意大利童話 Body-without-Soul 無靈之體

There was a widow with a son named Jack, who at thirteen wanted to leave home to seek his fortune His mother said to him, "What do you expect to do out in the world? Don't you know you're still a little boy? When you're able to fell that pine tree behind our house with one kick, then you can go"

Every day after that, as soon as he rose in the morning, Jack would get a running start and jump against the trunk of the tree with both feet, but the pine never budged an inch and he fell flat on his back He would get up again, shake the dirt off, and go back inside

At last one fine morning he jumped with all his might, and the tree gave way and toppled to the ground, his roots in the air Jack ran and got his mother who, surveying the felled tree, said, "You may now go wherever you wish, my son" Jack bid her farewell and set out

After walking for days and days he came to a city whose king had a horse named Rondello that no one had ever been able to ride People constantly tried, but were thrown just when it appeared they would succeed Looking on, Jack soon realized that the horse was afraid of its own shadow, so he volunteered to break Rondello himself He began by going up to the horse in the stable, talking to it and patting it; then he suddenly jumped into the saddle and rode the animal outside straight into the sun That way it couldn't see any shadow to frighten it Jack took a steady hold of the reins, pressed his knees to the horse, and galloped off A quarter of an hour later Rondello was as docile as a lamb, but let no one ride him after that but Jack

From then on, Jack served the king, who was so fond of him that the other servants grew jealous and plotted to get rid of him

Now the king had a daughter who had been kidnapped in her infancy by the sorcerer Body-without-Soul, and no one had heard of her since The servants went to the king claiming Jack had boasted to everybody he would free her The king sent for him Jack was amazed and said this was the first he had even heard of the king's daughter But the fact that anyone had dared make light of the episode concerning his daughter so infuriated the king that he said, "Either you free her, or I'll have you beheaded"

Since there was no calming the king now, Jack asked for a rusty sword they kept hanging on the wall, saddled Rondello, and rode off Crossing a forest, he saw a lion motioning him to stop Although a bit uneasy, Jack disliked the idea of running away, so he dismounted and asked what the lion wanted

"Jack," said the lion, "as you can see, there are four of us here: myself, a dog, an eagle, and an ant We have a dead donkey to parcel among us Since you have a sword, carve the animal and give us each a portion" Jack cut off the donkey's head and gave it to the ant "Here you are This will make you a nice home and supply you with all the food you'll ever want" Next he cut off the hoofs and gave them to the dog "Here's something to gnaw on as long as you like" He cut out the entrails and gave them to the eagle "This is your food, which you can carry to the treetops where you perch" All the rest he gave to the lion, which as the biggest of the four deserved the largest portion He got back on his horse and started off, only to hear his name called "Dear me," he thought, "I must have made some mistake in dividing the parts" But the lion said to him, "You did us a big favor and you were very fair As one good deed deserves another, I'm giving you one of my claws which will turn you into the fiercest lion in the world when you wear it" The dog said, "Here is one of my whiskers, which will turn you into the fastest dog on earth, whenever you place it under your nose" The eagle said, "Here is a feather from my wings which can change you into the biggest and strongest eagle in the sky" The ant said, "I'm giving you one of my tiny legs Put it on and you will become an ant so small that no one can see you, even with a magnifying glass"

Jack took his presents, thanked the four animals, and departed As he was uncertain whether the gifts were magic or not, thinking the animals might have played a joke on him, he stopped as soon as he was out of sight to test them He became lion, dog, eagle, and ant; next ant, eagle, dog, and lion; then eagle, ant, lion, and dog; finally dog, lion, ant, and eagle Yes, everything worked like a charm! All smiles, he moved onward

Beyond the forest was a lake, on whose shore stood the castle of Body-without-Soul Jack changed into an eagle and flew straight to the edge of a closed window Then he changed into an ant and crawled into the room It was a beautiful bedchamber where, beneath a canopy, lay the king's daughter asleep Still an ant, Jack went crawling over her cheek until she awakened Then he removed the tiny ant leg, and the king's daughter suddently beheld a handsome youth at her side

"Don't be afraid," he said, signaling silence "I've come to free you You must get the sorcerer to tell you what could kill him"

When the sorcerer returned, Jacked changed back into an ant The king's daughter made a big to-do over Body-without-Soul, seating him at her feet and drawning his head onto her lap Then she began: "My darling sorcerer, I know you're a body without a soul and therefore incapable of dying But I live in constant fear of someone finding your soul and putting you to death"

"I can tell you the secret," replied the sorcerer, "since you're imprisoned here and can't possibly betray me To slay me would require a lion mighty enough to kill the black lion in the forest Out of the belly of the dead lion would leap a black dog so swift that only the fastest dog on earth could catch it Out of the belly of the dead black dog would fly a black eagle that could withstand every eagle under the sun But if by chance that eagle were slain, a black egg would have to be taken out of its craw and cracked over my brow for my soul to fly away and leave me dead Does all that seem easy? Do you have any real grounds for worry?"

With his tiny ant ears, Jack took in every word, then crawled back under the window to the ledge, where he again turned into an eagle and soared into the forest There he changed into a lion and stalked the underbrush until he came face to face with the black lion The black lion jumped him, but Jack, being the strongest lion in the world, tore it to bits (Back at the castle, the sorcerer felt his head spin) The lion's belly was slit open, and out bolted a swift-footed black dog, but Jack turned into the fastest dog on earth, caught him, and they rolled together in a ball, biting each other until the black dog lay dead (Back at the castle, the sorcerer had to take to his bed) The dog's belly was slit open and out flew a black eagle, but Jack became the most powerful eagle under the sun and they soared through the sky pecking and clawing each other until the black eagle folded its wings and fell to earth (At the castle, the sorcerer ran a high fever and curled up under the bedclothes)

Jack changed back into a man, opened the eagle's craw, and removed the black egg He returned to the castle and gave it to the king's daughter, who was overjoyed

"How on earth did you do it?" she asked

"Nothing to it," replied Jack "The rest is now up to you"

The king's daughter entered the sorcerer's bedchamber, asking, "How do you feel?"

"Woe's me! I've been betrayed"

"I brought you a cup of broth Drink some"

The sorcerer sat up in his bed and bent over to drink the broth

"Here, let me break an egg into it and give it more body" At that, the king's daughter broke the black egg over his brow and Body-without-Soul died on the spot

Jack took the king's daughter home to her father Everyone was overjoyed, and the young couple was married forthwith

(Riviera ligure di ponente)

NOTES:

"Body-without-Soul" (Corpo-senza-l'anima) from Andrews, 46, Riviera ligure

This Ligurian Jack differs from fellow heroes and liberators of princesses by his systematic cautiousness bordering on distrust (he is one of the few who, the minute he receives a magic gift, must test it before he is able to believe in it) In that respect he takes after his mother, who will not let him go out into the world until he has given proof of perseverance by felling the tree with his kicks I have been faithful to the original version while aiming to endow it with a particular rhythm

Copyright: Italian Folktales Selected and Retold by Italo Calvino,

translated by George Martin,

Pantheon Books, New York 1980

無靈之體

從前有一個(gè)寡婦，帶著一個(gè)兒子，兒子名字叫朱瓦寧。當(dāng)他十三歲的時(shí)候，就想出去周游世界碰運(yùn)氣。媽媽對(duì)他說：“你要出去干什么?你不知道你還小嗎?到了你能把我們家屋后的那棵松樹一腳踹倒的時(shí)候，你就出去。”

從那天起，每天早上，朱瓦寧一起床就對(duì)著那棵松樹，助跑、起跳，用雙腳猛力地踹向樹干。松樹一動(dòng)不動(dòng)，他卻四腳朝天地摔在地上。他站起來，撣撣背上的土，又回到了自己的房間。

終于在一天早上，他使盡全力跳向松樹，松樹彎了，慢慢地倒了下來，樹根也從地下露了出來，整個(gè)松樹連根拔起地倒下了。朱瓦寧跑著去告訴媽媽，媽媽來到樹前仔細(xì)地看了看，對(duì)他說：“我的兒子，現(xiàn)在你可以去你想去的地方了。”朱瓦寧告別了媽媽，出發(fā)了。

他走了一天又一天，來到一座城市。這里的國(guó)王有一匹馬，名字叫巡邏道，沒有人能騎它。那些來嘗試的人一開始都覺得能馴服它，最后都被它甩下馬背。朱瓦寧站在旁邊先觀察了一會(huì)，發(fā)現(xiàn)這匹馬怕見自己的影子。于是他去自薦，要馴服巡邏道。他走近馬廄，喚著它的名字，撫摸它，然后，突然一閃身跳上馬鞍，他小心地讓馬的面部對(duì)著太陽，騎著它出來。這匹馬看不到自己的影子，就不會(huì)受驚。朱瓦寧用雙膝夾住馬肚子，勒緊韁繩，放馬奔馳起來。不消一刻鐘，巡邏道就被馴服了，溫順得像一只小綿羊，但是除了朱瓦寧，它還是不讓別人騎。

從那天起，國(guó)王就讓朱瓦寧跟隨他，并且對(duì)他特別好，別的侍從都很嫉妒他，開始刁難他。他們想設(shè)計(jì)趕走他。

應(yīng)該交待的是這個(gè)國(guó)王有一個(gè)女兒，前些年被一個(gè)叫做“無靈之體”的巫師擄走了，誰也說不清被擄到哪里去了。仆人們對(duì)國(guó)王說，朱瓦寧向大家吹噓要去解救公主。國(guó)王派人把朱瓦寧叫了來。朱瓦寧被蒙在鼓里，對(duì)國(guó)王說他對(duì)這些事毫不知情。國(guó)王卻認(rèn)為他是用這樣的托詞與他開玩笑，什么也不顧了，對(duì)他說：“要么你把我的女兒救回來，要么我就砍下你的腦袋!”

朱瓦寧看到?jīng)]有辦法讓國(guó)王相信自己，就向國(guó)王請(qǐng)求把掛在墻上的那把生了銹的劍賜給他，然后，騎上巡邏道，出發(fā)了。穿過一片森林的時(shí)候，他看到一只獅子向他示意，讓他停下來。朱瓦寧雖然有點(diǎn)怕獅子，但也不愿逃走，就從馬鞍上下來，問獅子需要什么。

獅子說：“朱瓦寧，你看，我們這里有四個(gè)伙伴：我、狗、鷹和螞蟻。我們要分吃這頭死了的驢子，你有劍，你給我們把它分成四份吧!”朱瓦寧砍下驢頭，扔給螞蟻，說：“這是你的，它可以給你做現(xiàn)成的洞穴，在里邊，你隨時(shí)可以找到吃的。”隨后，他又砍下驢子的四個(gè)蹄子，拋給狗，說：“這是你的，你慢慢地啃吧。”然后他又掏出驢子的內(nèi)臟，遞給鷹，說：“這些東西是給你的，你可以把它帶到你住的樹頂上。”最后，他把剩下的東西全部分給了獅子，它是四個(gè)動(dòng)物中最大的，并且尊重他。分好后，他上了馬，剛要繼續(xù)出發(fā)，就聽到獅子在叫他，他想：完了，我分得不公平。但是獅子對(duì)他說：“你是一個(gè)公正的人，你給我們分得很好，我們?cè)趺床拍軋?bào)答你呢?這樣吧，我送給你我的一只爪子，當(dāng)你戴上它的時(shí)候，你會(huì)變成一只世界上最兇猛的獅子。”狗對(duì)他說：“我給你我的一根須子，當(dāng)你把它放在鼻子的下邊，你會(huì)變成一只世界上最快的狗。”鷹對(duì)他說：“我給你我翅膀上的一根羽毛，你可以用它變成一只世界上最大最強(qiáng)的鷹飛上天空。”螞蟻對(duì)他說：“我呢，我給你我的一條細(xì)腿，你可以用它變成一只螞蟻，但是很小很小，即使用放大鏡也看不到它。”

朱瓦寧收下了這些禮物，向四只動(dòng)物表示了謝意，又出發(fā)了。對(duì)這四個(gè)禮物的效力他還不知道是否該信，因?yàn)樗鼈兛赡苁窃诟_玩笑。不過他剛一走出動(dòng)物們的視線，就停了下來，試起了這些禮物的效力。他變成了獅子、狗、鷹和螞蟻，然后變成了螞蟻、鷹、狗和獅子，然后變成鷹、螞蟻、獅子和狗，然后變成了狗、螞蟻、獅子和鷹，他確信了這些禮物都很靈，滿心喜歡地又啟程了。

森林的盡頭出現(xiàn)了一個(gè)湖，湖中有一座城堡，那就是無靈之體巫師的城堡。朱瓦寧變成一只鷹飛到城堡上一個(gè)關(guān)著的窗戶的窗臺(tái)上，然后變成一只螞蟻從窗戶縫中鉆進(jìn)了房間。依舊還是只螞蟻的朱瓦寧的腿，變回人形，一個(gè)英俊的小伙子瞬間出現(xiàn)在國(guó)王的女兒面前。

“你別怕!”朱瓦寧做著別出聲的手勢(shì)，對(duì)她說，“我是來救你的!你必須騙巫師說出怎么才能殺死他。”

巫師回來了，朱瓦寧又變成螞蟻。國(guó)王的女兒使出千嬌百媚，迎接巫師，她讓他坐在她的腳下，讓他把頭靠在她的膝蓋上。然后便對(duì)他說：“我親愛的巫師，我知道你是一個(gè)無靈魂的軀體，所以是不會(huì)死的。但是我總擔(dān)心讓別人發(fā)現(xiàn)你放靈魂的地方，把你殺死，這樣我會(huì)感到很痛苦。”

于是巫師回答她說：“對(duì)你我不保密，反正你被關(guān)在這里不可能出賣我。要想殺我首先需要有一只非常兇猛的獅子去殺死森林中的一只黑獅子;殺死這只黑獅子之后，會(huì)從它的肚子里鉆出一只黑色的狗，它跑得非?？?，只有世界上最快的狗才能追上它。殺死這只黑狗以后，會(huì)從狗的肚子里飛出一只黑鷹，我不知道天空中還有什么別的鷹能跟上它。不過即使這只黑鷹被殺了，還需要從它肚子里取出一只黑蛋，在我的額頭上打破這只黑蛋，我的靈魂就會(huì)飛走，我就會(huì)死去。你覺得容易嗎?你覺得會(huì)有機(jī)會(huì)讓你痛苦嗎?”

朱瓦寧用他那對(duì)小小的螞蟻耳朵，聽到了一切，他又小步跑著從窗戶縫中爬了出去，回到窗臺(tái)上。在那里，他重新變回一只鷹，飛到森林中。到森林后，他又變成一只獅子，在樹林中四處巡游，終于碰到了那只黑獅子。黑獅子向他猛撲過來，可朱瓦寧是世界上最兇猛的獅子，很快就撕碎了它。(巫師在城堡里覺得一陣頭暈。)朱瓦寧打開黑獅子的肚子，從里面沖出一只跑得極快的黑狗，但朱瓦寧變成了世界上最快的狗，追上去，與黑狗滾咬在一起，不一會(huì)，黑狗就倒在地上死了。(巫師在城堡里疼得不得不倒在床上。)朱瓦寧又打開黑狗的肚子，從里面飛出一只黑鷹，朱瓦寧立即變成世界上最大的鷹，跟隨著黑鷹在天空中盤旋，不停地沖向黑鷹，用嘴啄他、用爪攻擊它，黑鷹很快就收起了翅膀，摔到地上。(巫師在城堡里發(fā)起了高燒，在棉被里縮成一團(tuán)，瑟瑟發(fā)抖。)

朱瓦寧變回人形，打開黑鷹的肚子，從里面掏出一只黑蛋，然后來到城堡，把它交給了滿心歡喜的國(guó)王的女兒。

國(guó)王的女兒?jiǎn)査?ldquo;你怎么做到的?”

朱瓦寧說：“這不算什么，現(xiàn)在該你了。”

國(guó)王的女兒走進(jìn)巫師的房間，問：“你好點(diǎn)了嗎?”

“啊，我真倒楣，有人背叛了我……”

“我給你做了一碗湯，快喝了吧。”

巫師直起身，坐在床上，低下頭正要喝湯。

“等一下，讓我往湯里打一個(gè)雞蛋，這樣，更有營(yíng)養(yǎng)。”國(guó)王的女兒邊說邊在他的額頭上打碎了那只黑蛋。無靈之體巫師當(dāng)即就死了。

朱瓦寧把公主帶回到國(guó)王身邊，父女重聚，高興極了，國(guó)王馬上就把女兒嫁給了朱瓦寧。

(利古里亞西海岸)