from the claws of the ogre." + +"No time better than now," replied Porziella, "for that evil shadow +of a husband of mine has gone out and will not return this evening, +and we shall have time to slip off and run away." + +"It cannot be this evening," replied the old woman, "for I live a +long way off; but I promise you that to-morrow morning I and my +sons will all come together and help you out of your trouble." + +So saying, the old woman departed, and Porziella went to rest with +a light heart and slept soundly all night. But as soon as the birds +began to cry, "Long live the Sun," lo and behold, there was the old +woman with her seven children; and placing Porziella in the midst +of them they proceeded towards the city. But they had not gone +above half a mile when Mase put his ear to the ground and cried: +"Hallo, have a care; here's the fox. The ogre is come home. He has +missed his wife and he is hastening after us with his cap under his +arm." + +No sooner did Nardo hear this than he washed his hands and made +a sea of soap-suds; and when the ogre came and saw all the suds +he ran home and fetching a sack of bran he strewed it about and +worked away treading it down with his feet until at last he got over +this obstacle, though with great difficulty. + +But Mase put his ear once more to the ground and exclaimed, +"Look sharp, comrade, here he comes!" Thereupon Cola flung a +piece of iron on the ground and instantly a field of razors sprang +up. When the ogre saw the path stopped he ran home again and +clad himself in iron from head to foot and then returned and got +over this peril. + +Then Mase, again putting his ear to the ground, cried, "Up! up! to +arms! to arms! For see here is the ogre coming at such a rate that +he is actually flying." But Micco was ready with his little stick, +and in an instant he caused a terrible wood to rise up, so thick that +it was quite impenetrable. When the ogre came to this difficult +pass he laid hold of a Carrara knife which he wore at his side, and +began to cut down the poplars and oaks and pine trees and chestnut +trees, right and left; so that with four or five strokes he had the +whole forest on the ground and got clear of it. Presently, Mase who +kept his ears on the alert like a hare, again raised his voice and +cried, "Now we must be off, for the ogre is coming like the wind +and here he is at our heels." As soon as Petrullo heard this he took +water from a little fountain, sprinkled it on the ground, and in an +twinkling of an eye a large river rose up on the spot. When the +ogre saw this new obstacle, and that he could not make holes so +fast as they found bungs to stop them, he stripped himself stark +naked and swam across to the other side of the river with his +clothes upon his head. + +Mase, who put his ear to every chink, heard the ogre coming and +exclaimed, "Alas! matters go ill with us now. I already hear the +clatter of the ogre's heels. We must be on our guard and ready to +meet the storm or else we are done for." "Never fear," said +Ascaddeo, "I will soon settle this ugly ragamuffin." So saying, he +flung a pebble on the ground and instantly up rose a tower in +which they all took refuge without delay, and barred the door. But +when the ogre came up and saw that they had got into so safe a +place he ran home, got a vine-dresser's ladder, and carried it back +on his shoulder to the tower. + +Now Mase, who kept his ears hanging down, heard at a distance +the approach of the ogre and cried, "We are now at the butt end of +the Candle of Hope. Ceccone is our last resource, for the ogre is +coming back in a terrible fury. Alas! how my heart beats, for I +foresee an evil day." "You coward," answered Ceccone, "trust to +me and I will hit him with a ball." + +As Ceccone was speaking the ogre came, planted his ladder and +began to climb up; but Ceccone, taking aim at him, shot out one of +his eyes and laid him at full length on the ground, like a pear +dropped from a tree. Then he went out of the tower and cut off the +ogre's head with a big knife he carried about with him, just as if it +had been new-made cheese. Thereupon they took the head with +great joy to the King, who rejoiced at the recovery of his daughter, +for he had repented a hundred times at having given her to an ogre. +And not many days after Porziella was married to a handsome +prince, and the seven sons and their mother who had delivered her +from such a wretched life were rewarded with great riches. + + + +VI + +CENERENTOLA + +In the sea of malice envy frequently gets out of her depth; and, +while she is expecting to see another drowned, she is either +drowned herself, or is dashed against a rock, as happened to some +envious girls, about whom I will tell you a story. + +There once lived a Prince, who was a widower. He had an only +daughter, so dear to him that he saw with no other eyes than hers; +and he kept a governess for her, who taught her chain-work and +knitting, and to make point-lace, and showed her such affection as +no words can tell. But she was very lonely, and many a time she +said to the governess, "Oh, that you had been my mother, you who +show me such kindness and love," and she said this so often that, +at last, the governess, having a bee put into her bonnet, said to her +one day, "If you will do as this foolish head of mine advises I shall +be mother to you, and you will be as dear to me as the apple of my +eye." + +She was going to say more, when Zezolla, for that was the name of +the Princess, said, "Pardon me if I stop the word upon your tongue. +I know you wish me well, therefore, hush--enough. Only show me +the way. Do you write and I will subscribe." "Well, then," +answered the governess, "open your ears and listen, and you will +get bread as white as the flowers. You know well enough that your +father would even coin false money to please you, so do you +entreat him when he is caressing you to marry me and make me +Princess. Then, bless your stars! you shall be the mistress of my +life." + +When Zezolla heard this, every hour seemed to her a thousand +years until she had done all that her governess had advised; and, as +soon as the mourning for her mother's death was ended, she began +to feel her father's pulse, and beg him to marry the governess. At +first the Prince took it as a joke, but Zezolla went on shooting so +long past the mark that at length she hit it, and he gave way to her +entreaties. So he married the governess, and gave a great feast at +the wedding. + +Now, while the young folks were dancing, and Zezolla was +standing at the window of her house, a dove came flying and +perched upon a wall, and said to her, "Whenever you need +anything send the request to the Dove of the Fairies in the Island of +Sardinia, and you will instantly have what you wish." + +For five or six days the new stepmother overwhelmed Zezolla with +caresses, seating her at the best place at table, giving her the +choicest morsels to eat, and clothing her in the richest apparel. But +ere long, forgetting entirely the good service she had received +(woe to him who has a bad master!), she began to bring forward +six daughters of her own, for she had never before told any one +that she was a widow with a bunch of girls; and she praised them +so much, and talked her husband over in such a fashion, that at last +the stepdaughters had all his favour, and the thought of his own +child went entirely from his heart. In short, it fared so ill with the +poor girl, bad to-day and worse to-morrow, that she was at last +brought down from the royal chamber to the kitchen, from the +canopy of state to the hearth, from splendid apparel of silks and +gold to dishclouts, from the sceptre to the spit. And not only was +her condition changed, but even her name, for, instead of Zezolla, +she was now called Cenerentola. + +It happened that the Prince had occasion to go to Sardinia upon +affairs of state, and, calling the six stepdaughters, he asked them, +one by one, what they would like him to bring them on his return. +Then one wished for splendid dresses, another to have +head-ornaments, another rouge for the face, another toys and +trinkets: one wished for this and one for that. At last the Prince +said to his own daughter, as if in mockery, "And what would you +have, child?" "Nothing, father," she replied, "but that you +commend me to the Dove of the Fairies, and bid her send me +something; and if you forget my request, may you be unable to stir +backwards or forwards; so remember what I tell you, for it will +fare with you accordingly." + +Then the Prince went his way and did his business in Sardinia, and +procured all the things that his stepdaughters had asked for; but +poor Zezolla was quite out of his thoughts. And going on board a +ship he set sail to return, but the ship could not get out of the +harbour; there it stuck fast just as if held by a sea-lamprey. The +captain of the ship, who was almost in despair and fairly tired out, +laid himself down to sleep, and in his dream he saw a fairy, who +said to him, "Know you the reason why you cannot work the ship +out of port? It is because the Prince who is on board with you has +broken his promise to his daughter, remembering every one except +his own child." + +Then the captain awoke and told his dream to the Prince, who, in +shame and confusion at the breach of his promise, went to the +Grotto of the Fairies, and, commending his daughter to them, +asked them to send her something. And behold, there stepped forth +from the grotto a beautiful maiden, who told him that she thanked +his daughter for her kind remembrances, and bade him tell her to +be merry and of good heart out of love to her. And thereupon she +gave him a date-tree, a hoe, and a little bucket all of gold, and a +silken napkin, adding that the one was to hoe with and the other to +water the plant. + +The Prince, marvelling at this present, took leave of the fairy, and +returned to his own country. And when he had given his +stepdaughters all the things they had desired, he at last gave his +own daughter the gift which the fairy had sent her. Then Zezolla, +out of her wits with joy, took the date-tree and planted it in a pretty +flower-pot, hoed the earth round it, watered it, and wiped its leaves +morning and evening with the silken napkin. In a few days it had +grown as tall as a woman, and out of it came a fairy, who said to +Zezolla, "What do you wish for?" And Zezolla replied that she +wished sometimes to leave the house without her sisters' +knowledge. The fairy answered, "Whenever you desire this, come +to the flower-pot and say: + + My little Date-tree, my golden tree, + With a golden hoe I have hoed thee, + With a golden can I have watered thee, + With a silken cloth I have wiped thee dry, + Now strip thee and dress me speedily. + +And when you wish to undress, change the last words and say, + Strip me and dress thee.'" + +When the time for the feast was come, and the stepmother's +daughters appeared, dressed out so fine, all ribbons and flowers, +and slippers and shoes, sweet smells and bells, and roses and +posies, Zezolla ran quickly to the flower-pot, and no sooner had +she repeated the words, as the fairy had told her, than she saw +herself arrayed like a queen, seated upon a palfrey, and attended by +twelve smart pages, all in their best clothes. Then she went to the +ball, and made the sisters envious of this unknown beauty. + +Even the young King himself was there, and as soon as he saw her +he stood magic-bound with amazement, and ordered a trusty +servant to find out who was that beautiful maiden, and where she +lived. So the servant followed in her footsteps; but when Zezolla +noticed the trick she threw on the ground a handful of +crown-pieces which she had made the date-tree give her for this +purpose. Then the servant lighted his lantern, and was so busy +picking up all the crown-pieces that he forgot to follow the palfrey; +and Zezolla came home quite safely, and had changed her clothes, +as the fairy told her, before the wicked sisters arrived, and, to vex +her and make her envious, told her of all the fine things they had +seen. But the King was very angry with the servant, and warned +him not to miss finding out next time who this beautiful maiden +was, and where she dwelt. + +Soon there was another feast, and again the sisters all went to it, +leaving poor Zezolla at home on the kitchen hearth. Then she ran +quickly to the date-tree, and repeated the spell, and instantly there +appeared a number of damsels, one with a looking-glass, another +with a bottle of rose-water, another with the curling-irons, another +with combs, another with pins, another with dresses, and another +with capes and collars. And they decked her out as glorious as the +sun, and put her in a coach drawn by six white horses, and +attended by footmen and pages in livery. And no sooner did she +appear in the ball-room than the hearts of the sisters were filled +with amazement, and the King was overcome with love. + +When Zezolla went home the servant followed her again, but so +that she should not be caught she threw down a handful of pearls +and jewels, and the good fellow, seeing that they were not things to +lose, stayed to pick them up. So she had time to slip away and take +off her fine dress as before. + +Meanwhile the servant had returned slowly to the King, who cried +out when he saw him, "By the souls of my ancestors, if you do not +find out who she is you shall have such a thrashing as was never +before heard of, and as many kicks as you have hairs in your +beard!" + +When the next feast was held, and the sisters were safely out of the +house, Zezolla went to the date-tree, and once again repeated the +spell. In an instant she found herself splendidly arrayed and seated +in a coach of gold, with ever so many servants around her, so that +she looked just like a queen. Again the sisters were beside +themselves with envy; but this time, when she left the ball-room, +the King's servant kept close to the coach. Zezolla, seeing that the +man was ever running by her side, cried, "Coachman, drive on +quickly," and in a trice the coach set off at such a rattling pace that +she lost one of her slippers, the prettiest thing that ever was seen. +The servant being unable to catch the coach, which flew like a +bird, picked up the slipper, and carrying it to the King told him all +that happened. Whereupon the King, taking it in his hand, said, "If +the basement, indeed, is so beautiful, what must the building be. +You who until now were the prison of a white foot are now the +fetter of an unhappy heart!" + +Then he made a proclamation that all the women in the country +should come to a banquet, for which the most splendid provision +was made of pies and pastries, and stews and ragouts, macaroni +and sweetmeats--enough to feed a whole army. And when all the +women were assembled, noble and ignoble, rich and poor, +beautiful and ugly, the King tried the slipper on each one of the +guests to see whom it should fit to a hair, and thus be able to +discover by the help of the slipper the maiden of whom he was in +search, but not one foot could he find to fit it. So he examined +them closely whether indeed every one was there; and the Prince +confessed that he had left one daughter behind, "but," said he, "she +is always on the hearth, and is such a graceless simpleton that she +is unworthy to sit and eat at your table." But the King said, "Let +her be the very first on the list, for so I will." + +So all the guests departed--the very next day they assembled again, +and with the wicked sisters came Zezolla. When the King saw her +he had his suspicions, but said nothing. And after the feast came +the trial of the slipper, which, as soon as ever it approached +Zezolla's foot, it darted on to it of its own accord like iron flies to +the magnet. Seeing this, the King ran to her and took her in his +arms, and seating her under the royal canopy, he set the crown +upon her head, whereupon all made their obeisance and homage to +her as their queen. + +When the wicked sisters saw this they were full of venom and +rage, and, not having patience to look upon the object of their +hatred, they slipped quietly away on tip-toe and went home to their +mother, confessing, in spite of themselves, that-- + + "He is a madman who resists the Stars." + + + +VII + +THE MERCHANT + +Troubles are usually the brooms and shovels that smooth the road +to a man's good fortune, of which he little dreams. Many a man +curses the rain that falls upon his head, and knows not that it +brings abundance to drive away hunger; as is seen in the person of +a young man of whom I will tell you. + +It is said that there was once a very rich merchant named +Antoniello, who had a son called Cienzo. It happened that Cienzo +was one day throwing stones on the sea-shore with the son of the +King of Naples, and by chance broke his companion's head. When +he told his father, Antoniello flew into a rage with fear of the +consequences and abused his son; but Cienzo answered, "Sir, I +have always heard say that better is the law court than the doctor in +one's house. Would it not have been worse if he had broken my +head? It was he who began and provoked me. We are but boys, and +there are two sides to the quarrel. After all tis a first fault, and the +King is a man of reason; but let the worst come to the worst, what +great harm can he do me? The wide world is one's home; and let +him who is afraid turn constable." + +But Antoniello would not listen to reason. He made sure the King +would kill Cienzo for his fault and said, "Don't stand here at risk +of your life; but march off this very instant, so that nobody may +hear a word, new or old, of what you have done. A bird in the bush +is better than a bird in the cage. Here is money. Take one of the +two enchanted horses I have in the stable, and the dog which is +also enchanted, and tarry no longer here. It is better to scamper off +and use your own heels than to be touched by another's; better to +throw your legs over your back than to carry your head between +two legs. If you don't take your knapsack and be off, none of the +Saints can help you!" + +Then begging his father's blessing, Cienzo mounted his horse, and +tucking the enchanted dog under his arm, he went his way out of +the city. Making a winter of tears with a summer of sighs he went +his way until the evening, when he came to a wood that kept the +Mule of the Sun outside its limits, while it was amusing itself with +Silence and the Shades. An old house stood there, at the foot of a +tower. Cienzo knocked at the door of the tower; but the master, +being in fear of robbers, would not open to him, so the poor youth +was obliged to remain in the ruined old house. He turned his horse +out to graze in a meadow, and threw himself on some straw he +found, with the dog by his side. But scarcely had he closed his eyes +when he was awakened by the barking of the dog, and heard +footsteps stirring in the house. Cienzo, who was bold and +venturesome, seized his sword and began to lay about him in the +dark; but perceiving that he was only striking the wind and hit no +one, he turned round again to sleep. After a few minutes he felt +himself pulled gently by the foot. He turned to lay hold again of his +cutlass, and jumping up, exclaimed, "Hollo there! you are getting +too troublesome; but leave off this sport and let's have a bout of it +if you have any pluck, for you have found the last to your shoe!" + +At these words he heard a shout of laughter and then a hollow +voice saying, "Come down here and I will tell you who I am." +Then Cienzo, without losing courage, answered, "Wait awhile, I'll +come." So he groped about until at last he found a ladder which +led to a cellar; and, going down, he saw a lighted lamp, and three +ghost-looking figures who were making a piteous clamour, crying, +"Alas, my beauteous treasure, I must lose thee!" + +When Cienzo saw this he began himself to cry and lament, for +company's sake; and after he had wept for some time, the Moon +having now, with the axe of her rays broken the bar of the Sky, the +three figures who were making the outcry said to Cienzo, "Take +this treasure, which is destined for thee alone, but mind and take +care of it." Then they vanished. And Cienzo, espying the sunlight +through a hole in the wall, wished to climb up again, but could not +find the ladder, whereat he set up such a cry that the master of the +tower heard him and fetched a ladder, when they discovered a +great treasure. He wished to give part of it to Cienzo, but the latter +refused; and taking his dog and mounting once more on his horse +set out again on his travels. + +After a while he arrived at a wild and dreary forest, so dark that it +made you shudder. There, upon the bank of a river, he found a +fairy surrounded by a band of robbers. Cienzo, seeing the wicked +intention of the robbers, seized his sword and soon made a +slaughter of them. The fairy showered thanks upon him for this +brave deed done for her sake, and invited him to her palace that +she might reward him. But Cienzo replied, "It is nothing at all; +thank you kindly. Another time I will accept the favour; but now I +am in haste, on business of importance!" + +So saying he took his leave; and travelling on a long way he came +at last to the palace of a King, which was all hung with mourning, +so that it made one's heart black to look at it. When Cienzo +inquired the cause of the mourning the folks answered, "A dragon +with seven heads has made his appearance in this country, the +most terrible monster that ever was seen, with the crest of a cock, +the head of a cat, eyes of fire, the mouth of a bulldog, the wings of +a bat, the claws of a bear, and the tail of a serpent. Now this +dragon swallows a maiden every day, and now the lot has fallen on +Menechella, the daughter of the King. So there is great weeping +and wailing in the royal palace, since the fairest creature in all the +land is doomed to be devoured by this horrid beast." + +When Cienzo heard this he stepped aside and saw Menechella pass +by with the mourning train, accompanied by the ladies of the court +and all the women of the land, wringing their hands and tearing +out their hair by handfuls, and bewailing the sad fate of the poor +girl. Then the dragon came out of the cave. But Cienzo laid hold of +his sword and struck off a head in a trice; but the dragon went and +rubbed his neck on a certain plant which grew not far off, and +suddenly the head joined itself on again, like a lizard joining itself +to its tail. Cienzo, seeing this, exclaimed, "He who dares not, wins +not"; and, setting his teeth, he struck such a furious blow that he +cut off all seven heads, which flew from the necks like peas from +the pan. Whereupon he took out the tongues, and putting them in +his pocket, he flung the heads a mile apart from the body, so that +they might never come together again. Then he sent Menechella +home to her father, and went himself to repose in a tavern. + +When the King saw his daughter his delight is not to be told; and +having heard the manner in which she had been freed, he ordered a +proclamation to be instantly made, that whosoever had killed the +dragon should come and marry the Princess. Now a rascal of a +country fellow, hearing this proclamation, took the heads of the +dragon, and said, "Menechella has been saved by me; these hands +have freed the land from destruction; behold the dragon's heads, +which are the proofs of my valour; therefore recollect, every +promise is a debt." As soon as the King heard this, he lifted the +crown from his own head and set it upon the countryman's poll, +who looked like a thief on the gallows. + +The news of this proclamation flew through the whole country, till +at last it came to the ears of Cienzo, who said to himself, "Verily, I +am a great blockhead! I had hold of Fortune by the forelock, and I +let her escape out of my hand. Here's a man offers to give me the +half of a treasure he finds, and I care no more for it than a German +for cold water; the fairy wishes to entertain me in her palace, and I +care as little for it as an ass for music; and now that I am called to +the crown, here I stand and let a rascally thief cheat me out of my +trump-card!" So saying he took an inkstand, seized a pen, and +spreading out a sheet of paper, began to write: + +"To the most beautiful jewel of women, Menechella--Having, by +the favour of Sol in Leo, saved thy life, I hear that another plumes +himself with my labours, that another claims the reward of the +service which I rendered. Thou, therefore, who wast present at the +dragon's death, canst assure the King of the truth, and prevent his +allowing another to gain this reward while I have had all the toil. +For it will be the right effect of thy fair royal grace and the merited +recompense of this strong hero's fist. In conclusion, I kiss thy +delicate little hands. +"From the Inn of the Flower-pot, Sunday." + +Having written this letter, and sealed it with a wafer, he placed it +in the mouth of the enchanted dog, saying, "Run off as fast as you +can and take this to the King's daughter. Give it to no one else, but +place it in the hand of that silver-faced maiden herself." + +Away ran the dog to the palace as if he were flying, and going up +the stairs he found the King, who was still paying compliments to +the country clown. When the man saw the dog with the letter in his +mouth, he ordered it to be taken from him; but the dog would not +give it to any one, and bounding up to Menechella he placed it in +her hand. Then Menechella rose from her seat, and, making a +curtsey to the King, she gave him the letter to read; and when the +King had read it he ordered that the dog should be followed to see +where he went, and that his master should be brought before him. +So two of the courtiers immediately followed the dog, until they +came to the tavern, where they found Cienzo; and, delivering the +message from the King, they conducted him to the palace, into the +presence of the King. Then the King demanded how it was that he +boasted of having killed the dragon, since the heads were brought +by the man who was sitting crowned at his side. And Cienzo +answered, "That fellow deserves a pasteboard mitre rather than a +crown, since he has had the impudence to tell you a bouncing lie. +But to prove to you that I have done the deed and not this rascal, +order the heads to be produced. None of them can speak to the +proof without a tongue, and these I have brought with me as +witnesses to convince you of the truth." + +So saying he pulled the tongues out of his pocket, while the +countryman was struck all of a heap, not knowing what would be +the end of it; and the more so when Menechella added, "This is the +man! Ah, you dog of a countryman, a pretty trick you have played +me!" When the King heard this, he took the crown from the head +of that false loon and placed it on that of Cienzo; and he was on +the point of sending the imposter to the galleys, but Cienzo begged +the King to have mercy on him and to confound his wickedness +with courtesy. Then he married Menechella, and the tables were +spread and a royal banquet was set forth; and in the morning they +sent for Antoniello with all his family; and Antoniello soon got +into great favour with the King, and saw in the person of his son +the saying verified-- + +"A straight port to a crooked ship." + + +VIII + +GOAT-FACE + +All the ill-deeds that a man commits have some colour of +excuse--either contempt which provokes, need which compels, +love which blinds, or anger which breaks the neck. But ingratitude +is a thing that has no excuse, true or false, upon which it can fix; +and it is therefore the worst of vices, since it dries up the fountain +of compassion, extinguishes the fire of love, closes the road to +benefits, and causes vexation and repentance to spring up in the +hearts of the ungrateful. As you will see in the story which I am +about to relate. + +A peasant had twelve daughters, not one of whom was a head +taller than the next; for every year their mother presented him with +a little girl; so that the poor man, to support his family decently, +went early every morning as a day labourer and dug hard the whole +day long. With what his labour produced he just kept his little ones +from dying of hunger. + +He happened, one day, to be digging at the foot of a mountain, the +spy of other mountains, that thrust its head above the clouds to see +what they were doing up in the sky, and close to a cavern so deep +and dark that the sun was afraid to enter it. Out of this cavern there +came a green lizard as big as a crocodile; and the poor man was so +terrified that he had not the power to run away, expecting every +moment the end of his days from a gulp of that ugly animal. But +the lizard, approaching him, said, "Be not afraid, my good man, for +I am not come here to do you any harm, but to do you good." + +When Masaniello (for that was the name of the labourer) heard +this, he fell on his knees and said, "Mistress What's-your-name, I +am wholly in your power. Act then worthily and have compassion +on this poor trunk that has twelve branches to support." + +"It is on this very account," said the lizard, "that I am disposed to +serve you; so bring me, to-morrow morning the youngest of your +daughters; for I will rear her up like my own child, and love her as +my life." + +At this the poor father was more confounded than a thief when the +stolen goods are found on his back. For, hearing the lizard ask him +for one of his daughters, and that too, the tenderest of them, he +concluded that the cloak was not without wool on it, and that she +wanted the child as a titbit to stay her appetite. Then he said to +himself, "If I give her my daughter, I give her my soul. If I refuse +her, she will take this body of mine. If I yield her, I am robbed of +my heart; if I deny her she will suck out my blood. If I consent, she +takes away part of myself; if I refuse, she takes the whole. What +shall I resolve on? What course shall I take? What expedient shall I +adopt" Oh, what an ill day's work have I made of it! What a +misfortune has rained down from heaven upon me!" + +While he was speaking thus, the lizard said, "Resolve quickly and +do what I tell you; or you will leave only your rags here. For so I +will have it, and so it will be." Masaniello, hearing this decree and +having no one to whom he could appeal, returned home quite +melancholy, as yellow in the face as if he had jaundice; and his +wife, seeing him hanging his head like a sick bird and his +shoulders like one that is wounded, said to him, "What has +happened to you, husband? Have you had a quarrel with any one? +Is there a warrant out against you? Or is the ass dead?" + +"Nothing of that sort," said Masaniello, "but a horned lizard has +put me into a fright, for she has threatened that if I do not bring her +our youngest daughter, she will make me suffer for it. My head is +turning like a reel. I know not what fish to take. On one side love +constrains me; on the other the burden of my family. I love +Renzolla dearly, I love my own life dearly. If I do not give the +lizard this portion of my heart, she will take the whole compass of +my unfortunate body. So now, dear wife, advise me, or I am +ruined!" + +When his wife heard this, she said, "Who knows, husband, but this +may be a lizard with two tails, that will make our fortune? Who +knows but this lizard may put an end to all our miseries? How +often, when we should have an eagle's sight to discern the good +luck that is running to meet us, we have a cloth before our eyes +and the cramp in our hands, when we should lay hold on it. So go, +take her away, for my heart tells me that some good fortune awaits +the poor little thing!" + +These words comforted Masaniello; and the next morning, as soon +as the Sun with the brush of his rays whitewashed the Sky, which +the shades of night had blackened, he took the little girl by the +hand, and led her to the cave. Then the lizard came out, and taking +the child gave the father a bag full of crowns, saying, "Go now, be +happy, for Renzolla has found both father and mother." + +Masaniello, overjoyed, thanked the lizard and went home to his +wife. There was money enough for portions to all the other +daughters when they married, and even then the old folks had +sauce remaining for themselves to enable them to swallow with +relish the toils of life. + +Then the lizard made a most beautiful palace for Renzolla, and +brought her up in such state and magnificence as would have +dazzled the eyes of any queen. She wanted for nothing. Her food +was fit for a count, her clothing for a princess. She had a hundred +maidens to wait upon her, and with such good treatment she grew +as sturdy as an oak-tree. + +It happened, as the King was out hunting in those parts, that night +overtook him, and as he stood looking round, not knowing where +to lay his head, he saw a candle shining in the palace. So he sent +one of his servants, to ask the owner to give him shelter. When the +servant came to the palace, the lizard appeared before him in the +shape of a beautiful lady; who, after hearing his message, said that +his master should be a thousand times welcome, and that neither +bread nor knife should there be wanting. The King, on hearing this +reply, went to the palace and was received like a cavalier. A +hundred pages went out to meet him, so that it looked like the +funeral of a rich man. A hundred other pages brought the dishes to +the table. A hundred others made a brave noise with musical +instruments. But, above all, Renzolla served the King and handed +him drink with such grace that he drank more love than wine. + +When he had thus been so royally entertained, he felt he could not +live without Renzolla; so, calling the fairy, he asked her for his +wife. Whereupon the fairy, who wished for nothing but Renzolla's +good, not only freely consented, but gave her a dowry of seven +millions of gold. + +The King, overjoyed at this piece of good fortune, departed with +Renzolla, who, ill-mannered and ungrateful for all the fairy had +done for her, went off with her husband without uttering one single +word of thanks. Then the fairy, beholding such ingratitude, cursed +her, and wished that her face should become like that of a +she-goat; and hardly had she uttered the words, when Renzolla's +mouth stretched out, with a beard a span long on it, her jaws +shrunk, her skin hardened, her cheeks grew hairy, and her plaited +tresses turned to pointed horns. + +When the poor King saw this he was thunderstruck, not knowing +what had happened that so great a beauty should be thus +transformed; and, with sighs and tears he exclaimed, "Where are +the locks that bound me? Where are the eyes that transfixed me? +Must I then be the husband of a she-goat? No, no, my heart shall +not break for such a goat-face!" So saying, as soon as they reached +his palace, he put Renzolla into a kitchen, along with a +chambermaid; and gave to each of them ten bundles of flax to +spin, commanding them to have the thread ready at the end of a +week. + +The maid, in obedience to the King, set about carding the flax, +preparing and putting it on the distaff, twirling her spindle, reeling +it and working away without ceasing; so that on Saturday evening +her thread was all done. But Renzolla, thinking she was still the +same as in the fairy's house, not having looked at herself in the +glass, threw the flax out of the window, saying, "A pretty thing +indeed of the King to set me such work to do! If he wants shirts let +him buy them, and not fancy that he picked me up out of the +gutter. But let him remember that I brought him home seven +millions of gold, and that I am his wife and not his servant. +Methinks, too, that he is somewhat of a donkey to treat me this +way!" + +Nevertheless, when Saturday morning came, seeing that the maid +had spun all her share of the flax, Renzolla was greatly afraid; so +away she went to the palace of the fairy and told her misfortune. +Then the fairy embraced her with great affection, and gave her a +bag full of spun thread, to present to the King and show him what +a notable and industrious housewife she was. Renzolla took the +bag, and without saying one word of thanks, went to the royal +palace; so again the fairy was quite angered at the conduct of the +graceless girl. + +When the King had taken the thread, he gave two little dogs, one +to Renzolla and one to the maid, telling them to feed and rear +them. The maid reared hers on bread crumbs and treated it like a +child; but Renzolla grumbled, saying, "A pretty thing truly! As my +grandfather used to say, Are we living under the Turks? Am I +indeed to comb and wait upon dogs?" and she flung the dog out of +the window! + +Some months afterwards, the King asked for the dogs; whereat +Renzolla, losing heart, ran off again to the fairy, and at the gate +stood the old man who was the porter. "Who are you," said he, +"and whom do you want?" Renzolla, hearing herself addressed in +this off-hand way, replied, "Don't you know me, you old goat-beard?" + +"Why do you miscall me?" said the porter. "This is the thief +accusing the constable. I a goat-beard indeed! You are a goat-beard +and a half, and you merit it and worse for your presumption. Wait +awhile, you impudent woman; I'll enlighten you and you will see +to what your airs and impertinence have brought you!" + +So saying, he ran into his room, and taking a looking-glass, set it +before Renzolla; who, when she saw her ugly, hairy visage, was +like to have died with terror. Her dismay at seeing her face so +altered that she did not know herself cannot be told. Whereupon +the old man said to her, "You ought to recollect, Renzolla, that you +are a daughter of a peasant and that it was the fairy that raised you +to be a queen. But you, rude, unmannerly, and thankless as you +are, having little gratitude for such high favours, have kept her +waiting outside your heart, without showing the slightest mark of +affection. You have brought the quarrel on yourself; see what a +face you have got by it! See to what you are brought by your +ingratitude; for through the fairy's spell you have not only changed +face, but condition. But if you will do as this white-beard advises, +go and look for the fairy; throw yourself at her feet, tear your +beard, beat your breast, and ask pardon for the ill-treatment you +have shown her. She is tender-hearted and she will be moved to +pity by your misfortune." + +Renzolla, who was touched to the quick, and felt that he had hit +the nail on the head, followed the old man's advice. Then the fairy +embraced and kissed her; and restoring her to her former +appearance, she clad her in a robe that was quite heavy with gold; +and placing her in a magnificent coach, accompanied with a crowd +of servants, she brought her to the King. When the King beheld +her, so beautiful and splendidly attired, he loved her as his own +life; blaming himself for all the misery he had made her endure, +but excusing himself on account of that odious goat-face which +had been the cause of it. Thus Renzolla lived happy, loving her +husband, honouring the fairy, and showing herself grateful to the +old man, having learned to her cost that-- + +"It is always good to be mannerly." + + +IX + +THE ENCHANTED DOE + +Great is the power of friendship, which makes us willingly bear +toils and perils to serve a friend. We value our wealth as a trifle +and life as a straw, when we can give them for a friend's sake. +Fables teach us this and history is full of instances of it; and I will +give you an example which my grandmother used to relate to me. +So open your ears and shut your mouths and hear what I shall tell +you. + +There was once a certain King of Long-Trellis named Giannone, +who, desiring greatly to have children, continually made prayers to +the gods that they would grant his wish; and, in order to incline +them the more to his petition, he was so charitable to beggars and +pilgrims that he shared with them all he possessed. But seeing, at +last, that these things availed him nothing; and that there was no +end to putting his hand into his pocket, he bolted fast his door, and +shot with a cross-bow at all who came near. + +Now it happened one day, that a long-bearded pilgrim was passing +that way, and not knowing that the King had turned over a new +leaf, or perhaps knowing it and wishing to make him change his +mind again, he went to Giannone and begged for shelter in his +house. But, with a fierce look and terrible growl, the King said to +him, "If you have no other candle than this, you may go to bed in +the dark. The kittens have their eyes open, and I am no longer a +child." And when the old man asked what was the cause of this +change, the King replied, "To further my desire for children, I have +spent and lent to all who came and all who went, and have +squandered all my treasure. At last, seeing the beard was gone, I +stopped shaving and laid aside the razor." + +"If that be all," replied the pilgrim, "you may set your mind at rest, +for I promise that your wish shall forthwith be fulfilled, on pain of +losing my ears." + +"Be it so," said the King, "I pledge my word that I will give you +one half of my kingdom." And the man answered, "Listen now to +me--if you wish to hit the mark, you have only to get the heart of a +sea-dragon, and have it cooked and eaten by the Queen, and you +will see that what I say will speedily come to pass." + +"That hardly seems possible," said the King, "but at the worst I +lose nothing by the trial; so I must, this very moment, get the +dragon's heart." + +So he sent a hundred fishermen out; and they got ready all kinds of +fishing-tackle, drag-nets, casting-nets, seine-nets, bow-nets, and +fishing-lines; and they tacked and turned and cruised in all +directions until at last they caught a dragon; then they took out its +heart and brought it to the King, who gave it to the Queen to cook +and eat. And when she had eaten it, there was great rejoicing, for +the King's desire was fulfilled and he became the father of two +sons, so like the other that nobody but the Queen could tell which +was which. And the boys grew up together in such love for one +another that they could not be parted for a moment. Their +attachment was so great that the Queen began to be jealous, at +seeing that the son whom she destined to be heir to his father, and +whose name was Fonzo, testified more affection for his brother +Canneloro than he did for herself. And she knew not in what way +to remove this thorn from her eyes. + +Now one day Fonzo wished to go a-hunting with his brother; so he +had a fire lighted in his chamber and began to melt lead to make +bullets; and being in want of I know not what, he went himself to +look for it. Meanwhile the Queen came in, and finding no one +there but Canneloro, she thought to put him out of the world. So +stooping down, she flung the hot bullet-mould at his face, which +hit him over the brow and made an ugly wound. She was just going +to repeat the blow when Fonzo came in; so, pretending that she +was only come in to see how he was, she gave him some caresses +and went away. + +Canneloro, pulling his hat down on his forehead, said nothing of +his wound to Fonzo, but stood quite quiet though he was burning +with the pain. But as soon as they had done making the balls, he +told his brother that he must leave him. Fonzo, all in amazement at +this new resolution, asked him the reason: but he replied, "Enquire +no more, my dear Fonzo, let it suffice that I am obliged to go away +and part with you, who are my heart and my soul and the breath of +my body. Since it cannot be otherwise, farewell, and keep me in +remembrance." Then after embracing one another and shedding +many tears, Canneloro went to his own room. He put on a suit of +armour and a sword and armed himself from top to toe; and, +having taken a horse out of the stable, he was just putting his foot +into the stirrup when Fonzo came weeping and said, "Since you +are resolved to abandon me, you should, at least, leave me some +token of your love, to diminish my anguish for your absence." +Thereupon Canneloro struck his dagger into the ground, and +instantly a fine fountain rose up. Then said he to his twin-brother, +"This is the best memorial I can leave you. By the flowing of this +fountain you will follow the course of my life. If you see it run +clear, know that my life is likewise clear and tranquil. If it is +turbid, think that I am passing through troubles; and if it is dry, +depend on it that the oil of my life is all consumed and that I have +paid the toll which belongs to Nature!" + +Then he drove his sword into the ground, and immediately a +myrtle-tree grew up, when he said, "As long as this myrtle is green, +know that I too am green as a leek. If you see it wither, think that +my fortunes are not the best in this world; but if it becomes quite +dried up, you may mourn for your Canneloro." + +So saying, after embracing one another again, Canneloro set out on +his travels; journeying on and on, with many adventures which it +would be too long to recount--he at length arrived at the Kingdom +of Clear-Water, just at the time when they were holding a most +splendid tournament, the hand of the King's daughter being +promised to the victor. Here Canneloro presented himself and bore +him so bravely that he overthrew all the knights who were come +from divers parts to gain a name for themselves. Whereupon he +married the Princess Fenicia, and a great feast was made. + +When Canneloro had been there some months in peace and quiet, +an unhappy fancy came into his head for going to the chase. He +told it to the King, who said to him, "Take care, my son-in-law; do +not be deluded. Be wise and keep open your eyes, for in these +woods is a most wicked ogre who changes his form every day, one +time appearing like a wolf, at another like a lion, now like a stag, +now like an ass, like one thing and now like another. By a +thousand stratagems he decoys those who are so unfortunate as to +meet him into a cave, where he devours them. So, my son, do not +put your safety into peril, or you will leave your rags there." + +Canneloro, who did not know what fear was, paid no heed to the +advice of his father-in-law. As soon as the Sun with the broom of +his rays had cleared away the soot of the Night he set out for the +chase; and, on his way, he came to a wood where, beneath the +awning of the leaves, the Shades has assembled to maintain their +sway, and to make a conspiracy against the Sun. The ogre, seeing +him coming, turned himself into a handsome doe; which, as soon +as Canneloro perceived he began to give chase to her. Then the +doe doubled and turned, and led him about hither and thither at +such a rate, that at last she brought him into the very heart of the +wood, where she raised such a tremendous snow-storm that it +looked as if the sky was going to fall. Canneloro, finding himself +in front of a cave, went into it to seek for shelter; and being +benumbed with the cold, he gathered some sticks which he found +within it, and pulling his steel from his pocket, he kindled a large +fire. As he was standing by the fire to dry his clothes, the doe came +to the mouth of the cave, and said, "Sir Knight, pray give me leave +to warm myself a little while, for I am shivering with the cold." + +Canneloro, who was of a kindly disposition, said to her, "Draw +near, and welcome." + +"I would gladly," replied the doe, "but I am afraid you would kill +me." + +"Fear nothing," answered Canneloro, "trust to my word." + +"If you wish me to enter," rejoined the doe, "tie up those dogs, that +they may not hurt me, and tie up your horse that he may not kick +me." + +So Canneloro tied up his dogs and hobbled his horse, and the doe +said, "I am now half assured, but unless you bind fast your sword, I +dare not come in." Then Canneloro, who wished to become friends +with the doe, bound his sword as a countryman does, when he +carries it in the city for fear of the constables. As soon as the ogre +saw Canneloro defenceless, he re-took his own form, and laying +hold on him, flung him into a pit at the bottom of the cave, and +covered it up with a stone--to keep him to eat. + +But Fonzo, who, morning and evening visited the myrtle and the +fountain, to learn news of the fate of Canneloro, finding the one +withered and the other troubled, instantly thought that his brother +was undergoing misfortunes. So, to help him, he mounted his +horse without asking leave of his father or mother; and arming +himself well and taking two enchanted dogs, he went rambling +through the world. He roamed and rambled here, there, and +everywhere until, at last, he came to Clear-Water, which he found +all in mourning for the supposed death of Canneloro. And scarcely +was he come to the court, when every one, thinking, from the +likeness he bore him, that it was Canneloro, hastened to tell +Fenicia the good news, who ran leaping down the stairs, and +embracing Fonzo cried, "My husband! my heart! where have you +been all this time?" + +Fonzo immediately perceived that Canneloro had come to this +country and had left it again; so he resolved to examine the matter +adroitly, to learn from the Princess's discourse where his brother +might be found. And, hearing her say that he had put himself in +great danger by that accursed hunting, especially if the cruel ogre +should meet him, he at once concluded that Canneloro must be +there. + +The next morning, as soon as the Sun had gone forth to give the +gilded frills to the Sky, he jumped out of bed, and neither the +prayers of Fenicia, nor the commands of the King could keep him +back, but he would go to the chase. So, mounting his horse, he +went with the enchanted dogs to the wood, where the same thing +befell him that had befallen Canneloro; and, entering the cave, he +saw his brother's arms and dogs and horse fast bound, by which he +became assured of the nature of the snare. Then the doe told him +in like manner to tie his arms, dogs, and horse, but he instantly set +them upon her and they tore her to pieces. And as he was looking +about for some traces of his brother, he heard his voice down in +the pit; so, lifting up the stone, he drew out Canneloro, with all the +others whom the ogre had buried alive to fatten. Then embracing +each other with great joy, the twin-brothers went home, where +Fenicia, seeing them so much alike, did not know which to choose +for her husband, until Canneloro took off his cap and she saw the +mark of the old wound and recognised him. Fonzo stayed there a +month, taking his pleasure, and then wished to return to his own +country, and Canneloro wrote by him to his mother, bidding her +lay aside her enmity and come and visit him and partake of his +greatness, which she did. But from that time forward, he never +would hear of dogs or of hunting, recollecting the saying-- + +"Unhappy is he who corrects himself at his own cost." + + + +X + +PARSLEY + +This is one of the stories which that good soul, my uncle's +grandmother (whom Heaven take to glory), used to tell; and, +unless I have put on my spectacles upside down, I fancy it will +give you pleasure. + +There was, once upon a time, a woman named Pascadozzia, and +one day, when she was standing at her window, which looked into +the garden of an ogress, she saw such a fine bed of parsley that she +almost fainted away with desire for some. So when the ogress went +out she could not restrain herself any longer, but plucked a handful +of it. The ogress came home and was going to cook her pottage +when she found that some one had been stealing the parsley, and +said, "Ill luck to me, but I'll catch this long-fingered rogue and +make him repent it; I'll teach him to his cost that every one should +eat off his own platter and not meddle with other folks' cups." + +The poor woman went again and again down into the garden, until +one morning the ogress met her, and in a furious rage exclaimed, +"Have I caught you at last, you thief, you rogue; prithee, do you +pay the rent of the garden that you come in this impudent way and +steal my plants? By my faith, I'll make you do penance without +sending you to Rome." + +Poor Pascadozzia, in a terrible fright, began to make excuses, +saying that neither from gluttony nor the craving of hunger had she +been tempted by the devil to commit this fault, but from her fear +lest her child should be born with a crop of parsley on its face. + +"Words are but wind," answered the ogress, "I am not to be caught +with such prattle; you have closed the balance-sheet of life, unless +you promise to give me the child, girl or boy, whichever it may +be." + +The poor woman, in order to escape the peril in which she found +herself, swore, with one hand upon the other, to keep the promise, +and so the ogress let her go free. But when the baby came it was a +little girl, so beautiful that she was a joy to look upon, who was +named Parsley. The little girl grew from day to day until, when she +was seven years old, her mother sent her to school, and every time +she went along the street and met the ogress the old woman said to +her, "Tell your mother to remember her promise." And she went +on repeating this message so often that the poor mother, having no +longer patience to listen to the refrain, said one day to Parsley, "If +you meet the old woman as usual, and she reminds you of the +hateful promise, answer her, Take it.'" + +When Parsley, who dreamt of no ill, met the ogress again, and +heard her repeat the same words, she answered innocently as her +mother had told her, whereupon the ogress, seizing her by her hair, +carried her off to a wood which the horses of the Sun never +entered, not having paid the toll to the pastures of those Shades. +Then she put the poor girl into a tower which she caused to arise +by her art, having neither gate nor ladder, but only a little window +through which she ascended and descended by means of Parsley's +hair, which was very long, just as sailors climb up and down the +mast of a ship. + +Now it happened one day, when the ogress had left the tower, that +Parsley put her head out of the little window and let loose her +tresses in the sun, and the son of a Prince passing by saw those two +golden banners which invited all souls to enlist under the standard +of Beauty, and, beholding with amazement, in the midst of those +gleaming waves, a face that enchanted all hearts, he fell +desperately in love with such wonderful beauty; and, sending her a +memorial of sighs, she decreed to receive him into favour. She told +him her troubles, and implored him to rescue her. But a gossip of +the ogress, who was for ever prying into things that did not +concern her, and poking her nose into every corner, overheard the +secret, and told the wicked woman to be on the look-out, for +Parsley had been seen talking with a certain youth, and she had her +suspicions. The ogress thanked the gossip for the information, and +said that she would take good care to stop up the road. As to +Parsley, it was, moreover, impossible for her to escape, as she had +laid a spell upon her, so that unless she had in her hand the three +gall-nuts which were in a rafter in the kitchen it would be labour +lost to attempt to get away. + +Whilst they were thus talking together, Parsley, who stood with her +ears wide open and had some suspicion of the gossip, overheard all +that had passed. And when Night had spread out her black +garments to keep them from the moth, and the Prince had come as +they had appointed, she let fall her hair; he seized it with both +hands, and cried, "Draw up." When he was drawn up she made +him first climb on to the rafters and find the gall-nuts, knowing +well what effect they would have, as she had been enchanted by +the ogress. Then, having made a rope-ladder, they both descended +to the ground, took to their heels, and ran off towards the city. But +the gossip, happening to see them come out, set up a loud +"Halloo," and began to shout and make such a noise that the ogress +awoke, and, seeing that Parsley had run away, she descended by +the same ladder, which was still fastened to the window, and set +off after the couple, who, when they saw her coming at their heels +faster than a horse let loose, gave themselves up for lost. But +Parsley, recollecting the gall-nuts, quickly threw one of the +ground, and lo, instantly a Corsican bulldog started up--O, mother, +such a terrible beast!--which, with open jaws and barking loud, +flew at the ogress as if to swallow her at a mouthful. But the old +woman, who was more cunning and spiteful than ever, put her +hand into her pocket, and pulling out a piece of bread gave it to the +dog, which made him hang his tail and allay his fury. + +Then she turned to run after the fugitives again, but Parsley, seeing +her approach, threw the second gall-nut on the ground, and lo, a +fierce lion arose, who, lashing the earth with his tail, and shaking +his mane and opening wide his jaws a yard apart, was just +preparing to make a slaughter of the ogress, when, turning quickly +back, she stripped the skin off an ass which was grazing in the +middle of a meadow and ran at the lion, who, fancying it a real +jackass, was so frightened that he bounded away as fast as he +could. + +The ogress having leaped over this second ditch turned again to +pursue the poor lovers, who, hearing the clatter of her heels, and +seeing clouds of dust that rose up to the sky, knew that she was +coming again. But the old woman, who was every moment in +dread lest the lion should pursue her, had not taken off the ass's +skin, and when Parsley now threw down the third gall-nut there +sprang up a wolf, who, without giving the ogress time to play any +new trick, gobbled her up just as she was in the shape of a jackass. +So Parsley and the Prince, now freed from danger, went their way +leisurely and quietly to the Prince's kingdom, where, with his +father's free consent, they were married. Thus, after all these +storms of fate, they experienced the truth that-- + + "One hour in port, the sailor, freed from fears, + Forgets the tempests of a hundred years." + + + +XI + +THE THREE SISTERS + +It is a great truth that from the same wood are formed the statues +of idols and the rafters of gallows, kings' thrones and cobblers' +stalls; and another strange thing is that from the same rags are +made the paper on which the wisdom of sages is recorded, and the +crown which is placed on the head of a fool. The same, too, may +be said of children: one daughter is good and another bad; one idle, +another a good housewife; one fair, another ugly; one spiteful, +another kind; one unfortunate, another born to good luck, and who +being all of one family ought to be of one nature. But leaving this +subject to those who know more about it, I will merely give you an +example in the story of the three daughters of the same mother, +wherein you will see the difference of manners which brought the +wicked daughters into the ditch and the good daughter to the top of +the Wheel of Fortune. + +There was at one time a woman who had three daughters, two of +whom were so unlucky that nothing ever succeeded with them, all +their projects went wrong, all their hopes were turned to chaff. But +the youngest, who was named Nella, was born to good luck, and I +verily believe that at her birth all things conspired to bestow on her +the best and choicest gifts in their power. The Sky gave her the +perfection of its light; Venus, matchless beauty of form; Love, the +first dart of his power; Nature, the flower of manners. She never +set about any work that it did not go off to a nicety; she never took +anything in hand that it did not succeed to a hair; she never stood +up to dance, that she did not sit down with applause. On which +account she was envied by her jealous sisters and yet not so much +as she was loved and wished well to by all others; as greatly as her +sisters desired to put her underground, so much more did other +folks carry her on the palms of their hands. + +Now there was in that country an enchanted Prince who was so +attracted by her beauty that he secretly married her. And in order +that they might enjoy one another's company without exciting the +suspicion of the mother, who was a wicked woman, the Prince +made a crystal passage which led from the royal palace directly +into Nella's apartment, although it was eight miles distant. Then +he gave her a certain powder saying, "Every time you wish to see +me throw a little of this powder into the fire, and instantly I will +come through this passage as quick as a bird, running along the +crystal road to gaze upon this face of silver." + +Having arranged it thus, not a night passed that the Prince did not +go in and out, backwards and forwards, along the crystal passage, +until at last the sisters, who were spying the actions of Nella, found +out the secret and laid a plan to put a stop to the sport. And in +order to cut the thread at once, they went and broke the passage +here and there; so that, when the unhappy girl threw the powder +into the fire, to give the signal to her husband, the Prince, who +used always to come running in furious haste, hurt himself in such +a manner against the broken crystal that it was truly a pitiable sight +to see. And being unable to pass further on he turned back all cut +and slashed like a Dutchman's breeches. Then he sent for all the +doctors in the town; but as the crystal was enchanted the wounds +were mortal, and no human remedy availed. When the King saw +this, despairing of his son's condition, he sent out a proclamation +that whoever would cure the wounds of the Prince--if a woman she +should have him for a husband--if a man he should have half his +kingdom. + +Now when Nella, who was pining away from the loss of the +Prince, heard this she dyed her face, disguised herself, and +unknown to her sisters she left home to go to see him before his +death. But as by this time the Sun's gilded ball with which he plays +in the Fields of Heaven, was running towards the west, night +overtook her in a wood close to the house of an ogre, where, in +order to get out of the way of danger, she climbed up into a tree. +Meanwhile the ogre and his wife were sitting at table with the +windows open in order to enjoy the fresh air while they ate; as +soon as they had emptied their cups and put out the lamps they +began to chat of one thing and another, so that Nella, who was as +near to them as the mouth to the nose, heard every word they +spoke. + +Among other things the ogress said to her husband, "My pretty +Hairy-Hide, tell me what news; what do they say abroad in the +world?" And he answered, "Trust me, there is no hand's breadth +clean; everything's going topsy-turvy and awry." "But what is it?" +replied his wife. "Why I could tell pretty stories of all the +confusion that is going on," replied the ogre, "for one hears things +that are enough to drive one mad, such as buffoons rewarded with +gifts, rogues esteemed, cowards honoured, robbers protected, and +honest men little thought of. But, as these things only vex one, I +will merely tell you what has befallen the King's son. He had made +a crystal path along which he used to go to visit a pretty lass; but +by some means or other, I know not how, all the road has been +broken; and as he was going along the passage as usual, he has +wounded himself in such a manner that before he can stop the leak +the whole conduit of his life will run out. The King has indeed +issued a proclamation with great promises to whoever cures his +son; but it is all labour lost, and the best he can do is quickly to get +ready mourning and prepare the funeral." + +When Nella heard the cause of the Prince's illness she sobbed and +wept bitterly and said to herself, "Who is the wicked soul who has +broken the passage and caused so much sorrow?" But as the ogress +now went on speaking Nella was as silent as a mouse and listened. + +"And is it possible," said the ogress, "that the world is lost to this +poor Prince, and that no remedy can be found for his malady?" + +"Hark-ye, Granny," replied the ogre, "the doctors are not called +upon to find remedies that may pass the bounds of nature. This is +not a fever that will yield to medicine and diet, much less are these +ordinary wounds which require lint and oil; for the charm that was +on the broken glass produces the same effect as onion juice does +on the iron heads of arrows, which makes the wound incurable. +There is one thing only that could save his life, but don't ask me to +tell it to you, for it is a thing of importance." + +"Do tell me, dear old Long-tusk," cried the ogress; "tell me, if you +would not see me die." + +"Well then," said the ogre, "I will tell you provided you promise +me not to confide it to any living soul, for it would be the ruin of +our house and the destruction of our lives." + +"Fear nothing, my dear, sweet little husband," replied the ogress; +"for you shall sooner see pigs with horns, apes with tails, moles +with eyes, than a single word shall pass my lips." And so saying, +she put one hand upon the other and swore to it. + +"You must know then," said the ogre, "that there is nothing under +the sky nor above the ground that can save the Prince from the +snares of death, but our fat. If his wounds are anointed with this his +soul will be arrested which is just at the point of leaving the +dwelling of his body." + +Nella, who overheard all that passed, gave time to Time to let +them finish their chat; and then, getting down from the tree and +taking heart, she knocked at the ogre's door crying, "Ah! my good +masters, I pray you for charity, alms, some sign of compassion. +Have a little pity on a poor, miserable, wretched creature who is +banished by fate far from her own country and deprived of all +human aid, who has been overtaken by night in this wood and is +dying of cold and hunger." And crying thus, she went on knocking +and knocking at the door. + +Upon hearing this deafening noise, the ogress was going to throw +her half a loaf and send her away. But the ogre, who was more +greedy of flesh than the squirrel is of nuts, the bear of honey, the +cat of fish, the sheep of salt, or the ass of bran, said to his wife, +"Let the poor creature come in, for if she sleeps in the fields, who +knows but she may be eaten up by some wolf." In short, he talked +so much that his wife at length opened the door for Nella; whilst +with all his pretended charity he was all the time reckoning on +making four mouthfuls of her. But the glutton counts one way and +the host another; for the ogre and his wife drank till they were +fairly tipsy. When they lay down to sleep Nella took a knife from a +cupboard and made a hash of them in a trice. Then she put all the +fat into a phial, went straight to the court, where, presenting +herself before the King, she offered to cure the Prince. At this the +King was overjoyed and led her to the chamber of his son, and no +sooner had she anoited him well with the fat than the wound +closed in a moment just as if she had thrown water on the fire, and +he became sound as a fish. + +When the King saw this, he said to his son, "This good woman +deserves the reward promised by the proclamation and that you +should marry her." But the Prince replied, "It is hopeless, for I +have no store-room full of hearts in my body to share among so +many; my heart is already disposed of, and another woman is +already the mistress of it." Nella, hearing this, replied, "You +should no longer think of her who has been the cause of all your +misfortune." "My misfortune has been brought on me by her +sisters," replied the Prince, "and they shall repent it." "Then do +you really love her?" said Nella. And the Prince replied, "More +than my own life." "Embrace me then," said Nella, "for I am the +fire of your heart." But the Prince seeing the dark hue of her face +answered, "I would sooner take you for the coal than the fire, so +keep off--don't blacken me." Whereupon Nella, perceiving that he +did not know her, called for a basin of clean water and washed her +face. As soon as the cloud of soot was removed the sun shone +forth; and the Prince, recognising her, pressed her to his heart and +acknowledged her for his wife. Then he had her sisters thrown into +an oven, thus proving the truth of the old saying-- + + "No evil ever went without punishment." + + + +XII + +VIOLET + +Envy is a wind which blows with such violence, that it throws +down the props of the reputation of good men, and levels with the +ground the crops of good fortune. But, very often, as a punishment +from Heaven, when this envious blast seems as if it would cast a +person flat on the ground, it aids him instead of attain the +happiness he is expecting sooner even than he expected: as you +will hear in the story which I shall now tell you. + +There was once upon a time a good sort of man named Cola +Aniello, who had three daughters, Rose, Pink, and Violet, the last +of whom was so beautiful that her very look was a syrup of love, +which cured the hearts of beholders of all unhappiness. The King's +son was burning with love of her, and every time he passed by the +little cottage where these three sisters sat at work, he took off his +cap and said, "Good-day, good-day, Violet," and she replied, +"Good-day, King's son! I know more than you." At these words +her sisters grumbled and murmured, saying, "You are an ill-bred +creature and will make the Prince in a fine rage." But as Violet +paid no heed to what they said, they made a spiteful complaint of +her to her father, telling him that she was too bold and forward; +and that she answered the Prince without any respect, as if she +were just as good as he; and that, some day or other, she would get +into trouble and suffer the just punishment of her offence. So Cola +Aniello, who was a prudent man, in order to prevent any mischief, +sent Violet to stay with an aunt, to be set to work. + +Now the Prince, when he passed by the house as usual, no longer +seeing the object of his love, was for some days like a nightingale +that has lost her young ones from her nest, and goes from branch to +branch wailing and lamenting her loss; but he put his ear so often +to the chink that at last he discovered where Violet lived. Then he +went to the aunt, and said to her, "Madam, you know who I am, +and what power I have; so, between ourselves, do me a favour and +then ask for whatever you wish." "If I can do anything to serve +you," replied the old woman, "I am entirely at your command." "I +ask nothing of you," said the Prince, "but to let me give Violet a +kiss." "If that's all," answered the old woman, "go and hide +yourself in the room downstairs in the garden, and I will find some +pretence or another for sending Violet to you." + +As soon as the Prince heard this, he stole into the room without +loss of time; and the old woman, pretending that she wanted to cut +a piece of cloth, said to her niece, "Violet, if you love me, go down +and fetch me the yard-measure." So Violet went, as her aunt bade +her, but when she came to the room she perceived the ambush, +and, taking the yard-measure, she slipped out of the room as +nimbly as a cat, leaving the Prince with his nose made long out of +pure shame and bursting with vexation. + +When the old woman saw Violet come running so fast, she +suspected that the trick had not succeeded; so presently after, she +said to the girl, "Go downstairs, niece, and fetch me the ball of +thread that is on the top shelf in the cupboard." So Violet ran, and +taking the thread slipped like an eel out of the hands of the Prince. +But after a little while the old woman said again, "Violet, my dear, +if you do not go downstairs and fetch me the scissors, I cannot get +on at all." Then Violet went down again, but she sprang as +vigorously as a dog out of the trap, and when she came upstairs she +took the scissors and cut off one of her aunt's ears, saying, "Take +that, madam, as a reward for your pains--every deed deserves its +need. If I don't cut off your nose, it is only that you may smell the +bad odour of your reputation." So saying, she went her way home +with a hop, skip, and jump, leaving her aunt eased of one ear and +the Prince full of Let-me-alone. + +Not long afterwards, the Prince again passed by the house of +Violet's father; and, seeing her at the window where she used to +stand, he began his old tune, "Good-day, good-day, Violet!" +Whereupon she answered as quickly as a good parish-clerk, +"Good-day, King's son! I know more than you." But Violet's +sisters could no longer bear this behaviour, and they plotted +together how to get rid of her. Now, one of the windows looked +into the garden of an ogre, so they proposed to drive the poor girl +away through this; and letting fall from it a skein of thread with +which they were working a door-curtain for the queen, they cried, +"Alas! alas! we are ruined and shall not be able to finish the work +in time, if Violet, who is the smallest and lightest of us, does not +let herself down by a cord and pick up the thread that has fallen." + +Violet could not endure to see her sisters grieving thus, and +instantly offered to go down; so, tying a cord to her, they lowered +her into the garden. But no sooner did she reach the ground than +they let go the rope. It happened that just at that time the ogre +came out to look at his garden, and having caught cold from the +dampness of the ground, he gave such a tremendous sneeze, with +such a noise and explosion, that Violet screamed out with terror, +"Oh, mother, help me!" Thereupon the ogre looked round and +seeing the beautiful maiden behind him, he received her with the +greatest care and affection; and treating her as his own daughter, +he gave her in charge of three fairies, bidding them take care of +her, and rear her up on cherries. + +The Prince no longer seeing Violet, and hearing no news of her, +good or bad, fell into such grief that his eyes became swollen, his +face became pale as ashes, his lips livid; and he neither ate a +morsel to get flesh on his body, nor slept a wink to get any rest to +his mind. But trying all possible means and offering large rewards, +he went about spying and inquiring everywhere until, at last, he +discovered where Violet was. Then he sent for the ogre and told +him that, finding himself ill (as he might see was the case) he +begged of him permission to spend a single day and night in his +garden, adding that a small chamber would suffice for him to +repose in. Now, as the ogre was a subject of the Prince's father he +could not refuse him this trifling pleasure; so he offered him all the +rooms in his house; if one was not enough, and his very life itself. +The Prince thanked him, and chose a room which by good luck +was near to Violet's; and, as soon as Night came out to play games +with the Stars, the Prince, finding that Violet had left her door +open, as it was summertime and the place was safe, stole softly +into her room, and taking Violet's arm he gave her two pinches. +Then she awoke and exclaimed, "Oh, father, father, what a +quantity of fleas!" So she went to another bed and the Prince did +the same again and she cried out as before. Then she changed first +the mattress and then the sheet; and so the sport went on the whole +night long, until the Dawn, having brought the news that the Sun +was alive, the mourning that was hung round the sky was all +removed. + +As soon as it was day, the Prince, passing by that house, and seeing +the maiden at the door, said, as he was wont to do, +"Good-day, good-day, Violet!" and when Violet replied, +"Good-day, King's son! I know more than you!" the Prince +answered, "Oh, father, father, what a quantity of fleas!" + +The instant Violet felt this shot she guessed at once that the Prince +had been the cause of her annoyance in the past night; so off she +ran and told it to the fairies. "If it be he," said the fairies, "we will +soon give him tit for tat and as good in return. If this dog has bitten +you, we will manage to get a hair from him. He has give you one, +we will give him back one and a half. Only get the ogre to make +you a pair of slippers covered with little bells, and leave the rest to +us. We will pay him in good coin." + +Violet, who was eager to be revenged, instantly got the ogre to +make the slippers for her; and, waiting till the Sky, like a Genoese +woman, had wrapped the black taffety round her face, they went, +all four together, to the house of the Prince, where the fairies and +Violet hid themselves in the chamber. And as soon as ever the +Prince had closed his eyes the fairies made a great noise and +racket, and Violet began to stamp with her feet at such a rate that, +what with the clatter of her heels and the jingling of her bells, the +Prince awoke in great terror and cried out, "Oh, mother, mother, +help me!" And after repeating this two or three times, they slipped +away home. + +The next morning the Prince went to take a walk in the garden, for +he could not live a moment without the sight of Violet, who was a +pink of pinks. And seeing her standing at the door, he said, +"Good-day, good-day, Violet!" And Violet answered, +"Good-day, King's son! I know more than you!" Then the Prince +said, "Oh, father, father, what a quantity of fleas!" But Violet +replied, "Oh, mother, mother, help me!" + +When the Prince heard this, he said to Violet, "You have +won--your wits are better than mine. I yield--you have conquered. +And now that I see you really know more than I do, I will marry +you without more ado." So he called the ogre and asked her of him +for his wife; but the ogre said it was not his affair, for he had +learned that very morning that Violet was the daughter of Cola +Aniello. So the Prince ordered her father to be called and told him +of the good fortune that was in store for his daughter; whereupon +the marriage feast was celebrated with great joy, and the truth of +the saying was seen that-- + + "A fair maiden soon gets wed." + + + +XIII + +PIPPO + +Ingratitude is a nail, which, driven into the tree of courtesy, causes +it to wither. It is a broken channel by which the foundations of +affection are undermined; and a lump of soot, which, falling into +the dish of friendship, destroys its scent and savour--as is seen in +daily instances, and, amongst others, in the story which I will now +tell you. + +There was one time in my dear city of Naples an old man who was +as poor as poor could be. He was so wretched, so bare, so light, +and with not a farthing in his pocket, that he went naked as a flea. +And being about to shake out the bags of life, he called to him his +sons, Oratiello and Pippo, and said to them, "I am now called upon +by the tenor of my bill to pay the debt I owe to Nature. Believe me, +I should feel great pleasure in quitting this abode of misery, this +den of woes, but that I leave you here behind me--a pair of +miserable fellows, as big as a church, without a stitch upon your +backs, as clean as a barber's basin, as nimble as a serjeant, as dry +as a plum-stone, without so much as a fly can carry upon its foot; +so that, were you to run a hundred miles, not a farthing would drop +from you. My ill-fortune has indeed brought me to such beggary +that I lead the life of a dog, for I have all along, as well you know, +gaped with hunger and gone to bed without a candle. Nevertheless, +now that I am a-dying, I wish to leave you some token of my love. +So do you, Oratiello, who are my first-born, take the sieve that +hangs yonder against the wall, with which you can earn your +bread; and do you, little fellow, take the cat and remember your +daddy!" So saying, he began to whimper; and presently after said, +"God be with you--for it is night!" + +Oratiello had his father buried by charity; and then took the sieve +and went riddling here, there, and everywhere to gain a livelihood; +and the more he riddled, the more he earned. But Pippo, taking the +cat, said, "Only see now what a pretty legacy my father has left +me! I, who am not able to support myself, must now provide for +two. Whoever beheld so miserable an inheritance?" Then the cat, +who overheard this lamentation, said to him, "You are grieving +without need, and have more luck than sense. You little know the +good fortune in store for you; and that I am able to make you rich +if I set about it." When Pippo had heard this, he thanked Her +Pussyship, stroked her three or four times on the back, and +commended himself warmly to her. So the cat took compassion on +poor Pippo; and, every morning, when the Sun, with the bait of +light on his golden hook, fishes for the shakes of Night, she betook +herself to the shore, and catching a goodly grey mullet or a fine +dory, she carried it to the King and said, "My Lord Pippo, your +Majesty's most humble slave, sends you this fish with all +reverence, and says, A small present to a great lord.'" Then the +King, with a joyful face, as one usually shows to those who bring a +gift, answered the cat, "Tell this lord, whom I do not know, that I +thank him heartily." + +Again, the cat would run to the marshes or the fields, and when the +fowlers had brought down a blackbird, a snipe, or a lark, she +caught it up and presented it to the King with the same message. +She repeated this trick again and again, until one morning the King +said to her, "I feel infinitely obliged to this Lord Pippo, and am +desirous of knowing him, that I may make a return for the kindness +he has shown me." And the cat replied, "The desire of my Lord +Pippo is to give his life for your Majesty's crown; and tomorrow +morning, without fail, as soon as the Sun has set fire to the stubble +of the fields of air, he will come and pay his respects to you." + +So when the morning came, the cat went to the King, and said to +him: "Sire, my Lord Pippo sends to excuse himself for not coming, +as last night some of his servants robbed him and ran off, and have +not left him a single shirt to his back." When the King heard this, +he instantly commanded his retainers to take out of his own +wardrobe a quantity of clothes and linen, and sent them to Pippo; +and, before two hours had passed, Pippo went to the palace, +conducted by the cat, where he received a thousand compliments +from the King, who made him sit beside himself, and gave him a +banquet that would amaze you. + +While they were eating, Pippo from time to time turned to the cat +and said to her, "My pretty puss, pray take care that those rags +don't slip through our fingers." Then the cat answered, "Be quiet, +be quiet; don't be talking of these beggarly things." The King, +wishing to know the subject of their talk, the cat made answer that +Pippo had taken a fancy to a small lemon; whereupon the King +instantly sent out to the garden for a basketful. But Pippo returned +to the same tune about the old coats and shirts, and the cat again +told him to hold his tongue. Then the King once more asked what +was the matter, and the cat had another excuse to make amends for +Pippo's rudeness. + +At last, when they had eaten and conversed for some time about +one thing and another, Pippo took his leave; and the cat stayed +with the King, describing the worth, the wisdom, and the judgment +of Pippo; and, above all, the great wealth he had in the plains of +Rome and Lombardy, which well entitled him to marry even into +the family of a crowned King. Then the King asked what might be +his fortune; and the cat replied that no one could ever count the +moveables, the fixtures, and the household furniture of this rich +man, who did not even know what he possessed. If the King +wished to be informed of it, he had only to send messengers with +the cat, and she would prove to him that there was no wealth in the +world equal to his. + +Then the King called some trusty persons, and commanded them +to inform themselves minutely of the truth; so they followed in the +footsteps of the cat, who, as soon as they had passed the frontier of +the kingdom, from time to time ran on before, under the pretext of +providing refreshments for them on the road. Whenever she met a +flock of sheep, a herd of cows, a troop of horses, or a drove of +pigs, she would say to the herdsmen and keepers, "Ho! have a +care! A troop of robbers is coming to carry off everything in the +country. So if you wish to escape their fury, and to have your +things respected, say that they all belong to the Lord Pippo, and not +a hair will be touched." + +She said the same at all the farmhouses, so that wherever the +King's people came they found the pipe tuned; for everything they +met with, they were told, belonged to the Lord Pippo. At last they +were tired of asking, and returned to the King, telling seas and +mountains of the riches of Lord Pippo. The King, hearing this +report, promised the cat a good drink if she should manage to +bring about the match; and the cat, playing the shuttle between +them, at last concluded the marriage. So Pippo came, and the King +gave him his daughter and a large portion. + +At the end of a month of festivities, Pippo wished to take his bride +to his estates, so the King accompanied them as far as the +frontiers; and he went on to Lombardy, where, by the cat's advice, +he purchased a large estate and became a baron. + +Pippo, seeing himself now so rich, thanked the cat more than +words can express, saying that he owed his life and his greatness to +her good offices; and that the ingenuity of a cat had done more for +him that the wit of his father. Therefore, said he, she might dispose +of his life and his property as she pleased; and he gave her his +word that when she died, which he prayed might not be for a +hundred years, he would have her embalmed and put into a golden +coffin, and set in his own chamber, that he might keep her memory +always before his eyes. + +The cat listened to these lavish professions; and before three days +she pretended to be dead, and stretched herself at full length in the +garden. When Pippo's wife saw her, she cried out, "Oh, husband, +what a sad misfortune! The cat is dead!" "Devil die with her!" said +Pippo. "Better her than we!" "What shall we do with her?" replied +the wife. "Take her by the leg," said he, "and fling her out of the +window!" + +Then the cat, who heard this fine reward when she least expected +it, began to say, "Is this the return you make for my taking you +from beggary? Are these the thanks I get for freeing you from rags +that you might have hung distaffs with? Is this my reward for +having put good clothes on your back when you were a poor, +starved, miserable, tatter-shod ragamuffin? But such is the fate of +him who washes an ass's head! Go! A curse upon all I have done +for you! A fine gold coffin you had prepared for me! A fine funeral +you were going to give me! Go, now! serve, labour, toil, sweat to +get this fine reward! Unhappy is he who does a good deed in hope +of a return. Well was it said by the philosopher, He who lies down +an ass, an ass he finds himself.' But let him who does most, expect +least; smooth words and ill deeds deceive alike both fools and +wise!" + +So saying, she drew her cloak about her and went her way. All that +Pippo, with the utmost humility, could do to soothe her was of no +avail. She would not return; but ran on and on without ever turning +her head about, saying-- + + "Heaven keep me from the rich grown poor, + And from the beggar who of wealth gains store." + + + +XIV + +THE SERPENT + +It always happens that he who is over-curious in prying into the +affairs of other people, strikes his own foot with the axe; and the +King of Long-Furrow is a proof of this, who, by poking his nose +into secrets, brought his daughter into trouble and ruined his +unhappy son-in-law--who, in attempting to make a thrust with his +head was left with it broken. + +There was once on a time a gardener's wife, who longed to have a +son more than a man in a fever for cold water, or the innkeeper for +the arrival of the mail-coach. + +It chanced one day that the poor man went to the mountain to get a +faggot, and when he came home and opened it he found a pretty +little serpent among the twigs. At the sight of this, Sapatella (for +that was the name of the gardener's wife) heaved a deep sigh, and +said, "Alas! even the serpents have their little serpents; but I +brought ill-luck with me into this world." At these words, the little +serpent spoke, and said, "Well, then, since you cannot have +children, take me for a child, and you will make a good bargain, +for I shall love you better than my mother." Sapatella, hearing a +serpent speak thus, nearly fainted; but, plucking up courage, she +said, "If it were for nothing else than the affection which you offer, +I am content to take you, and treat you as if you were really my +own child." So saying, she assigned him a hole in a corner of the +house for a cradle, and gave him for food a share of what she had +with the greatest goodwill in the world. + +The serpent increased in size from day to day; and when he had +grown pretty big, he said to Cola Matteo, the gardener, whom he +looked on as his father, "Daddy, I want to get married." "With all +my heart," said Cola Matteo. "We must look out for another +serpent like yourself, and try to make up a match between you." +"What serpent are you talking of?" said the little serpent. "I +suppose, forsooth, we are all the same with vipers and adders! It is +easy to see you are nothing but a country bumpkin, and make a +nosegay of every plant. I want the King's daughter; so go this very +instant and ask the King for her, and tell him it is a serpent who +demands her." Cola Matteo, who was a plain, straightforward kind +of man, and knew nothing about matters of this sort, went +innocently to the King and delivered his message, +saying-- + + "The messenger should not be beaten more + Than are the sands upon the shore!" + +"Know then that a serpent wants your daughter for his wife, and I +am come to try if we can make a match between a serpent and a +dove!" The King, who saw at a glance that he was a blockhead, to +get rid of him, said, "Go and tell the serpent that I will give him +my daughter if he turns all the fruit of this orchard into gold." And +so saying, he burst out a-laughing, and dismissed him. + +When Cola Matteo went home and delivered the answer to the +serpent, he said, "Go to-morrow morning and gather up all the +fruit-stones you can find in the city, and sow them in the orchard, +and you will see pearls strung on rushes!" Cola Mateo, who was no +conjurer, neither knew how to comply nor refuse; so next morning, +as soon as the Sun with his golden broom had swept away the dirt +of the Night from the fields watered by the dawn, he took a basket +on his arm and went from street to street, picking up all the stones +of peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, and cherries that he could +find. He then went to the orchard of the palace and sowed them, as +the serpent had desired. In an instant the trees shot up, and stems +and branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit were all of glittering +gold--at the sight of which the King was in an ecstasy of +amazement, and cried aloud with joy. + +But when Cola Matteo was sent by the serpent to the King, to +demand the performance of his promise, the King said, "Fair and +easy, I must first have something else if he would have my +daughter; and it is that he make all the walls and the ground of the +orchard to be of precious stones." + +When the gardener told this to the serpent, he made answer, "Go +to-morrow morning and gather up all the bits of broken +crockery-ware you can find, and throw them on the walks and on +the walls of the orchard; for we will not let this small difficulty +stand in our way." As soon, therefore, as the Night, having aided +the robbers, is banished from the sky, and goes about collecting the +faggots of twilight, Cola Matteo took a basket under his arm, and +went about collecting bits of tiles, lids and bottoms of pipkins, +pieces of plate and dishes, handles of jugs, spouts of pitchers. He +picked up all the spoiled, broken, cracked lamps and all the +fragments of pottery he could find in his way. And when he had +done all that the serpent had told him, you could see the whole +orchard mantled with emeralds and chalcedonies, and coated with +rubies and carbuncles, so that the lustre dazzled your eyes. The +King was struck all of a heap by the sight, and knew not what had +befallen him. But when the serpent sent again to let him know that +he was expecting the performance of his promise, the King +answered, "Oh, all that has been done is nothing, if he does not +turn this palace into gold." + +When Cola Matteo told the serpent this new fancy of the King's, +the serpent said, "Go and get a bundle of herbs and rub the bottom +of the palace walls with them. We shall see if we cannot satisfy +this whim!" Away went Cola that very moment, and made a great +broom of cabbages, radishes, leeks, parsley, turnips, and carrots; +and when he had rubbed the lower part of the palace with it, +instantly you might see it shining like a golden ball on a +weather-vane. And when the gardener came again to demand the +hand of the Princess, the King, seeing all his retreat cut off, called +his daughter, and said to her, "My dear Grannonia, I have tried to +get rid of a suitor who asked to marry you, by making such +conditions as seemed to me impossible. But as I am beaten, and +obliged to consent, I pray you, as you are a dutiful daughter, to +enable me to keep my word, and to be content with what Fate wills +and I am obliged to do." + +"Do as you please, father," said Grannonia; "I shall not oppose a +single jot of your will!" The King, hearing this, bade Cola Matteo +tell the serpent to come. + +The serpent then set out for the palace, mounted on a car all of +gold and drawn by four golden elephants. But wherever he came +the people fled away in terror, seeing such a large and frightful +serpent making his progress through the city; and when he arrived +at the palace, the courtiers all trembled like rushes and ran away; +and even the very scullions did not dare to stay in the place. The +King and Queen, also, shivering with fear, crept into a chamber. +Only Grannonia stood her ground; for though her father and her +mother cried continually, "Fly, fly, Grannonia, save yourself," she +would not stir from the spot, saying, "Why should I fly from the +husband you have given me?" And when the serpent came into the +room, he took Grannonia by the waist, in his tail, and gave her +such a shower of kisses that the King writhed like a worm, and +went as pale as Death. Then the serpent carried her into another +room and fastened the door; and shaking off his skin on the floor, +he became a most beautiful youth, with a head all covered with +ringlets of gold, and with eyes that would enchant you! + +When the King saw the serpent go into the room with his daughter +and shut the door after him, he said to his wife, "Heaven have +mercy on that good soul, my daughter! for she is dead to a +certainty, and that accursed serpent has doubtless swallowed her +down like the yolk of an egg." Then he put his eye to the +key-hole to see what had become of her; but when he saw the +exceeding beauty of the youth, and the skin of the serpent that he +had left lying on the ground, he gave the door a kick, then in they +rushed, and, taking the skin, flung it into the fire and burned it. + +When the youth saw this, he cried, "Ah, fools, what have you +done!" and instantly he was turned into a dove and flew at the +window, where, as he struck his head through the panes, he cut +himself sorely. + +Grannonia, who thus saw herself at the same moment happy and +unhappy, joyful and miserable, rich and poor, tore her hair and +bewailed her fate, reproaching her father and mother; but they +excused themselves, declaring that they had not meant to do harm. +But she went on weeping and wailing until Night came forth to +drape the canopy of the sky for the funeral of the Sun; and when +they were all in bed, she took her jewels, which were in a +writing-desk, and went out by the back-door, to search everywhere +for the treasure she had lost. + +She went out of the city, guided by the light of the moon; and on +her way she met a fox, who asked her if she wished for company. +"Of all things, my friend," replied Grannonia. "I should be +delighted; for I am not over well acquainted with the country." So +they travelled along together till they came to a wood, where the +trees, at play like children, were making baby-houses for the +shadows to lie in. And as they were now tired and wished to rest, +they sheltered under the leaves where a fountain was playing tricks +with the grass, throwing water on it by the dishful. There they +stretched themselves on a mattress of tender soft grass, and paid +the duty of repose which they owed to Nature for the merchandise +of life. + +They did not awake till the Sun, with his usual fire, gave the signal +to sailors and travellers to set out on their road; and, after they +awoke, they still stayed for some time listening to the songs of the +birds, in which Grannonia took great delight. The fox, seeing this, +said to her, "You would feel twice as much pleasure if, like me, +you understood what they are saying." At these words +Grannonia--for women are by nature as curious as they are +talkative--begged the fox to tell her what he had heard the birds +saying. So, after having let her entreat him for a long time, to raise +her curiosity about what he was going to relate, he told her that the +birds were talking to each other about what had lately befallen the +King's son, who was as beautiful as a jay. Because he had +offended a wicked ogress, she had laid him under a spell to pass +seven years in the form of a serpent; and when he had nearly ended +the seven years, he fell in love with the daughter of a King, and +being one day in a room with the maiden, he had cast his skin on +the ground, when her father and mother rushed in and burned it. +Then, when the Prince was flying away in the shape of a dove, he +broke a pane in the window to escape, and hurt his head so +severely that he was given over by the doctors. + +Grannonia, who thus heard her own onions spoken of, asked if +there was any cure for this injury. The fox replied that there was +none other than by anointing his wounds with the blood of those +very birds that had been telling the story. When Grannonia heard +this, she fell down on her knees to the fox, entreating him to catch +those birds for her, that she might get their blood; adding that, like +honest comrades, they would share the gain. "Fair and softly," said +the fox; "let us wait till night, and when the birds are gone to bed, +trust me to climb the tree and capture them, one after the other." + +So they waited till Day was gone, and Earth had spread out her +great black board to catch the wax that might drop from the tapers +of Night. Then the fox, as soon as he saw all the birds fast asleep +on the branches, stole up quite softly, and one after another, +throttled all the linnets, larks, tomtits, blackbirds, woodpeckers, +thrushes, jays, fly-catchers, little owls, goldfinches, bullfinches, +chaffinches, and redbreasts that were on the trees. And when he +had killed them all they put the blood in a little bottle, which the +fox carried with him, to refresh himself on the road. + +Grannonia was so overjoyed that she hardly touched the ground; +but the fox said to her, "What fine joy in a dream is this, my +daughter! You have done nothing, unless you mix my blood also +with that of the birds"; and so saying he set off to run away. +Grannonia, who saw all her hopes likely to be destroyed, had +recourse to woman's art--flattery; and she said to him, "Gossip +fox, there would be some reason for your saving your hide if I +were not under so many obligations to you, and if there were no +other foxes in the world. But you know how much I owe you, and +that there is no scarcity of the likes of you on these plains. Rely on +my good faith. Don't act like the cow that kicks over the pail +which she has just filled with milk. You have done the chief part, +and now you fail at the last. Do stop! Believe me, and come with +me to the city of this King, where you may sell me for a slave if +you will!" + +The fox never dreamed that he could be out-forced by a woman; so +he agreed to travel on with her. But they had hardly gone fifty +paces, when she lifted up the stick she carried and gave him such a +neat rap that he forthwith stretched his legs. Then she put his blood +into the little bottle; and setting off again she stayed not till she +came to Big Valley, where she went straightway to the royal +palace, and sent word that she was come to cure the Prince. + +Then the King ordered her to be brought before him, and he was +astonished at seeing a girl undertake a thing which the best doctors +in his kingdom had failed to do. However, a trial could do no +harm; and so he said he wished greatly to see the experiment +made. But Grannonia answered, "If I succeed, you must promise to +give him to me for a husband." The King, who looked on his son +to be even as already dead, answered her, "If you give him to me +safe and sound, I will give him to you sound and safe; for it is no +great matter to give a husband to her that gives me a son." + +So they went to the chamber of the Prince, and hardly had she +anointed him with the blood, when he found himself just as if +nothing had ever ailed him. Grannonia, when she saw the Prince +stout and hearty, bade the King keep his word; whereupon he, +turning to his son, said, "My son, a moment ago you were all but +dead, and now I see you alive, and can hardly believe it. Therefore, +as I have promised this maiden that if she cured you she should +have you for a husband, now enable me to perform my promise, by +all the love you bear me, since gratitude obliges me to pay this +debt." + +When the Prince heard these words, he said, "Sir, I would that I +was free to prove to you the love I bear you. But as I have already +pledged my faith to another woman, you would not consent that I +should break my word, nor would this maiden wish that I should +do such a wrong to her whom I love; nor can I, indeed, alter my +mind!" + +Grannonia, hearing this, felt a secret pleasure not to be described +at finding herself still alive in the memory of the Prince. Her +whole face became crimson as she said, "If I could induce this +maiden to resign her claims, would you then consent to my wish?" +"Never," replied the Prince, "will I banish from this breast the fair +image of her whom I love. I shall ever remain of the same mind +and will; and I would sooner see myself in danger of losing my +place at the table of life than play so mean a trick!" + +Grannonia could no longer disguise herself, and discovered to the +Prince who she was; for, the chamber having been darkened on +account of the wound in his head, he had not known her. But the +Prince, now that he recognised her, embraced her with a joy that +would amaze you, telling his father what he had done and suffered +for her. Then they sent to invite her parents, the King and Queen of +Long Field; and they celebrated the wedding with wonderful +festivity, making great sport of the great ninny of a fox, and +concluding at the last of the last that-- + + "Pain doth indeed a seasoning prove + Unto the joys of constant love." + + + +XV + +THE SHE-BEAR + +Truly the wise man said well that a command of gall cannot be +obeyed like one of sugar. A man must require just and reasonable +things if he would see the scales of obedience properly trimmed. +>From orders which are improper springs resistance which is not +easily overcome, as happened to the King of Rough-Rock, who, by +asking what he ought not of his daughter, caused her to run away +from him, at the risk of losing both honour and life. + +There lived, it is said, once upon a time a King of +Rough-Rock, who had a wife the very mother of beauty, but in the +full career of her years she fell from the horse of health and broke +her life. Before the candle of life went out at the auction of her +years she called her husband and said to him, "I know you have +always loved me tenderly; show me, therefore, at the close of my +days the completion of your love by promising me never to marry +again, unless you find a woman as beautiful as I have been, +otherwise I leave you my curse, and shall bear you hatred even in +the other world." + +The King, who loved his wife beyond measure, hearing this her +last wish, burst into tears, and for some time could not answer a +single word. At last, when he had done weeping, he said to her, +"Sooner than take another wife may the gout lay hold of me; may I +have my head cut off like a mackerel! My dearest love, drive such +a thought from your mind; do not believe in dreams, or that I could +love any other woman; you were the first new coat of my love, and +you shall carry away with you the last rags of my affection." + +As he said these words the poor young Queen, who was at the +point of death, turned up her eyes and stretched out her feet. When +the King saw her life thus running out he unstopped the channels +of his eyes, and made such a howling and beating and outcry that +all the Court came running up, calling on the name of the dear +soul, and upbraiding Fortune for taking her from him, and plucking +out his beard, he cursed the stars that had sent him such a +misfortune. But bearing in mind the maxim, "Pain in one's elbow +and pain for one's wife are alike hard to bear, but are soon over," +ere the Night had gone forth into the place-of-arms in the sky to +muster the bats he began to count upon his fingers and to reflect +thus to himself, "Here is my wife dead, and I am left a wretched +widower, with no hope of seeing any one but this poor daughter +whom she has left me. I must therefore try to discover some means +or other of having a son and heir. But where shall I look? Where +shall I find a woman equal in beauty to my wife? Every one +appears a witch in comparison with her; where, then, shall I find +another with a bit of stick, or seek another with the bell, if Nature +made Nardella (may she be in glory), and then broke the mould? +Alas, in what a labyrinth has she put me, in what a perplexity has +the promise I made her left me! But what do I say? I am running +away before I have seen the wolf; let me open my eyes and ears +and look about; may there not be some other as beautiful? Is it +possible that the world should be lost to me? Is there such a dearth +of women, or is the race extinct?" + +So saying he forthwith issued a proclamation and command that +all the handsome women in the world should come to the +touch-stone of beauty, for he would take the most beautiful to wife +and endow her with a kingdom. Now, when this news was spread +abroad, there was not a woman in the universe who did not come +to try her luck--not a witch, however ugly, who stayed behind; for +when it is a question of beauty, no scullion-wench will +acknowledge herself surpassed; every one piques herself on being +the handsomest; and if the looking-glass tells her the truth she +blames the glass for being untrue, and the quicksilver for being put +on badly. + +When the town was thus filled with women the King had them all +drawn up in a line, and he walked up and down from top to +bottom, and as he examined and measured each from head to foot +one appeared to him wry-browed, another long-nosed, another +broad-mouthed, another thick-lipped, another tall as a +may-pole, another short and dumpy, another too stout, another too +slender; the Spaniard did not please him on account of her dark +colour, the Neopolitan was not to his fancy on account of her gait, +the German appeared cold and icy, the Frenchwoman frivolous and +giddy, the Venetian with her light hair looked like a distaff of flax. +At the end of the end, one for this cause and another for that, he +sent them all away, with one hand before and the other behind; +and, seeing that so many fair faces were all show and no wool, he +turned his thoughts to his own daughter, saying, "Why do I go +seeking the impossible when my daughter Preziosa is formed in +the same mould of beauty as her mother? I have this fair face here +in my house, and yet go looking for it at the fag-end of the world. +She shall marry whom I will, and so I shall have an heir." + +When Preziosa heard this she retired to her chamber, and +bewailing her ill-fortune as if she would not leave a hair upon her +head; and, whilst she was lamenting thus, an old woman came to +her, who was her confidant. As soon as she saw Preziosa, who +seemed to belong more to the other world than to this, and heard +the cause of her grief, the old woman said to her, "Cheer up, my +daughter, do not despair; there is a remedy for every evil save +death. Now listen; if your father speaks to you thus once again put +this bit of wood into your mouth, and instantly you will be changed +into a she-bear; then off with you! for in his fright he will let you +depart, and go straight to the wood, where Heaven has kept +good-fortune in store for you since the day you were born, and +whenever you wish to appear a woman, as you are and will remain, +only take the piece of wood out of your mouth and you will return +to your true form." Then Preziosa embraced the old woman, and, +giving her a good apronful of meal, and ham and bacon, sent her +away. + +As soon as the Sun began to change his quarters, the King ordered +the musicians to come, and, inviting all his lords and vassals, he +held a great feast. And after dancing for five or six hours, they all +sat down to table, and ate and drank beyond measure. Then the +King asked his courtiers to whom he should marry Preziosa, as she +was the picture of his dead wife. But the instant Preziosa heard +this, she slipped the bit of wood into her mouth, and took the +figure of a terrible she-bear, at the sight of which all present were +frightened out of their wits, and ran off as fast as they could +scamper. + +Meanwhile Preziosa went out, and took her way to a wood, where +the Shades were holding a consultation how they might do some +mischief to the Sun at the close of day. And there she stayed, in the +pleasant companionship of the other animals, until the son of the +King of Running-Water came to hunt in that part of the country, +who, at the sight of the bear, had like to have died on the spot. But +when he saw the beast come gently up to him, wagging her tail like +a little dog and rubbing her sides against him, he took courage, and +patted her, and said, "Good bear, good bear! there, there! poor +beast, poor beast!" Then he led her home and ordered that she +should be taken great care of; and he had her put into a garden +close to the royal palace, that he might see her from the window +whenever he wished. + +One day, when all the people of the house were gone out, and the +Prince was left alone, he went to the window to look out at the +bear; and there he beheld Preziosa, who had taken the piece of +wood out of her mouth, combing her golden tresses. At the sight +of this beauty, which was beyond the beyonds, he had like to have +lost his senses with amazement, and tumbling down the stairs he +ran out into the garden. But Preziosa, who was on the watch and +observed him, popped the piece of wood into her mouth, and was +instantly changed into a bear again. + +When the Prince came down and looked about in vain for +Preziosa, whom he had seen from the window above, he was so +amazed at the trick that a deep melancholy came over him, and in +four days he fell sick, crying continually, "My bear, my bear!" His +mother, hearing him wailing thus, imagined that the bear had done +him some hurt, and gave orders that she should be killed. But the +servants, enamoured of the tameness of the bear, who made herself +beloved by the very stones in the road, took pity on her, and, +instead of killing her, they led her to the wood, and told the queen +that they had put an end to her. + +When this came to the ears of the Prince, he acted in a way to pass +belief. Ill or well he jumped out of bed, and was going at once to +make mincemeat of the servants. But when they told him the truth +of the affair, he jumped on horseback, half-dead as he was, and +went rambling about and seeking everywhere, until at length he +found the bear. Then he took her home again, and putting her into +a chamber, said to her, "O lovely morsel for a King, who art shut +up in this skin! O candle of love, who art enclosed within this hairy +lanthorn! Wherefore all this trifling? Do you wish to see me pine +and pant, and die by inches? I am wasting away; without hope, and +tormented by thy beauty. And you see clearly the proof, for I am +shrunk two-thirds in size, like wine boiled down, and am nothing +but skin and bone, for the fever is double-stitched to my veins. So +lift up the curtain of this hairy hide, and let me gaze upon the +spectacle of thy beauty! Raise, O raise the leaves off this basket, +and let me get a sight of the fine fruit beneath! Lift up that curtain, +and let my eyes pass in to behold the pomp of wonders! Who has +shut up so smooth a creature in a prison woven of hair? Who has +locked up so rich a treasure in a leathern chest? Let me behold this +display of graces, and take in payment all my love; for nothing else +can cure the troubles I endure." + +But when he had said, again and again, this and a great deal more, +and still saw that all his words were thrown away, he took to his +bed, and had such a desperate fit that the doctors prognosticated +badly of his case. Then his mother, who had no other joy in the +world, sat down by his bedside, and said to him, "My son, whence +comes all this grief? What melancholy humour has seized you? +You are young, you are loved, you are great, you are +rich--what then is it you want, my son? Speak; a bashful beggar +carries an empty bag. If you want a wife, only choose, and I will +bring the match about; do you take, and I'll pay. Do you not see +that your illness is an illness to me? Your pulse beats with fever in +your veins, and my heart beats with illness in my brain, for I have +no other support of my old age than you. So be cheerful now, and +cheer up my heart, and do not see the whole kingdom thrown into +mourning, this house into lamentation, and your mother forlorn +and heart-broken." + +When the Prince heard these words, he said, "Nothing can console +me but the sight of the bear. Therefore, if you wish to see me well +again, let her be brought into this chamber; I will have no one else +to attend me, and make my bed, and cook for me, but she herself; +and you may be sure that this pleasure will make me well in a +trice." + +Thereupon his mother, although she thought it ridiculous enough +for the bear to act as cook and chambermaid, and feared that her +son was not in his right mind, yet, in order to gratify him, had the +bear fetched. And when the bear came up to the Prince's bed, she +raised her paw and felt the patient's pulse, which made the Queen +laugh outright, for she thought every moment that the bear would +scratch his nose. Then the Prince said, "My dear bear, will you not +cook for me, and give me my food, and wait upon me?" and the +bear nodded her head, to show that she accepted the office. Then +his mother had some fowls brought, and a fire lighted on the +hearth in the same chamber, and some water set to boil; +whereupon the bear, laying hold on a fowl, scalded and plucked it +handily, and drew it, and then stuck one portion of it on the spit, +and with the other part she made such a delicious hash that the +Prince, who could not relish even sugar, licked his fingers at the +taste. And when he had done eating, the bear handed him drink +with such grace that the Queen was ready to kiss her on the +forehead. Thereupon the Prince arose, and the bear quickly set +about making the bed; and running into the garden, she gathered a +clothful of roses and citron-flowers and strewed them over it, so +that the queen said the bear was worth her weight in gold, and that +her son had good reason to be fond of her. + +But when the Prince saw these pretty offices they only added fuel +to the fire; and if before he wasted by ounces, he now melted away +by pounds, and he said to the Queen, "My lady mother, if I do not +give this bear a kiss, the breath will leave my body." Whereupon +the Queen, seeing him fainting away, said, "Kiss him, kiss him, my +beautiful beast! Let me not see my poor son die of longing!" Then +the bear went up to the Prince, and taking him by the cheeks, +kissed him again and again. Meanwhile (I know not how it was) +the piece of wood slipped out of Preziosa's mouth, and she +remained in the arms of the Prince, the most beautiful creature in +the world; and pressing her to his heart, he said, "I have caught +you, my little rogue! You shall not escape from me again without a +good reason." At these words Preziosa, adding the colour of +modesty to the picture of her natural beauty, said to him, "I am +indeed in your hands--only guard me safely, and marry me when +you will." + +Then the Queen inquired who the beautiful maiden was, and what +had brought her to this savage life; and Preziosa related the whole +story of her misfortunes, at which the Queen, praising her as a +good and virtuous girl, told her son that she was content that +Preziosa should be his wife. Then the Prince, who desired nothing +else in life, forthwith pledged her his faith; and the mother giving +them her blessing, this happy marriage was celebrated with great +feasting and illuminations, and Preziosa experienced the truth of +the saying that-- + + "One who acts well may always expect good." + + + +XVI + +THE DOVE + +He who is born a prince should not act like a beggar boy. The man +who is high in rank ought not to set a bad example to those below +him; for the little donkey learns from the big one to eat straw. It is +no wonder, therefore, that Heaven sends him troubles by +bushels--as happened to a prince who was brought into great +difficulties for ill-treating and tormenting a poor woman, so that he +was near losing his life miserably. + +About eight miles from Naples there was once a deep wood of +fig-trees and poplars. In this wood stood a half-ruined cottage, +wherein dwelt an old woman, who was as light of teeth as she was +burdened with years. She had a hundred wrinkles in her face, and a +great many more in her purse, and all her silver covered her head, +so that she went from one thatched cottage to another, begging +alms to keep life in her. But as folks nowadays much rather give a +purseful of crowns to a crafty spy than a farthing to a poor needy +man, she had to toil a whole day to get a dish of kidney-beans, and +that at a time when they were very plentiful. Now one day the poor +old woman, after having washed the beans, put them in a pot, +placed it outside the window, and went on her way to the wood to +gather sticks for the fire. But while she was away, Nardo Aniello, +the King's son, passed by the cottage on his way to the chase; and, +seeing the pot at the window, he took a great fancy to have a fling +at it; and he made a bet with his attendants to see who should fling +the straightest and hit in the middle with a stone. Then they began +to throw at the innocent pot; and in three or four casts the prince +hit it to a hair and won the bet. + +The old woman returned just after they had gone away, and seeing +the sad disaster, she began to act as if she were beside herself, +crying, "Ay, let him stretch out his arm and go about boasting how +he has broken this pot! The villainous rascal who has sown my +beans out of season. If he had no compassion for my misery, he +should have had some regard for his own interest; for I pray +Heaven, on my bare knees and from the bottom of my soul, that he +may fall in love with the daughter of some ogress, who may plague +and torment him in every way. May his mother-in-law lay on him +such a curse that he may see himself living and yet bewail himself +as dead; and being spellbound by the beauty of the daughter, and +the arts of the mother, may he never be able to escape, but be +obliged to remain. May she order him about with a cudgel in her +hand, and give him bread with a little fork, that he may have good +cause to lament over my beans which he has spilt on the ground." +The old woman's curses took wing and flew up to Heaven in a +trice; so that, notwithstanding what a proverb says, "for a woman's +curse you are never the worse, and the coat of a horse that has been +cursed always shines," she rated the Prince so soundly that he +well-nigh jumped out of his skin. + +Scarcely had two hours passed when the Prince, losing himself in +the wood and parted from his attendants, met a beautiful maiden, +who was going along picking up snails and saying with a +laugh-- + + "Snail, snail, put out your horn, + Your mother is laughing you to scorn, + For she has a little son just born." + +When the Prince saw this beautiful apparition he knew not what +had befallen him; and, as the beams from the eyes of that crystal +face fell upon the tinder of his heart, he was all in a flame, so that +he became a lime-kiln wherein the stones of designs were burnt to +build the houses of hopes. + +Now Filadoro (for so the maiden was named) was no wiser than +other people; and the Prince, being a smart young fellow with +handsome moustachios, pierced her heart through and through, so +that they stood looking at one another for compassion with their +eyes, which proclaimed aloud the secret of their souls. After they +had both remained thus for a long time, unable to utter a single +word, the Prince at last, finding his voice, addressed Filadoro thus, +"From what meadow has this flower of beauty sprung? From what +mine has this treasure of beauteous things come to light? O happy +woods, O fortunate groves, which this nobility inhabits, which this +illumination of the festivals of love irradiates." + +"Kiss this hand, my lord," answered Filadoro, "not so much +modesty; for all the praise that you have bestowed on me belongs +to your virtues, not to my merits. Such as I am, handsome or ugly, +fat or thin, a witch or a fairy, I am wholly at your command; for +your manly form has captivated my heart, your princely mien has +pierced me through from side to side, and from this moment I give +myself up to you for ever as a chained slave." + +At these words the Prince seized at once her hand, kissing the +ivory hook that had caught his heart. At this ceremony of the +prince, Filadoro's face grew as red as scarlet. But the more Nardo +Aniello wished to continue speaking, the more his tongue seemed +tied; for in this wretched life there is no wine of enjoyment +without dregs of vexation. And just at this moment Filadoro's +mother suddenly appeared, who was such an ugly ogress that +Nature seemed to have formed her as a model of horrors. Her hair +was like a besom of holly; her forehead like a rough stone; her +eyes were comets that predicted all sorts of evils; her mouth had +tusks like a boar's--in short, from head to foot she was ugly beyond +imagination. Now she seized Nardo Aniello by the nape of his +neck, saying, "Hollo! what now, you thief! you rogue!" + +"Yourself the rogue," replied the Prince, "back with you, old hag!" +And he was just going to draw his sword, when all at once he stood +fixed like a sheep that has seen the wolf and can neither stir nor +utter a sound, so that the ogress led him like an ass by the halter to +her house. And when they came there she said to him, "Mind, now, +and work like a dog, unless you wish to die like a dog. For your +first task to-day you must have this acre of land dug and sown +level as this room; and recollect that if I return in the evening and +do not find the work finished, I shall eat you up." Then, bidding +her daughter take care of the house, she went to a meeting of the +other ogresses in the wood. + +Nardo Aniello, seeing himself in this dilemma, began to bathe his +breast with tears, cursing his fate which brought him to this pass. +But Filadoro comforted him, bidding him be of good heart, for she +would ever risk her life to assist him. She said that she ought not to +lament his fate which had led him to the house where she lived, +who loved him so dearly, and that he showed little return for her +love by being so despairing at what had happened. The Prince +replied: "I am not grieved at having exchanged the royal palace for +this hovel; splendid banquets for a crust of bread; a sceptre for a +spade; not at seeing myself, who have terrified armies, now +frightened by this hideous scarecrow; for I should deem all my +disasters good fortune to be with you and to gaze upon you with +these eyes. But what pains me to the heart is that I have to dig till +my hands are covered with hard skin--I whose fingers are so +delicate and soft as Barbary wool; and, what is still worse, I have +to do more than two oxen could get through in a day. If I do not +finish the task this evening your mother will eat me up; yet I +should not grieve so much to quit this wretched body as to be +parted from so beautiful a creature." + +So saying he heaved sighs by bushels, and shed many tears. But +Filadoro, drying his eyes, said to him, "Fear not that my mother +will touch a hair of your head. Trust to me and do not be afraid; for +you must know that I possess magical powers, and am able to +make cream set on water and to darken the sun. Be of good heart, +for by the evening the piece of land will be dug and sown without +any one stirring a hand." + +When Nardo Aniello heard this, he answered, "If you have magic +power, as you say, O beauty of the world, why do we not fly from +this country? For you shall live like a queen in my father's house." +And Filadoro replied, "A certain conjunction of the stars prevents +this, but the trouble will soon pass and we shall be happy." + +With these and a thousand other pleasant discourses the day +passed, and when the ogress came back she called to her daughter +from the road and said, "Filadoro, let down your hair," for as the +house had no staircase she always ascended by her daughter's +tresses. As soon as Filadoro heard her mother's voice she unbound +her hair and let fall her tresses, making a golden ladder to an iron +heart. Whereupon the old woman mounted up quickly, and ran into +the garden; but when she found it all dug and sown, she was beside +herself with amazement; for it seemed to her impossible that a +delicate lad should have accomplished such hard labour. + +But the next morning, hardly had the Sun gone out to warm +himself on account of the cold he had caught in the river of India, +than the ogress went down again, bidding Nardo Aniello take care +that in the evening she should find ready split six stacks of wood +which were in the cellar, with every log cleft into four pieces, or +otherwise she would cut him up like bacon and make a fry of him +for supper. + +On hearing this decree the poor Prince had liked to have died of +terror, and Filadoro, seeing him half dead and pale as ashes, said, +"Why! What a coward you are to be frightened at such a trifle." +"Do you think it a trifle," replied Nardo Aniello, "to split six +stacks of wood, with every log cleft into four pieces, between this +time and the evening? Alas, I shall sooner be cleft in halves myself +to fill the mouth of this horrid old woman." "Fear not," answered +Filadoro, "for without giving yourself any trouble the wood shall +all be split in good time. But meanwhile cheer up, if you love me, +and do not split my heart with such lamentations." + +Now when the Sun had shut up the shop of his rays, in order not to +sell light to the Shades, the old woman returned; and, bidding +Filadoro let down the usual ladder, she ascended, and finding the +wood already split she began to suspect it was her own daughter +who had given her this check. At the third day, in order to make a +third trial, she told the Prince to clean out for her a cistern which +held a thousand casks of water, for she wished to fill it anew, +adding that if the task were not finished by the evening she would +make mincemeat of him. When the old woman went away Nardo +Aniello began again to weep and wail; and Filadoro, seeing that +the labours increased, and that the old woman had something of +the brute in her to burden the poor fellow with such tasks and +troubles, said to him, "Be quiet, and as soon as the moment has +passed that interrupts my art, before the Sun says I am off,' we +will say good-bye to this house; sure enough, this evening my +mother shall find the land cleared, and I will go off with you, alive +or dead." The Prince, on hearing this news, embraced Filadoro and +said, "Thou art the pole-star of this storm-tossed bark, my soul! +Thou art the prop of my hopes." + +Now, when the evening drew nigh, Filadoro having dug a hole in +the garden into a large underground passage, they went out and +took the way to Naples. But when they arrived at the grotto of +Pozzuolo, Nardo Aniello said to Filadoro, "It will never do for me +to take you to the palace on foot and dressed in this manner. +Therefore wait at this inn and I will soon return with horses, +carriages, servants, and clothes." So Filadoro stayed behind and +the Prince went on his way to the city. Meantime the ogress +returned home, and as Filadoro did not answer to her usual +summons, she grew suspicious, ran into the wood, and cutting a +great, long pole, placed it against the window and climbed up like +a cat. Then she went into the house and hunted everywhere inside +and out, high and low, but found no one. At last she perceived the +hole, and seeing that it led into the open air, in her rage she did not +leave a hair upon her head, cursing her daughter and the Prince, +and praying that at the first kiss Filadoro's lover should receive he +might forget her. + +But let us leave the old woman to say her wicked curses and return +to the Prince, who on arriving at the palace, where he was thought +to be dead, put the whole house in an uproar, every one running to +meet him and crying, "Welcome! welcome! Here he is, safe and +sound, how happy we are to see him back in this country," with a +thousand other words of affection. But as he was going up the +stairs his mother met him half-way and embraced and kissed him, +saying, "My son, my jewel, the apple of my eye, where have you +been and why have you stayed away so long to make us all die +with anxiety?" The Prince knew not what to answer, for he did not +wish to tell her of his misfortunes; but no sooner had his mother +kissed him than, owing to the curse, all that had passed went from +his memory. Then the Queen told her son that to put an end to his +going hunting and wasting his time in the woods, she wished him +to get married. "Well and good," replied the Prince, "I am ready +and prepared to do what you desire." So it was settled that within +four days they should lead home to him the bride who had just +arrived from the country of Flanders; and thereupon a great +feasting and banquets were held. + +But meanwhile Filadoro, seeing that her husband stayed away so +long and hearing (I know not how) of the feast, waited in the +evening till the servant-lad of the inn had gone to bed, and taking +his clothes from the head of the bed, she left her own in their +place, and disguising herself like a man, went to the court of the +king, where the cooks, being in want of help, took her as kitchen +boy. When the tables were set out and the guests all took their +seats, and the dishes were set down and the carver was cutting up a +large English pie which Filadoro had made with her own hands, lo, +out flew such a beautiful dove that the guests in their +astonishment, forgetting to eat, fell to admiring the pretty bird, +which said to the Prince in a piteous voice, "Have you so soon +forgotten the love of Filadoro, and have all the services you +received from her, ungrateful man, gone from your memory? Is it +thus you repay the benefits she has done you: she who took you out +of the claws of the ogress and gave you life and herself too? Woe +to the woman who trusts too much to the words of man, who ever +requites kindness with ingratitude, and pays debts with +forgetfulness. But go, forget your promises, false man. And may +the curses follow you which the unhappy maiden sends you from +the bottom of her heart. But if the gods have not locked up their +ears they will witness the wrong you have done her, and when you +least expect it the lightning and thunder, fever and illness, will +come to you. Enough, eat and drink, take your sports, for unhappy +Filadoro, deceived and forsaken, will leave you the field open to +make merry with your new wife." So saying, the dove flew away +quickly and vanished like the wind. The Prince, hearing the +murmuring of the dove, stood for a while stupefied. At length, he +inquired whence the pie came, and when the carver told him that a +scullion boy who had been taken to assist in the kitchen had made +it, he ordered him to be brought into the room. Then Filadoro, +throwing herself at the feet of Nardo Aniello, shedding a torrent of +tears, said merely, "What have I done to you?" Whereupon the +Prince at once recalled to mind the engagement he had made with +her; and, instantly raising her up, seated her by his side, and when +he related to his mother the great obligation he was under to this +beautiful maiden and all that she had done for him, and how it was +necessary that the promise he had given should be fulfilled, his +mother, who had no other joy in life than her son, said to him, "Do +as you please, so that you offend not this lady whom I have given +you to wife." "Be not troubled," said the lady, "for, to tell the +truth, I am very loth to remain in this country; with your kind +permission I wish to return to my dear Flanders." Thereupon the +Prince with great joy offered her a vessel and attendants; and, +ordering Filadoro to be dressed like a Princess, when the tables +were removed, the musicians came and they began the ball which +lasted until evening. + +So the feast being now ended, they all betook themselves to rest, +and the Prince and Filadoro lived happily ever after, proving the +truth of the proverb that-- + + "He who stumbles and does not fall, + Is helped on his way like a rolling ball." + + + +XVII + +CANNETELLA + +It is an evil thing to seek for better than wheaten bread, for a man +comes at last to desire what others throw away, and must content +himself with honesty. He who loses all and walks on the tops of +the trees has as much madness in his head as danger under his feet, +as was the case with the daughter of a King whose story I have +now to tell you. + +There was once on a time a King of High-Hill who longed for +children more than the porters do for a funeral that they may +gather wax. And at last his wife presented him with a little girl, to +whom he gave the name Cannetella. + +The child grew by hands, and when she was as tall as a pole the +King said to her, "My daughter, you are now grown as big as an +oak, and it is full time to provide you with a husband worthy of +that pretty face. Since, therefore, I love you as my own life and +desire to please you, tell me, I pray, what sort of a husband you +would like, what kind of a man would suit your fancy? Will you +have him a scholar or a dunce? a boy, or man in years? brown or +fair or ruddy? tall as a maypole or short as a peg? small in the +waist or round as an ox? Do you choose, and I am satisfied." + +Cannetella thanked her father for these generous offers, but told +him that she would on no account encumber herself with a +husband. However, being urged by the King again and again, she +said, "Not to show myself ungrateful for so much love I am willing +to comply with your wish, provided I have such a husband that he +has no like in the world." + +Her father, delighted beyond measure at hearing this, took his +station at the window from morning till evening, looking out and +surveying, measuring and examining every one that passed along +the street. And one day, seeing a good-looking man go by, the King +said to his daughter, "Run, Cannetella! see if yon man comes up to +the measure of your wishes." Then she desired him to be brought +up, and they made a most splendid banquet for him, at which there +was everything he could desire. And as they were feasting an +almond fell out of the youth's mouth, whereupon, stooping down, +he picked it up dexterously from the ground and put it under the +cloth, and when they had done eating he went away. Then the King +said to Cannetella, "Well, my life, how does this youth please +you?" "Take the fellow away," said she; "a man so tall and so big +as he should never have let an almond drop out of his mouth." + +When the King heard this he returned to his place at the window, +and presently, seeing another well-shaped youth pass by, he called +his daughter to hear whether this one pleased her. Then Cannetella +desired him to be shown up; so he was called, and another +entertainment made. And when they had done eating, and the man +had gone away, the King asked his daughter whether he had +pleased her, whereupon she replied, "What in the world should I +do with such a miserable fellow who wants at least a couple of +servants with him to take off his cloak?" + +"If that be the case," said the King, "it is plain that these are +merely excuses, and that you are only looking for pretexts to refuse +me this pleasure. So resolve quickly, for I am determined to have +you married." To these angry words Cannetella replied, "To tell +you the truth plainly, dear father, I really feel that you are digging +in the sea and making a wrong reckoning on your fingers. I will +never subject myself to any man who has not a golden head and +teeth." The poor King, seeing his daughter's head thus turned, +issued a proclamation, bidding any one in his kingdom who should +answer to Cannetella's wishes to appear, and he would give him +his daughter and the kingdom. + +Now this King had a mortal enemy named Fioravante, whom he +could not bear to see so much as painted on a wall. He, when he +heard of this proclamation, being a cunning magician, called a +parcel of that evil brood to him, and commanded them forthwith to +make his head and teeth of gold. So they did as he desired, and +when he saw himself with a head and teeth of pure gold he walked +past under the window of the King, who, when he saw the very +man he was looking for, called his daughter. As soon as Cannetella +set eyes upon him she cried out, "Ay, that is he! he could not be +better if I had kneaded him with my own hands." + +When Fioravante was getting up to go away the King said to him, +"Wait a little, brother; why in such a hurry! One would think you +had quicksilver in your body! Fair and softly, I will give you my +daughter and baggage and servants to accompany you, for I wish +her to be your wife." + +"I thank you," said Fioravante, "but there is no necessity; a single +horse is enough if the beast will carry double, for at home I have +servants and goods as many as the sands on the sea-shore." So, +after arguing awhile, Fioravante at last prevailed, and, placing +Cannetella behind him on a horse, he set out. + +In the evening, when the red horses are taken away from the +corn-mill of the sky and white oxen are yoked in their place, they +came to a stable where some horses were feeding. Fioravante led +Cannetella into it and said, "Listen! I have to make a journey to my +own house, and it will take me seven years to get there. Mind, +therefore, and wait for me in this stable and do not stir out, nor let +yourself be seen by any living person, or else I will make you +remember it as long as you live." Cannetella replied, "You are my +lord and master, and I will carry out your commands exactly, but +tell me what you will leave me to live upon in the meantime." And +Fioravante answered, "What the horses leave of their own corn +will be enough for you." + +Only conceive how poor Cannetella now felt, and guess whether +she did not curse the hour and moment she was born! Cold and +frozen, she made up in tears what she wanted in food, bewailing +her fate which had brought her down from a royal palace to a +stable, from mattresses of Barbary wool to straw, from nice, +delicate morsels to the leavings of horses. And she led this +miserable life for several months, during which time corn was +given to the horses by an unseen hand, and what they left +supported her. + +But at the end of this time, as she was standing one day looking +through a hole, she saw a most beautiful garden, in which there +were so many espaliers of lemons, and grottoes of citron, beds of +flowers and fruit-trees and trellises of vines, that it was a joy to +behold. At this sight a great longing seized her for a great bunch of +grapes that caught her eye, and she said to herself, "Come what +will and if the sky fall, I will go out silently and softly and pluck it. +What will it matter a hundred years hence? Who is there to tell my +husband? And should he by chance hear of it, what will he do to +me? Moreover, these grapes are none of the common sort." So +saying, she went out and refreshed her spirits, which were +weakened by hunger. + +A little while after, and before the appointed time, her husband +came back, and one of his horses accused Cannetella of having +taken the grapes. Whereat, Fioravante in a rage, drawing his knife, +was about to kill her, but, falling on her knees, she besought him to +stay his hand, since hunger drives the wolf from the wood. And she +begged so hard that Fioravante replied, "I forgive you this time, +and grant you your life out of charity, but if ever again you are +tempted to disobey me, and I find that you have let the sun see +you, I will make mincemeat of you. Now, mind me; I am going +away once more, and shall be gone seven years. So take care and +plough straight, for you will not escape so easily again, but I shall +pay you off the new and the old scores together." + +So saying, he departed, and Cannetella shed a river of tears, and, +wringing her hands, beating her breast, and tearing her hair, she +cried, "Oh, that ever I was born into the world to be destined to +this wretched fate! Oh, father, why have you ruined me? But why +do I complain of my father when I have brought this ill upon +myself? I alone am the cause of my misfortunes. I wished for a +head of gold, only to come to grief and die by iron! This is the +punishment of Fate, for I ought to have done my father's will, and +not have had such whims and fancies. He who minds not what his +father and mother say goes a road he does not know." And so she +lamented every day, until her eyes became two fountains, and her +face was so thin and sallow, that her own father would not have +known her. + +At the end of a year the King's locksmith, whom Cannetella knew, +happening to pass by the stable, she called to him and went out. +The smith heard his name, but did not recognise the poor girl, who +was so much altered; but when he knew who she was, and how she +had become thus changed, partly out of pity and partly to gain the +King's favour, he put her into an empty cask he had with him on a +pack-horse, and, trotting off towards High-Hill, he arrived at +midnight at the King's palace. Then he knocked at the door, and at +first the servants would not let him in, but roundly abused him for +coming at such an hour to disturb the sleep of the whole house. +The King, however, hearing the uproar, and being told by a +chamberlain what was the matter, ordered the smith to be instantly +admitted, for he knew that something unusual must have made him +come at that hour. Then the smith, unloading his beast, knocked +out the head of the cask, and forth came Cannetella, who needed +more than words to make her father recognise her, and had it not +been for a mole on her arm she might well have been dismissed. +But as soon as he was assured of the truth he embraced and kissed +her a thousand times. Then he instantly commanded a warm bath +to be got ready; when she was washed from head to foot, and had +dressed herself, he ordered food to be brought, for she was faint +with hunger. Then her father said to her, "Who would ever have +told me, my child, that I should see you in this plight? Who has +brought you to this sad condition?" And she answered, "Alas, my +dear sire, that Barbary Turk has made me lead the life of a dog, so +that I was nearly at death's door again and again. I cannot tell you +what I have suffered, but, now that I am here, never more will I stir +from your feet. Rather will I be a servant in your house than a +queen in another. Rather will I wear sackcloth where you are than +a golden mantle away from you. Rather will I turn a spit in your +kitchen than hold a sceptre under the canopy of another." + +Meanwhile Fioravante, returning home, was told by the horses that +the locksmith had carried off Cannetella in the cask, on hearing +which, burning with shame, and all on fire with rage, off he ran +towards High-Hill, and, meeting an old woman who lived opposite +to the palace, he said to her, "What will you charge, good mother, +to let me see the King's daughter?" Then she asked a hundred +ducats, and Fioravante, putting his hand in his purse, instantly +counted them out, one a-top of the other. Thereupon the old +woman took him up on the roof, where he saw Cannetella drying +her hair on a balcony. But--just as if her heart had whispered to +her--the maiden turned that way and saw the knave. She rushed +downstairs and ran to her father, crying out, "My lord, if you do +not this very instant make me a chamber with seven iron doors I +am lost and undone!" + +"I will not lose you for such a trifle," said her father; "I would +pluck out an eye to gratify such a dear daughter!" So, no sooner +said than done, the doors were instantly made. + +When Fioravante heard of this he went again to the old woman and +said to her, "What shall I give you now? Go to the King's house, +under pretext of selling pots of rouge, and make your way to the +chamber of the King's daughter. When you are there contrive to +slip this little piece of paper between the bed-clothes, saying, in an +undertone, as you place it there-- + + Let every one now soundly sleep, + But Cannetella awake shall keep." + +So the old woman agreed for another hundred ducats, and she +served him faithfully. + +Now, as soon as she had done this trick, such a sound sleep fell on +the people of the house that they seemed as if they all were dead. +Cannetella alone remained awake, and when she heard the doors +bursting open she began to cry aloud as if she were burnt, but no +one heard her, and there was no one to run to her aid. So +Fioravante threw down all the seven doors, and, entering her room, +seized up Cannetella, bed-clothes and all, to carry her off. But, as +luck would have it, the paper the old woman had put there fell on +the ground, and the spell was broken. All the people of the house +awoke, and, hearing Cannetella's cries, they ran--cats, dogs, and +all--and, laying hold on the ogre, quickly cut him in pieces like a +pickled tunny. Thus he was caught in the trap he had laid for poor +Cannetella, learning to his cost that-- + + "No one suffereth greater pain + Than he who by his own sword is slain." + + + +XVIII + +CORVETTO + +I once heard say that Juno went to Candia to find Falsehood. But if +any one were to ask me where fraud and hypocrisy might truly be +found, I should know of no other place to name than the Court, +where detraction always wears the mask of amusement; where, at +the same time, people cut and sew up, wound and heal, break and +glue together--of which I will give you one instance in the story +that I am going to tell you. + +There was once upon a time in the service of the King of +Wide-River an excellent youth named Corvetto, who, for his good +conduct, was beloved by his master; and for this very cause was +disliked and hated by all the courtiers. These courtiers were filled +with spite and malice, and bursting with envy at the kindness +which the King showed to Corvetto; so that all day long, in every +corner of the palace, they did nothing but tattle and whisper, +murmur and grumble at the poor lad, saying, "What sorcery has +this fellow practised on the King that he takes such a fancy to him? +How comes he by this luck that not a day passes that he receives +some new favours, whilst we are for ever going backward like a +rope-maker, and getting from bad to worse, though we slave like +dogs, toil like field-labourers, and run about like deer to hit the +King's pleasure to a hair? Truly one must be born to good fortune +in this world, and he who has not luck might as well be thrown +into the sea. What is to be done? We can only look on and envy." +These and other words fell from their mouths like poisoned arrows +aimed at the ruin of Corvetto as at a target. Alas for him who is +condemned to that den the Court, where flattery is sold by the +kilderkin, malignity and ill-offices are measured out in bushels, +deceit and treachery are weighed by the ton! But who can count all +the attempts these courtiers made to bring him to grief, or the false +tales that they told to the King to destroy his reputation! But +Corvetto, who was enchanted, and perceived the traps, and +discovered the tricks, was aware of all the intrigues and the +ambuscades, the plots and conspiracies of his enemies. He kept his +ears always on the alert and his eyes open in order not to take a +false step, well knowing that the fortune of courtiers is as glass. +But the higher the lad continued to rise the lower the others fell; +till at last, being puzzled to know how to take him off his feet, as +their slander was not believed, they thought of leading him to +disaster by the path of flattery, which they attempted in the +following manner. + +Ten miles distant from Scotland, where the seat of this King was, +there dwelt an ogre, the most inhuman and savage that had ever +been in Ogreland, who, being persecuted by the King, had fortified +himself in a lonesome wood on the top of a mountain, where no +bird ever flew, and was so thick and tangled that one could never +see the sun there. This ogre had a most beautiful horse, which +looked as if it were formed with a pencil; and amongst other +wonderful things, it could speak like any man. Now the courtiers, +who knew how wicked the ogre was, how thick the wood, how +high the mountain, and how difficult it was to get at the horse, +went to the King, and telling him minutely the perfections of the +animal, which was a thing worthy of a King, added that he ought to +endeavour by all means to get it out of the ogre's claws, and that +Corvetto was just the lad to do this, as he was expert and clever at +escaping out of the fire. The King, who knew not that under the +flowers of these words a serpent was concealed, instantly called +Corvetto, and said to him, "If you love me, see that in some way or +another you obtain for me the horse of my enemy the ogre, and you +shall have no cause to regret having done me this service." + +Corvetto knew well that this drum was sounded by those who +wished him ill; nevertheless, to obey the King, he set out and took +the road to the mountain. Then going very quietly to the ogre's +stable, he saddled and mounted the horse, and fixing his feet +firmly in the stirrup, took his way back. But as soon as the horse +saw himself spurred out of the palace, he cried aloud, "Hollo! be +on your guard! Corvetto is riding off with me." At this alarm the +ogre instantly set out, with all the animals that served him, to cut +Corvetto in pieces. From this side jumped an ape, from that was +seen a large bear; here sprang forth a lion, there came running a +wolf. But the youth, by the aid of bridle and spur, distanced the +mountain, and galloping without stop to the city, arrived at the +Court, where he presented the horse to the King. + +Then the King embraced him more than a son, and pulling out his +purse, filled his hands with crown-pieces. At this the rage of the +courtiers knew no bounds; and whereas at first they were puffed up +with a little pipe, they were now bursting with the blasts of a +smith's bellows, seeing that the crowbars with which they thought +to lay Corvetto's good fortune in ruins only served to smooth the +road to his prosperity. Knowing, however, that walls are not +levelled by the first attack of the battering-ram, they resolved to try +their luck a second time, and said to the King, "We wish you joy of +the beautiful horse! It will indeed be an ornament to the royal +stable. But what a pity you have not the ogre's tapestry, which is a +thing more beautiful than words can tell, and would spread your +fame far and wide! There is no one, however, able to procure this +treasure but Corvetto, who is just the lad to do such a kind of +service." + +Then the King, who danced to every tune, and ate only the peel of +this bitter but sugared fruit, called Corvetto, and begged him to +procure for him the ogre's tapestry. Off went Corvetto and in four +seconds was on the top of the mountain where the ogre lived; then +passing unseen into the chamber in which he slept, he hid himself +under the bed, and waited as still as a mouse, until Night, to make +the Stars laugh, puts a carnival-mask on the face of the Sky. And +as soon as the ogre and his wife were gone to bed, Corvetto +stripped the walls of the chamber very quietly, and wishing to steal +the counterpane of the bed likewise, he began to pull it gently. +Thereupon the ogre, suddenly starting up, told his wife not to pull +so, for she was dragging all the clothes off him, and would give +him his death of cold. + +"Why you are uncovering me!" answered the ogress. + +"Where is the counterpane?" replied the ogre; and stretching out +his hand to the floor he touched Corvetto's face; whereupon he set +up a loud cry,--"The imp! the imp! Hollo, here, lights! Run +quickly!"--till the whole house was turned topsy-turvy with the +noise. But Corvetto, after throwing the clothes out of the window, +let himself drop down upon them. Then making up a good bundle, +he set out on the road to the city, where the reception he met with +from the King, and the vexation of the courtiers, who were +bursting with spite, are not to be told. Nevertheless they laid a plan +to fall upon Corvetto with the rear-guard of their roguery, and went +again to the King, who was almost beside himself with delight at +the tapestry--which was not only of silk embroidered with gold, +but had besides more than a thousand devices and thoughts worked +on it. And amongst the rest, if I remember right, there was a cock +in the act of crowing at daybreak, and out of its mouth was seen +coming a motto in Tuscan: IF I ONLY SEE YOU. And in another +part a drooping heliotrope with a Tuscan motto: AT +SUNSET--with so many other pretty things that it would require a +better memory and more time than I have to relate them. + +When the courtiers came to the King, who was thus transported +with joy, they said to him, "As Corvetto has done so much to serve +you, it would be no great matter for him, in order to give you a +signal pleasure, to get the ogre's palace, which is fit for an +emperor to live in; for it has so many rooms and chambers, inside +and out, that it can hold an army. And you would never believe all +the courtyards, porticoes, colonnades, balconies, and spiral +chimneys which there are--built with such marvellous architecture +that Art prides herself upon them, Nature is abashed, and Stupor is +in delight." + +The King, who had a fruitful brain which conceived quickly, +called Corvetto again, and telling him the great longing that had +seized him for the ogre's palace, begged him to add this service to +all the others he had done him, promising to score it up with the +chalk of gratitude at the tavern of memory. So Corvetto instantly +set out heels over head; and arriving at the ogre's palace, he found +that the ogress, whilst her husband was gone to invite the kinsfolk, +was busying herself with preparing the feast. Then Corvetto +entering, with a look of compassion, said, "Good-day, my good +woman! Truly, you are a brave housewife! But why do you torment +the very life out of you in this way? Only yesterday you were ill in +bed, and now you are slaving thus, and have no pity on your own +flesh." + +"What would you have me do?" replied the ogress. "I have no one +to help me." + +"I am here," answered Corvetto, "ready to help you tooth and +nail." + +"Welcome, then!" said the ogress; "and as you proffer me so much +kindness, just help me to split four logs of wood." + +"With all my heart," answered Corvetto, "but if four logs are not +enow, let me split five." And taking up a newly-ground axe, +instead of striking the wood, he struck the ogress on the neck, and +made her fall to the ground like a pear. Then running quickly to +the gate, he dug a deep hole before the entrance, and covering it +over with bushes and earth, he hid himself behind the gate. + +As soon as Corvetto saw the ogre coming with his kinsfolk, he set +up a loud cry in the courtyard, "Stop, stop! I've caught him!" and +"Long live the King of Wide-River." When the ogre heard this +challenge, he ran like mad at Corvetto, to make a hash of him. But +rushing furiously towards the gate, down he tumbled with all his +companions, head over heels to the bottom of the pit, where +Corvetto speedily stoned them to death. Then he shut the door, and +took the keys to the King, who, seeing the valour and cleverness of +the lad, in spite of ill-fortune and the envy and annoyance of the +courtiers, gave him his daughter to wife; so that the crosses of +envy had proved rollers to launch Corvetto's bark of life on the sea +of greatness; whilst his enemies remained confounded and bursting +with rage, and went to bed without a candle; for-- + + "The punishment of ill deeds past, + Though long delay'd, yet comes at last." + + + +XIX + +THE BOOBY + +An ignorant man who associates with clever people has always +been more praised than a wise man who keeps the company of +fools; for as much profit and fame as one may gain from the +former, so much wealth and honour one may lose by the fault of +the latter; and as the proof of the pudding is in the eating, you will +know from the story which I am going to tell you whether my +proposition be true. + +There was once a man who was as rich as the sea, but as there can +never be any perfect happiness in this world, he had a son so idle +and good-for-nothing that he could not tell a bean from a +cucumber. So being unable any longer to put up with his folly, he +gave him a good handful of crowns, and sent him to trade in the +Levant; for he well knew that seeing various countries and mixing +with divers people awaken the genius and sharpen the judgment, +and make men expert. + +Moscione (for that was the name of the son) got on horseback, and +began his journey towards Venice, the arsenal of the wonders of +the world, to embark on board some vessel bound for Cairo; and +when he had travelled a good day's journey, he met with a person +who was standing fixed at the foot of a poplar, to whom he said, +"What is your name, my lad? Whence are you, and what is your +trade?" And the lad replied, "My name is Lightning; I am from +Arrowland, and I can run like the wind." "I should like to see a +proof of it," said Moscione; and Lightning answered, "Wait a +moment, and you will see whether it is dust or flour." + +When they had stood waiting a little while, a doe came bounding +over the plain, and Lightning, letting her pass on some way, to give +her the more law, darted after her so rapidly and light of foot, that +he would have gone over a place covered with flour without +leaving the mark of his shoe, and in four bounds he came up with +her. Moscione, amazed at this exploit, asked if he would come and +live with him, and promised to pay him royally. + +So Lightning consented, and they went on their way together; but +they had not journeyed many miles when they met another youth, +to whom Moscione said, "What is your name, comrade? What +country are you from? And what is your trade?" "My name," +replied the lad, "is Quick-ear; I am from Vale-Curious; and when I +put my ear the ground I hear all that is passing in the world without +stirring from the spot. I perceive the monopolies and agreements +of tradespeople to raise the prices of things, the ill-offices of +courtiers, the appointments of lovers, the plots of robbers, the +reports of spies, the complaints of servants, the gossiping of old +women, and the oaths of sailors; so that no one has ever been able +to discover so much as my ears can." + +"If that be true," said Moscione, "tell me what they are now saying +at my home." + +So the lad put his ear to the ground, and replied, "An old man is +talking to his wife, and saying, Praised be Sol in Leo! I have got +rid from my sight of that fellow Moscione, that face of +old-fashioned crockery, that nail in my heart. By travelling through +the world he will at least become a man, and no longer be such a +stupid ass, such a simpleton, such a lose-the-day fellow, +such a ---'" + +"Stop, stop!" cried Moscione, "you tell the truth and I believe you. +So come along with me, for you have found the road to +good-luck." + +"Well and good!" said the youth. So they all went on together and +travelled ten miles farther, when they met another man, to whom +Moscione said, "What is your name, my brave fellow? Where were +you born? And what can you do in the world?" And the man +answered, "My name is Shoot-straight; I am from Castle Aimwell; +and I can shoot with a crossbow so point-blank as to hit a +crab-apple in the middle." + +"I should like to see the proof," said Moscione. So the lad charged +his crossbow, took aim, and made a pea leap from the top of a +stone; whereupon Moscione took him also like the others into his +company. And they travelled on another day's journey, till they +came to some people who were building a large pier in the +scorching heat of the sun, and who might well say, "Boy, put water +to the wine, for my heart is burning." So Moscione had +compassion on them, and said, "My masters, how is it you have the +head to stand in this furnace, which is fit to roast a buffalo?" And +one of them answered, "Oh, we are as cool as a rose; for we have a +young man here who blows upon us from behind in such a manner +that it seems just as if the west wind were blowing." "Let me see +him, I pray," cried Moscione. So the mason called the lad, and +Moscione said to him, "Tell me, by the life of your father, what is +your name? what country are you from? and what is your +profession!" And the lad replied, "My name is Blow-blast; I am +from Windy-land; and I can make all the winds with my mouth. If +you wish for a zephyr, I will breathe one that will send you in +transports; if you wish for a squall, I will throw down houses." + +"Seeing is believing," said Moscione. Whereupon +Blow-blast breathed at first quite gently, so that it seemed to be the +wind that blows at Posilippo towards evening; then turning +suddenly to some trees, he sent forth such a furious blast that it +uprooted a row of oaks. + +When Moscione saw this he took him for a companion; and +travelling on as far again, he met another lad, to whom he said, +"What is your name, if I may make so bold? Whence are you, if +one may ask? And what is your trade, if it is a fair question?" And +the lad answered, "My name is Strong-back; I am from Valentino; +and I have such strength that I can take a mountain on my back, +and it seems to me only a feather." + +"If that be the case," said Moscione, "you deserve to be the king of +the custom-house, and you should be chosen for standard-bearer +on the first of May. But I should like to see a proof of what you +say." + +Then Strong-back began to load himself with masses of rock, +trunks of trees, and so many other weights that a thousand large +waggons could not have carried them; which, when Moscione saw, +he agreed with the lad to join him. + +So they travelled on till they came to Fair-Flower, the King of +which place had a daughter who ran like the wind, and could pass +over the waving corn without bending an ear; and the King had +issued a proclamation that whoever could over-take her in running +should have her to wife, but whoever was left behind should lose +his head. + +When Moscione arrived in this country and heard the +proclamation, he went straight to the King, and offered to run with +his daughter, making the wise agreement either to win the race or +leave his noddle there. But in the morning he sent to inform the +King that he was taken ill, and being unable to run himself he +would send another young man in his place. "Come who will!" +said Ciannetella (for that was the King's daughter), "I care not a +fig--it is all one to me." + +So when the great square was filled with people, come to see the +race, insomuch that the men swarmed like ants, and the windows +and roofs were all as full as an egg, Lightning came out and took +his station at the top of the square, waiting for the signal. And lo! +forth came Ciannetella, dressed in a little gown, tucked +half-way up her legs, and a neat and pretty little shoe with a single +sole. Then they placed themselves shoulder to shoulder, and as +soon as the tarantara and too-too of the trumpets was heard, off +they darted, running at such a rate that their heels touched their +shoulders, and in truth they seemed just like hares with the +grey-hounds after them, horses broken loose from the stable, or +dogs with kettles tied to their tails. But Lightning (as he was both +by name and nature) left the princess more than a +hand's-breadth behind him, and came first to the goal. Then you +should have heard the huzzaing and shouting, the cries and the +uproar, the whistling and clapping of hands of all the people, +bawling out, "Hurra! Long life to the stranger!" Whereat +Ciannetella's face turned as red as a schoolboy's who is going to +be whipped, and she stood lost in shame and confusion at seeing +herself vanquished. But as there were to be two heats to the race, +she fell to planning how to be revenged for this affront; and going +home, she put a charm into a ring of such power that if any one +had it upon his finger his legs would totter so that he would not be +able to walk, much less run; then she sent it as a present to +Lightning, begging him to wear it on his finger for love of her. + +Quick-ear, who heard this trick plotted between the father and +daughter, said nothing, and waited to see the upshot of the affair. +And when, at the trumpeting of the birds, the Sun whipped on the +Night, who sat mounted on the jackass of the Shades, they returned +to the field, where at the usual signal they fell to plying their heels. +But if Ciannetella was like another Atalanta, Lightning had +become no less like an old donkey and a foundered horse, for he +could not stir a step. But Shoot-straight, who saw his comrade's +danger, and heard from Quick-ear how matters stood, laid hold of +his crossbow and shot a bolt so exactly that it hit Lightning's +finger, and out flew the stone from the ring, in which the virtue of +the charm lay; whereupon his legs, that had been tied, were set +free, and with four goat-leaps he passed Ciannetella and won the +race. + +The King seeing this victory of a blockhead, the palm thus carried +off by a simpleton, the triumph of a fool, bethought himself +seriously whether or no he should give him his daughter; and +taking counsel with the wiseacres of his court, they replied that +Ciannetella was not a mouthful for the tooth of such a miserable +dog and lose-the-day bird, and that, without breaking his word, he +might commute the promise of his daughter for a gift of crowns, +which would be more to the taste of a poor beggar like Moscione +than all the women in the world. + +This advice pleased the King, and he asked Moscione how much +money he would take instead of the wife who had been promised +him. Then Moscione, after consulting with the others, answered, "I +will take as much gold and silver as one of my comrades can carry +on his back." The king consented; whereupon they brought +Strong-back, on whom they began to load bales of ducats, sacks of +patacas, large purses full of crowns, barrels of copper money, +chests full of chains and rings; but the more they loaded him the +firmer he stood, just like a tower, so that the treasury, the banks, +the usurers, and the money-dealers of the city did not suffice, and +he sent to all the great people in every direction to borrow their +silver candlesticks, basins, jugs, plates, trays, and baskets; and yet +all was not enough to make up the full load. At length they went +away, not laden but tired and satisfied. + +When the councillors saw what heaps and stores these six +miserable dogs were carrying off, they said to the King that it was +a great piece of assery to load them with all the sinews of his +kingdom, and that it would be well to send people after them to +lessen the load of that Atlas who was carrying on his shoulders a +heaven of treasure. The King gave ear to this advice, and +immediately despatched a party of armed men, foot and horse, to +overtake Moscione and his friends. But Quick-ear, who had heard +this counsel, informed his comrades; and while the dust was rising +to the sky from the trampling of those who were coming to unload +the rich cargo, Blow-blast, seeing that things were come to a bad +pass, began to blow at such a rate that he not only made the +enemies fall flat on the ground, but he sent them flying more than +a mile distant, as the north wind does the folks who pass through +that country. So without meeting any more hindrance, Moscione +arrived at his father's house, where he shared the booty with his +companions, since, as the saying goes, a good deed deserves a +good meed. So he sent them away content and happy; but he +stayed with his father, rich beyond measure, and saw himself a +simpleton laden with gold, not giving the lie to the +saying-- + + "Heaven sends biscuits to him who has no teeth." + + + +XX + +THE STONE IN THE COCK'S HEAD + + The robber's wife does not always laugh; he who weaves fraud +works his own ruin; there is no deceit which is not at last +discovered, no treachery that does not come to light; walls have +ears, and are spies to rogues; the earth gapes and discovers theft, as +I will prove to you if you pay attention. + +There was once in the city of Dark-Grotto a certain man named +Minecco Aniello, who was so persecuted by fortune that all his +fixtures and moveables consisted only of a short-legged cock, +which he had reared upon bread-crumbs. But one morning, being +pinched with appetite (for hunger drives the wolf from the thicket), +he took it into his head to sell the cock, and, taking it to the +market, he met two thievish magicians, with whom he made a +bargain, and sold it for half-a-crown. So they told him to take it to +their house, and they would count him out the money. Then the +magicians went their way, and, Minecco Aniello following them, +overheard them talking gibberish together and saying, "Who would +have told us that we should meet with such a piece of good luck, +Jennarone? This cock will make our fortune to a certainty by the +stone which, you know, he has in his pate. We will quickly have it +set in a ring, and then we shall have everything we can ask for." + +"Be quiet, Jacovuccio," answered Jennarone; "I see myself rich +and can hardly believe it, and I am longing to twist the cock's neck +and give a kick in the face of beggary, for in this world virtue +without money goes for nothing, and a man is judged of by his +coat." + +When Minecco Aniello, who had travelled about in the world and +eaten bread from more than one oven, heard this gibberish he +turned on his heel and scampered off. And, running home, he +twisted the cock's neck, and opening its head found the stone, +which he had instantly set in a brass ring. Then, to make a trial of +its virtue, he said, "I wish to become a youth eighteen years old." + +Hardly had he uttered the words when his blood began to flow +more quickly, his nerves became stronger, his limbs firmer, his +flesh fresher, his eyes more fiery, his silver hairs were turned into +gold, his mouth, which was a sacked village, became peopled with +teeth; his beard, which was as thick as a wood, became like a +nursery garden--in short, he was changed to a most beautiful youth. +Then he said again, "I wish for a splendid palace, and to marry the +King's daughter." And lo! there instantly appeared a palace of +incredible magnificence, in which were apartments that would +amaze you, columns to astound you, pictures to fill you with +wonder; silver glittered around, and gold was trodden underfoot; +the jewels dazzled your eyes; the servants swarmed like ants, the +horses and carriages were not to be counted--in short, there was +such a display of riches that the King stared at the sight, and +willingly gave him his daughter Natalizia. + +Meanwhile the magicians, having discovered Minecco Aniello's +great wealth, laid a plan to rob him of his good fortune, so they +made a pretty little doll which played and danced by means of +clockwork; and, dressing themselves like merchants, they went to +Pentella, the daughter of Minecco Aniello, under pretext of selling +it to her. When Pentella saw the beautiful little thing she asked +them what price they put upon it, and they replied that it was not to +be bought with money, but that she might have it and welcome if +she would only do them a favour, which was to let them see the +make of the ring which her father possessed, in order to take the +model and make another like it, then they would give her the doll +without any payment at all. + +Pentella, who had never heard the proverb, "Think well before you +buy anything cheap," instantly accepted this offer, and, bidding +them return the next morning, she promised to ask her father to +lend her the ring. So the magicians went away, and when her +father returned home Pentella coaxed and caressed him, until at +last she persuaded him to give her the ring, making the excuse that +she was sad at heart, and wished to divert her mind a little. + +When the next day came, as soon as the scavenger of the Sun +sweeps the last traces of the Shades from the streets and squares of +Heaven, the magicians returned, and no sooner had they the ring in +their hands than they instantly vanished, and not a trace of them +was to be seen, so that poor Pentella had like to have died with +terror. + +But when the magicians came to a wood, where the branches of +some of the trees were dancing the sword-dance, and the boughs of +the others were playing together at hot-cockles, they desired the +ring to destroy the spell by which the old man had become young +again. And instantly Minecco Aniello, who was just at that +moment in the presence of the King, was suddenly seen to grow +hoary, his hairs to whiten, his forehead to wrinkle, his eyebrows to +grow bristly, his eyes to sink in, his face to be furrowed, his mouth +to become toothless, his beard to grow bushy, his back to be +humped, his legs to tremble, and, above all, his glittering garments +to turn to rags and tatters. + +The King, seeing the miserable beggar seated beside him at table, +ordered him to be instantly driven away with blows and hard +words, whereupon Aniello, thus suddenly fallen from his good +luck, went weeping to his daughter, and asked for the ring in order +to set matters to rights again. But when he heard the fatal trick +played by the false merchants he was ready to throw himself out of +the window, cursing a thousand times the ignorance of his +daughter, who, for the sake of a silly doll had turned him into a +miserable scarecrow, and for a paltry thing of rags had brought +him to rags himself, adding that he was resolved to go wandering +about the world like a bad shilling, until he should get tidings of +those merchants. So saying he threw a cloak about his neck and a +wallet on his back, drew his sandals on his feet, took a staff in his +hand, and, leaving his daughter all chilled and frozen, he set out +walking desperately on and on until he arrived at the kingdom of +Deep-Hole, inhabited by the mice, where, being taken for a big spy +of the cats, he was instantly led before Rosecone, the King. Then +the King asked him who he was, whence he came, and what he +was about in that country; and Minecco Aniello, after first giving +the King a cheese-paring, in sign of tribute, related to him all his +misfortunes one by one, and concluded by saying that he was +resolved to continue his toil and travel, until he should get tidings +of those thievish villains who had robbed him of so precious a +jewel, taking from him at once the flower of his youth, the source +of his wealth, and the prop of his honour. + +At these words Rosecone felt pity nibbling at his heart, and, +wishing to comfort the poor man, he summoned the eldest mice to +a council, and asked their opinions on the misfortunes of Minecco +Aniello, commanding them to use all diligence and endeavour to +obtain some tidings of these false merchants. Now, among the rest, +it happened that Rudolo and Saltariello were present--mice who +were well used to the ways of the world, and had lived for six +years at a tavern of great resort hard by; and they said to Aniello, +"Be of good heart, comrade! matters will turn out better than you +imagine. You must know that one day, when we were in a room in +the hostelry of the Horn,' where the most famous men in the +world lodge and make merry, two persons from Hook Castle came +in, who, after they had eaten their fill and had seen the bottom of +their flagon, fell to talking of a trick they had played a certain old +man of Dark-Grotto, and how they had cheated him out of a stone +of great value, which one of them, named Jennarone, said he +would never take from his finger, that he might not run the risk of +losing it as the old man's daughter had done." + +When Minecco Aniello heard this, he told the two mice that if they +would trust themselves to accompany him to the country where +these rogues lived and recover the ring for him, he would give +them a good lot of cheese and salt meat, which they might eat and +enjoy with his majesty the King. Then the two mice, after +bargaining for a reward, offered to go over sea and mountain, and, +taking leave of his mousy majesty, they set out. + +After journeying a long way they arrived at Hook Castle, where the +mice told Minecco Aniello to remain under some trees on the +brink of a river, which like a leech drew the moisture from the +land and discharged it into the sea. Then they went to seek the +house of the magicians, and, observing that Jennarone never took +the ring from his finger, they sought to gain the victory by +stratagem. So, waiting till Night had dyed with purple +grape-juice the sunburnt face of Heaven, and the magicians had +gone to bed and were fast asleep, Rudolo began to nibble the +finger on which the ring was, whereupon Jennarone, feeling the +smart, took the ring off and laid it on a table at the head of the bed. +But as soon as Saltariello saw this, he popped the ring into his +mouth, and in four skips he was off to find Minecco Aniello, who, +with even greater joy than a man at the gallows feels when a +pardon arrives, instantly turned the magicians into two jackasses; +and, turning his mantle over one of them, he bestrode him like a +noble count, then he loaded the other with cheese and bacon, and +set off toward Deep-Hole, where, having given presents to the +King and his councillors, he thanked them for all the good fortune +he had received by their assistance, praying Heaven that no +mouse-trap might ever lay hold of them, that no cat might ever +harm them, and that no arsenic might ever poison them. + +Then, leaving that country, Minecco Aniello returned to +Dark-Grotto even more handsome than before, and was received +by the King and his daughter with the greatest affection in the +world. And, having ordered the two asses to be cast down from a +rock, he lived happily with his wife, never more taking the ring +from his finger that he might not again commit such a folly, +for-- + + "The cat who has been burnt with fire ever after fears the cold +hearthstone." + + + +XXI + +THE THREE ENCHANTED PRINCES + +Once upon a time the King of Green-Bank had three daughters, +who were perfect jewels, with whom three sons of the King of +Fair-Meadow were desperately in love. But these Princes having +been changed into animals by the spell of a fairy, the King of +Green-Bank disdained to give them his daughters to wife. +Whereupon the first, who was a beautiful Falcon, called together +all the birds to a council; and there came the chaffinches, tomtits, +woodpeckers, fly-catchers, jays, blackbirds, cuckoos, thrushes, and +every other kind of bird. And when they were all assembled at his +summons, he ordered them to destroy all the blossoms on the trees +of Green-Bank, so that not a flower or leaf should remain. The +second Prince, who was a Stag, summoning all the goats, rabbits, +hares, hedgehogs, and other animals of that country, laid waste all +the corn-fields so that there was not a single blade of grass or corn +left. The third Prince, who was a Dolphin, consulting together with +a hundred monsters of the sea, made such a tempest arise upon the +coast that not a boat escaped. + +Now the King saw that matters were going from bad to worse, and +that he could not remedy the mischief which these three wild +lovers were causing; so he resolved to get out of his trouble, and +made up his mind to give them his daughters to wife; and +thereupon, without wanting either feasts or songs, they carried +their brides off and out of the kingdom. + +On parting from her daughters, Granzolla the Queen gave each of +them a ring, one exactly like the other, telling them that if they +happened to be separated, and after a while to meet again, or to see +any of their kinsfolk, they would recognise one another by means +of these rings. So taking their leave they departed. And the Falcon +carried Fabiella, who was the eldest of the sisters, to the top of a +mountain, which was so high that, passing the confines of the +clouds, it reached with a dry head to a region where it never rains; +and there, leading her to a most beautiful palace, she lived like a +Queen. + +The Stag carried Vasta, the second sister, into a wood, which was +so thick that the Shades, when summoned by the Night, could not +find their way out to escort her. There he placed her, as befitted +her rank, in a wonderfully splendid house with a garden. + +The Dolphin swam with Rita, the third sister, on his back into the +middle of the sea, where, upon a large rock, he showed her a +mansion in which three crowned Kings might live. + +Meanwhile Granzolla gave birth to a fine little boy, whom they +named Tittone. And when he was fifteen years old, hearing his +mother lamenting continually that she never heard any tidings of +her three daughters, who were married to three animals; he took it +into his head to travel through the world until he should obtain +some news of them. So after begging and entreating his father and +mother for a long time, they granted him permission, bidding him +take for his journey attendants and everything needful and befitting +a Prince; and the Queen also gave him another ring similar to +those she had given to her daughters. + +Tittone went his way, and left no corner of Italy, not a nook of +France, nor any part of Spain unsearched. Then he passed through +England, and traversed Slavonia, and visited Poland, and, in short, +travelled both east and west. At length, leaving all his servants, +some at the taverns and some at the hospitals, he set out without a +farthing in his pocket, and came to the top of the mountain where +dwelt the Falcon and Fabiella. And as he stood there, beside +himself with amazement, contemplating the beauty of the +palace--the corner-stones of which were of porphyry, the walls of +alabaster, the windows of gold, and the tiles of silver--his sister +observed him, and ordering him to be called, she demanded who +he was, whence he came, and what chance had brought him to that +country. When Tittone told her his country, his father and mother, +and his name, Fabiella knew him to be her brother, and the more +when she compared the ring upon his finger with that which her +mother had given her; and embracing him with great joy, she +concealed him, fearing that her husband would be angry when he +returned home. + +As soon as the Falcon came home, Fabiella began to tell him that a +great longing had come over her to see her parents. And the Falcon +answered, "Let the wish pass, wife; for that cannot be unless the +humour takes me." + +"Let us at least," said Fabiella, "send to fetch one of my kinsfolk to +keep my company." + +"And, pray, who will come so far to see you?" replied the Falcon. + +"Nay, but if any one should come," added Fabiella, "would you be +displeased?" + +"Why should I be displeased?" said the Falcon, "it would be +enough that he were one of your kinsfolk to make me take him to +my heart." + +When Fabiella heard this she took courage, and calling to her +brother to come forth, she presented him to the Falcon, who +exclaimed, "Five and five are ten; love passes through the glove, +and water through the boot. A hearty welcome to you! you are +master in this house; command, and do just as you like." Then he +gave orders that Tittone should be served and treated with the +same honour as himself. + +Now when Tittone had stayed a fortnight on the mountain, it came +into his head to go forth and seek his other sisters. So taking leave +of Fabiella and his brother-in-law, the Falcon gave him one of his +feathers, saying, "Take this and prize it, my dear Tittone; for you +may one day be in trouble, and you will then esteem it a treasure. +Enough--take good care of it; and if ever you meet with any +mishap, throw it on the ground, and say, Come hither, come +hither!' and you shall have cause to thank me." + +Tittone wrapped the feather up in a sheet of paper, and, putting it +in his pocket, after a thousand ceremonies departed. And travelling +on and on a very long way, he arrived at last at the wood where the +Stag lived with Vasta; and going, half-dead with hunger, into the +garden to pluck some fruit, his sister saw him, and recognised him +in the same manner as Fabiella had done. Then she presented +Tittone to her husband, who received him with the greatest +friendship, and treated him truly like a Prince. + +At the end of a fortnight, when Tittone wished to depart, and go in +search of his other sister, the Stag gave him one of his hairs, +repeating the same words as the Falcon had spoken about the +feather. And setting out on his way, with a bagful of +crown-pieces which the Falcon had given him, and as many more +which the Stag gave him, he walked on and on, until he came to +the end of the earth, where, being stopped by the sea and unable to +walk any further, he took ship, intending to seek through all the +islands for tidings of his sister. So setting sail, he went about and +about, until at length he was carried to an island, where lived the +Dolphin with Rita. And no sooner had he landed, than his sister +saw and recognised him in the same manner as the others had +done, and he was received by her husband with all possible +affection. + +Now after a while Tittone wished to set out again to go and visit +his father and mother, whom he had not seen for so long a time. So +the Dolphin gave him one of his scales, telling him the same as the +others had; and Tittone, mounting a horse, set out on his travels. +But he had hardly proceeded half a mile from the seashore, when +entering a wood--the abode of Fear and the Shades, where a +continual fair of darkness and terror was kept up--he found a great +tower in the middle of a lake, whose waters were kissing the feet +of the trees, and entreating them not to let the Sun witness their +pranks. At a window in the tower Tittone saw a most beautiful +maiden sitting at the feet of a hideous dragon, who was asleep. +When the damsel saw Tittone, she said in a low and piteous voice, +"O noble youth, sent perchance by heaven to comfort me in my +miseries in this place, where the face of a Christian is never seen, +release me from the power of this tyrannical serpent, who has +carried me off from my father, the King of Bright-Valley, and shut +me up in this frightful tower, where I must die a miserable death." + +"Alas, my beauteous lady!" replied Tittone, "what can I do to serve +thee? Who can pass this lake? Who can climb this tower? Who can +approach yon horrid dragon, that carries terror in his look, sows +fear, and causes dismay to spring up? But softly, wait a minute, +and we'll find a way with another's help to drive this serpent +away. Step by step--the more haste, the worse speed: we shall soon +see whether tis egg or wind." And so saying he threw the feather, +the hair, and the scale, which his brothers-in-law had given him, +on the ground, exclaiming, "Come hither, come hither!" And +falling on the earth like drops of summer rain, which makes the +frogs spring up, suddenly there appeared the Falcon, the Stag, and +the Dolphin, who cried out all together, "Behold us here! what are +your commands?" + +When Tittone saw this, he said with great joy, "I wish for nothing +but to release this poor damsel from the claws of yon dragon, to +take her away from this tower, to lay it all in ruins, and to carry +this beautiful lady home with me as my wife." + +"Hush!" answered the Falcon, "for the bean springs up where you +least expect it. We'll soon make him dance upon a sixpence, and +take good care that he shall have little ground enough." + +"Let us lose no time," said the Stag, "troubles and macaroni are +swallowed hot." + +So the Falcon summoned a large flock of griffins, who, flying to +the window of the tower, carried off the damsel, bearing her over +the lake to where Tittone was standing with his three +brothers-in-law; and if from afar she appeared a moon, believe me, +when near she looked truly like a sun, she was so beautiful. + +Whilst Tittone was embracing her and telling her how he loved +her, the dragon awoke; and, rushing out of the window, he came +swimming across the lake to devour Tittone. But the Stag instantly +called up a squadron of lions, tigers, panthers, bears, and +wild-cats, who, falling upon the dragon, tore him in pieces with +their claws. Then Tittone wishing to depart, the Dolphin said, "I +likewise desire to do something to serve you." And in order that no +trace should remain of the frightful and accursed place, he made +the sea rise so high that, overflowing its bounds, it attacked the +tower furiously, and overthrew it to its foundations. + +When Tittone saw these things, he thanked the animals in the best +manner he could, telling the damsel at the same time that she +ought to do so too, as it was by their aid she had escaped from +peril. But the animals answered, "Nay, we ought rather to thank +this beauteous lady, since she is the means of restoring us to our +proper shapes; for a spell was laid upon us at our birth, caused by +our mother's having offended a fairy, and we were compelled to +remain in the form of animals until we should have freed the +daughter of a King from some great trouble. And now behold the +time is arrived which we have longed for; the fruit is ripe, and we +already feel new spirit in our breasts, new blood in our veins." So +saying, they were changed into three handsome youths, and one +after another they embraced their brother-in-law, and shook hands +with the lady, who was in an ecstasy of joy. + +When Tittone saw this, he was on the point of fainting away; and +heaving a deep sigh, he said, "O Heavens! why have not my +mother and father a share in this happiness? They would be out of +their wits with joy were they to see such graceful and handsome +sons-in-law before their eyes." + +"Nay," answered the Princes, " tis not yet night; the shame at +seeing ourselves so transformed obliged us to flee from the sight of +men; but now that, thank Heaven! we can appear in the world +again, we will all go and live with our wives under one roof, and +spend our lives merrily. Let us, therefore, set out instantly, and +before the Sun to-morrow morning unpacks the bales of his rays at +the custom-house of the East, our wives shall be with you." + +So saying, in order that they might not have to go on foot--for there +was only an old broken-down mare which Tittone had +brought--the brothers caused a most beautiful coach to appear, +drawn by six lions, in which they all five seated themselves; and +having travelled the whole day, they came in the evening to a +tavern, where, whilst the supper was being prepared, they passed +the time in reading all the proofs of men's ignorance which were +scribbled upon the walls. At length, when all had eaten their fill +and retired to rest, the three youths, feigning to go to bed, went out +and walked about the whole night long, till in the morning, when +the Stars, like bashful maidens, retire from the gaze of the Sun, +they found themselves in the same inn with their wives, +whereupon there was a great embracing, and a joy beyond the +beyonds. Then they all eight seated themselves in the same coach, +and after a long journey arrived at Green-Bank, where they were +received with incredible affection by the King and Queen, who had +not only regained the capital of four children, whom they had +considered lost, but likewise the interest of three sons-in-law and a +daughter-in-law, who were verily four columns of the Temple of +Beauty. And when the news of the adventures of their children was +brought to the Kings of Fair-Meadow and Bright-Valley, they both +came to the feasts which were made, adding the rich ingredient of +joy to the porridge of their satisfaction, and receiving a full +recompense for all their past misfortunes; for-- + + "One hour of joy dispels the cares + And sufferings of a thousand years." + + + +XXII + +THE DRAGON + +He who seeks the injury of another finds his own hurt; and he who +spreads the snares of treachery and deceit often falls into them +himself; as you shall hear in the story of a queen, who with her +own hands constructed the trap in which she was caught by the +foot. + +There was one time a King of High-Shore, who practised such +tyranny and cruelty that, whilst he was once gone on a visit of +pleasure to a castle at a distance from the city, his royal seat was +usurped by a certain sorceress. Whereupon, having consulted a +wooden statue which used to give oracular responses, it answered +that he would recover his dominions when the sorceress should +lose her sight. But seeing that the sorceress, besides being well +guarded, knew at a glance the people whom he sent to annoy her, +and did dog's justice upon them, he became quite desperate, and +out of spite to her he killed all the women of that place whom he +could get into his hands. + +Now after hundreds and hundreds had been led thither by their +ill-luck, only to lose their lives, there chanced, among others, to +come a maiden named Porziella, the most beautiful creature that +could be seen on the whole earth, and the King could not help +falling in love with her and making her his wife. But he was so +cruel and spiteful to women that, after a while, he was going to kill +her like the rest; but just as he was raising the dagger a bird let fall +a certain root upon his arm, and he was seized with such a +trembling that the weapon fell from his hand. This bird was a fairy, +who, a few days before, having gone to sleep in a wood, where +beneath the tent of the Shades Fear kept watch and defied the +Sun's heat, a certain satyr was about to rob her when she was +awakened by Porziella, and for this kindness she continually +followed her steps in order to make her a return. + +When the King saw this, he thought that the beauty of Porziella's +face had arrested his arm and bewitched the dagger to prevent its +piercing her as it had done so many others. He resolved, therefore, +not to make the attempt a second time, but that she should die built +up in a garret of his palace. No sooner said than done: the unhappy +creature was enclosed within four walls, without having anything +to eat or drink, and left to waste away and die little by little. + +The bird, seeing her in this wretched state, consoled her with kind +words, bidding her be of good cheer, and promising, in return for +the great kindness she had done for her, to aid her if necessary +with her very life. In spite, however, of all the entreaties of +Porziella, the bird would never tell her who she was, but only said +that she was under obligations to her, and would leave nothing +undone to serve her. And seeing that the poor girl was famished +with hunger, she flew out and speedily returned with a pointed +knife which she had taken from the king's pantry, and told her to +make a hole in the corner of the floor just over the kitchen, +through which she would regularly bring her food to sustain her +life. So Porziella bored away until she had made a passage for the +bird, who, watching till the cook was gone out to fetch a pitcher of +water from the well, went down through the hole, and taking a fine +fowl that was cooking at the fire, brought it to Porziella; then to +relieve her thirst, not knowing how to carry her any drink, she flew +to the pantry, where there was a quantity of grapes hanging, and +brought her a fine bunch; and this she did regularly for many days. + +Meanwhile Porziella gave birth to a fine little boy, whom she +suckled and reared with the constant aid of the bird. And when he +was grown big, the fairy advised his mother to make the hole +larger, and to raise so many boards of the floor as would allow +Miuccio (for so the child was called) to pass through; and then, +after letting him down with some cords which the bird brought, to +put the boards back into their place, that it might not be seen +where he came from. So Porziella did as the bird directed her; and +as soon as the cook was gone out, she let down her son, desiring +him never to tell whence he came nor whose son he was. + +When the cook returned and saw such a fine little boy, he asked +him who he was, whence he came, and what he wanted; +whereupon, the child, remembering his mother's advice, said that +he was a poor forlorn boy who was looking about for a master. As +they were talking, the butler came in, and seeing the spritely little +fellow, he thought he would make a pretty page for the King. So he +led him to the royal apartments; and when the King saw him look +so handsome and lovely that he appeared a very jewel, he was +vastly pleased with him, and took him into his service as a page +and to his heart as a son, and had him taught all the exercises +befitting a cavalier, so that Miuccio grew up the most +accomplished one in the court, and the King loved him much +better than his stepson. Now the King's stepmother, who was +really the queen, on this account began to take a dislike to him, +and to hold him in aversion; and her envy and malice gained +ground just in proportion as the favours and kindness which the +King bestowed on Miuccio cleared the way for them; so she +resolved to soap the ladder of his fortune in order that he should +tumble down from top to bottom. + +Accordingly one evening, when the King and his stepmother had +tuned their instruments together and were making music of their +discourse, the Queen told the King that Miuccio had boasted he +would build three castles in the air. So the next morning, at the +time when the Moon, the school-mistress of the Shades, gives a +holiday to her scholars for the festival of the Sun, the King, either +from surprise or to gratify the old Queen, ordered Miuccio to be +called, and commanded him forthwith to build the three castles in +the air as he had promised, or else he would make him dance a jig +in the air. + +When Miuccio heard this he went to his chamber and began to +lament bitterly, seeing what glass the favour of princes is, and how +short a time it lasts. And while he was weeping thus, lo! the bird +came, and said to him, "Take heart, Miuccio, and fear not while +you have me by your side, for I am able to draw you out of the +fire." Then she directed him to take pasteboard and glue and make +three large castles; and calling up three large griffins, she tied a +castle to each, and away they flew up into the air. Thereupon +Miuccio called the King, who came running with all his court to +see the sight; and when he saw the ingenuity of Miuccio he had a +still greater affection for him, and lavished on him caresses of the +other world, which added snow to the envy of the Queen and fire +to her rage, seeing that all her plans failed; insomuch that, both +sleeping and waking, she was for ever thinking of some way to +remove this thorn from her eyes. So at last, after some days, she +said to the King, "Son, the time is now come for us to return to our +former greatness and the pleasures of past times, since Miuccio +has offered to blind the sorceress, and by the disbursement of her +eyes to make you recover your lost kingdom." + +The King, who felt himself touched in the sore place, called for +Miuccio that very instant, and said to him, "I am greatly surprised +that, notwithstanding all my love for you, and that you have the +power to restore me to the seat from which I have fallen, you +remain thus careless, instead of endeavouring to relieve me from +the misery I am in--reduced thus from a kingdom to a wood, from +a city to a paltry castle, and from commanding so great a people to +be hardly waited on by a parcel of half-starved menials. If, +therefore, you do not wish me ill, run now at once and blind the +eyes of the fairy who has possession of my property, for by putting +out her lanterns you will light the lamps of my honour that are now +dark and dismal." + +When Miuccio heard this proposal he was about to reply that the +King was ill-informed and had mistaken him, as he was neither a +raven to pick out eyes nor an auger to bore holes; but the King +said, "No more words--so I will have it, so let it be done! +Remember now, that in the mint of this brain of mine I have the +balance ready; in one scale the reward, if you do what I tell you; in +the other the punishment, if you neglect doing what I command." + +Miuccio, who could not butt against a rock, and had to do with a +man who was not to be moved, went into a corner to bemoan +himself; and the bird came to him and said, "Is it possible, +Miuccio, that you will always be drowning yourself in a tumbler of +water? If I were dead indeed you could not make more fuss. Do +you not know that I have more regard for your life than for my +own? Therefore don't lose courage; come with me, and you shall +see what I can do." So saying off she flew, and alighted in the +wood, where as soon as she began to chirp, there came a large +flock of birds about her, to whom she told the story, assuring them +that whoever would venture to deprive the sorceress of sight +should have from her a safeguard against the talons of the hawks +and kites, and a letter of protection against the guns, crossbows, +longbows, and bird-lime of the fowlers. + +There was among them a swallow who had made her nest against a +beam of the royal palace, and who hated the sorceress, because, +when making her accursed conjurations, she had several times +driven her out of the chamber with her fumigations; for which +reason, partly out of a desire of revenge, and partly to gain the +reward that the bird promised, she offered herself to perform the +service. So away she flew like lightning to the city, and entering +the palace, found the fairy lying on a couch, with two damsels +fanning her. Then the swallow came, and alighting directly over +the fairy, pecked out her eyes. Whereupon the fairy, thus seeing +night at midday, knew that by this closing of the custom-house the +merchandise of the kingdom was all lost; and uttering yells, as of a +condemned soul, she abandoned the sceptre and went off to hide +herself in a certain cave, where she knocked her head continually +against the wall, until at length she ended her days. + +When the sorceress was gone, the councillors sent ambassadors to +the King, praying him to come back to his castle, since the +blinding of the sorceress had caused him to see this happy day. +And at the same time they arrived came also Miuccio, who, by the +bird's direction, said to the King, "I have served you to the best of +my power; the sorceress is blinded, the kingdom is yours. +Wherefore, if I deserve recompense for this service, I wish for no +other than to be left to my ill-fortune, without being again exposed +to these dangers." + +But the King, embracing him with great affection, bade him put on +his cap and sit beside him; and how the Queen was enraged at this, +Heaven knows, for by the bow of many colours that appeared in +her face might be known the wind of the storm that was brewing in +her heart against poor Miuccio. + +Not far from this castle lived a most ferocious dragon, who was +born the same hour with the Queen; and the astrologers being +called by her father to astrologise on this event, said that his +daughter would be safe as long as the dragon was safe, and that +when one died, the other would of necessity die also. One thing +alone could bring back the Queen to life, and that was to anoint +her temples, chest, nostrils, and pulse with the blood of the same +dragon. + +Now the Queen, knowing the strength and fury of this animal, +resolved to send Miuccio into his claws, well assured that the beast +would make but a mouthful of him, and that he would be like a +strawberry in the throat of a bear. So turning to the King, she said, +"Upon my word, this Miuccio is the treasure of your house, and +you would be ungrateful indeed if you did not love him, especially +as he had expressed his desire to kill the dragon, who, though he is +my brother, is nevertheless your enemy; and I care more for a hair +of your head than for a hundred brothers." + +The King, who hated the dragon mortally, and knew not how to +remove him out of his sight, instantly called Miuccio, and said to +him, "I know that you can put your hand to whatever you will; +therefore, as you have done so much, grant me yet another +pleasure, and then turn me whithersoever you will. Go this very +instant and kill the dragon; for you will do me a singular service, +and I will reward you well for it." + +Miuccio at these words was near losing his senses, and as soon as +he was able to speak, he said to the King, "Alas, what a headache +have you given me by your continual teasing! Is my life a black +goat-skin rug that you are for ever wearing it away thus? This is +not a pared pear ready to drop into one's mouth, but a dragon, that +tears with his claws, breaks to pieces with his head, crushes with +his tail, crunches with his teeth, poisons with his eyes, and kills +with his breath. Wherefore do you want to send me to death? Is +this the sinecure you give me for having given you a kingdom? +Who is the wicked soul that has set this die on the table? What son +of perdition has taught you these capers and put these words into +your mouth?" Then the King, who, although he let himself be +tossed to and fro as light as a ball, was firmer than a rock in +keeping to what he had once said, stamped with his feet, and +exclaimed, "After all you have done, do you fail at the last? But no +more words; go, rid my kingdom of this plague, unless you would +have me rid you of life." + +Poor Miuccio, who thus received one minute a favour, at another a +threat, now a pat on the face, and now a kick, now a kind word, +now a cruel one, reflected how mutable court fortune is, and would +fain have been without the acquaintance of the King. But knowing +that to reply to great men is a folly, and like plucking a lion by the +beard, he withdrew, cursing his fate, which had led him to the +court only to curtail the days of his life. And as he was sitting on +one of the door-steps, with his head between his knees, washing +his shoes with his tears and warming the ground with his sighs, +behold the bird came flying with a plant in her beak, and throwing +it to him, said, "Get up, Miuccio, and take courage! for you are not +going to play at unload the ass' with your days, but at +backgammon with the life of the dragon. Take this plant, and when +you come to the cave of that horrid animal, throw it in, and +instantly such a drowsiness will come over him that he will fall +fast asleep; whereupon, nicking and sticking him with a good +knife, you may soon make an end of him. Then come away, for +things will turn out better than you think." + +"Enough!" cried Miuccio, "I know what I carry under my belt; we +have more time than money, and he who has time has life." So +saying, he got up, and sticking a pruning-knife in his belt and +taking the plant, he went his way to the dragon's cave, which was +under a mountain of such goodly growth, that the three mountains +that were steps to the Giants would not have reached up to its +waist. When he came there, he threw the plant into the cave, and +instantly a deep sleep laid hold on the dragon, and Miuccio began +to cut him in pieces. + +Now just at the time that he was busied thus, the Queen felt a +cutting pain at her heart; and seeing herself brought to a bad pass, +she perceived her error in having purchased death with ready +money. So she called her stepson and told him what the astrologers +had predicted--how her life depended on that of the dragon, and +how she feared that Miuccio had killed him, for she felt herself +gradually sliding away. Then the King replied, "If you knew that +the life of the dragon was the prop of your life and the root of your +days, why did you make me send Miuccio? Who is in fault? You +must have done yourself the mischief, and you must suffer for it; +you have broken the glass, and you may pay the cost." And the +Queen answered, "I never thought that such a stripling could have +the skill and strength to overthrow an animal which made nothing +of an army, and I expected that he would have left his rags there. +But since I reckoned without my host, and the bark of my projects +is gone out of its course, do me one kindness if you love me. When +I am dead, take a sponge dipped in the blood of this dragon and +anoint with it all the extremities of my body before you bury me." + +"That is but a small thing for the love I bear you," replied the +King; "and if the blood of the dragon is not enough, I will add my +own to give you satisfaction." The Queen was about to thank him, +but the breath left her with the speech; for just then Miuccio had +made an end of scoring the dragon. + +No sooner had Miuccio come into the King's presence with the +news of what he had done than the King ordered him to go back +for the dragon's blood; but being curious to see the deed done by +Miuccio's hand, he followed him. And as Miuccio was going out +of the palace gate, the bird met him, and said, "Whither are you +going?" and Miuccio answered, "I am going whither the King +sends me; he makes me fly backwards and forwards like a shuttle, +and never lets me rest an hour." "What to do?" said the bird. "To +fetch the blood of the dragon," said Miuccio. And the bird replied, +"Ah, wretched youth! this dragon's blood will be bull's blood to +you, and make you burst; for this blood will cause to spring up +again the evil seed of all your misfortunes. The Queen is +continually exposing you to new dangers that you may lose your +life; and the King, who lets this odious creature put the +pack-saddle on him, orders you, like a castaway, to endanger your +person, which is his own flesh and blood and a shoot of his stem. +But the wretched man does not know you, though the inborn +affection he bears you should have betrayed your kindred. +Moreover, the services you have rendered the King, and the gain to +himself of so handsome a son and heir, ought to obtain favour for +unhappy Porziella, your mother, who has now for fourteen years +been buried alive in a garret, where is seen a temple of beauty built +up within a little chamber." + +While the fairy was thus speaking, the King, who had heard every +word, stepped forward to learn the truth of the matter better; and +finding that Miuccio was his own and Porziella's son, and that +Porziella was still alive in the garret, he instantly gave orders that +she should be set free and brought before him. And when he saw +her looking more beautiful than ever, owing to the care taken of +her by the bird, he embraced her with the greatest affection, and +was never satisfied with pressing to his heart first the mother and +then the son, praying forgiveness of Porziella for his +ill-treatment of her, and of his son for all the dangers to which he +had exposed him. Then he ordered her to be clothed in the richest +robes, and had her crowned Queen before all the people. And +when the King heard that her preservation, and the escape of his +son from so many dangers were entirely owing to the bird, which +had given food to the one and counsel to the other, he offered her +his kingdom and his life. But the bird said she desired no other +reward for her services than to have Miuccio for a husband; and as +she uttered the words she was changed into a beautiful maiden, +and, to the great joy and satisfaction of the King and Porziella, she +was given to Miuccio to wife. Then the newly-married couple, to +give still greater festivals, went their way to their own kingdom, +where they were anxiously expected, every one ascribing this good +fortune to the fairy, for the kindness that Porziella had done her; +for at the end of the end-- + + "A good deed is never lost." + + + +XXIII + +THE TWO CAKES + +I have always heard say, that he who gives pleasure finds it: the +bell of Manfredonia says, "Give me, I give thee": he who does not +bait the hook of the affections with courtesy never catches the fish +of kindness; and if you wish to hear the proof of this, listen to my +story, and then say whether the covetous man does not always lose +more than the liberal one. + +There were once two sisters, named Luceta and Troccola, who had +two daughters, Marziella and Puccia. Marziella was as fair to look +upon as she was good at heart; whilst, on the contrary, Puccia by +the same rule had a face of ugliness and a heart of pestilence, but +the girl resembled her parent, for Troccola was a harpy within and +a very scare-crow without. + +Now it happened that Luceta had occasion to boil some parsnips, +in order to fry them with green sauce; so she said to her daughter, +"Marziella, my dear, go to the well and fetch me a pitcher of +water." + +"With all my heart, mother," replied the girl, "but if you love me +give me a cake, for I should like to eat it with a draught of the +fresh water." + +"By all means," said the mother; so she took from a basket that +hung upon a hook a beautiful cake (for she had baked a batch the +day before), and gave it to Marziella, who set the pitcher on a pad +upon her head, and went to the fountain, which like a charlatan +upon a marble bench, to the music of the falling water, was selling +secrets to drive away thirst. And as she was stooping down to fill +her pitcher, up came a hump-backed old woman, and seeing the +beautiful cake, which Marziella was just going to bite, she said to +her, "My pretty girl, give me a little piece of your cake, and may +Heaven send you good fortune!" + +Marziella, who was as generous as a queen, replied, "Take it all, +my good woman, and I am only sorry that it is not made of sugar +and almonds, for I would equally give it you with all my heart." + +The old woman, seeing Marziella's kindness, said to her, "Go, and +may Heaven reward you for the goodness you have shown me! and +I pray all the stars that you may ever be content and happy; that +when you breathe roses and jessamines may fall from your mouth; +that when you comb your locks pearls and garnets may fall from +them, and when you set your foot on the ground lilies and violets +may spring up." + +Marziella thanked the old woman, and went her way home, where +her mother, having cooked a bit of supper, they paid the natural +debt to the body, and thus ended the day. And the next morning, +when the Sun displayed in the market-place of the celestial fields +the merchandise of light which he had brought from the East, as +Marziella was combing her hair, she saw a shower of pearls and +garnets fall from it into her lap; whereupon calling her mother +with great joy, they put them all into a basket, and Luceta went to +sell a great part of them to a usurer, who was a friend of hers. +Meanwhile Troccola came to see her sister, and finding Marziella +in great delight and busied with the pearls, she asked her how, +when, and where she had gotten them. But the maiden, who did +not understand the ways of the world, and had perhaps never heard +the proverb, "Do not all you are able, eat not all you wish, spend +not all you have, and tell not all you know," related the whole +affair to her aunt, who no longer cared to await her sister's return, +for every hour seemed to her a thousand years until she got home +again. Then giving a cake to her daughter, she sent her for water to +the fountain, where Puccia found the same old woman. And when +the old woman asked her for a little piece of cake she answered +gruffly, "Have I nothing to do, forsooth, but to give you cake? Do +you take me to be so foolish as to give you what belongs to me? +Look ye, charity begins at home." And so saying she swallowed +the cake in four pieces, making the old woman's mouth water, +who when she saw the last morsel disappear and her hopes buried +with the cake, exclaimed in a rage, "Begone! and whenever you +breathe may you foam at the mouth like a doctor's mule, may +toads drop from your lips, and every time you set foot to the +ground may there spring up ferns and thistles!" + +Puccia took the pitcher of water and returned home, where her +mother was all impatience to hear what had befallen her at the +fountain. But no sooner did Puccia open her lips, than a shower of +toads fell from them, at the sight of which her mother added the +fire of rage to the snow of envy, sending forth flame and smoke +through nose and mouth. + +Now it happened some time afterwards that Ciommo, the brother +of Marziella, was at the court of the King of Chiunzo; and the +conversation turning on the beauty of various women, he stepped +forward, unasked, and said that all the handsome women might +hide their heads when his sister made her appearance, who beside +the beauty of her form, which made harmony on the song of a +noble soul, possessed also a wonderful virtue in her hair, mouth, +and feet, which was given to her by a fairy. When the King heard +these praises he told Ciommo to bring his sister to the court; +adding that, if he found her such as he had represented, he would +take her to wife. + +Now Ciommo thought this a chance not to be lost; so he forthwith +sent a messenger post-haste to his mother, telling her what had +happened, and begging her to come instantly with her daughter, in +order not to let slip the good luck. But Luceta, who was very +unwell, commending the lamb to the wolf, begged her sister to +have the kindness to accompany Marziella to the court of Chiunzo +for such and such a thing. Whereupon Troccola, who saw that +matters were playing into her hand, promised her sister to take +Marziella safe and sound to her brother, and then embarked with +her niece and Puccia in a boat. But when they were some way out +at sea, whilst the sailors were asleep, she threw Marziella into the +water; and just as the poor girl was on the point of being drowned +there came a most beautiful syren, who took her in her arms and +carried her off. + +When Troccola arrived at Chiunzo, Ciommo, who had not seen his +sister for so long a time, mistook Puccia, and received her as if she +were Marziella, and led her instantly to the King. But no sooner +did she open her lips than toads dropped on the ground; and when +the King looked at her more closely he saw, that as she breathed +hard from the fatigue of the journey, she made a lather at her +mouth, which looked just like a washtub; then looking down on +the ground, he saw a meadow of stinking plants, the sight of which +made him quite ill. Upon this he drove Puccia and her mother +away, and sent Ciommo in disgrace to keep the geese of the court. + +Then Ciommo, in despair and not knowing what had happened to +him, drove the geese into the fields, and letting them go their way +along the seashore, he used to retire into a little straw shed, where +he bewailed his lot until evening, when it was time to return home. +But whilst the geese were running about on the shore, Marziella +would come out of the water, and feed them with sweetmeats, and +give them rose-water to drink; so that the geese grew as big as +sheep, and were so fat that they could not see out of their eyes. +And in the evening when they came into a little garden under the +King's window, they began to sing-- + + "Pire, pire pire! + The sun and the moon are bright and clear, + But she who feeds us is still more fair." + +Now the King, hearing this goose-music every evening, ordered +Ciommo to be called, and asked him where, and how, and upon +what he fed his geese. And Ciommo replied, "I give them nothing +to eat but the fresh grass of the field." But the King, who was not +satisfied with this answer, sent a trusty servant after Ciommo to +watch and observe where he drove the geese. Then the man +followed in his footsteps, and saw him go into the little straw shed, +leaving the geese to themselves; and going their way they had no +sooner come to the shore than Marziella rose up out of the sea; and +I do not believe that even the mother of that blind boy who, as the +poet says, "desires no other alms than tears," ever rose from the +waves so fair. When the servant of the King saw this, he ran back +to his master, beside himself with amazement, and told him the +pretty spectacle he had seen upon the seashore. + +The curiosity of the King was increased by what the man told him, +and he had a great desire to go himself and see the beautiful sight. +So the next morning, when the Cock, the ringleader of the birds, +excited them all to arm mankind against the Night, and Ciommo +went with the geese to the accustomed spot, the King followed him +closely; and when the geese came to the seashore, without +Ciommo, who remained as usual in the little shed, the King saw +Marziella rise out of the water. And after giving the geese a trayful +of sweetmeats to eat and a cupful of rose-water to drink, she seated +herself on a rock and began to comb her locks, from which fell +handfuls of pearls and garnets; at the same time a cloud of flowers +dropped from her mouth, and under her feet was a Syrian carpet of +lilies and violets. + +When the King saw this sight, he ordered Ciommo to be called, +and, pointing to Marziella, asked him whether he knew that +beautiful maiden. Then Ciommo, recognising his sister, ran to +embrace her, and in the presence of the King heard from her all the +treacherous conduct of Troccola, and how the envy of that wicked +creature had brought that fair fire of love to dwell in the waters of +the sea. + +The joy of the King is not to be told at the acquisition of so fair a +jewel; and turning to the brother he said that he had good reason to +praise Marziella so much, and indeed that he found her three times +more beautiful than he had described her; he deemed her, +therefore, more than worthy to be his wife if she would be content +to receive the sceptre of his kingdom. + +"Alas, would to Heaven it could be so!" answered Marziella, "and +that I could serve you as the slave of your crown! But see you not +this golden chain upon my foot, by which the sorceress holds me +prisoner? When I take too much fresh air, and tarry too long on the +shore, she draws me into the waves, and thus keeps me held in rich +slavery by a golden chain." + +"What way is there," said the King, "to free you from the claws of +this syren?" + +"The way," replied Marziella, "would be to cut this chain with a +smooth file, and to loose me from it." + +"Wait till to-morrow morning," answered the King; "I will then +come with all that is needful, and take you home with me, where +you shall be the pupil of my eye, the core of my heart, and the life +of my soul." And then exchanging a shake of the hands as the +earnest-money of their love, she went back into the water and he +into the fire--and into such a fire indeed that he had not an hour's +rest the whole day long. And when the black old hag of the Night +came forth to have a country-dance with the Stars, he never closed +an eye, but lay ruminating in his memory over the beauties of +Marziella, discoursing in thought of the marvels of her hair, the +miracles of her mouth, and the wonders of her feet; and applying +the gold of her graces to the touchstone of judgment, he found that +it was four-and-twenty carats fine. But he upbraided the Night for +not leaving off her embroidery of the Stars, and chided the Sun for +not arriving with the chariot of light to enrich his house with the +treasure he longed for--a mine of gold which produced pearls, a +pearl-shell from which sprang flowers. + +But whilst he was thus at sea, thinking of her who was all the +while in the sea, behold the pioneers of the Sun appeared, who +smooth the road along which he has to pass with the army of his +rays. Then the King dressed himself, and went with Ciommo to the +seashore, where he found Marziella; and the King with his own +hand cut the chain from the foot of the beloved object with the file +which they had brought, but all the while he forged a still stronger +one for his heart; and setting her on the saddle behind him, she +who was already fixed on the saddle of his heart, he set out for the +royal palace, where by his command all the handsome ladies of the +land were assembled, who received Marziella as their mistress +with all due honour. Then the King married her, and there were +great festivities; and among all the casks which were burnt for the +illuminations, the King ordered that Troccola should be shut up in +a tub, and made to suffer for the treachery she had shown to +Marziella. Then sending for Luceta, he gave her and Ciommo +enough to live upon like princes; whilst Puccia, driven out of the +kingdom, wandered about as a beggar; and, as the reward of her +not having sown a little bit of cake, she had now to suffer a +constant want of bread; for it is the will of Heaven +that-- + + "He who shows no pity finds none." + + + +XXIV + +THE SEVEN DOVES + +He who gives pleasure meets with it: kindness is the bond of +friendship and the hook of love: he who sows not reaps not; of +which truth Ciulla has given you the foretaste of example, and I +will give you the dessert, if you will bear in mind what Cato says, +"Speak little at table." Therefore have the kindness to lend me +your ears awhile; and may Heaven cause them to stretch +continually, to listen to pleasant and amusing things. + +There was once in the county of Arzano a good woman who every +year gave birth to a son, until at length there were seven of them, +who looked like the pipes of the god Pan, with seven reeds, one +larger than another. And when they had changed their first teeth, +they said to Jannetella their mother, "Hark ye, mother, if, after so +many sons, you do not this time have a daughter, we are resolved +to leave home, and go wandering through the world like the sons +of the blackbirds." + +When their mother heard this sad announcement, she prayed +Heaven to remove such an intention from her sons, and prevent her +losing seven such jewels as they were. And when the hour of the +birth was at hand, the sons said to Jannetella, "We will retire to the +top of yonder hill or rock opposite; if you give birth to a son, put +an inkstand and a pen up at the window; but if you have a little +girl, put up a spoon and a distaff. For if we see the signal of a +daughter, we shall return home and spend the rest of our lives +under your wings; but if we see the signal of a son, then forget us, +for you may know that we have taken ourselves off." + +Soon after the sons had departed it pleased Heaven that Jannetella +should bring forth a pretty little daughter; then she told the nurse to +make the signal to the brothers, but the woman was so stupid and +confused that she put up the inkstand and the pen. As soon as the +seven brothers saw this signal, they set off, and walked on and on, +until at the end of three years they came to a wood, where the trees +were performing the sword-dance to the sound of a river which +made music upon the stones. In this wood was the house of an ogre +whose eyes having been blinded whilst asleep by a woman, he was +such an enemy to the sex that he devoured all whom he could +catch. + +When the youths arrived at the ogre's house, tired out with +walking and exhausted with hunger, they begged him for pity's +sake to give them a morsel of bread. And the ogre replied that if +they would serve him he would give them food, and they would +have nothing else to do but to watch over him like a dog, each in +turn for a day. The youths, upon hearing this, thought they had +found father and mother; so they consented, and remained in the +service of the ogre, who, having gotten their names by heart, called +once for Giangrazio, at another time for Cecchitiello, now for +Pascale, now Nuccio, now Pone, now Pezzillo, and now +Carcavecchia, for so the brothers were named; and giving them a +room in the lower part of the house, he allowed them enough to +live upon. + +Meanwhile their sister had grown up; and hearing that her seven +brothers, owing to the stupidity of the nurse, had set out to walk +through the world, and that no tidings of them had ever been +received, she took it into her head to go in search of them. And she +begged and prayed her mother so long, that at last, overcome by +her entreaties, she gave her leave to go, and dressed her like a +pilgrim. Then the maiden walked and walked, asking at every +place she came to whether any one had seen seven brothers. And +thus she journeyed on, until at length she got news of them at an +inn, where having enquired the way to the wood, one morning, at +the hour when the Sun with the penknife of his rays scratches out +the inkspots made by Night upon the sheet of Heaven, she arrived +at the ogre's house, where she was recognised by her brothers with +great joy, who cursed the inkstand and the pen for writing falsely +such misfortune for them. Then giving her a thousand caresses, +they told her to remain quiet in their chamber, that the ogre might +not see her; bidding her at the same time give a portion of +whatever she had to eat to a cat which was in the room, or +otherwise she would do her some harm. Cianna (for so the sister +was named) wrote down this advice in the pocket-book of her +heart, and shared everything with the cat, like a good companion, +always cutting justly, and saying, "This for me--this for thee, +--this for the daughter of the king," giving the cat a share to the last +morsel. + +Now it happened one day that the brothers, going to hunt for the +ogre, left Cianna a little basket of chick-peas to cook; and as she +was picking them, by ill-luck she found among them a +hazel-nut, which was the stone of disturbance to her quiet; for +having swallowed it without giving half to the cat, the latter out of +spite jumped on the table and blew out the candle. Cianna seeing +this, and not knowing what to do, left the room, contrary to the +command of her brothers, and going into the ogre's chamber +begged him for a little light. Then the ogre, hearing a woman's +voice, said, "Welcome, madam! wait awhile,--you have found +what you are seeking." And so saying he took a Genoa stone, and +daubing it with oil he fell to whetting his tusks. But Cianna, who +saw the cart on a wrong track, seizing a lighted stick ran to her +chamber; and bolting the door inside, she placed against it bars, +stools, bedsteads, tables, stones, and everything there was in the +room. + +As soon as the ogre had put an edge on his teeth he ran to the +chamber of the brothers, and finding the door fastened, he fell to +kicking it to break it open. At this noise and disturbance the seven +brothers at once came home, and hearing themselves accused by +the ogre of treachery for making their chamber a refuge for one of +his women enemies, Giangrazio, who was the eldest and had more +sense than the others, and saw matters going badly, said to the +ogre, "We know nothing of this affair, and it may be that this +wicked woman has perchance come into the room whilst we were +at the chase; but as she has fortified herself inside, come with me +and I will take you to a place where we can seize her without her +being able to defend herself." + +Then they took the ogre by the hand, and led him to a deep, deep +pit, where, giving him a push, they sent him headlong to the +bottom; and taking a shovel, which they found on the ground, they +covered him with earth. Then they bade their sister unfasten the +door, and they rated her soundly for the fault she had committed, +and the danger in which she had placed herself; telling her to be +more careful in future, and to beware of plucking grass upon the +spot where the ogre was buried, or they would be turned into seven +doves. + +"Heaven keep me from bringing such a misfortune upon you!" +replied Cianna. So taking possession of all the ogre's goods and +chattels, and making themselves masters of the whole house, they +lived there merrily enough, waiting until winter should pass away, +and the Sun, on taking possession of the house of the Bull, give a +present to the Earth of a green gown embroidered with flowers, +when they might set out on their journey home. + +Now it happened one day, when the brothers were gone to the +mountains to get firewood to defend themselves against the cold, +which increased from day to day, that a poor pilgrim came to the +ogre's wood, and made faces at an ape that was perched up in a +pine-tree; whereupon the ape threw down one of the fir-apples +from the tree upon the man's pate, which made such a terrible +bump that the poor fellow set up a loud cry. Cianna hearing the +noise went out, and taking pity on his disaster, she quickly plucked +a sprig of rosemary from a tuft which grew upon the ogre's grave; +then she made him a plaster of it with boiled bread and salt, and +after giving the man some breakfast she sent him away. + +Whilst Cianna was laying the cloth, and expecting her brothers, lo! +she saw seven doves come flying, who said to her, "Ah! better that +your hand had been cut off, you cause of all our misfortune, ere it +plucked that accursed rosemary and brought such a calamity upon +us! Have you eaten the brains of a cat, O sister, that you have +driven our advice from your mind? Behold us, turned to birds, a +prey to the talons of kites, hawks, and falcons! Behold us made +companions of water-hens, snipes, goldfinches, woodpeckers, jays, +owls, magpies, jackdaws, rooks, starlings, woodcocks, cocks, hens +and chickens, turkey-cocks, blackbirds, thrushes, chaffinches, +tomtits, jenny-wrens, lapwings, linnets, greenfinches, crossbills, +flycatchers, larks, plovers, kingfishers, wagtails, redbreasts, +redfinches, sparrows, ducks, fieldfares, woodpigeons and +bullfinches! A rare thing you have done! And now we may return +to our country to find nets laid and twigs limed for us! To heal the +head of a pilgrim, you have broken the heads of seven brothers; +nor is there any help for our misfortune, unless you find the +Mother of Time, who will tell you the way to get us out of +trouble." + +Cianna, looking like a plucked quail at the fault she had +committed, begged pardon of her brothers, and offered to go round +the world until she should find the dwelling of the old woman. +Then praying them not to stir from the house until she returned, +lest any ill should betide them, she set out, and journeyed on and +on without ever tiring; and though she went on foot, her desire to +aid her brothers served her as a sumpter-mule, with which she +made three miles an hour. At last she came to the seashore, where +with the blows of the waves the sea was banging the rocks which +would not repeat the Latin it gave them to do. Here she saw a huge +whale, who said to her, "My pretty maiden, what go you seeking?" +And she replied, "I am seeking the dwelling of the Mother of +Time." "Hear then what you must do," replied the whale; "go +straight along this shore, and on coming to the first river, follow it +up to its source, and you will meet with some one who will show +you the way: but do me one kindness,--when you find the good old +woman, beg of her the favour to tell me some means by which I +may swim about safely, without so often knocking upon the rocks +and being thrown on the sands." + +"Trust to me," said Cianna, then thanking the whale for pointing +out the way, she set off walking along the shore; and after a long +journey she came to the river, which like a clerk of the treasury +was disbursing silver money into the bank of the sea. Then taking +the way up to its source, she arrived at a beautiful open country, +where the meadow vied with the heaven, displaying her green +mantle starred over with flowers; and there she met a mouse who +said to her, "Whither are you going thus alone, my pretty girl?" +And Cianna replied, "I am seeking the Mother of Time." + +"You have a long way to go," said the mouse; "but do not lose +heart, everything has an end. Walk on, therefore, toward yon +mountains, which, like the free lords of these fields, assume the +title of Highness, and you will soon have more news of what you +are seeking. But do me one favour,--when you arrive at the house +you wish to find, get the good old woman to tell you what you can +do to rid us of the tyranny of the cats; then command me, and I am +your slave." + +Cianna, after promising to do the mouse this kindness, set off +towards the mountains, which, although they appeared to be close +at hand, seemed never to be reached. But having come to them at +length, she sat down tired out upon a stone; and there she saw an +army of ants, carrying a large store of grain, one of whom turning +to Cianna said, "Who art thou, and whither art thou going?" And +Cianna, who was courteous to every one, said to her, "I am an +unhappy girl, who, for a matter that concerns me, am seeking the +dwelling of the Mother of Time." + +"Go on farther," said the ant, "and where these mountains open +into a large plain you will obtain more news. But do me a great +favour,--get the secret from the old woman, what we ants can do to +live a little longer; for it seems to me a folly in worldly affairs to +be heaping up such a large store of food for so short a life, which, +like an auctioneer's candle, goes out just at the best bidding of +years." + +"Be at ease," said Cianna, "I will return the kindness you have +shown me." + +Then she passed the mountains and arrived at a wide plain; and +proceeding a little way over it, she came to a large oak-tree, +--a memorial of antiquity, whose fruit (a mouthful which Time +gives to this bitter age of its lost sweetness) tasted like sweetmeats +to the maiden, who was satisfied with little. Then the oak, making +lips of its bark and a tongue of its pith, said to Cianna, "Whither +are you going so sad, my little daughter? Come and rest under my +shade." Cianna thanked him much, but excused herself, saying that +she was going in haste to find the Mother of Time. And when the +oak heard this he replied, "You are not far from her dwelling; for +before you have gone another day's journey, you will see upon a +mountain a house, in which you will find her whom you seek. But +if you have as much kindness as beauty, I prithee learn for me +what I can do to regain my lost honour; for instead of being food +for great men, I am now only made the food of hogs." + +"Leave that to me," replied Cianna, "I will take care to serve you." +So saying, she departed, and walking on and on without ever +resting, she came at length to the foot of an impertinent mountain, +which was poking its head into the face of the clouds. There she +found an old man, who, wearied and wayworn, had lain down +upon some hay; and as soon as he saw Cianna, he knew her at +once, and that it was she who had cured his bump. + +When the old man heard what she was seeking, he told her that he +was carrying to Time the rent for the piece of earth which he had +cultivated, and that Time was a tyrant who usurped everything in +the world, claiming tribute from all, and especially from people of +his age; and he added that, having received kindness from Cianna, +he would now return it a hundredfold by giving her some good +information about her arrival at the mountain; and that he was +sorry he could not accompany her thither, since his old age, which +was condemned rather to go down than up, obliged him to remain +at the foot of those mountains, to cast up accounts with the clerks +of Time--which are the labours, the sufferings, and the infirmities +of life--and to pay the debt of Nature. So the old man said to her, +"Now, my pretty, innocent child, listen to me. You must know that +on the top of this mountain you will find a ruined house, which +was built long ago, time out of mind. The walls are cracked, the +foundations crumbling away, the doors worm-eaten, the furniture +all worn out--and, in short, everything is gone to wrack and ruin. +On one side are seen shattered columns, on another broken statues; +and nothing is left in a good state except a coat-of-arms over the +door, quartered on which you will see a serpent biting its tail, a +stag, a raven, and a phoenix. When you enter, you will see on the +ground, files, saws, scythes, sickles, pruning-hooks, and hundreds +and hundreds of vessels full of ashes, with the names written on +them, like gallipots in an apothecary's shop; and there may be read +Corinth, Saguntum, Carthage, Troy, and a thousand other cities, +the ashes of which Time preserved as trophies of his conquests. + +"When you come near the house, hide yourself until Time goes +out; and as soon as he has gone forth, enter, and you will find an +old, old woman, with a beard that touches the ground and a hump +reaching to the sky. Her hair, like the tail of a dapple-grey horse, +covers her heels; her face looks like a plaited collar, with the folds +stiffened by the starch of years. The old woman is seated upon a +clock, which is fastened to a wall; and her eyebrows are so large +that they overshadow her eyes, so that she will not be able to see +you. As soon as you enter, quickly take the weights off the clock, +then call to the old woman, and beg her to answer your questions; +whereupon she will instantly call her son to come and eat you up. +But the clock upon which the old woman sits having lost its +weights, her son cannot move, and she will therefore be obliged to +tell you what you wish. But do not trust any oath she may make, +unless she swears by the wings of her son, and you will be +content." + +So saying, the poor old man fell down and crumbled away, like a +dead body brought from a catacomb to the light of day. Then +Cianna took the ashes, and mixing them with a pint of tears, she +made a grave and buried them, praying Heaven to grant them quiet +and repose. And ascending the mountain till she was quite out of +breath, she waited until Time came out, who was an old man with +a long, long beard, and who wore a very old cloak covered with +slips of paper, on which were worked the names of various people. +He had large wings, and ran so fast that he was out of sight in an +instant. + +When Cianna entered the house of his mother, she started with +affright at the sight of that black old chip; and instantly seizing the +weights of the clock, she told what she wanted to the old woman, +who, setting up a loud cry, called to her son. But Cianna said to +her, "You may butt your head against the wall as long as you like, +for you will not see your son whilst I hold these clock-weights." + +Thereupon the old woman, seeing herself foiled, began to coax +Cianna, saying, "Let go of them, my dear, and do not stop my +son's course; for no man living has ever done that. Let go of them, +and may Heaven preserve you! for I promise you, by the acid of +my son, with which he corrodes everything, that I will do you no +harm." + +"That's time lost," answered Cianna, "you must say something +better if you would have me quit my hold." + +"I swear to you by those teeth, which gnaw all mortal things, that I +will tell you all you desire." + +"That is all nothing," answered Cianna, "for I know you are +deceiving me." + +"Well, then," said the old woman, "I swear to you by those wings +which fly over all that I will give you more pleasure than you +imagine." + +Thereupon Cianna, letting go the weights, kissed the old woman's +hand, which had a mouldy feel and a nasty smell. And the old +woman, seeing the courtesy of the damsel, said to her, "Hide +yourself behind this door, and when Time comes home I will make +him tell me all you wish to know. And as soon as he goes out +again--for he never stays quiet in one place--you can depart. But do +not let yourself be heard or seen, for he is such a glutton that he +does not spare even his own children; and when all fails, he +devours himself and then springs up anew." + +Cianna did as the old woman told her; and, lo! soon after Time +came flying quick, quick, high and light, and having gnawed +whatever came to hand, down to the very mouldiness upon the +walls, he was about to depart, when his mother told him all she +had heard from Cianna, beseeching him by the milk she had given +him to answer exactly all her questions. After a thousand +entreaties, her son replied, "To the tree may be answered, that it +can never be prized by men so long as it keeps treasures buried +under its roots; to the mice, that they will never be safe from the +cat unless they tie a bell to her leg to tell them when she is coming; +to the ants, that they will live a hundred years if they can dispense +with flying--for when the ant is going to die she puts on wings; to +the whale, that it should be of good cheer, and make friends with +the sea-mouse, who will serve him as a guide, so that he will never +go wrong; and to the doves, that when they alight on the column of +wealth, they will return to their former state." + +So saying, Time set out to run his accustomed post; and Cianna, +taking leave of the old woman, descended to the foot of the +mountain, just at the very time that the seven doves, who had +followed their sister's footsteps, arrived there. Wearied with flying +so far, they stopped to rest upon the horn of a dead ox; and no +sooner had they alighted than they were changed into handsome +youths as they were at first. But while they were marvelling at this, +they heard the reply which Time had given, and saw at once that +the horn, as the symbol of plenty, was the column of wealth of +which Time had spoken. Then embracing their sister with great +joy, they all set out on the same road by which Cianna had come. +And when they came to the oak-tree, and told it what Cianna had +heard from Time, the tree begged them to take away the treasure +from its roots, since it was the cause why its acorns had lost their +reputation. Thereupon the seven brothers, taking a spade which +they found in a garden, dug and dug, until they came to a great +heap of gold money, which they divided into eight parts and shared +among themselves and their sister, so that they might carry it away +conveniently. But being wearied with the journey and the load, +they laid themselves down to sleep under a hedge. Presently a band +of robbers coming by, and seeing the poor fellows asleep, with +their heads upon the clothfuls of money, bound them hand and foot +to some trees and took away their money, leaving them to bewail +not only their wealth--which had slipped through their fingers as +soon as found--but their life; for being without hope of succour, +they were in peril of either soon dying of hunger or allaying the +hunger of some wild beast. + +As they were lamenting their unhappy lot, up came the mouse, +who, as soon as she heard the reply which Time had given, in +return for the good service, nibbled the cords with which they were +bound and set them free. And having gone a little way farther, they +met on the road the ant, who, when she heard the advice of Time, +asked Cianna what was the matter that she was so pale-faced and +cast down. And when Cianna told her their misfortune, and the +trick which the robbers had played them, the ant replied, "Be +quiet, I can now requite the kindness you have done me. You must +know, that whilst I was carrying a load of grain underground, I saw +a place where these dogs of assassins hide their plunder. They have +made some holes under an old building, in which they shut up all +the things they have stolen. They are just now gone out for some +new robbery, and I will go with you and show you the place, so +that you may recover your money." + +So saying, she took the way towards some tumbled-down houses, +and showed the seven brothers the mouth of the pit; whereupon +Giangrazio, who was bolder than the rest, entering it, found there +all the money of which they had been robbed. Then taking it with +them, they set out, and walked towards the seashore, where they +found the whale, and told him the good advice which Time-- +who is the father of counsel--had given them. And whilst they +stood talking of their journey and all that had befallen them, they +saw the robbers suddenly appear, armed to the teeth, who had +followed in their footsteps. At this sight they exclaimed, "Alas, +alas! we are now wholly lost, for here come the robbers armed, +and they will not leave the skin on our bodies." + +"Fear not," replied the whale, "for I can save you out of the fire, +and will thus requite the love you have shown me; so get upon my +back, and I will quickly carry you to a place of safety." + +Cianna and her brothers, seeing the foe at their heels and the water +up to their throats, climbed upon the whale, who, keeping far off +from the rocks, carried them to within sight of Naples. But being +afraid to land them on account of the shoals and shallows, he said, +"Where would you like me to land you? On the shore of Amalfi?" +And Giangrazio answered, "See whether that cannot be avoided, +my dear fish. I do not wish to land at any place hereabouts; for at +Massa they say barely good-day, at Sorrento thieves are plenty, at +Vico they say you may go your way, at Castel-a-mare no one says +how are ye." + +Then the whale, to please them, turned about and went toward the +Salt-rock, where he left them; and they got put on shore by the first +fishing-boat that passed. Thereupon they returned to their own +country, safe and sound and rich, to the great joy and consolation +of their mother and father. And, thanks to the goodness of Cianna, +they enjoyed a happy life, verifying the old saying-- + + "Do good whenever you can, and forget it." + + + +XXV + +THE RAVEN + +It is truly a great proverb--"Rather a crooked sight than a crooked +judgment"; but it is so difficult to adopt it that the judgment of few +men hits the nail on the head. On the contrary, in the sea of human +affairs, the greater part are fishers in smooth waters, who catch +crabs; and he who thinks to take the most exact measure of the +object at which he aims often shoots widest of the mark. The +consequence of this is that all are running pell-mell, all toiling in +the dark, all thinking crookedly, all acting child's-play, all judging +at random, and with a haphazard blow of a foolish resolution +bringing upon themselves a bitter repentance; as was the case with +the King of Shady-Grove; and you shall hear how it fared with him +if you summon me within the circle of modesty with the bell of +courtesy, and give me a little attention. + +It is said that there was once a king of Shady-Grove named +Milluccio, who was so devoted to the chase, that he neglected the +needful affairs of his state and household to follow the track of a +hare or the flight of a thrush. And he pursued this road so far that +chance one day led him to a thicket, which had formed a solid +square of earth and trees to prevent the horses of the Sun from +breaking through. There, upon a most beautiful marble stone, he +found a raven, which had just been killed. + +The King, seeing the bright red blood sprinkled upon the white, +white marble, heaved a deep sigh and exclaimed, "O heavens! and +cannot I have a wife as white and red as this stone, and with hair +and eyebrows as black as the feathers of this raven?" And he stood +for a while so buried in this thought that he became a counterpart +to the stone, and looked like a marble image making love to the +other marble. And this unhappy fancy fixing itself in his head, as +he searched for it everywhere with the lanthorn of desire, it grew +in four seconds from a picktooth to a pole, from a crab-apple to an +Indian pumpkin, from barber's embers to a glass furnace, and from +a dwarf to a giant; insomuch that he thought of nothing else than +the image of that object encrusted in his heart as stone to stone. +Wherever he turned his eyes that form was always presented to +him which he carried in his breast; and forgetting all besides, he +had nothing but that marble in his head; in short, he became in a +manner so worn away upon the stone that he was at last as thin as +the edge of a penknife; and this marble was a millstone which +crushed his life, a slab of porphyry upon which the colours of his +days were ground and mixed, a tinder-box which set fire to the +brimstone match of his soul, a loadstone which attracted him, and +lastly, a rolling-stone which could never rest. + +At length his brother Jennariello, seeing him so pale and half-dead, +said to him, "My brother, what has happened to you, that you carry +grief lodged in your eyes, and despair sitting under the pale banner +of your face? What has befallen you? Speak--open your heart to +your brother: the smell of charcoal shut up in a chamber poisons +people--powder pent up in a mountain blows it into the air; open +your lips, therefore, and tell me what is the matter with you; at all +events be assured that I would lay down a thousand lives if I could +to help you." + +Then Milluccio, mingling words and sighs, thanked him for his +love, saying that he had no doubt of his affection, but that there +was no remedy for his ill, since it sprang from a stone, where he +had sown desires without hope of fruit--a stone from which he did +not expect a mushroom of content--a stone of Sisyphus, which he +bore to the mountain of designs, and when it reached the top rolled +over and over to the bottom. At length, however, after a thousand +entreaties, Milluccio told his brother all about his love; whereupon +Jennariello comforted him as much as he could, and bade him be +of good cheer, and not give way to an unhappy passion; for that he +was resolved, in order to satisfy him, to go all the world over until +he found a woman the counterpart of the stone. + +Then instantly fitting out a large ship, filled with merchandise, and +dressing himself like a merchant, he sailed for Venice, the wonder +of Italy, the receptacle of virtuous men, the great book of the +marvels of art and nature; and having procured there a +safe-conduct to pass to the Levant, he set sail for Cairo. When he +arrived there and entered the city, he saw a man who was carrying +a most beautiful falcon, and Jennariello at once purchased it to +take to his brother, who was a sportsman. Soon afterwards he met +another man with a splendid horse, which he also bought; +whereupon he went to an inn to refresh himself after the fatigues +he had suffered at sea. + +The following morning, when the army of the Star, at the +command of the general of the Light, strikes the tents in the camp +of the sky and abandons the post, Jennariello set out to wander +through the city, having his eyes about him like a lynx, looking at +this woman and that, to see whether by chance he could find the +likeness to a stone upon a face of flesh. And as he was wandering +about at random, turning continually to this side and that, like a +thief in fear of the constables, he met a beggar carrying an hospital +of plasters and a mountain of rags upon his back, who said to him, +"My gallant sir, what makes you so frightened?" + +"Have I, forsooth, to tell you my affairs?" answered Jennariello. +" Faith I should do well to tell my reason to the constable." + +"Softly, my fair youth!" replied the beggar, "for the flesh of man is +not sold by weight. If Darius had not told his troubles to a groom +he would not have become king of Persia. It will be no great +matter, therefore, for you to tell your affairs to a poor beggar, for +there is not a twig so slender but it may serve for a toothpick." + +When Jennariello heard the poor man talking sensibly and with +reason, he told him the cause that had brought him to that country; +whereupon the beggar replied, "See now, my son, how necessary it +is to make account of every one; for though I am only a heap of +rubbish, yet I shall be able to enrich the garden of your hopes. Now +listen--under the pretext of begging alms, I will knock at the door +of the young and beautiful daughter of a magician; then open your +eyes wide, look at her, contemplate her, regard her, measure her +from head to foot, for you will find the image of her whom your +brother desires." So saying, he knocked at the door of a house +close by, and Liviella opening it threw him a piece of bread. + +As soon as Jennariello saw her, she seemed to him built after the +model which Milluccio had given him; then he gave a good alms +to the beggar and sent him away, and going to the inn he dressed +himself like a pedlar, carrying in two caskets all the wealth of the +world. And thus he walked up and down before Liviella's house +crying his wares, until at length she called him, and took a view of +the beautiful net-caps, hoods, ribands, gauze, edgings, lace, +handkerchiefs, collars, needles, cups of rouge, and head-gear fit for +a queen, which he carried. And when she had examined all the +things again and again, she told him to show her something else; +and Jennariello answered, "My lady, in these caskets I have only +cheap and paltry wares; but if you will deign to come to my ship, I +will show you things of the other world, for I have there a host of +beautiful goods worthy of any great lord." + +Liviella, who was full of curiosity, not to belie the nature of her +sex, replied, "If my father indeed were not out he would have +given me some money." + +"Nay, you can come all the better if he is out," replied Jennariello, +"for perhaps he might not allow you the pleasure; and I'll promise +to show you such splendid things as will make you rave +--such necklaces and earrings, such bracelets and sashes, such +workmanship in paper--in short I will perfectly astound you." + +When Liviella heard all this display of finery she called a gossip of +hers to accompany her, and went to the ship. But no sooner had +she embarked than Jennariello, whilst keeping her enchanted with +the sight of all the beautiful things he had brought, craftily ordered +the anchor to be weighed and the sails to be set, so that before +Liviella raised her eyes from the wares and saw that she had left +the land, they had already gone many miles. When at length she +perceived the trick, she began to act Olympia the reverse way; for +whereas Olympia bewailed being left upon a rock, Liviella +lamented leaving the rocks. But when Jennariello told her who he +was, whither he was carrying her, and the good fortune that +awaited her, and pictured to her, moreover, Milluccio's beauty, his +valour, his virtues, and lastly the love with which he would receive +her, he succeeded in pacifying her, and she even prayed the wind +to bear her quickly to see the colouring of the design which +Jennariello had drawn. + +As they were sailing merrily along they heard the waves grumbling +beneath the ship; and although they spoke in an undertone, the +captain of the ship, who understood in an instant what it meant, +cried out, "All hands aboard! for here comes a storm, and Heaven +save us!" No sooner had he spoken these words than there came +the testimony of a whistling of the wind; and behold the sky was +overcast with clouds, and the sea was covered with white-crested +waves. And whilst the waves on either side of the ship, curious to +know what the others were about, leaped uninvited to the nuptials +upon the deck, one man baled them with a bowl into a tub, another +drove them off with a pump; and whilst every sailor was hard at +work--as it concerned his own safety--one minding the rudder, +another hauling the foresail, another the mainsheet, Jennariello ran +up to the topmast, to see with a telescope if he could discover any +land where they might cast anchor. And lo! whilst he was +measuring a hundred miles of distance with two feet of telescope, +he saw a dove and its mate come flying up and alight upon the +sail-yard. Then the male bird said, "Rucche, rucche!" And his mate +answered, "What's the matter, husband, that you are lamenting +so?" "This poor Prince," replied the other, "has bought a falcon, +which as soon as it shall be in his brother's hands will pick out his +eyes; but if he does not take it to him, or if he warns him of the +danger, he will turn to marble." And thereupon he began again to +cry, "Rucche, rucche!" And his mate said to him, "What, still +lamenting! Is there anything new?" "Ay, indeed," answered the +male dove, "he has also bought a horse, and the first time his +brother rides him the horse will break his neck; but if he does not +take it to him, or if he warns him of the danger, he will turn to +marble." "Rucche, rucche!" he cried again. "Alas, with all these +RUCCHE, RUCCHE," said the female dove, "what's the matter +now?" And her mate said, "This man is taking a beautiful wife to +his brother; but the first night, as soon as they go to sleep, they will +both be devoured by a frightful dragon; yet if he does not take her +to him, or if he warns him of the danger, he will turn to marble." + +As he spoke, the tempest ceased, and the rage of the sea and the +fury of the wind subsided. But a far greater tempest arose in +Jennariello's breast, from what he had heard, and more than +twenty times he was on the point of throwing all the things into the +sea, in order not to carry to his brother the cause of his ruin. But on +the other hand he thought of himself, and reflected that charity +begins at home; and fearing that, if he did not carry these things to +his brother, or if he warned him of the danger, he should turn to +marble, he resolved to look rather to the fact than to the +possibility, since the shirt was closer to him than the jacket. + +When he arrived at Shady-Grove, he found his brother on the +shore, awaiting with great joy the return of the ship, which he had +seen at a distance. And when he saw that it bore her whom he +carried in his heart, and confronting one face with the other +perceived that there was not the difference of a hair, his joy was so +great that he was almost weighed down under the excessive burden +of delight. Then embracing his brother fervently, he said to him, +"What falcon is that you are carrying on your fist?" And +Jennariello answered, "I have bought it on purpose to give to you." +"I see clearly that you love me," replied Milluccio, "since you go +about seeking to give me pleasure. Truly, if you had brought me a +costly treasure, it could not have given me greater delight than this +falcon." And just as he was going to take it in his hand, Jennariello +quickly drew a large knife which he carried at his side and cut off +its head. At this deed the King stood aghast, and thought his +brother mad to have done such a stupid act; but not to interrupt the +joy at his arrival, he remained silent. Presently, however, he saw +the horse, and on asking his brother whose it was, heard that it was +his own. Then he felt a great desire to ride him, and just as he was +ordering the stirrup to beheld, Jennariello quickly cut off the +horse's legs with his knife. Thereat the King waxed wrath, for his +brother seemed to have done it on purpose to vex him, and his +choler began to rise. However, he did not think it a right time to +show resentment, lest he should poison the pleasure of the bride at +first sight, whom he could never gaze upon enough. + +When they arrived at the royal palace, he invited all the lords and +ladies of the city to a grand feast, at which the hall seemed just +like a riding-school full of horses, curveting and prancing, with a +number of foals in the form of women. But when the ball was +ended, and a great banquet had been despatched, they all retired to +rest. + +Jennariello, who thought of nothing else than to save his brother's +life, hid himself behind the bed of the bridal pair; and as he stood +watching to see the dragon come, behold at midnight a fierce +dragon entered the chamber, who sent forth flames from his eyes +and smoke from his mouth, and who, from the terror he carried in +his look, would have been a good agent to sell all the antidotes to +fear in the apothecaries' shops. As soon as Jennariello saw the +monster, he began to lay about him right and left with a Damascus +blade which he had hidden under his cloak; and he struck one blow +so furiously that it cut in halves a post of the King's bed, at which +noise the King awoke, and the dragon disappeared. + +When Milluccio saw the sword in his brother's hand, and the +bedpost cut in two, he set up a loud cry, "Help here! hola! help! +This traitor of a brother is come to kill me!" Whereupon, hearing +the noise, a number of servants who slept in the antechamber came +running up, and the King ordered Jennariello to be bound, and sent +him the same hour to prison. + +The next morning, as soon as the Sun opened his bank to deliver +the deposit of light to the Creditor of the Day, the King summoned +the council; and when he told them what had passed, confirming +the wicked intention shown in killing the falcon and the horse on +purpose to vex him, they judged that Jennariello deserved to die. +The prayers of Liviella were all unavailing to soften the heart of +the King, who said, "You do not love me, wife, for you have more +regard for your brother-in-law than for my life. You have seen with +your own eyes this dog of an assassin come with a sword that +would cut a hair in the air to kill me; and if the bedpost (the +column of my life) had not protected me, you would at this +moment have been a widow." So saying, he gave orders that +justice should take its course. + +When Jennariello heard this sentence, and saw himself so +ill-rewarded for doing good, he knew not what to think or to do. If +he said nothing, bad; if he spoke, worse; and whatever he should +do was a fall from the tree into the wolf's mouth. If he remained +silent, he should lose his head under an axe; if he spoke, he should +end his days in a stone. At length, after various resolutions, he +made up his mind to disclose the matter to his brother; and since +he must die at all events, he thought it better to tell his brother the +truth, and to end his days with the title of an innocent man, than to +keep the truth to himself and be sent out of the world as a traitor. +So sending word to the King that he had something to say of +importance to his state, he was led into his presence, where he first +made a long preamble of the love he had always borne him; then +he went on to tell of the deception he had practiced on Liviella in +order to give him pleasure; and then what he had heard from the +doves about the falcon, and how, to avoid being turned to marble, +he had brought it him, and without revealing the secret had killed +it in order not to see him without eyes. + +As he spoke, he felt his legs stiffen and turn to marble. And when +he went on to relate the affair of the horse in the same manner, he +became visibly stone up to the waist, stiffening miserably-- +a thing which at another time he would have paid in ready money, +but which now his heart wept at. At last, when he came to the +affair of the dragon, he stood like a statue in the middle of the hall, +stone from head to foot. When the King saw this, reproaching +himself for the error he had committed, and the rash sentence he +had passed upon so good and loving a brother, he mourned him +more than a year, and every time he thought of him he shed a river +of tears. + +Meanwhile Liviella gave birth to two sons, who were two of the +most beautiful creatures in the world. And after a few months, +when the Queen was gone into the country for pleasure, and the +father and his two little boys chanced to be standing in the middle +of the hall, gazing with tearful eyes on the statue--the memorial of +his folly, which had taken from him the flower of men-- +behold a stately and venerable old man entered, whose long hair +fell upon his shoulders and whose beard covered his breast. And +making a reverence to the King, the old man said to him, "What +would your Majesty give to have this noble brother return to his +former state?" And the King answered, "I would give my +kingdom." "Nay," replied the old man, "this is not a thing that +requires payment in wealth; but being an affair of life, it must be +paid for with as much again of life." + +Then the King, partly out of the love he bore Jennariello, and +partly from hearing himself reproached with the injury he had +done him, answered, "Believe me, my good sir, I would give my +own life for his life; and provided that he came out of the stone, I +should be content to be enclosed in a stone." + +Hearing this the old man said, "Without putting your life to the +risk--since it takes so long to rear a man--the blood of these, your +two little boys, smeared upon the marble, would suffice to make +him instantly come to life." Then the King replied, "Children I +may have again, but I have a brother, and another I can never more +hop to see." So saying, he made a pitiable sacrifice of two little +innocent kids before an idol of stone, and besmearing the statue +with their blood, it instantly became alive; whereupon the King +embraced his brother, and their joy is not to be told. Then they had +these poor little creatures put into a coffin, in order to give them +burial with all due honour. But just at that instant the Queen +returned home, and the King, bidding his brother hide himself, +said to his wife, "What would you give, my heart, to have my +brother restored to life?" "I would give this whole kingdom," +replied Liviella. And the King answered, "Would you give the +blood of your children?" "Nay, not that, indeed," replied the +Queen; "for I could not be so cruel as to tear out with my own +hands the apple of my eyes." "Alas!" said the King, "in order to +see a brother alive, I have killed my own children! for this was the +price of Jennariello's life!" + +So saying, he showed the Queen the little boys in the coffin; and +when she saw this sad spectacle, she cried aloud like one mad, +saying, "O my children! you props of my life, joys of my heart, +fountains of my blood! Who has painted red the windows of the +sun? Who has without a doctor's licence bled the chief vein of my +life? Alas, my children, my children! my hope now taken from me, +my light now darkened, my joy now poisoned, my support now +lost! You are stabbed by the sword, I am pierced by grief; you are +drowned in blood, I in tears. Alas that, to give life to an uncle, you +have slain your mother! For I am no longer able to weave the +thread of my days without you, the fair counterpoises of the loom +of my unhappy life. The organ of my voice must be silent, now +that its bellows are taken away. O children, children! why do ye +not give answer to your mother, who once gave you the blood in +your veins, and now weeps it for you from her eyes? But since fate +shows me the fountain of my happiness dried up, I will no longer +live the sport of fortune in the world, but will go at once to find +you again!" + +So saying, she ran to a window to throw herself out; but just at that +instant her father entered by the same window in a cloud, and +called to her, "Stop, Liviella! I have now accomplished what I +intended, and killed three birds with one stone. I have revenged +myself on Jennariello, who came to my house to rob me of my +daughter, by making him stand all these months like a marble +statue in a block of stone. I have punished you for your +ill-conduct in going away in a ship without my permission, by +showing you your two children, your two jewels, killed by their +own father. And I have punished the King for the caprice he took +into his head, by making him first the judge of his brother, and +afterwards the executioner of his children. But as I have wished +only to shear and not to flay you, I desire now that all the poison +may turn into sweetmeats for you. Therefore, go, take again your +children and my grandchildren, who are more beautiful than ever. +And you, Milluccio, embrace me. I receive you as my +son-in-law and as my son. And I pardon Jennariello his offence, +having done all that he did out of love to so excellent a brother." + +And as he spoke, the little children came, and the grandfather was +never satisfied with embracing and kissing them; and in the midst +of the rejoicings Jennariello entered, as a third sharer in them, +who, after suffering so many storms of fate, was now swimming in +macaroni broth. But notwithstanding all the after pleasures that he +enjoyed in life, his past dangers never went from his mind; and he +was always thinking on the error his brother had committed, and +how careful a man ought to be not to fall into the ditch, +since-- + + "All human judgment is false and perverse." + + + +XXVI + +THE MONTHS + +It is a saying worthy to be written in letters as big as those on a +monument, that silence never harmed any one: and let it not be +imagined that those slanderers who never speak well of others, but +are always cutting and stinging, and pinching and biting, ever gain +anything by their malice; for when the bags come to be shaken out, +it has always been seen, and is so still, that whilst a good word +gains love and profit, slander brings enmity and ruin; and when +you shall have heard how this happens, you will say I speak with +reason. + +Once upon a time there were two brothers--Cianne, who was as +rich as a lord, and Lise, who had barely enough to live upon: but +poor as one was in fortune, so pitiful was the other in mind, for he +would not have given his brother a farthing were it to save his life; +so that poor Lise in despair left his country, and set out to wander +over the world. And he wandered on and on, till one wet and cold +evening he came to an inn, where he found twelve youths seated +around a fire, who, when they saw poor Lise benumbed with cold, +partly from the severe season and partly from his ragged clothes, +invited him to sit down by the fire. + +Lise accepted the invitation, for he needed it greatly, and began to +warm himself. And as he was warming himself, one of the young +men whose face was such a picture of moroseness as to make you +die of fright, said to him, "What think you, countryman, of this +weather?" + +"What do I think of it?" replied Lise; "I think that all the months of +the year perform their duty; but we, who know not what we would +have, wish to give laws to Heaven; and wanting to have things our +own way, we do not fish deeply enough to the bottom, to find out +whether what comes into our fancy be good or evil, useful or +hurtful. In winter, when it rains, we want the sun in Leo, and in the +month of August the clouds to discharge themselves; not +reflecting, that were this the case, the seasons would be turned +topsy-turvy, the seed sown would be lost, the crops would be +destroyed, the bodies of men would faint away, and Nature would +go head over heels. Therefore let us leave Heaven to its own +course; for it has made the tree to mitigate with its wood the +severity of winter, and with its leaves the heat of summer." + +"You speak like Samson!" replied the youth; "but you cannot deny +that this month of March, in which we now are, is very impertinent +to send all this frost and rain, snow and hail, wind and storm, these +fogs and tempests and other troubles, that make one's life a +burden." + +"You tell only the ill of this poor month," replied Lisa, "but do not +speak of the benefits it yields us; for, by bringing forward the +Spring, it commences the production of things, and is alone the +cause that the Sun proves the happiness of the present time, by +leading him into the house of the Ram." + +The youth was greatly pleased at what Lise said, for he was in truth +no other than the month of March itself, who had arrived at that +inn with his eleven brothers; and to reward Lise's goodness, who +had not even found anything ill to say of a month so sad that the +shepherds do not like to mention it, he gave him a beautiful little +casket, saying, "Take this, and if you want anything, only ask for +it, and when you open this box you will see it before you." Lise +thanked the youth, with many expressions of respect, and laying +the little box under his head by way of a pillow, he went to sleep. + +As soon, however, as the Sun, with the pencil of his rays, had +retouched the dark shadows of Night, Lise took leave of the youths +and set out on his way. But he had hardly proceeded fifty steps +from the inn, when, opening the casket, he said, "Ah, my friend, I +wish I had a litter lined with cloth, and with a little fire inside, that +I might travel warm and comfortable through the snow!" No +sooner had he uttered the words than there appeared a litter, with +bearers, who, lifting him up, placed him in it; whereupon he told +them to carry him home. + +When the hour was come to set the jaws to work Lise opened the +little box and said, "I wish for something to eat." And instantly +there appeared a profusion of the choicest food, and there was +such a banquet that ten crowned kings might have feasted on it. + +One evening, having come to a wood which did not give +admittance to the Sun because he came from suspected places, +Lise opened the little casket, and said, "I should like to rest +to-night on this beautiful spot, where the river is making harmony +upon the stones as accompaniment to the song of the cool +breezes." And instantly there appeared, under an oilcloth tent, a +couch of fine scarlet, with down mattresses, covered with a +Spanish counterpane and sheets as light as a feather. Then he +asked for something to eat, and in a trice there was set out a +sideboard covered with silver and gold fit for a prince, and under +another tent a table was spread with viands, the savoury smell of +which extended a hundred miles. + +When he had eaten enough, he laid himself down to sleep; and as +soon as the Cock, who is the spy of the Sun, announced to his +master that the Shades of Night were worn and wearied, and it was +now time for him, like a skilful general, to fall upon their rear and +make a slaughter of them, Lise opened his little box and said, "I +wish to have a handsome dress, for to-day I shall see my brother, +and I should like to make his mouth water." No sooner said than +done: immediately a princely dress of the richest black velvet +appeared, with edgings of red camlet and a lining of yellow cloth +embroidered all over, which looked like a field of flowers. So +dressing himself, Lise got into the litter and soon reached his +brother's house. + +When Cianne saw his brother arrive, with all this splendour and +luxury, he wished to know what good fortune had befallen him. +Then Lise told him of the youths whom he had met in the inn, and +of the present they had made him; but he kept to himself his +conversation with the youths. + +Cianne was now all impatience to get away from his brother, and +told him to go and rest himself, as he was no doubt tired; then he +started post-haste, and soon arrived at the inn, where, finding the +same youths, he fell into chat with them. And when the youth +asked him the same question, what he thought of that month of +March, Cianne, making a big mouth, said, "Confound the +miserable month! the enemy of shepherds, which stirs up all the +ill-humours and brings sickness to our bodies. A month of which, +whenever we would announce ruin to a man, we say, Go, March +has shaved you!' A month of which, when you want to call a man +presumptuous, you say, What cares March?' A month in short so +hateful, that it would be the best fortune for the world, the greatest +blessing to the earth, the greatest gain to men, were it excluded +from the band of brothers." + +March, who heard himself thus slandered, suppressed his anger till +the morning, intending then to reward Cianne for his calumny; and +when Cianne wished to depart, he gave him a fine whip, saying to +him, "Whenever you wish for anything, only say, Whip, give me a +hundred!' and you shall see pearls strung upon a rush." + +Cianne, thanking the youth, went his way in great haste, not +wishing to make trial of the whip until he reached home. But +hardly had he set foot in the house, when he went into a secret +chamber, intending to hide the money which he expected to +receive from the whip. Then he said, "Whip, give me a hundred!" +and thereupon the whip gave him more than he looked for, making +a score on his legs and face like a musical composer, so that Lise, +hearing his cries, came running to the spot; and when he saw that +the whip, like a runaway horse, could not stop itself, he opened the +little box and brought it to a standstill. Then he asked Cianne what +had happened to him, and upon hearing his story, he told him he +had no one to blame but himself; for like a blockhead he alone had +caused his own misfortune, acting like the camel, that wanted to +have horns and lost its ears; but he bade him mind another time +and keep a bridle on his tongue, which was the key that had +opened to him the storehouse of misfortune; for if he had spoken +well of the youths, he would perhaps have had the same good +fortune, especially as to speak well of any one is a merchandise +that costs nothing, and usually brings profit that is not expected. In +conclusion Lise comforted him, bidding him not seek more wealth +than Heaven had give him, for his little casket would suffice to fill +the houses of thirty misers, and Cianne should be master of all he +possessed, since to the generous man Heaven is treasurer; and he +added that, although another brother might have borne Cianne +ill-will for the cruelty with which he had treated him in his +poverty, yet he reflected that his avarice had been a favourable +wind which had brought him to this port, and therefore wished to +show himself grateful for the benefit. + +When Cianne heard these things, he begged his brother's pardon +for his past unkindness, and entering into partnership they enjoyed +together their good fortune, and from that time forward Cianne +spoke well of everything, however bad it might be; +for-- + + "The dog that was scalaed with hot water, for ever dreads that +which is cold." + + + +XXVII + +PINTOSMALTO + +It has always been more difficult for a man to keep than to get; for +in the one case fortune aids, which often assists injustice, but in +the other case sense is required. Therefore we frequently find a +person deficient in cleverness rise to wealth, and then, from want +of sense, roll over heels to the bottom; as you will see clearly from +the story I am going to tell you, if you are quick of understanding. + +A merchant once had an only daughter, whom he wished greatly to +see married; but as often as he struck this note, he found her a +hundred miles off from the desired pitch, for the foolish girl would +never consent to marry, and the father was in consequence the +most unhappy and miserable man in the world. Now it happened +one day that he was going to a fair; so he asked his daughter, who +was named Betta, what she would like him to bring her on his +return. And she said, "Papa, if you love me, bring me half a +hundredweight of Palermo sugar, and as much again of sweet +almonds, with four to six bottles of scented water, and a little +musk and amber, also forty pearls, two sapphires, a few garnets +and rubies, with some gold thread, and above all a trough and a +little silver trowel." Her father wondered at this extravagant +demand, nevertheless he would not refuse his daughter; so he went +to the fair, and on his return brought her all that she had requested. + +As soon as Betta received these things, she shut herself up in a +chamber, and began to make a great quantity of paste of almonds +and sugar, mixed with rosewater and perfumes, and set to work to +form a most beautiful youth, making his hair of gold thread, his +eyes of sapphires, his teeth of pearls, his lips of rubies; and she +gave him such grace that speech alone was wanting to him. When +she had done all this, having heard say that at the prayers of a +certain King of Cyprus a statue had once come to life, she prayed +to the goddess of Love so long that at last the statue began to open +its eyes; and increasing her prayers, it began to breathe; and after +breathing, words came out; and at last, disengaging all its limbs, it +began to walk. + +With a joy far greater than if she had gained a kingdom, Betta +embraced and kissed the youth, and taking him by the hand, she +led him before her father and said, "My lord and father, you have +always told me that you wished to see me married, and in order to +please you I have now chosen a husband after my own heart." +When her father saw the handsome youth come out of his +daughter's room, whom he had not seen enter it, he stood amazed, +and at the sight of such beauty, which folks would have paid a +halfpenny a head to gaze at, he consented that the marriage should +take place. So a great feast was made, at which, among the other +ladies present, there appeared a great unknown Queen, who, seeing +the beauty of Pintosmalto (for that was the name Betta gave him), +fell desperately in love with him. Now Pintosmalto, who had only +opened his eyes on the wickedness of the world three hours before, +and was as innocent as a babe, accompanied the strangers who had +come to celebrate his nuptials to the stairs, as his bride had told +him; and when he did the same with this Queen, she took him by +the hand and led him quietly to her coach, drawn by six horses, +which stood in the courtyard; then taking him into it, she ordered +the coachman to drive off and away to her country. + +After Betta had waited a while in vain expecting Pintosmalto to +return, she sent down into the courtyard to see whether he were +speaking with any one there; then she sent up to the roof to see if +he had gone to take fresh air; but finding him nowhere, she directly +imagined that, on account of his great beauty, he had been stolen +from her. So she ordered the usual proclamations to be made; but +at last, as no tidings of him were brought, she formed the +resolution to go all the world over in search of him, and dressing +herself as a poor girl, she set out on her way. After some months +she came to the house of a good old woman, who received her +with great kindness; and when she had heard Betta's misfortune, +she took compassion on her, and taught her three sayings. The first +was, "Tricche varlacche, the house rains!" the second, "Anola +tranola, the fountain plays!"; the third, "Scatola matola, the sun +shines!"--telling her to repeat these words whenever she was in +trouble, and they would be of good service to her. + +Betta wondered greatly at this present of chaff, nevertheless she +said to herself, "He who blows into your mouth does not wish to +see you dead, and the plant that strikes root does not wither; +everything has its use; who knows what good fortune may be +contained in these words?" So saying, she thanked the old woman, +and set out upon her way. And after a long journey she came to a +beautiful city called Round Mount, where she went straight to the +royal palace, and begged for the love of Heaven a little shelter in +the stable. So the ladies of the court ordered a small room to be +given her on the stairs; and while poor Betta was sitting there she +saw Pintosmalto pass by, whereat her joy was so great that she was +on the point of slipping down from the tree of life. But seeing the +trouble she was in, Betta wished to make proof of the first saying +which the old woman had told her; and no sooner had she repeated +the words, "Tricche varlacche, the house rains!" than instantly +there appeared before her a beautiful little coach of gold set all +over with jewels, which ran about the chamber of itself and was a +wonder to behold. + +When the ladies of the court saw this sight they went and told the +Queen, who without loss of time ran to Betta's chamber; and when +she saw the beautiful little coach, she asked whether she would +sell it, and offered to give whatever she might demand. But Betta +replied that, although she was poor she would not sell it for all the +gold in the world, but if the Queen wished for the little coach, she +must allow her to pass one night at the door of Pintosmalto's +chamber. + +The Queen was amazed at the folly of the poor girl, who although +she was all in rags would nevertheless give up such riches for a +mere whim; however, she resolved to take the good mouthful +offered her, and, by giving Pintosmalto a sleeping-draught, +to satisfy the poor girl but pay her in bad coin. + +As soon as the Night was come, when the stars in the sky and the +glowworms on the earth were to pass in review, the Queen gave a +sleeping-draught to Pintosmalto, who did everything he was told, +and sent him to bed. And no sooner had he thrown himself on the +mattress than he fell as sound asleep as a dormouse. Poor Betta, +who thought that night to relate all her past troubles, seeing now +that she had no audience, fell to lamenting beyond measure, +blaming herself for all that she had done for his sake; and the +unhappy girl never closed her mouth, nor did the sleeping +Pintosmalto ever open his eyes until the Sun appeared with the +aqua regia of his rays to separate the shades from the light, when +the Queen came down, and taking Pintosmalto by the hand, said to +Betta, "Now be content." + +"May you have such content all the days of your life!" replied +Betta in an undertone; "for I have passed so bad a night that I shall +not soon forget it." + +The poor girl, however, could not resist her longing, and resolved +to make trial of the second saying; so she repeated the words, +"Anola tranola, the fountain plays!" and instantly there appeared a +golden cage, with a beautiful bird made of precious stones and +gold, which sang like a nightingale. When the ladies saw this they +went and told it to the Queen, who wished to see the bird; then she +asked the same question as about the little coach, and Betta made +the same reply as before. Whereupon the Queen, who perceived, as +she thought, what a silly creature Betta was, promised to grant her +request, and took the cage with the bird. And as soon as night +came she gave Pintosmalto a sleeping-draught as before, and sent +him to bed. When Betta saw that he slept like a dead person, she +began again to wail and lament, saying things that would have +moved a flintstone to compassion; and thus she passed another +night, full of trouble, weeping and wailing and tearing her hair. +But as soon as it was day the Queen came to fetch her captive, and +left poor Betta in grief and sorrow, and biting her hands with +vexation at the trick that had been played her. + +In the morning when Pintosmalto went to a garden outside the city +gate to pluck some figs, he met a cobbler, who lived in a room +close to where Betta lay and had not lost a word of all she had +said. Then he told Pintosmalto of the weeping, lamentation, and +crying of the unhappy beggar-girl; and when Pintosmalto, who +already began to get a little more sense, heard this, he guessed how +matters stood, and resolved that, if the same thing happened again, +he would not drink what the Queen gave him. + +Betta now wished to make the third trial, so she said the words, +"Scatola matola, the sun shines!" and instantly there appeared a +quantity of stuffs of silk and gold, and embroidered scarfs, with a +golden cup; in short, the Queen herself could not have brought +together so many beautiful ornaments. When the ladies saw these +things they told their mistress, who endeavoured to obtain them as +she had done the others; but Betta replied as before, that if the +Queen wished to have them she must let her spend the night at the +door of the chamber. Then the Queen said to herself, "What can I +lose by satisfying this silly girl, in order to get from her these +beautiful things?" So taking all the treasures which Betta offered +her, as soon as Night appeared, the instrument for the debt +contracted with Sleep and Repose being liquidated, she gave the +sleeping-draught to Pintosmalto; but this time he did not swallow +it, and making an excuse to leave the room, he spat it out again, +and then went to bed. + +Betta now began the same tune again, saying how she had kneaded +him with her own hands of sugar and almonds, how she had made +his hair of gold, and his eyes and mouth of pearls and precious +stones, and how he was indebted to her for his life, which the gods +had granted to her prayers, and lastly how he had been stolen from +her, and she had gone seeking him with such toil and trouble. Then +she went on to tell him how she had watched two nights at the +door of his room, and for leave to do so had given up two +treasures, and yet had not been able to hear a single word from +him, so that this was the last night of her hopes and the conclusion +of her life. + +When Pintosmalto, who had remained awake, heard these words, +and called to mind as a dream all that had passed, he rose and +embraced her; and as Night had just come forth with her black +mask to direct the dance of the Stars, he went very quietly into the +chamber of the Queen, who was in a deep sleep, and took from her +all the things that she had taken from Betta, and all the jewels and +money which were in a desk, to repay himself for his past troubles. +Then returning to his wife, they set off that very hour, and +travelled on and on until they arrived at her father's house, where +they found him alive and well; and from the joy of seeing his +daughter again he became like a boy of fifteen years. But when the +Queen found neither Pintosmalto, nor beggar-girl, nor jewels, she +tore her hair and rent her clothes, and called to mind the +saying-- + + "He who cheats must not complain if he be cheated." + + + +XXVIII + +THE GOLDEN ROOT + +A person who is over-curious, and wants to know more than he +ought, always carries the match in his hand to set fire to the +powder-room of his own fortunes; and he who pries into others' +affairs is frequently a loser in his own; for generally he who digs +holes to search for treasures, comes to a ditch into which he +himself falls--as happened to the daughter of a gardener in the +following manner. + +There was once a gardener who was so very very poor that, +however hard he worked, he could not manage to get bread for his +family. So he gave three little pigs to his three daughters, that they +might rear them, and thus get something for a little dowry. Then +Pascuzza and Cice, who were the eldest, drove their little pigs to +feed in a beautiful meadow; but they would not let Parmetella, +who was the youngest daughter, go with them, and sent her away, +telling her to go and feed her pig somewhere else. So Parmetella +drove her little animal into a wood, where the Shades were holding +out against the assaults of the Sun; and coming to a pasture +--in the middle of which flowed a fountain, that, like the hostess of +an inn where cold water is sold, was inviting the passers-by with +its silver tongue--she found a certain tree with golden leaves. Then +plucking one of them, she took it to her father, who with great joy +sold it for more than twenty ducats, which served to stop up a hole +in his affairs. And when he asked Parmetella where she had found +it, she said, "Take it, sir, and ask no questions, unless you would +spoil your good fortune." The next day she returned and did the +same; and she went on plucking the leaves from the tree until it +was entirely stript, as if it had been plundered by the winds of +Autumn. Then she perceived that the tree had a large golden root, +which she could not pull up with her hands; so she went home, and +fetching an axe set to work to lay bare the root around the foot of +the tree; and raising the trunk as well as she could, she found under +it a beautiful porphyry staircase. + +Parmetella, who was curious beyond measure, went down the +stairs, and walking through a large and deep cavern, she came to a +beautiful plain, on which was a splendid palace, where only gold +and silver were trodden underfoot, and pearls and precious stones +everywhere met the eye. And as Parmetella stood wondering at all +these splendid things, not seeing any person moving among so +many beautiful fixtures, she went into a chamber, in which were a +number of pictures; and on them were seen painted various +beautiful things--especially the ignorance of man esteemed wise, +the injustice of him who held the scales, the injuries avenged by +Heaven--things truly to amaze one. And in the same chamber also +was a splendid table, set out with things to eat and to drink. + +Seeing no one, Parmetella, who was very hungry, sat down at a +table to eat like a fine count; but whilst she was in the midst of the +feast, behold a handsome Slave entered, who said, "Stay! do not go +away, for I will have you for my wife, and will make you the +happiest woman in the world." In spite of her fear, Parmetella took +heart at this good offer, and consenting to what the Slave +proposed, a coach of diamonds was instantly given her, drawn by +four golden steeds, with wings of emeralds and rubies, who carried +her flying through the air to take an airing; and a number of apes, +clad in cloth of gold, were given to attend on her person, who +forthwith arrayed her from head to foot, and adorned her so that +she looked just like a Queen. + +When night was come, and the Sun--desiring to sleep on the banks +of the river of India untroubled by gnats--had put out the light, the +Slave said to Parmetella, "My dear, now go to rest in this bed; but +remember first to put out the candle, and mind what I say, or ill +will betide you." Then Parmetella did as he told her; but no sooner +had she closed her eyes than the blackamoor, changing to a +handsome youth, lay down to sleep. But the next morning, ere the +Dawn went forth to seek fresh eggs in the fields of the sky the +youth arose and took his other form again, leaving Parmetella full +of wonder and curiosity. + +And again the following night, when Parmetella went to rest, she +put out the candle as she had done the night before, and the youth +came as usual and lay down to sleep. But no sooner had he shut his +eyes than Parmetella arose, took a steel which she had provided, +and lighting the tinder applied a match; then taking the candle, she +raised the coverlet, and beheld the ebony turned to ivory, and the +coal to chalk. And whilst she stood gazing with open mouth, and +contemplating the most beautiful pencilling that Nature had ever +given upon the canvas of Wonder, the youth awoke, and began to +reproach Parmetella, saying, "Ah, woe is me! for your prying +curiosity I have to suffer another seven years this accursed +punishment. But begone! Run, scamper off! Take yourself out of +my sight! You know not what good fortune you lose." So saying, +he vanished like quicksilver. + +The poor girl left the palace, cold and stiff with affright, and with +her head bowed to the ground. And when she had come out of the +cavern she met a fairy, who said to her, "My child, how my heart +grieves at your misfortune! Unhappy girl, you are going to the +slaughter-house, where you will pass over the bridge no wider than +a hair. Therefore, to provide against your peril, take these seven +spindles with these seven figs, and a little jar of honey, and these +seven pairs of iron shoes, and walk on and on without stopping, +until they are worn out; then you will see seven women standing +upon a balcony of a house, and spinning from above down to the +ground, with the thread wound upon the bone of a dead person. +Remain quite still and hidden, and when the thread comes down, +take out the bone and put in its place a spindle besmeared with +honey, with a fig in the place of the little button. Then as soon as +the women draw up the spindles and taste the honey, they +will say-- + + He who has made my spindle sweet, + Shall in return with good fortune meet!' + +And after repeating these words, they will say, one after another, + O you who brought us these sweet things appear!' Then you must +answer, Nay, for you will eat me.' And they will say, We swear +by our spoon that we will not eat you!' But do not stir; and they +will continue, We swear by our spit that we will not eat you!' But +stand firm, as if rooted to the spot; and they will say, We swear by +our broom that we will not eat you!' Still do not believe them; and +when they say, We swear by our pail that we will not eat you!' +shut your mouth, and say not a word, or it will cost you your life. +At last they will say, We swear by Thunder-and-Lightning that we +will not eat you!' Then take courage and mount up, for they will +do you no harm." + +When Parmetella heard this, she set off and walked over hill and +dale, until at the end of seven years the iron shoes were worn out; +and coming to a large house, with a projecting balcony, she saw +the seven women spinning. So she did as the fairy had advised her; +and after a thousand wiles and allurements, they swore by +Thunder-and-Lightning, whereupon she showed herself and +mounted up. Then they all seven said to her, "Traitress, you are the +cause that our brother has lived twice seven long years in the +cavern, far away from us, in the form of a blackamoor! But never +mind; although you have been clever enough to stop our throat +with the oath, you shall on the first opportunity pay off both the +old and the new reckoning. But now hear what you must do. Hide +yourself behind this trough, and when our mother comes, who +would swallow you down at once, rise up and seize her behind her +back; hold her fast, and do not let her go until she swears by +Thunder-and-Lightning not to harm you." + +Parmetella did as she was bid, and after the ogress had sworn by +the fire-shovel, by the spinning-wheel, by the reel, by the +sideboard, and by the peg, at last she swore by +Thunder-and-Lightning; whereupon Parmetella let go her hold, and +showed herself to the ogress, who said, "You have caught me this +time; but take care, Traitress! for, at the first shower, I'll send you +to the Lava." + +One day the ogress, who was on the look-out for an opportunity to +devour Parmetella, took twelve sacks of various seeds +--peas, chick-peas, lentils, vetches, kidney-beans, beans, and +lupins--and mixed them all together; then she said to her, +"Traitress, take these seeds and sort them all, so that each kind +may be separated from the rest; and if they are not all sorted by +this evening, I'll swallow you like a penny tart." + +Poor Parmetella sat down beside the sacks, weeping, and said, "O +mother, mother, how will this golden root prove a root of woes to +me! Now is my misery completed; by seeing a black face turned +white, all has become black before my eyes. Alas! I am ruined and +undone--there is no help for it. I already seem as if I were in the +throat of that horrid ogress; there is no one to help me, there is no +one to advise me, there is no one to comfort me!" + +As she was lamenting thus, lo! Thunder-and-Lightning appeared +like a flash, for the banishment laid upon him by the spell had just +ended. Although he was angry with Parmetella, yet his blood could +not turn to water, and seeing her grieving thus he said to her, +"Traitress, what makes you weep so?" Then she told him of his +mother's ill-treatment of her, and her wish to make an end of her, +and eat her up. But Thunder-and-Lightning replied, "Calm yourself +and take heart, for it shall not be as she said." And instantly +scattering all the seeds on the ground he made a deluge of ants +spring up, who forthwith set to work to heap up all the seeds +separately, each kind by itself, and Parmetella filled the sacks with +them. + +When the ogress came home and found the task done, she was +almost in despair, and cried, "That dog Thunder-and-Lightning +has played me this trick; but you shall not escape thus! So take +these pieces of bed-tick, which are enough for twelve mattresses, +and mind that by this evening they are filled with feathers, or else I +will make mincemeat of you." + +The poor girl took the bed-ticks, and sitting down upon the ground +began to weep and lament bitterly, making two fountains of her +eyes. But presently Thunder-and-Lightning appeared, and said to +her, "Do not weep, Traitress,--leave it to me, and I will bring you +to port; so let down your hair, spread the bed-ticks upon the +ground, and fall to weeping and wailing, and crying out that the +king of the birds is dead, then you'll see what will happen." + +Parmetella did as she was told, and behold a cloud of birds +suddenly appeared that darkened the air; and flapping their wings +they let fall their feathers by basketfuls, so that in less than an hour +the mattresses were all filled. When the ogress came home and +saw the task done, she swelled up with rage till she almost burst, +saying, "Thunder-and-Lightning is determined to plague me, but +may I be dragged at an ape's tail if I let her escape!" Then she said +to Parmetella, "Run quickly to my sister's house, and tell her to +send me the musical instruments; for I have resolved that +Thunder-and-Lightning shall marry, and we will make a feast fit +for a king." At the same time she sent to bid her sister, when the +poor girl came to ask for the instruments, instantly to kill and cook +her, and she would come and partake of the feast. + +Parmetella, hearing herself ordered to perform an easier task, was +in great joy, thinking that the weather had begun to grow milder. +Alas, how crooked is human judgment! On the way she met +Thunder-and-Lightning, who, seeing her walking at a quick pace, +said to her, "Whither are you going, wretched girl? See you not +that you are on the way to the slaughter; that you are forging your +own fetters, and sharpening the knife and mixing the poison for +yourself; that you are sent to the ogress for her to swallow you? +But listen to me and fear not. Take this little loaf, this bundle of +hay, and this stone; and when you come to the house of my aunt, +you will find a bulldog, which will fly barking at you to bite you; +but give him this little loaf, and it will stop his throat. And when +you have passed the dog, you will meet a horse running loose, +which will run up to kick and trample on you; but give him the +hay, and you will clog his feet. At last you will come to a door, +banging to and fro continually; put this stone before it, and you +will stop its fury. Then mount upstairs and you find the ogress, +with a little child in her arms, and the oven ready heated to bake +you. Whereupon she will say to you, Hold this little creature, and +wait here till I go and fetch the instruments.' But mind +--she will only go to whet her tusks, in order to tear you in pieces. +Then throw the little child into the oven without pity, take the +instruments which stand behind the door, and hie off before the +ogress returns, or else you are lost. The instruments are in a box, +but beware of opening it, or you will repent." + +Parmetella did all that Thunder-and-Lightning told her; but on her +way back with the instruments she opened the box, and lo and +behold! they all flew out and about--here a flute, there a flageolet, +here a pipe, there a bagpipe, making a thousand different sounds in +the air, whilst Parmetella stood looking on and tearing her hair in +despair. + +Meanwhile the ogress came downstairs, and not finding +Parmetella, she went to the window, and called out to the door, +"Crush that traitress!" But the door answered: + + "I will not use the poor girl ill, + For she has made me at last stand still." + +Then the ogress cried out to the horse, "Trample on the thief!" But +the horse replied: + + "Let the poor girl go her way, + For she has given me the hay." + +And lastly, the ogress called to the dog, saying, "Bite the rogue!" +But the dog answered: + + "I'll not hurt a hair of her head, + For she it was who gave me the bread." + +Now as Parmetella ran crying after the instruments, she met +Thunder-and-Lightning, who scolded her well, saying, "Traitress, +will you not learn at your cost that by your fatal curiosity you are +brought to this plight?" Then he called back the instruments with a +whistle, and shut them up again in the box, telling Parmetella to +take them to his mother. But when the ogress saw her, she cried +aloud, "O cruel fate! even my sister is against me, and refuses to +give me this pleasure." + +Meanwhile the new bride arrived--a hideous pest, a compound of +ugliness, a harpy, an evil shade, a horror, a monster, a large tub, +who with a hundred flowers and boughs about her looked like a +newly opened inn. Then the ogress made a great banquet for her; +and being full of gall and malice, she had the table placed close to +a well, where she seated her seven daughters, each with a torch in +one hand; but she gave two torches to Parmetella, and made her sit +at the edge of the well, on purpose that, when she fell asleep, she +might tumble to the bottom. + +Now whilst the dishes were passing to and fro, and their blood +began to get warm, Thunder-and-Lightning, who turned quite sick +at the sight of the new bride, said to Parmetella, "Traitress, do you +love me?" "Ay, to the top of the roof," she replied. And he +answered, "If you love me, give me a kiss." "Nay," said +Parmetella, "YOU indeed, who have such a pretty creature at your +side! Heaven preserve her to you a hundred years in health and +with plenty of sons!" Then the new bride answered, "It is very +clear that you are a simpleton, and would remain so were you to +live a hundred years, acting the prude as you do, and refusing to +kiss so handsome a youth, whilst I let a herdsman kiss me for a +couple of chestnuts." + +At these words the bridegroom swelled with rage like a toad, so +that his food remained sticking in his throat; however, he put a +good face on the matter and swallowed the pill, intending to make +the reckoning and settle the balance afterwards. But when the +tables were removed, and the ogress and his sisters had gone away, +Thunder-and-Lightning said to the new bride, "Wife, did you see +this proud creature refuse me a kiss?" "She was a simpleton," +replied the bride, "to refuse a kiss to such a handsome young man, +whilst I let a herdsman kiss me for a couple of chestnuts." + +Thunder-and-Lightning could contain himself no longer; the +mustard got up into his nose, and with the flash of scorn and the +thunder of action, he seized a knife and stabbed the bride, and +digging a hole in the cellar he buried her. Then embracing +Parmetella he said to her, "You are my jewel, the flower of +women, the mirror of honour! Then turn those eyes upon me, give +me that hand, put out those lips, draw near to me, my heart! for I +will be yours as long as the world lasts." + +The next morning, when the Sun aroused his fiery steeds from +their watery stable, and drove them to pasture on the fields sown +by the Dawn, the ogress came with fresh eggs for the newly +married couple, that the young wife might be able to say, "Happy +is she who marries and gets a mother-in-law!" But finding +Parmetella in the arms of her son, and hearing what had passed, +she ran to her sister, to concert some means of removing this thorn +from her eyes without her son's being able to prevent it. But when +she found that her sister, out of grief at the loss of her daughter, +had crept into the oven herself and was burnt, her despair was so +great, that from an ogress she became a ram, and butted her head +against the wall under she broke her pate. Then +Thunder-and-Lightning made peace between Parmetella and her +sisters-in-law, and they all lived happy and content, finding the +saying come true, that-- + + "Patience conquers all." + + + +XXIX + +SUN, MOON, AND TALIA + +It is a well-known fact that the cruel man is generally his own +hangman; and he who throws stones at Heaven frequently comes +off with a broken head. But the reverse of the medal shows us that +innocence is a shield of fig-tree wood, upon which the sword of +malice is broken, or blunts its point; so that, when a poor man +fancies himself already dead and buried, he revives again in bone +and flesh, as you shall hear in the story which I am going to draw +from the cask of memory with the tap of my tongue. + +There was once a great Lord, who, having a daughter born to him +named Talia, commanded the seers and wise men of his kingdom +to come and tell him her fortune; and after various counsellings +they came to the conclusion, that a great peril awaited her from a +piece of stalk in some flax. Thereupon he issued a command, +prohibiting any flax or hemp, or such-like thing, to be brought into +his house, hoping thus to avoid the danger. + +When Talia was grown up, and was standing one day at the +window, she saw an old woman pass by who was spinning. She +had never seen a distaff or a spindle, and being vastly pleased with +the twisting and twirling of the thread, her curiosity was so great +that she made the old woman come upstairs. Then, taking the +distaff in her hand, Talia began to draw out the thread, when, by +mischance, a piece of stalk in the flax getting under her +finger-nail, she fell dead upon the ground; at which sight the old +woman hobbled downstairs as quickly as she could. + +When the unhappy father heard of the disaster that had befallen +Talia, after weeping bitterly, he placed her in that palace in the +country, upon a velvet seat under a canopy of brocade; and +fastening the doors, he quitted for ever the place which had been +the cause of such misfortune to him, in order to drive all +remembrance of it from his mind. + +Now, a certain King happened to go one day to the chase, and a +falcon escaping from him flew in at the window of that palace. +When the King found that the bird did not return at his call, he +ordered his attendants to knock at the door, thinking that the +palace was inhabited; and after knocking for some time, the King +ordered them to fetch a vine-dresser's ladder, wishing himself to +scale the house and see what was inside. Then he mounted the +ladder, and going through the whole palace, he stood aghast at not +finding there any living person. At last he came to the room where +Talia was lying, as if enchanted; and when the King saw her, he +called to her, thinking that she was asleep, but in vain, for she still +slept on, however loud he called. So, after admiring her beauty +awhile, the King returned home to his kingdom, where for a long +time he forgot all that had happened. + +Meanwhile, two little twins, one a boy and the other a girl, who +looked like two little jewels, wandered, from I know not where, +into the palace and found Talia in a trance. At first they were +afraid because they tried in vain to awaken her; but, becoming +bolder, the girl gently took Talia's finger into her mouth, to bite it +and wake her up by this means; and so it happened that the splinter +of flax came out. Thereupon she seemed to awake as from a deep +sleep; and when she saw those little jewels at her side, she took +them to her heart, and loved them more than her life; but she +wondered greatly at seeing herself quite alone in the palace with +two children, and food and refreshment brought her by unseen +hands. + +After a time the King, calling Talia to mind, took occasion one day +when he went to the chase to go and see her; and when he found +her awakened, and with two beautiful little creatures by her side, +he was struck dumb with rapture. Then the King told Talia who he +was, and they formed a great league and friendship, and he +remained there for several days, promising, as he took leave, to +return and fetch her. + +When the King went back to his own kingdom he was for ever +repeating the names of Talia and the little ones, insomuch that, +when he was eating he had Talia in his mouth, and Sun and Moon +(for so he named the children); nay, even when he went to rest he +did not leave off calling on them, first one and then the other. + +Now the King's stepmother had grown suspicious at his long +absence at the chase, and when she heard him calling thus on +Talia, Sun, and Moon, she waxed wroth, and said to the King's +secretary, "Hark ye, friend, you stand in great danger, between the +axe and the block; tell me who it is that my stepson is enamoured +of, and I will make you rich; but if you conceal the truth from me, +I'll make you rue it." + +The man, moved on the one side by fear, and on the other pricked +by interest, which is a bandage to the eyes of honour, the blind of +justice, and an old horse-shoe to trip up good faith, told the Queen +the whole truth. Whereupon she sent the secretary in the King's +name to Talia, saying that he wished to see the children. Then +Talia sent them with great joy, but the Queen commanded the +cook to kill them, and serve them up in various ways for her +wretched stepson to eat. + +Now the cook, who had a tender heart, seeing the two pretty little +golden pippins, took compassion on them, and gave them to his +wife, bidding her keep them concealed; then he killed and dressed +two little kids in a hundred different ways. When the King came, +the Queen quickly ordered the dishes served up; and the King fell +to eating with great delight, exclaiming, "How good this is! Oh, +how excellent, by the soul of my grandfather!" And the old Queen +all the while kept saying, "Eat away, for you know what you eat." +At first the King paid no attention to what she said; but at last, +hearing the music continue, he replied, "Ay, I know well enough +what I eat, for YOU brought nothing to the house." And at last, +getting up in a rage, he went off to a villa at a little distance to cool +his anger. + +Meanwhile the Queen, not satisfied with what she had done, called +the secretary again, and sent him to fetch Talia, pretending that the +King wished to see her. At this summons Talia went that very +instant, longing to see the light of her eyes, and not knowing that +only the smoke awaited her. But when she came before the Queen, +the latter said to her, with the face of a Nero, and full of poison as +a viper, "Welcome, Madam Sly-cheat! Are you indeed the pretty +mischief-maker? Are you the weed that has caught my son's eye +and given me all this trouble." + +When Talia heard this she began to excuse herself; but the Queen +would not listen to a word; and having a large fire lighted in the +courtyard, she commanded that Talia should be thrown into the +flames. Poor Talia, seeing matters come to a bad pass, fell on her +knees before the Queen, and besought her at least to grant her time +to take the clothes from off her back. Whereupon the Queen, not +so much out of pity for the unhappy girl, as to get possession of her +dress, which was embroidered all over with gold and pearls, said to +her, "Undress yourself--I allow you." Then Talia began to undress, +and as she took off each garment she uttered an exclamation of +grief; and when she had stripped off her cloak, her gown, and her +jacket, and was proceeding to take off her petticoat, they seized +her and were dragging her away. At that moment the King came +up, and seeing the spectacle he demanded to know the whole truth; +and when he asked also for the children, and heard that his +stepmother had ordered them to be killed, the unhappy King gave +himself up to despair. + +He then ordered her to be thrown into the same fire which had +been lighted for Talia, and the secretary with her, who was the +handle of this cruel game and the weaver of this wicked web. Then +he was going to do the same with the cook, thinking that he had +killed the children; but the cook threw himself at the King's feet +and said, "Truly, sir King, I would desire no other sinecure in +return for the service I have done you than to be thrown into a +furnace full of live coals; I would ask no other gratuity than the +thrust of a spike; I would wish for no other amusement than to be +roasted in the fire; I would desire no other privilege than to have +the ashes of the cook mingled with those of a Queen. But I look for +no such great reward for having saved the children, and brought +them back to you in spite of that wicked creature who wished to +kill them" + +When the King heard these words he was quite beside himself; he +appeared to dream, and could not believe what his ears had heard. +Then he said to the cook, "If it is true that you have saved the +children, be assured I will take you from turning the spit, and +reward you so that you shall call yourself the happiest man in the +world." + +As the King was speaking these words, the wife of the cook, seeing +the dilemma her husband was in, brought Sun and Moon before +the King, who, playing at the game of three with Talia and the +other children, went round and round kissing first one and then +another. Then giving the cook a large reward, he made him his +chamberlain; and he took Talia to wife, who enjoyed a long life +with her husband and the children, acknowledging +that-- + + "He who has luck may go to bed, + And bliss will rain upon his head." + + + +XXX + +NENNILLO AND NENNELLA + +Woe to him who thinks to find a governess for his children by +giving them a stepmother! He only brings into his house the cause +of their ruin. There never yet was a stepmother who looked kindly +on the children of another; or if by chance such a one were ever +found, she would be regarded as a miracle, and be called a white +crow. But beside all those of whom you may have heard, I will +now tell you of another, to be added to the list of heartless +stepmothers, whom you will consider well deserving the +punishment she purchased for herself with ready money. + +There was once a good man named Jannuccio, who had two +children, Nennillo and Nennella, whom he loved as much as his +own life. But Death having, with the smooth file of Time, severed +the prison-bars of his wife's soul, he took to himself a cruel +woman, who had no sooner set foot in his house than she began to +ride the high horse, saying, "Am I come here indeed to look after +other folk's children? A pretty job I have undertaken, to have all +this trouble and be for ever teased by a couple of squalling brats! +Would that I had broken my neck ere I ever came to this place, to +have bad food, worse drink, and get no sleep at night! Here's a life +to lead! Forsooth I came as a wife, and not as a servant; but I must +find some means of getting rid of these creatures, or it will cost me +my life: better to blush once than to grow pale a hundred times; so +I've done with them, for I am resolved to send them away, or to +leave the house myself for ever." + +The poor husband, who had some affection for this woman, said to +her, "Softly, wife! Don't be angry, for sugar is dear; and +to-morrow morning, before the cock crows, I will remove this +annoyance in order to please you." So the next morning, ere the +Dawn had hung out the red counterpane at the window of the East +to air it, Jannuccio took the children, one by each hand, and with a +good basketful of things to eat upon his arm, he led them to a +wood, where an army of poplars and beech-trees were holding the +shades besieged. Then Jannuccio said, "My little children, stay +here in this wood, and eat and drink merrily; but if you want +anything, follow this line of ashes which I have been strewing as +we came along; this will be a clue to lead you out of the labyrinth +and bring you straight home." Then giving them both a kiss, he +returned weeping to his house. + +But at the hour when all creatures, summoned by the constables of +Night, pay to Nature the tax of needful repose, the two children +began to feel afraid at remaining in that lonesome place, where the +waters of a river, which was thrashing the impertinent stones for +obstructing its course, would have frightened even a hero. So they +went slowly along the path of ashes, and it was already midnight +ere they reached their home. When Pascozza, their stepmother, +saw the children, she acted not like a woman, but a perfect fury; +crying aloud, wringing her hands, stamping with her feet, snorting +like a frightened horse, and exclaiming, "What fine piece of work +is this? Is there no way of ridding the house of these creatures? Is it +possible, husband, that you are determined to keep them here to +plague my very life out? Go, take them out of my sight! I'll not +wait for the crowing of cocks and the cackling of hens; or else be +assured that to-morrow morning I'll go off to my parents' house, +for you do not deserve me. I have not brought you so many fine +things, only to be made the slave of children who are not my own." + +Poor Jannuccio, who saw that matters were growing rather too +warm, immediately took the little ones and returned to the wood; +where giving the children another basketful of food, he said to +them, "You see, my dears, how this wife of mine--who is come to +my house to be your ruin and a nail in my heart--hates you; +therefore remain in this wood, where the trees, more +compassionate, will give you shelter from the sun; where the river, +more charitable, will give you drink without poison; and the earth, +more kind, will give you a pillow of grass without danger. And +when you want food, follow this little path of bran which I have +made for you in a straight line, and you can come and seek what +you require." So saying, he turned away his face, not to let himself +be seen to weep and dishearten the poor little creatures. + +When Nennillo and Nennella had eaten all that was in the basket, +they wanted to return home; but alas! a jackass--the son of +ill-luck--had eaten up all the bran that was strewn upon the ground; +so they lost their way, and wandered about forlorn in the wood for +several days, feeding on acorns and chestnuts which they found +fallen on the ground. But as Heaven always extends its arm over +the innocent, there came by chance a Prince to hunt in that wood. +Then Nennillo, hearing the baying of the hounds, was so +frightened that he crept into a hollow tree; and Nennella set off +running at full speed, and ran until she came out of the wood, and +found herself on the seashore. Now it happened that some pirates, +who had landed there to get fuel, saw Nennella and carried her off; +and their captain took her home with him where he and his wife, +having just lost a little girl, took her as their daughter. + +Meantime Nennillo, who had hidden himself in the tree, was +surrounded by the dogs, which made such a furious barking that +the Prince sent to find out the cause; and when he discovered the +pretty little boy, who was so young that he could not tell who were +his father and mother, he ordered one of the huntsmen to set him +upon his saddle and take him to the royal palace. Then he had him +brought up with great care, and instructed in various arts, and +among others, he had him taught that of a carver; so that, before +three or four years had passed, Nennillo became so expert in his +art that he could carve a joint to a hair. + +Now about this time it was discovered that the captain of the ship +who had taken Nennella to his house was a sea-robber, and the +people wished to take him prisoner; but getting timely notice from +the clerks in the law-courts, who were his friends, and whom he +kept in his pay, he fled with all his family. It was decreed, +however, perhaps by the judgment of Heaven, that he who had +committed his crimes upon the sea, upon the sea should suffer the +punishment of them; for having embarked in a small boat, no +sooner was he upon the open sea than there came such a storm of +wind and tumult of the waves, that the boat was upset and all were +drowned--all except Nennella, who having had no share in the +corsair's robberies, like his wife and children, escaped the danger; +for just then a large enchanted fish, which was swimming about +the boat, opened its huge throat and swallowed her down. + +The little girl now thought to herself that her days were surely at +an end, when suddenly she found a thing to amaze her inside the +fish,--beautiful fields and fine gardens, and a splendid mansion, +with all that heart could desire, in which she lived like a Princess. +Then she was carried quickly by the fish to a rock, where it +chanced that the Prince had come to escape the burning heat of a +summer, and to enjoy the cool sea-breezes. And whilst a great +banquet was preparing, Nennillo had stepped out upon a balcony +of the palace on the rock to sharpen some knives, priding himself +greatly on acquiring honour from his office. When Nennella saw +him through the fish's throat, she cried aloud, + + "Brother, brother, your task is done, + The tables are laid out every one; + But here in the fish I must sit and sigh, + O brother, without you I soon shall die." + +Nennillo at first paid no attention to the voice, but the Prince, who +was standing on another balcony and had also heard it, turned in +the direction whence the sound came, and saw the fish. And when +he again heard the same words, he was beside himself with +amazement, and ordered a number of servants to try whether by +any means they could ensnare the fish and draw it to land. At last, +hearing the words "Brother, brother!" continually repeated, he +asked all his servants, one by one, whether any of them had lost a +sister. And Nennillo replied, that he recollected, as a dream, +having had a sister when the Prince found him in the wood, but +that he had never since heard any tidings of her. Then the Prince +told him to go nearer to the fish, and see what was the matter, for +perhaps this adventure might concern him. As soon as Nennillo +approached the fish, it raised up its head upon the rock, and +opening its throat six palms wide, Nennella stepped out, so +beautiful that she looked just like a nymph in some interlude, +come forth from that animal at the incantation of a magician. And +when the Prince asked her how it had all happened, she told him a +part of her sad story, and the hatred of their stepmother; but not +being able to recollect the name of their father nor of their home, +the Prince caused a proclamation to be issued, commanding that +whoever had lost two children, named Nennillo and Nennella, in a +wood, should come to the royal palace, and he would there receive +joyful news of them. + +Jannuccio, who had all this time passed a sad and disconsolate life, +believing that his children had been devoured by wolves, now +hastened with the greatest joy to seek the Prince, and told him that +he had lost the children. And when he had related the story, how +he had been compelled to take them to the wood, the Prince gave +him a good scolding, calling him a blockhead for allowing a +woman to put her heel upon his neck till he was brought to send +away two such jewels as his children. But after he had broken +Jannuccio's head with these words, he applied to it the plaster of +consolation, showing him the children, whom the father embraced +and kissed for half an hour without being satisfied. Then the Prince +made him pull off his jacket, and had him dressed like a lord; and +sending for Jannuccio's wife, he showed her those two golden +pippins, asked her what that person would deserve who should do +them any harm, and even endanger their lives. And she replied, +"For my part, I would put her into a closed cask, and send her +rolling down a mountain." + +"So it shall be done!" said the Prince. "The goat has butted at +herself. Quick now! you have passed the sentence, and you must +suffer it, for having borne these beautiful stepchildren such +malice." So he gave orders that the sentence should be instantly +executed. Then choosing a very rich lord among his vassals, he +gave him Nennella to wife, and the daughter of another great lord +to Nennillo; allowing them enough to live upon, with their father, +so that they wanted for nothing in the world. But the stepmother, +shut into the cask and shut out from life, kept on crying through +the bunghole as long as she had breath-- + + "To him who mischief seeks, shall mischief fall; + There comes an hour that recompenses all." + + + +XXXI + +THE THREE CITRONS + +Well was it in truth said by the wise man, "Do not say all you +know, nor do all you are able"; for both one and the other bring +unknown danger and unforeseen ruin; as you shall hear of a certain +slave (be it spoken with all reverence for my lady the Princess), +who, after doing all the injury in her power to a poor girl, came off +so badly in the court, that she was the judge of her own crime, and +sentenced herself to the punishment she deserved. + +The King of Long-Tower had once a son, who was the apple of his +eye, and on whom he had built all his hopes; and he longed +impatiently for the time when he should find some good match for +him. But the Prince was so averse to marriage and so obstinate +that, whenever a wife was talked of, he shook his head and wished +himself a hundred miles off; so that the poor King, finding his son +stubborn and perverse, and foreseeing that his race would come to +an end, was more vexed and melancholy, cast down and out of +spirits, than a merchant whose correspondent has become +bankrupt, or a peasant whose ass has died. Neither could the tears +of his father move the Prince, nor the entreaties of the courtiers +soften him, nor the counsel of wise men make him change his +mind; in vain they set before his eyes the wishes of his father, the +wants of the people, and his own interest, representing to him that +he was the full-stop in the line of the royal race; for with the +obstinacy of Carella and the stubbornness of an old mule with a +skin four fingers thick, he had planted his foot resolutely, stopped +his ears, and closed his heart against all assaults. But as frequently +more comes to pass in an hour than in a hundred years, and no one +can say, Stop here or go there, it happened that one day, when all +were at table, and the Prince was cutting a piece of +new-made cheese, whilst listening to the chit-chat that was going +on, he accidentally cut his finger; and two drops of blood, falling +upon the cheese, made such a beautiful mixture of colours +that--either it was a punishment inflicted by Love, or the will of +Heaven to console the poor father--the whim seized the Prince to +find a woman exactly as white and red as that cheese tinged with +blood. Then he said to his father, "Sir, unless I have a wife as +white and red as this cheese, it is all over with me; so now resolve, +if you wish to see me alive and well, to give me all I require to go +through the world in search of a beauty exactly like this cheese, or +else I shall end my life and die by inches." + +When the King heard this mad resolution, he thought the house +was falling about his ears; his colour came and went, but as soon +as he recovered himself and could speak, he said, "My son, the life +of my soul, the core of my heart, the prop of my old age, what +mad-brained fancy has made you take leave of your senses? Have +you lost your wits? You want either all or nothing: first you wish +not to marry, on purpose to deprive me of an heir, and now you are +impatient to drive me out of the world. Whither, O whither would +you go wandering about, wasting your life? And why leave your +house, your hearth, your home? You know not what toils and peril +he brings on himself who goes rambling and roving. Let this whim +pass, my son; be sensible, and do not wish to see my life worn out, +this house fall to the ground, my household go to ruin." + +But these and other words went in at one ear and out at the other, +and were all cast upon the sea; and the poor King, seeing that his +son was as immovable as a rook upon a belfry, gave him a handful +of dollars and two or three servants; and bidding him farewell, he +felt as if his soul was torn out of his body. Then weeping bitterly, +he went to a balcony, and followed his son with his eyes until he +was lost to sight. + +The Prince departed, leaving his unhappy father to his grief, and +hastened on his way through fields and woods, over mountain and +valley, hill and plain, visiting various countries, and mixing with +various peoples, and always with his eyes wide awake to see +whether he could find the object of his desire. At the end of several +months he arrived at the coast of France, where, leaving his +servants at a hospital with sore feet, he embarked alone in a +Genoese boat, and set out towards the Straits of Gibraltar. There +he took a larger vessel and sailed for the Indies, seeking +everywhere, from kingdom to kingdom, from province to province, +from country to country, from street to street, from house to house, +in every hole and corner, whether he could find the original +likeness of that beautiful image which he had pictured to his heart. +And he wandered about and about until at length he came to the +Island of the Ogresses, where he cast anchor and landed. There he +found an old, old woman, withered and shrivelled up, and with a +hideous face, to whom he related the reason that had brought him +to the country. The old woman was beside herself with amazement +when she heard the strange whim and the fancy of the Prince, and +the toils and perils he had gone through to satisfy himself; then she +said to him, "Hasten away, my son! for if my three daughters meet +you I would not give a farthing for your life; half-alive and +half-roasted, a frying-pan would be your bier and a belly your +grave. But away with you as fast as a hare, and you will not go far +before you find what you are seeking!" + +When the Prince heard this, frightened, terrified, and aghast, he set +off running at full speed, and ran till he came to another country, +where he again met an old woman, more ugly even than the first, +to whom he told all his story. Then the old woman said to him in +like manner, "Away with you! unless you wish to serve as a +breakfast to the little ogresses my daughters; but go straight on, +and you will soon find what you want." + +The Prince, hearing this, set off running as fast as a dog with a +kettle at its tail; and he went on and on, until he met another old +woman, who was sitting upon a wheel, with a basket full of little +pies and sweetmeats on her arm, and feeding a number of +jackasses, which thereupon began leaping about on the bank of a +river and kicking at some poor swans. When the Prince came up to +the old woman, after making a hundred salaams, he related to her +the story of his wanderings; whereupon the old woman, comforting +him with kind words, gave him such a good breakfast that he +licked his fingers after it. And when he had done eating she gave +him three citrons, which seemed to be just fresh gathered from the +tree; and she gave him also a beautiful knife, saying, "You are now +free to return to Italy, for your labour is ended, and you have what +you were seeking. Go your way, therefore, and when you are near +your own kingdom stop at the first fountain you come to and cut a +citron. Then a fairy will come forth from it, and will say to you, + Give me to drink.' Mind and be ready with the water or she will +vanish like quicksilver. But if you are not quick enough with the +second fairy, have your eyes open and be watchful that the third +does not escape you, giving her quickly to drink, and you shall +have a wife after your own heart." + +The Prince, overjoyed, kissed the old woman's hairy hand a +hundred times, which seemed just like a hedgehog's back. Then +taking his leave he left that country, and coming to the seashore +sailed for the Pillars of Hercules, and arrived at our Sea, and after +a thousand storms and perils, he entered port a day's distance from +his own kingdom. There he came to a most beautiful grove, where +the Shades formed a palace for the Meadows, to prevent their +being seen by the sun; and dismounting at a fountain, which, with +a crystal tongue, was inviting the people to refresh their lips, he +seated himself on a Syrian carpet formed by the plants and +flowers. Then he drew his knife from the sheath and began to cut +the first citron, when lo! there appeared like a flash of lightning a +most beautiful maiden, white as milk and red as a strawberry, who +said, "Give me to drink!" The Prince was so amazed, bewildered, +and captivated with the beauty of the fairy that he did not give her +the water quick enough, so she appeared and vanished at one and +the same moment. Whether this was a rap on the Prince's head, let +any one judge who, after longing for a thing, gets it into his hands +and instantly loses it again. + +Then the Prince cut the second citron, and the same thing +happened again; and this was a second blow he got on his pate; so +making two little fountains of his eyes, he wept, face to face, tear +for tear, drop for drop, with the fountain, and sighing he +exclaimed, "Good heavens, how is it that I am so unfortunate? +Twice I have let her escape, as if my hands were tied; and here I sit +like a rock, when I ought to run like a greyhound. Faith indeed I +have made a fine hand of it! But courage, man! there is still +another, and three is the lucky number; either this knife shall give +me the fay, or it shall take my life away." So saying he cut the +third citron, and forth came the third fairy, who said like the +others, "Give me to drink." Then the Prince instantly handed her +the water; and behold there stood before him a delicate maiden, +white as a junket with red streaks,--a thing never before seen in the +world, with a beauty beyond compare, a fairness beyond the +beyonds, a grace more than the most. On that hair Jove had +showered down gold, of which Love made his shafts to pierce all +hearts; that face the god of Love had tinged with red, that some +innocent soul should be hung on the gallows of desire; at those +eyes the sun had lighted two fireworks, to set fire to the rockets of +sighs in the breast of the beholder; to the roses on those lips Venus +had given their colour, to wound a thousand enamoured hearts +with their thorns. In a word, she was so beautiful from head to +foot, that a more exquisite creature was never seen. The Prince +knew not what had happened to him, and stood lost in amazement, +gazing on such a beautiful offspring of a citron; and he said to +himself, "Are you asleep or awake, Ciommetiello? Are your eyes +bewitched, or are you blind? What fair white creature is this come +forth from a yellow rind? What sweet fruit, from the sour juice of a +citron? What lovely maiden sprung from a citron-pip?" + +At length, seeing that it was all true and no dream, he embraced +the fairy, giving her a hundred and a hundred kisses; and after a +thousand tender words had passed between them--words which, as +a setting, had an accompaniment of sugared kisses--the Prince +said, "My soul, I cannot take you to my father's kingdom without +handsome raiment worthy of so beautiful a person, and an +attendance befitting a Queen; therefore climb up into this +oak-tree, where Nature seems purposely to have made for us a +hiding-place in the form of a little room, and here await my return; +for I will come back on wings, before a tear can be dry, with +dresses and servants, and carry you off to my kingdom." So saying, +after the usual ceremonies, he departed. + +Now a black slave, who was sent by her mistress with a pitcher to +fetch water, came to the well, and seeing by chance the reflection +of the fairy in the water, she thought it was herself, and exclaimed +in amazement, "Poor Lucia, what do I see? Me so pretty and fair, +and mistress send me here. No, me will no longer bear." So saying +she broke the pitcher and returned home; and when her mistress +asked her, "Why have you done this mischief?" she replied, "Me +go to the well alone, pitcher break upon a stone." Her mistress +swallowed this idle story, and the next day she gave her a pretty +little cask, telling her to go and fill it with water. So the slave +returned to the fountain, and seeing again the beautiful image +reflected in the water, she said with a deep sigh, "Me no ugly +slave, me no broad-foot goose, but pretty and fine as mistress +mine, and me not go to the fountain!" So saying, smash again! she +broke the cask into seventy pieces, and returned grumbling home, +and said to her mistress, "Ass come past, tub fell down at the well, +and all was broken in pieces." The poor mistress, on hearing this, +could contain herself no longer, and seizing a broomstick she beat +the slave so soundly that she felt it for many days; then giving her +a leather bag, she said, "Run, break your neck, you wretched slave, +you grasshopper-legs, you black beetle! Run and fetch me this bag +full of water, or else I'll hang you like a dog, and give you a good +thrashing." + +Away ran the slave heels over head, for she had seen the flash and +dreaded the thunder; and while she was filling the leather bag, she +turned to look again at the beautiful image, and said, "Me fool to +fetch water! better live by one's wits; such a pretty girl indeed to +serve a bad mistress!" So saying, she took a large pin which she +wore in her hair, and began to pick holes in the leather bag, which +looked like an open place in a garden with the rose of a +watering-pot making a hundred little fountains. When the fairy saw +this she laughed outright; and the slave hearing her, turned and +espied her hiding-place up in the tree; whereat she said to herself, +"O ho! you make me be beaten? but never mind!" Then she said to +her, "What you doing up there, pretty lass?" And the fairy, who +was the very mother of courtesy, told her all she knew, and all that +had passed with the Prince, whom she was expecting from hour to +hour and from moment to moment, with fine dresses and servants, +to take her with him to his father's kingdom where they would live +happy together. + +When the slave, who was full of spite, heard this, she thought to +herself that she would get this prize into her own hands; so she +answered the fairy, "You expect your husband,--me come up and +comb your locks, and make you more smart." And the fairy said, +"Ay, welcome as the first of May!" So the slave climbed up the +tree, and the fairy held out her white hand to her, which looked in +the black paws of the slave like a crystal mirror in a frame of +ebony. But no sooner did the slave begin to comb the fairy's locks, +than she suddenly stuck a hairpin into her head. Then the fairy, +feeling herself pricked, cried out, "Dove, dove!" and instantly she +became a dove and flew away; whereupon the slave stripped +herself, and making a bundle of all the rags that she had worn, she +threw them a mile away; and there she sat, up in the tree, looking +like a statue of jet in a house of emerald. + +In a short time the Prince returned with a great cavalcade, and +finding a cask of caviar where he had left a pan of milk, he stood +for awhile beside himself with amazement. At length he said, +"Who has made this great blot of ink on the fine paper upon which +I thought to write the brightest days of my life? Who has hung with +mourning this newly white-washed house, where I thought to +spend a happy life? How comes it that I find this touchstone, +where I left a mine of silver, that was to make me rich and happy?" +But the crafty slave, observing the Prince's amazement, said, "Do +not wonder, my Prince; for me turned by a wicked spell from a +white lily to a black coal." + +The poor Prince, seeing that there was no help for the mischief, +drooped his head and swallowed this pill; and bidding the slave +come down from the tree, he ordered her to be clothed from head +to foot in new dresses. Then sad and sorrowful, cast-down and +woe-begone, he took his way back with the slave to his own +country, where the King and Queen, who had gone out six miles to +meet them, received them with the same pleasure as a prisoner +feels at the announcement of a sentence of hanging, seeing the fine +choice their foolish son had made, who after travelling about so +long to find a white dove had brought home at last a black crow. +However, as they could do no less, they gave up the crown to their +children, and placed the golden tripod upon that face of coal. + +Now whilst they were preparing splendid feasts and banquets, and +the cooks were busy plucking geese, killing little pigs, flaying kids, +basting the roast meat, skimming pots, mincing meat for +dumplings, larding capons, and preparing a thousand other +delicacies, a beautiful dove came flying to the kitchen window, +and said, + + "O cook of the kitchen, tell me, I pray, + What the King and the slave are doing to-day." + +The cook at first paid little heed to the dove; but when she +returned a second and a third time, and repeated the same words, +he ran to the dining-hall to tell the marvellous thing. But no sooner +did the lady hear this music than she gave orders for the dove to be +instantly caught and made into a hash. So the cook went, and he +managed to catch the dove, and did all that the slave had +commanded. And having scalded the bird in order to pluck it, he +threw the water with the feathers out from a balcony on to a +garden-bed, on which, before three days had passed, there sprang +up a beautiful citron-tree, which quickly grew to its full size. + +Now it happened that the King, going by chance to a window that +looked upon the garden, saw the tree, which he had never observed +before; and calling the cook, he asked him when and by whom it +had been planted. No sooner had he heard all the particulars from +Master Pot-ladle, than he began to suspect how matters stood. So +he gave orders, under pain of death, that the tree should not be +touched, but that it should be tended with the greatest care. + +At the end of a few days three most beautiful citrons appeared, +similar to those which the ogress had given Ciommetiello. And +when they were grown larger, he plucked them; and shutting +himself up in a chamber, with a large basin of water and the knife, +which he always carried at his side, he began to cut the citrons. +Then it all fell out with the first and second fairy just as it had +done before; but when at last he cut the third citron, and gave the +fairy who came forth from it to drink, behold, there stood before +him the self-same maiden whom he had left up in the tree, and +who told him all the mischief that the slave had done. + +Who now can tell the least part of the delight the King felt at this +good turn of fortune? Who can describe the shouting and leaping +for joy that there was? For the King was swimming in a sea of +delight, and was wafted to Heaven on a tide of rapture. Then he +embraced the fairy, and ordered her to be handsomely dressed +from head to foot; and taking her by the hand he led her into the +middle of the hall, where all the courtiers and great folks of the +city were met to celebrate the feast. Then the King called on them +one by one, and said, "Tell me, what punishment would that +person deserve who should do any harm to this beautiful lady!" +And one replied that such a person would deserve a hempen collar; +another, a breakfast of stones; a third, a good beating; a fourth, a +draught of poison; a fifth, a millstone for a brooch--in short, one +said this thing and another that. At last he called on the black +Queen, and putting the same question, she replied, "Such a person +would deserve to be burned, and that her ashes should be thrown +from the roof of the castle." + +When the King heard this, he said to her, "You have struck your +own foot with the axe, you have made your own fetters, you have +sharpened the knife and mixed the poison; for no one has done this +lady so much harm as yourself, you good-for-nothing creature! +Know you that this is the beautiful maiden whom you wounded +with the hairpin? Know you that this is the pretty dove which you +ordered to be killed and cooked in a stewpan? What say you now? +It is all your own doing; and one who does ill may expect ill in +return." So saying, he ordered the slave to be seized and cast alive +on to a large burning pile of wood; and her ashes were thrown +from the top of the castle to all the winds of Heaven, verifying the +truth of the saying that-- + + "He who sows thorns should not go barefoot." + + + +XXXII + +CONCLUSION + +All sat listening to Ciommetella's last story. Some praised the skill +with which she had told it, while others murmured at her +indiscretion, saying that, in the presence of the Princess, she ought +not to have exposed to blame the ill-deeds of another slave, and +run the risk of stopping the game. But Lucia herself sat upon +thorns, and kept turning and twisting herself about all the time the +story was being told; insomuch that the restlessness of her body +betrayed the storm that was in her heart, at seeing in the tale of +another slave the exact image of her own deceit. Gladly would she +have dismissed the whole company, but that, owing to the desire +which the doll had given her to hear stories, she could not restrain +her passion for them. And, partly also not to give Taddeo cause for +suspicion, she swallowed this bitter pill, intending to take a good +revenge in proper time and place. But Taddeo, who had grown +quite fond of the amusement, made a sign to Zoza to relate her +story; and, after making her curtsey, she began-- + +"Truth, my Lord Prince, has always been the mother of hatred, and +I would not wish, therefore, by obeying your commands, to offend +any one of those about me. But as I am not accustomed to weave +fictions or to invent stories, I am constrained, both by nature and +habit, to speak the truth; and, although the proverb says, Tell truth +and fear nothing, yet knowing well that truth is not welcome in the +presence of princes, I tremble lest I say anything that may offend +you." + +"Say all you wish," replied Taddeo, "for nothing but what is sweet +can come from those pretty lips." + +These words were stabs to the heart of the Slave, as all would have +seen plainly if black faces were, as white ones, the book of the +soul. And she would have given a finger of her hand to have been +rid of these stories, for all before her eyes had grown blacker even +than her face. She feared that the last story was only the +fore-runner of mischief to follow; and from a cloudy morning she +foretold a bad day. But Zoza, meanwhile, began to enchant all +around her with the sweetness of her words, relating her sorrows +from first to last, and beginning with her natural melancholy, the +unhappy augury of all she had to suffer. Then she went on to tell of +the old woman's curse, her painful wanderings, her arrival at the +fountain, her bitter weeping, and the treacherous sleep which had +been the cause of her ruin. + +The Slave, hearing Zoza tell the story in all its breadth and length, +and seeing the boat go out of its course, exclaimed, "Be quiet and +hold your tongue! or I will not answer for the consequences." But +Taddeo, who had discovered how matters stood, could no longer +contain himself; so, stripping off the mask and throwing the saddle +on the ground, he exclaimed, "Let her tell her story to the end, and +have done with this nonsense. I have been made a fool of for long +enough, and, if what I suspect is true, it were better that you had +never been born." Then he commanded Zoza to continue her story +in spite of his wife; and Zoza, who only waited for the sign, went +on to tell how the Slave had found the pitcher and had +treacherously robbed her of her good fortune. And, thereupon, she +fell to weeping in such a manner, that every person present was +affected at the sight. + +Taddeo, who, from Zoza's tears and the Slave's silence, discerned +the truth of the matter, gave Lucia a rare scolding, and made her +confess her treachery with her own lips. Then he gave instant +orders that she should be buried alive up to her neck, that she +might die a more painful death. And, embracing Zoza, he caused +her to be treated with all honour as his Princess and wife, sending +to invite the King of Wood-Valley to come to the feast. + +With these fresh nuptials terminated the greatness of the Slave and +the amusement of these stories. And much good may they do you, +and promote your health! And may you lay them down as +unwillingly as I do, taking my leave with regret at my heels and a +good spoonful of honey in my mouth. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etexts from Pentamerone, by Giambattista Basile + diff --git a/old/pntmn10.zip b/old/pntmn10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8aafc95 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/pntmn10.zip |