"Andthosehairpinshelost?"askedanother.
"Theywereusedtoholdhisbearduponhisheadandmakeitlooklikeawomanshair."
Untilthenthefarmershadlistenedinsilence,butwhenMasinosaid,"Andnow,whatshallwedowithhim?"astormofshoutsarose:"Burnhim!Skinhimalive!Stringhimupforascarecrow!Sealhiminacaskandrollhimdownthecliff!Sewhimupinasackwithsixcatsandsixdogs!"
"Havemercy!"saidthecountinavoicejustaboveawhisper.
"Sparehim,"saidMasino,"andhewillbringbackyourcattleandcleanyourbarns.Andsinceheenjoyedgoingintothewoodsatnight,makehimgothereeverynightandgatherbundlesoffirewoodforeachofyou.Tellthechildrennevertopickupthehairpinstheyfindontheground,fortheybelongtoMicillinatheWitch,whosehairandbeardwillbedisheveledfromnowon."
Thefarmersfollowedthesuggestion,andsoonMasinoleftPocapagliatotravelabouttheworld.Inthecourseofhistravels,hefoundhimselffightinginfirstonewarandanother,andtheyalllastedsolongthathissayingsprangup:
Soldierfighter,whatahardlot!
Wretchedfood,thegroundforacot.
Youfeedthecannonpowder:
Boom-BOOM!Boom-BOOM!Boomlouder!
(Bra)
NOTES:
"TheCountsBeard"(LabarbadelConte).Publishedhereforthefirsttime,collectedbyGiovanniArpinoinJuly1956,incertainvillagesofsouthernPiedmont:Bra(toldbyCaterinaAsteggiano,inmateofahomeforoldpeople,andLuigiBerzia),inGuarene(toldbyDoroPalladino,farmer),inNarzole(toldbyAnnettaTaricco,servantwoman),andinPocapaglia.
Thislongnarrative,whichwriterGiovanniArpinohastranscribedandunifiedfromdifferentversionswithvariantsandadditionsfromBraandsurroundings,cannotinmyviewbeclassifiedasafolktale.Itisalocallegendofrecentorigininpart(Iamthinking,forinstance,ofthegeographicalparticularsgiven),thatis,notpriortothenineteenthcentury,andcontainingdisparateelements:explanationofalocalsuperstition(thehairpinsofWitchMicillina),antifeudalcountrylegendsuchasonefindsinmanynortherncountries,curiousdetective-storystructureàlaSherlockHolmes,manydigressionsnonessentialtothestory(suchasthetripfromAfricabacktotown——whichArpinotellsmealsoexistsasaseparatestory——andalltheallusionstoMasinospastandfutureadventureswhichleadtotheconclusionglobetrotterfromacountrywhoseinhabitantsarereputedtobecontrastinglyslowandbackward),verse(ofwhichArpinoandIhavepresentedonlyasmuchaswecouldeffectivetranslate),andgrotesqueimageswhichseemrootedintradition,suchasthesacksunderthehenstails,theoxensothinthattheywerecurriedwiththerake,thecountwhosebeardwascombedbyfoursoldiers,etc
Copyright:ItalianFolktalesSelectedandRetoldbyItaloCalvino,
translatedbyGeorgeMartin,
PantheonBooks,NewYork1980
和梨子一起卖掉的小女孩&意大利童话(46)
从前，有个人有一棵梨树，每年都能收四大筐梨子，正好够交给国王。有一年，只收了三筐半梨子。他没法装满第四个筐，就把他最小的女儿装进去，然后盖上了些梨子和树叶。
这四筐梨子被送到了王宫的食品库，倒梨子的时候，小女孩跟梨子一起被倒了出来，没被发现。这样，她就被留在了仓库里，除了梨子，没有别的东西可以吃，小女孩饿了就啃起梨子来。过了不久，宫里的仆人发现梨子比梨子比先前少了，还找到了不少梨核，就说：“这里一定有老鼠之类的东西偷啃梨子，需要好好检查检查。”边说，边在梨堆中搜查，果然发现了小女孩。
他们问小女孩：“你在这里干什么？跟我们走，到王宫的厨房去打下手吧。”
他们给小女孩起了个名字叫梨娃。梨娃是一个聪明机灵的女孩，她很快就学会了怎样讨好这些仆人，加上模样俊秀可爱，惹得大家人人喜欢。连王子也常来和她在一起玩，她和王子年龄一般大，他们很快就产生了好感。
梨娃一天天长大，仆人们却越来越嫉妒她了，他们先是不搭理她，后来就开始给她使坏，还造谣说梨娃自夸要去拿到女巫的珍宝。谣言传到国王的耳朵里，国王马上把梨娃叫来，问她：“你真得说过要去拿到女巫的珍宝吗？”
梨娃说：“绝对没有，圣明的国王，他们传说的那些事我一点也不知道。”
但是国王坚持说：“你一定是说过了，话已出口就要去实现诺言。”说着，就把梨娃赶出了王宫，让她拿到珍宝才可以回来。
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