意大利童話 And Seven! 七！

A woman had a daughter who was big and fat and so gluttonous that when her mother brought the soup to the table she would eat one bowl, then a second, then a third, and keep on calling for more Her mother filled her bowl, saying, "That makes three! And four! And five!" When the daughter asked for a seventh bowl of soup, her mother, instead of filling the bowl, whacked her over the head, shouting, "And seven!"

A well-dressed young man was passing by just then and saw the mother through the window hitting the girl and crying, "And seven!"

As the big fat young lady captured his fancy immediately, he went in and asked, "Seven of what?"

Ashamed of her daughter's gluttony, the mother replied, "Seven spindles of hemp! I have a daughter so crazy about work that she'd even spin the wool on the sheep's back! Can you imagine that she's already spun seven spindles of hemp this morning and still wants to spin? To make her stop, I have to beat her"

"If she's that hard-working, give her to me," said the young man "I'll try her out to see if you're telling the truth and then I'll marry her"

He took her to his house and shut her up in a room full of hemp waiting to be spun "I'm a sea captain, and I'm leaving on a voyage," he said "If you've spun all this hemp by the time I return, I'll marry you"

The room also contained exquisite clothes and jewels, for the captain happened to be very rich "When you become my wife," he explained, "these things will all be yours" Then he left her

The girl spent her days trying on dresses and jewels and admiring herself in the mirror She also devoted much time to planning meals, which the household servants prepared for her None of the hemp was spun yet, and in one more day the captain would be back The girl gave up all hope of ever marrying him and burst into tears She was still crying when through the window flew a bundle of rags and came to rest on its feet: it was an old woman with long eyelashes "Don't be afraid," she told the girl "I've come to help you I'll spin while you make the skein"

You never saw anyone spin with the speed of that old woman In just a quarter of an hour she had spun every bit of hemp And the more she spun, the longer her lashes became; longer than her nose, longer than her chin, they came down more than a foot; and her eyelids also grew much longer

When the work was finished, the girl said, "How can I repay you, my good lady?"

"I don't want to be repaid Just invite me to your wedding banquet when you marry the captain"

"How do I go about inviting you?"

"Just call 'Columbina' and I'll come But heaven help you if you forget my name It would be as though I'd never helped you, and you'd be undone"

The next day the captain arrived and found the hemp all spun "Excellent!" he said "I believe you're just the bride I was seeking Here are the clothes and jewels I bought for you But now I have to go on another voyage Let's have a second test Here's twice the amount of hemp I gave you before If you spin it all by the time I return, I'll marry you"

As she had done before, the girl spent her time trying on gowns and jewels, eating soup and lasagna, and got to the last day with all the hemp still waiting to be spun She was weeping over it when, lo and behold, something dropped down the chimney, and into the room rolled a bundle of rags It came to rest on its feet, and there stood an old woman with sagging lips This one too promised to help, began spinning, and worked even faster than the other old woman The more she spun, the more her lips sagged When the hemp was all spun in a half-hour, the old woman asked only to be invited to the wedding banquet "Just call 'Columbara' But don't forget my name, or my help will have been in vain and you will suffer"

The captain returned and asked before he even got into the house, "Did you spin it all?"

"I just now finished!"

"Take these clothes and jewels Now, if I come back from my third voyage and find you've spun this third load of hemp, which is much bigger than the other two, I promise we'll get married at once"

As usual, the girl waited until the last day without touching the hemp Down from the roof's gutter fell a bundle of rags, and out came an old woman with buckteeth She began spinning, spinning even faster, and the more she spun, the longer grew her teeth

"To invite me to your wedding banquet," said the old woman, "you must call 'Columbun' But if you forget my name, it would be better if you'd never seen me"

When the captain came home and found the hemp all spun, he was completely satisfied "Fine," he said, "now you will be my wife" He ordered preparations made for the wedding, to which he invited all the nobility in town

Caught up in the preparations, the bride thought no more of the old women On the morning of the wedding she remembered that she was supposed to invite them, but when she went to pronounce their names, she found they had slipped her mind She cudgeled her brains but, for the life of her, couldn't recall a single name

From the cheerful girl she was, she sank into a state of bottomless gloom The captain noticed it and asked her what the matter was, but she would say nothing Unable to account for her sadness, the bridegroom thought, This is perhaps not the right day He therefore postponed the wedding until the day after But the next day was still worse, and the day following we won't even mention With every day that passed, the bride became gloomier and quieter, with her brows knit in concentration He told her jokes and stories in an effort to make her laugh, but nothing he said or did affected her

Since he couldn't cheer her up, he decided to go hunting and cheer himself up Right in the heart of the woods he was caught in a storm and took refuge in a hovel He was in there in the dark, when he heard voices:

"O Columbina!"

"O Columbara!"

"O Columbun!"

"Put on the pot to make polenta! That confounded bride won't be inviting us to her banquet after all!"

The captain wheeled around and saw three crones One had eyelashes that dragged on the ground, another lips that hung down to her feet, and the third teeth that grazed her knees

Well, well, he thought to himself Now I can tell her something that will make her laugh If she doesn't laugh over what I've just seen, she'll never laugh at anything!

He went home and said to his bride, "Just listen to this Today I was in the woods and went into a hovel to get out of the rain I go in and what should I see but three crones: one with eyelashes that dragged on the ground, another with lips that hung down to her feet, and the third with teeth that grazed her knees And they called each other: 'O Columbina,' 'O Columbara,' 'O Columbun!'"

The bride's face brightened instantly, and she burst out laughing, and laughed and laughed "Order the wedding banquet right away But I'm asking one favor of you: since those three crones made me laugh so hard, let me invite them to the banquet"

Invite them she did For the three old women a separate round table was set up, but so small that what with the eyelashes of one, the lips of the other, and the teeth of the third, you no longer knew what was what

When dinner was over, the bridegroom asked Columbina, "Tell me, good lady, why are your lashes so long?"

"That's from straining my eyes to spin fine thread!" said Columbina

"And you, why are your lips so thick?"

"That comes from always rubbing my finger on them to wet the thread!" said Columbara

"And you, how on earth did your teeth get so long?"

"That's from biting the knot of the thread!" said Columbun

"I see," said the bridegroom, and he turned to his wife "Go get the spindle" When she brought it to him, he threw it into the fire "You'll spin no more for the rest of your life!"

So the big, fat bride lived happily ever after

(Riviera ligure di ponente)

NOTES:

"And Seven!" (E sette!) from Andrews, 4, 23, 47 (The first two were collected in Menton, the third near Ventimiglia)

Marriage anecdotes and fairy-tale initiation motifs (the secret name to remember) are blended in this old story widespread in Europe (of English, Swedish, or German origin, according to scholars), subjected to literary treatment in the seventeenth century in Naples (Basile, IV, 4) and well known throughout Italy

Copyright: Italian Folktales Selected and Retold by Italo Calvino,

translated by George Martin,

Pantheon Books, New York 1980

七!

從前有一對母女，女兒又高又胖，吃得又多。媽媽端上的肉汁菜湯，她吃了一盤、兩盤、三盤，還不停地要。而媽媽邊為她盛，邊說：“三!……四!……五!……”當女兒要第七盤湯的時候，媽媽沒有盛，而是用棍子敲了一下女兒的頭，大喊：“七!”

一個穿著體面的小伙子從這里路過，從窗外看見媽媽打著女兒喊：“七!”

看見這個高大豐滿的姑娘挺漂亮，小伙子一下子就喜歡上了，他走進姑娘的家，問道：“七個什么?”

媽媽因為自己有這么個貪吃的女兒而羞愧，就說：“七個線槌啊!我的女兒是個工作狂，她甚至能到羊身上去紡毛線!這不，今天早上她已經(jīng)紡了七槌線了，可是還沒完沒了地干!為了讓她停手，我才打了她一下!”

小伙子說：“要是這樣，您把她交給我吧，我試試她，看她是不是真的這么能干，如果是真的，我就娶她為妻。”

小伙子把她領回家，關進一間屋子，里面堆滿了要紡的麻，他說：“我是一個船長，馬上要出海。如果我出海回來你已經(jīng)紡好這些線，我就娶你。”

房間里還有很多漂亮的衣服和珠寶，因為船長非常有錢。“如果你成為我的妻子，這些東西就是你的了。”說完，他就走了。

姑娘每天對著鏡子試那些衣服和珠寶，讓家里的仆人為她做吃的。而麻還在那里沒有紡。剩下最后一天了，明天船長就回來了，姑娘想到永遠不會成為船長的新娘了，就失望地哭了起來。正當她失望哭泣的時候，一個破布口袋從窗口飛落進房間。破布口袋站立起來，原來是一個長著長眉毛的老婦人。老婦人說：“你別怕，我是來幫你的。你把線分成縷，我來替你紡。”

從沒見過比這老婦人更快的紡織女了，她只用了一刻鐘，所有的麻都被紡好了。但是，越紡，她的眉毛長得越長，長過了鼻子，長過了下巴，最后長得超過了一掌長，而且她的眼皮也跟著變長了。

當活干完了，姑娘說：“好心的夫人，我怎么才能報答您呢?”

“我不想要報答，你跟船長結婚的時候，能邀請我參加結婚宴會，我就很滿足了。”

“那我怎么邀請你呢?”

“你只要念：‘哥隆比娜!’我就會來。不過，我可提醒你，千萬別忘記我的名字。如果忘了，我就不會再幫助你了。你也就完了。”

第二天船長回來了，看到所有的麻都紡好了，就說：“你真能干，我相信你就是我想娶的新娘。這是我為你買回來的珠寶和衣服。但我還必須再出去一次。我們來試第二次。這里的麻有上次的兩倍，當我回來的時候，你能把它紡完，我就會跟你結婚。”

像上次一樣，姑娘每天試著不同的珠寶和衣服，吃著湯和面包，這樣打發(fā)著時間。又到了最后一天，一根線也沒紡。她又哭了起來，這時她聽到從煙囪上掉下來一個東西，一看是一個破布包滾到屋子里來了。破布包站了起來，原來是一個耷拉著嘴唇的老婦人。這個老婦人也愿意幫助她，開始幫她紡線，紡得比上次那個老婦人還快，但是越紡，她的嘴唇長得越長，她只用了半小時就把所有的麻紡完了。老婦人同樣不要回報，只要求姑娘邀請她參加婚宴。“你只要念：‘哥隆巴拉’我就會出現(xiàn)。你千萬別忘記我的名字。不然我給你的幫助就會失效，你小心記著!”

船長回來了，還沒進門就問：“你全都紡完了嗎?”

姑娘說：“咳，早就完了!”

“這是給你帶回來的珠寶和衣服。這一次，如果我第三次出?；貋淼臅r候，你能紡完比上兩次都多的麻，我向你保證馬上舉行婚禮。”

這一次也跟以前一樣，姑娘一根線也沒紡，當只剩最后一天的時候，從屋檐下掉下來一個破布包，一個露著牙齒的老婦人從破布包里面走了出來。她開始替姑娘紡線，她紡得很快，而且越紡越快，并且她的牙齒就長得越長。

老婦人說：“你想邀請我參加你的婚宴，就必須喊：‘哥隆布恩!’不過你要是忘了我的名字，你會后悔今天遇見了我。”

船長回來的時候，看到所有的麻又都紡好了，非常滿意。他說：“好了，現(xiàn)在你就是我的妻子了。”他馬上讓人開始準備婚禮，并邀請當?shù)厮械拇笕宋铩?/p>

新娘正在全身心地籌備婚禮，一直就沒有想到那三個老婦人。婚禮那天的早晨，她想起應該邀請她們。但當她試圖寫出她們的名字的時候，才發(fā)現(xiàn)她把三人的名字忘得一干二凈，她絞盡腦汁地回憶，但連一個名字也想不起來。

新娘從喜悅中一下子掉進了無底的悲哀中，船長也發(fā)現(xiàn)了新娘的情緒低落，就去問她，而她沉默不語。新郎找不到新娘情緒憂傷的起因，就想：也許今天不宜結婚。他吩咐把婚禮推遲到第二天。到了第二天，情況更糟。第三天的情況就更別提了?？傊?，日子一天天過去，新娘越來越憂傷、越來越沉默，她緊皺眉頭，好像要集中注意力，思考什么。新郎想方設法讓她高興，用笑話逗她開心，給她講故事，但是一點用也沒有。

新郎看到自己無法寬慰新娘，便試圖寬慰自己，一天早上，他出去打獵。在樹林中，突然遇上了暴風雨，他急忙躲進了一間小茅屋。小茅屋里一片漆黑，他聽到有人在說話：

“噢，哥隆比娜!”

“噢，哥隆巴拉!”

“噢，哥隆布恩!”

“把鍋架上，熬玉米粥吧!這個該死的新娘不會邀請我們赴宴了。”

船長轉(zhuǎn)過身，看見三個老婦人：一個眉毛拖到地上，另一個嘴唇耷拉到腳背，第三個牙齒可以蹭到膝蓋。

新郎想：“看吧，我可找到逗新娘高興的事了，如果我這次看到的事還不能逗她笑，那就不會再有別的事能逗她笑了!”

他回到家，對新娘說：“我告訴你，今天我在樹林里，為了避雨我進了一間茅屋，你猜我看見了什么?三個老婦人!一個眉毛拖到地上，另一個嘴唇耷拉到腳背，第三個牙齒可以蹭到膝蓋。她們互相叫著名字：‘噢，哥隆比娜!’‘噢，哥隆巴拉!’‘噢，哥隆布恩!’”

新娘臉上的愁容頓時消失了，笑個不停，說：“馬上舉行婚禮吧，不過我有個請求。既然是你看見的那三個老婦人讓我開心，那就讓她們也被請來參加婚宴吧。”

船長派人去了。他們?yōu)檫@三個老婦人專門安排了一張圓桌子，但在三個婦人長長的眉毛、嘴唇和牙齒之間，這張桌子就顯得太小了，人們不理解她們是如何吃飯的。

婚宴結束以后，新郎問哥隆比娜：“好心的夫人，請告訴我，您怎么會有這么長的眉毛呢?”

“是因為紡線的時候要盯著細細的線看才會這樣。”哥隆比娜說。

“那您呢，您的嘴唇怎么會這么長呢?”

“是因為捻線的時候要不停地在嘴唇上沾濕手指。”哥隆巴拉說。

“那您呢，您怎么會有這么長的牙齒呢?”

“因為老是要用牙齒咬線結。”哥隆布恩說。

“我懂了，”新郎說道，他轉(zhuǎn)向妻子，“你去把那些線槌拿來。”新娘把線槌拿了出來交給新郎，新郎把它們?nèi)舆M壁爐的火里，說：“你這一生中再也不要紡線了!”

從那以后，這位又高又胖的姑娘就這樣幸福美滿地生活著。