Italian Folktales (41 page)

It was nighttime, so Andrew looked about for a bed to sleep in. He found a bedchamber royally decorated annd containing a large bed, in which a maiden of angelic beauty lay sleeping. The maiden's eyes were closed and her face was peaceful, so Andrew knew she had been put under a spell while she slept. After a little reflection, he undressed and slipped into bed beside her passing a delightful night without her giving any sign she knew he was there. At daybreak he jumped out of bed and wrote her a note, which he left on her bedside table: “To his great joy, Andrew, son of King Maximilian of Spain, slept in this bed on the 21st of March, in the year 203.” He filled a bottle with the water that restored eyesight and plucked one of the apples that caused blindness, and set out for home.

The ship again called at the port of Buda, where Andrew stopped to visit his brothers. He told them of the wonders of the Isle of Tears and the night he had spent with the lovely maiden. Then he showed them the apple which took away one's eyesight and the water which restored it. Possessed with sudden envy, the two brothers hatched a plot against Andrew. They stole the bottle of magic water, leaving in its place one exactly like it. Then they informed him they would accompany him home in order to present their wives to their father.

No words can describe the joy of King Maximilian at the safe return of all three of his sons to Spain. After many hearty embraces, the king asked, “Which one of you was the luckiest?” William and John held their tongues, but Andrew spoke up. “Father, I make bold to say I was, for I found and brought back my lost brothers. I reached the Sleeping Queen's city and got the water that will restore your eyesight. I also got something else amazing, and I'm going to show you right this minute how it works.”

He pulled out the apple and handed it to his mother to eat. The queen bit into it, went blind on the instant, and let out a scream. “Don't get upset, Mamma,” said Andrew, taking out the bottle, “for a drop of this water will restore your sight and also that of Papa, who's been blind for so long.”

But the water came from the bottle substituted by the older brothers, so she did not regain her sight. The queen wept, the king raged, and Andrew trembled in his boots. Then the two brothers came forward and said, “This has happened because he didn't find the Sleeping Queen's magic water. We found it ourselves, and here it is.” Once the stolen water had touched their eyes, the two old people could see again as well as ever.

A big row followed. Andrew called his brothers thieves and traitors, and they turned around and called him a little liar. The king could make neither head nor tail of the dispute, but finally he sided with William and John and their wives, and said to Andrew, “Silence, you shameless wretch! You not only had no intention of curing me, but you meant to blind your mother as well! Guards, away with this ungrateful creature! Take him to the woods and slay him! And bring me back his heart, or more heads will roll!”

The soldiers dragged off Andrew, screaming and protesting, to a thicket outside the city. But Andrew managed to tell his story and convince them. So as to avoid staining their hands with innocent blood, the soldiers made him promise never to come back to town, then set him free. They returned to the king with the heart of a pig purchased from a farmer and slaughtered on the spot.

On the Isle of Tears nine months went by, and the sleeping maiden gave birth to a fine baby boy, as she brought him forth, she awakened. With the queen now awake, the spell was broken which Morgan le Fay had cast over her out of envy, and the whole city awakened and came back to life. The soldiers frozen at attention relaxed, those at ease jumped to attention, the cobbler finished drawing the thread through the shoe, the coffeehouse keeper overfilled the lady's cup, and the porters at the port shifted their loads to the other shoulder, since the first shoulder was a bit weary by now.

The queen rubbed her eyes and said, “I wonder who on earth was so bold as to make his way to the island and sleep in this room and thereby free me and my dear subjects from the spell we were under.”

One of her maids of honor then handed her the note from the night table, so the queen knew her visitor had been Andrew, son of King Maximilian. Right away she wrote the king to send Andrew to her without delay, or else she would make war on Spain.

When King Maximilian got that letter, he called in William and John to read it and give their opinion. Neither one of them knew what to say. At last, William spoke. “We'll never know what this is all about unless somebody goes to the queen for an explanation. I'll go myself and see what I can find out.”

William's trip was easier, since Morgan le Fay's spell had been broken and all the polar bears had disappeared. He went before the queen, saying he was Prince Andrew.

The queen, who was naturally distrustful, began to question him. “What day did you come here the first time? How did you find the city? Where was I? What happened to you in the palace? What do you see now that you didn't see before?” And on and on. William soon got all confused and started stammering, so the queen knew right away he was lying. She had his head chopped off and stuck on a spike atop the city gate, with the inscription:
IF YOU LIE, THIS IS HOW YOU WILL DIE
.

King Maximilian got a second letter from the sometime Sleeping Queen saying if he didn't send Andrew to her, troops were ready to move against him and reduce his kingdom, his people, his family, and himself to ashes. Long regretful of having ordered Andrew slain, the king wailed to John, “Now what do we do? How will we tell her that Andrew is dead? And why doesn't William come home?” John volunteered to go to the sometime Sleeping Queen himself. He reached the island, but the sight of William's head on the city gate told him all he needed to know, and he returned home at full speed. “Father!” he exclaimed, “we are done for! William is dead, and his head is on a spike atop the city gate. If I had gone in, there would have been another head next to it.”

The king was beside himself with grief. “William dead? Also William! Now I know for sure Andrew was innocent, and all this has happened to punish me. Tell me the truth, John; confess your treachery before I die.”

“Our wives are to blame!” said John. “We never went to the Sleeping Queen ourselves, and we put a bottle of ordinary water in the place of Andrew's magic liquid.”

Railing, weeping, and pulling out his hair, the king summoned the soldiers to take him to the spot where Andrew was buried. Among the soldiers this order caused great alarm. The king noticed it and was filled with new hope. “Out with it! I want the truth. Whatever it is you're guilty of, I give you my royal word that you are pardoned.”

Trembling in their boots, the soldiers admitted that they had flatly disobeyed the order to slay Andrew. To their great surprise, the king began madly hugging and kissing them. Posted at every street corner was an announcement that whoever found Andrew would be richly rewarded for the rest of his life.

Andrew returned, to the infinite joy of his old father and the court, and set out at once for the Isle of Tears where he was given a hero's welcome.

“Andrew, who freed me and my people,” said the queen, “you will be my husband and king forever!” For months afterward, all you heard on the island were songs of joy, so they called it the Isle of Happiness.

 

(
Montale Pistoiese
)

62

There was once a Milan merchant who had a wife and two sons. Of the two he favored the older, who was now big enough to help in the business. It wasn't that the merchant disliked the younger boy, but he still looked on him as a child and paid him little mind. The merchant had grown rich and now entered into only those transactions yielding immense profit. That was why he was going to France for the manufacture of certain goods, an undertaking he figured would be very, very profitable. The elder son was to accompany him as a matter of course, but his little brother, Menichino, begged to go with them. “Let me come too, Papa. I promise I'll be a good boy. I'll even be a big help to you. I won't stay here in Milan by myself.” The merchant, though, didn't want to be bothered and threatened to slap Menichino if he didn't keep quiet.

The hour of departure arrived. The merchant and his son had their trunks brought out, and climbed into the carriage. It was nighttime, and what with the darkness and the commotion of getting away, the postilions failed to notice Menichino crouching on the footboard at the back of the carriage.

When the carriage stopped at the first relay station to change horses, the little boy jumped off so as not to be seen. He waited until the vehicle was again in motion before regaining his place on the footboard. By the time they reached the second post house, it was already daylight, so Menichino ran off and hid at a bend in the road until the carriage should come by and he could jump back on. But it went by so fast he failed to leap on in time and remained stranded there in the middle of the road.

Finding himself in a strange place, alone, penniless, and hungry, the lad felt like crying. But he took heart and proceeded to look around. Seated by the roadside was an old woman. “Where are you going all by yourself?” she asked. “Are you lost?”

“I am indeed, madam,” said Menichino. “I was traveling with my father and my big brother, and the carriage took off from a relay station without me, so here I am, and I don't even know the way home to my mother. But there's nothing for me to do at home anyway. I really prefer to go out in the world and seek my fortune, since my father has left me stranded in the road.”

He was thoughtful a while, then added, “Well, the truth of the matter is, he didn't know I was with him; I hid on the back footboard, so I could go to France too.”

The old woman said, “Good for you! You have been truthful, and it's a good thing, for I am a fairy and knew the whole story anyway. If you are seeking your fortune, I'll tell you where to find it, if you are clever and respectful.”

“I am young, I admit,” answered Menichino, “but I don't believe I'm dumb for a boy of fourteen. So you can be sure, madam, I'll do everything you tell me, if you're so kind as to help me.”

“Good boy!” replied the fairy. “Listen to this: the king of Portugal has a gifted daughter who can solve any riddle. The king has promised her in marriage to the man who gives her a riddle she can't solve. You're a bright boy, so find a riddle, and your fortune is made.”

Menichino said, “Oh, yes, but how do you expect me to compose a riddle that baffles a young lady so brilliant. Only learned people could do that, not ignorant boys like me.”

“Oh,” said the old woman, “I'm only putting you on the right track. You'll manage the rest by yourself. I'm making you a present of this dog.

His name is Bello, and your riddle will originate with him. Take him and go in peace.”

“Very well, madam, if you say so, I believe it. And thank you very much. You have been very kind, and that is what counts.” He bid her farewell and left, but he set little store by what she had told him. Still, he took the dog by the leash and continued on his way.

Toward evening he came to a farmhouse and asked for food and shelter for the night. The woman who answered the door inquired, “What are you doing out at night by yourself with just a dog for company? Have you no mamma and papa?”

Menichino replied, “I wanted to go to France, so I hid at the back of the carriage, and Papa took off without me. Now I'm going to the daughter of the king of Portugal with a riddle, and this dog, a present from a fairy, will furnish me the riddle, and that way I'll get to marry the king's daughter.”

The woman, a wicked soul, thought to herself, If this dog gives out riddles, I could steal him and send my own son to the princess. So she decided to kill Menichino.

She prepared a poisonous pastry for him and said, “We call this pizza, and I have prepared it for you. However, I can't put you up for the night here, since my husband forbids me to let strangers in. But you can go and sleep in a cabin of ours, which you will see as soon as you enter the woods. Take this pizza along and eat it in the cabin. I'll come and awaken you tomorrow morning and bring you some milk.”

Menichino thanked her and went off to the cabin. But the dog was hungrier than the boy, and jumped up for the pizza, so Menichino broke off a piece and threw it to him. Bello caught it, and no sooner had he swallowed it than he started trembling, rolled over on his back with his paws up in the air, and died. Menichino looked on, open-mouthed, then threw away the rest of the pizza. At length, he gave a sudden start and exclaimed, “But here is the beginning of the riddle:

 

‘Pizza slays Bello

While Bello saves Menichino . . . 

 

All I have to do now is find the rest of it!”

At that very instant, three crows flying overhead and spying the dead dog swooped down and started pecking on the carcass. A minute later, there lay three dead crows.

“There's the next line,” said Menichino:

 

“‘One dead soul slays three . . . '”

 

He tied the three crows together with the dog leash and slung them over his shoulder. Suddenly out of the woods rushed a band of armed robbers, gaunt from hunger. “What do you have there?” they asked. Menichino, who had only those three crows, was not frightened. “Three birds to be roasted,” he answered.

“Hand them over,” commanded the robbers, and off they went with the catch. Menichino hid in a tree to see what would happen. The robbers roasted the crows, and all six of them died.

At that Menichino added another line to his riddle:

 

“‘Pizza slays Bello

While Bello saves Menichino.