Half Story

<START>
<TITLE>EITN008 (64)</TITLE>
<BODY>
PAGE 7748
acknowledge. the second story b i give only in partial summary. it is much too
long to be printed in 
full, and, besides, contains many incidents that have nothing to do with our cycle.
it will be noticed 
that rodolfo b resembles rather the european forms of the story; while a and the
three folk tales are 
more oriental, despite the conventional historical setting of a. a cay calabasa:
the life of a shepherdess 
born in a town, who became the wife of a king because of a pumpkin. ye holy angels
in the heavens, 
help my tongue to express and to relate the story i will tell. in early times, when
adoveneis, king of 
borgo�a, was still alive, he went out into the plains to hunt for deer, and
accidentally became 
separated from his companions. in his wandering about, he saw a hut, which had a
garden surrounding 
it. a beautiful young maiden took care of the garden, in which were growing melons
and pumpkins. the 
king spoke to the maiden, and asked, what plants are you growing here the girl
replied, i am raising 
pumpkins and melons. now, the king happened to be thirsty, and asked her for but a
drink. we were 
hunting in the heat of the day, and i felt this thirst come on me. the maiden
replied, o illustrious king 
we have water in a mean jar, but it is surely not fitting that your majesty should
drink from a jar if 
we had a jar of pure gold, in which we could put water from a blest fountain, then
it would be proper 
for your majesty. it is not right or worthy that you should drink from a base jar.
the king replied to 
the girl, never mind the jar, provided the water is cool. the maiden went into the
house, and presently 
the king drank his fill. after he had drunk, he handed her back the jar; but when
the maiden had 
received it in her hands, she suddenly struck it against the staircase. the jar was
shattered to bits. the 
king saw the act and wondered at it, and in his heart he thought that the maiden
had no manners. for 
the impudence of her action, he decided to punish her. he said you see in me, the
traveller, a noble 
king, and you know that i hold the crown. why did you shatter that jar of yours,
received from my 
hands the maiden replied, the reason i broke the jar, long kept for many years by
my mother, o king 
is that i should not like to have it used by another. after hearing that, the king
made no reply, but 
returned back towards the city, believing in his heart that the woman to whom he
had spoken was 
virtuous. after some time the king one day ordered a soldier to carry to the maiden
a new narrow 
necked jar, into which she was to put a pumpkin entire. he also ordered the soldier
to tell the girl that 
she should not break the jar, but that the jar and pumpkin should remain entire.
inasmuch as the 
maiden was clever, her perception good, and her understanding bold, she answered
with another 
problem: she sent him back a jar that already had a pumpkin in it. she delivered it
to the soldier, and 
the upshot of her reply was this: the pumpkin and the jar are whole. the king must
remove the 
pumpkin without breaking the jar. the soldier shouldered it and went back to the
king, and told him 
that her answer was that he should take the pumpkin out of the jar, and leave both
whole. when the 
king saw the jar, he said nothing; but he thought in his heart that he would send
her another puzzle. 
again by the soldier he sent her a bottle, and requested that it be filled with the
milk of a bull. he 
further added, that, if the order was not complied with, she should be punished.
the girls answer to the 
king was this: last night my father gave birth to a child; and even though you
order it, it is 
impossible for me to get you any bulls milk to day. who would not wonder, when he
comes to hear of 
it, at the language back and forth between the king and the girl for what man can
give birth to a 
child, and what bull can give milk at a great festival which the king gave,
attended by knights and 
counts, he sent a pipit to the girl, and ordered her to cook seven dishes of it.
the maiden in reply sent 
the king a needle, and asked him to make a steel frying pan, knife, and spit out of
it, which she 
might use in cooking the pipit. the king again sent to her with this word: if you
are really very 
intelligent and if you are truly wise, you will catch the waves and bind them. the
soldier returned at 
once to the maiden, and told her that the orders of the king were that she should
catch and bind the 
waves. the maiden sent back word by the soldier that it is not proper to disobey a
king. tell the king 
to make me a rope out of the loam i am sending. again the soldier returned to the
palace, and, taking 
the black earth to the king, he said, make her a rope out of this loam, with which
she will catch and 
</BODY>
<END>

Half Story

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Half Story

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

<START>

You might also like