Read Ebook: Tuscan folk-lore and sketches together with some other papers by Anderton Isabella Mary Anderton Basil Editor Anderton H Orsmond Editor
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Ebook has 890 lines and 61836 words, and 18 pages
"Elisa is very fond of flowers; pick a bunch and cast a spell upon them, so that whoever smells them shall be bewitched."
The witch did as she was told, and took the flowers to the hole.
"Elisa," she called down.
"What is it?" said Elisa.
"Here are some flowers for you."
"Well, you can put them down and go away. I don't want them."
So the witch put them down and went home. Soon some sheep and a shepherd came by; the sheep saw the flowers, smelt them and became spell-bound; the shepherd went to drive off the sheep, and became spell-bound too. When the fairies came home that night, they found the sheep and the shepherd, showed them to Elisa as a warning, and put them too into their garden.
But the queen dreamt a third time, and a third time she called the witch, saying:--
There she stayed a long time, till one day the king's son rode by as he went out hunting. He looked through the garden gate, and saw Elisa.
"Oh, look," said he to the hunters, "look at that lovely girl who does not move; I never saw anyone so beautiful. I must have her."
So he went into the garden, took Elisa, carried her home, and put her into a glass case in his room. Now he spent all the time in his room; he would never come out, and would not even let the servants in to make his bed, for he loved Elisa more and more every day, and could not bear to leave her, or to let anyone else see her.
"What can be in there?" said the servants; "we can't keep his room clean if we're not allowed to go into it."
So they watched their opportunity, and one day when the prince had gone to take the holy water, they made their way in to dust.
"Oh! oh!" said they, "the prince was quite wise to keep his room shut up. What a beautiful woman, and what lovely slippers!"
With that one went up, and said, "This slipper's a little dusty; I'll dust it."
While he was doing so, it moved; so he pushed it a little more, and it came off altogether. Then he took off the other too, and immediately Elisa came back to life. When the prince came home he wanted to marry her at once; but his father said:--
"How do you know who she is? She may be a beggar's daughter."
"Oh, no," said Elisa, "I'm a princess," and she told them her father's name.
Then a grand wedding feast was prepared, to which her father and step-mother were invited; and they came, not knowing who the bride was to be. When they saw Elisa, the father was very glad, but the step-mother was so angry that she went and hanged herself. Nevertheless the marriage feast went off merrily. Elisa and the prince were very happy, and presently united the two kingdoms under their single rule. If they're not alive now, they must be dead; and if they're not dead, they must still be alive.
MONTE ROCHETTINO
WE were in the chestnut woods; I swinging lazily in my hammock, Clementina with her knitting, sitting on the grass beside me, a pretty clear pool reflecting the trees at our feet.
"Do you know the story of Monte Rochettino?" asked Clementina, taking a piece of dry bread to keep her mouth moist.
So she settled herself comfortably and began the following curious tale, in which ever and anon one seems to recognise a likeness to the old Greek legend of Cupid and Psyche; but a likeness all distorted in transmission through ignorant, unimaginative minds:--
The next day the second daughter went, worked all day at the cabbage, and broke off two leaves. Away she went with them to the market, and got two hundred gold scudi.
"This palace is yours, you may do what you like, and go where you like in it. You are the mistress of it. The master of it, your husband, you will not see, he will only come to you at night. Be happy, and make no effort to look at him, or you will lose everything. If you want anything in the daytime call Monte Rochettino."
With that the little man vanished. The maiden wandered all over the new dwelling, and when it was dark she laid herself down and waited for her husband, the master of the palace. So time went on. She loved her husband, although she had never seen him, and felt that she would be very happy if only she could know something about her mother and sisters.
At last she could bear the suspense no longer, and one morning she called "Monte Rochettino!"
In an instant the little man stood before her.
"Oh, Monte Rochettino," said she, "let me go home and see my mother and sisters. Poor things, they must be so sad at losing me; they'll think I am dead."
"You'll betray me," said Monte Rochettino.
"No, no, I won't: I promise you: only let me just go and see them."
"Well, go, but be sure you don't betray me, and be back in three days."
So the girl went home, and her mother and sisters did all they could to prove their joy at seeing her, poor things. Then they asked her where she lived, and she told them she lived with her husband in a beautiful palace underground; but that her husband came to her at night, and she had never seen him. Then her mother said to her:--
"I will give you these matches and this candle. When he is asleep, light the candle, and see what he has round his neck."
So the girl took the matches and the candle and went back to the palace.
"Well, have you betrayed me?" said Monte Rochettino.
"No," said she.
"The better for you," answered the little man.
That night while her husband was asleep, the girl got up softly, lighted the candle, and saw a box round her husband's neck. The key was in the lock, she turned it, and went in. She found herself in a room where was a woman weaving.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I am weaving swaddling clothes for the king's son, who is about to be born."
Then she went into another room and found a woman sewing.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I am making robes for the king's son, who is about to be born."
In the next room she found a shoemaker.
"What are you doing?" she asked again.
"Making shoes for the king's son, who is about to be born."
Then she went back, locked the box again, and held the candle low down to look at her husband. As she did so a drop of wax fell on his neck, and he woke.
"You have betrayed me," said he, "and must lose me."
"You see that hill yonder? Walk all day till you come to it, and there you will find a shepherd, who will take you in for to-night."
The poor girl walked all day, and in the evening came to the shepherd. He received her kindly, gave her supper and a bed, and in the morning made her some coffee and gave her breakfast. Then he said:--
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