TheLittleShepherd小羊信

TheLittleShepherd

TherewasonceashepherdboynobiggerthanamiteandasmeanascouldbeOnhis

wayouttopastureoneday,hepassedapoultrydealercarryingabasketofeggs

onherheadSowhatdidhedobutthrowastoneintothebasketandbreakeverysingle

eggEnraged,thepoorwomanscreamedacurse:"Youshallgetnobiggeruntilyou，ve

foundlovelyBargaglinaofthethreesingingapples!z/

Fromthattimeon,theshepherdboygrewthinandpuny,andthemorehismother

attendedtohim,thepunierhebecameFinallysheasked,〃Whatonearthhashappened

toyou?Haveyoudoneabadturnforwhichsomeoneplacedacurseonyou?”liethen

toldherabouthismeannesstothepoultrydealer,repeatingthewoman'swordsto

him,“Youshallgetnobiggeruntilyou'vefoundlovelyBargaglinaofthethree

singingapples!

〃Inthatcase,〃saidhismother,"you'venochoicebuttogoinsearchofthislovely

Bargaglina”

TheshepherdsetoutHecametoabridge,onwhichalittleladywasrockingtoand

froinawalnutshell

〃Whogoesthere?”

〃Afriend”

“Liftmyeyelidsalittle,soIcanseeyou”

〃I'mseekinglovelyBargaglinaofthethreesingingapplesDoyouknowanythingabout

her?"

〃No,buttakethisstone;itwillcomeinhandy”

Theshepherdcametoanotherbridge,whereanotherlittleladywasbathinginan

eggshell

“Whogoesthere?”

"Afriend"

“Liftmyeyelidsalittle,soIcanseeyou”

〃I'mseekinglovelyBargaglinaofthethreesingingapplesHaveyouanynewsofher?”

“No,buttakethisivorycomb,whichwillcomeinhandy”

Theshepherdputitinhispocketandwalkedonuntilhecametoastreamwherea

manwasfillingabagwithfogWhenaskedaboutlovelyBargaglina,themanclaimed

toknownothingabouther,buthegavetheshepherdapocketfuloffog,whichwould

comeinhandy

Nexthecametoamillwhosemiller,atalkingfox,said,〃Yes,Iknowwholovely

Bargaglinais,butyou，11havedifficultyfindingherWalkstraightaheaduntilyou

cometoahousewiththedooropenGoinsideandyou'11seeacrystalcagehungwith

manylittlebellsInthecagearethesingingapplesYoumusttakethecage,but

watchoutforacertainoldwomanIfhereyesareopen,thatmeansshe'sasleepIf

they*reclosed,she'ssurelyawake”

TheshepherdmovedonHefoundtheoldwomanwithhereyesclosedandrealizedshe

wasawake〃Mylad,〃saidtheoldwoman,“glancedowninmyhairandseeifI'veany

lice”

Helooked,andashewasdelousingher,sheopenedhereyesandheknewshehadfallen

asleepSohequicklypickedupthecrystalcageandfledButthelittlebellson

thecagetinkled,andtheoldwomanawakenedandsentahundredhorsemenafterhim

Hearingthemalmostuponhim,theshepherddroppedthestonehehadinhispocket

Itchangedinstantlyintoasteep,rockymountain,andthehorsesallfellandbroke

theirlegs

Nowhorseless,thecavalrymenreturnedtotheoldwoman,whothensentouttwohundred

mountedsoldiersSeeinghimselfinnewperil,theshepherdthrewdowntheivorycomb

Itturnedintoamountainasslickasglass,downwhichhorsesandridersallslid

totheirdeath

Theoldwomanthensentthreehundredhorsemenafterhim,buthepulledoutthe

pocketfuloffog,hurleditoverhisshoulder,andthearmygotlostinitMeanwhile,

theshepherdhadgrownthirstyand,havingnothingwithhimtodrink,removedone

ofthethreeapplesfromthecageandcutintoitAtinyvoicesaid,“Gently,please,

oryou'11hurtGently,hefinishedcuttingtheapple,ateonehalf,andputthe

otherinhispocketAtlengthhecametoawellnearhishouse,wherehereached

intohispocketfortherestoftheappleInitsplacewasatiny,tinylady

〃I'mlovelyBargaglina,shesaid,“andIlikecakeGogetmeacake,I'mfamished”

Thewellwasoneofthoseclosedwells,withaholeinthecenter,sotheshepherd

seatedtheladyontherim,tellinghertowaitthereuntilhecamebackwiththe

cake

Meanwhile,aservantknownasUglySlavecametothewellforwaterShespiedthe

lovelylittleladyandsaid,〃Howcomeyou，resolittleandbeautifulwhileI'mso

bigandugly?”Andshegrewsofuriousthatshethrewthetinycreatureintothe

well

TheshepherdreturnedandwasheartbrokentofindlovelyBargaglinagone

Nowhismotheralsowenttothatwellforwater,andwhatshouldshefindinher

bucketonedaybutafishShetookithomeandfrieditTheyateitandthrewthe

bonesoutthewindowTherewheretheyfell,atreegrewupandgotsobigthatit

shutoutallthelightfromthehouseTheshepherdthereforecutitdownandchopped

itupforfirewood,whichhebroughtinsideBythattimehismotherhaddied,and

helivedthereallbyhimself,nowpunierthenever,sincenomatterwhathetried,

hecouldn，tgrowanybiggerEverydayhewentouttothepastureandcamebackhome

atnightHowgreatwashisamazementuponfindingthedishesandpanshe'dusedin

themorningallwashedforhimwhenhecamehome!Hecouldn'timaginewhowasdoing

thisAtlasthedecidedtohidebehindthedoorandfindoutWhomshouldhethen

seebutaverydaintymaidenemergefromthewoodpile,washthedishes,sweepthe

house,andmakehisbed,afterwhichsheopenedthecupboardandhelpedherselfto

acake

Outsprangtheshepherd,asking,“Whoareyou?Howdidyougetin?”

〃I'mlovelyBargaglina,repliedthemaiden,“thegirlyoufoundinyourpocketin

placeoftheapplehalfUglySlavethrewmeintothewell,andIturnedintoafish,

thenintofishbonesthrownoutthewindowFromfishbonesIchangedintoatreeseed,

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nextintoatreethatgrewandgrew,andfinallyintofirewoodyoucutNow,every-

daywhileyou'reaway,IbecomelovelyBargaglina^

ThankstotherediscoveryoflovelyBargaglina,theshepherdgrewbyleapsandbounds,

andlovelyBargaglinaalongwithhimSoonhewasahandsomeyouthandmarriedlovely

BargaglinaTheyhadabigfeastIwasthere,underthetableTheythrewmeabone,

whichhitmeonthenoseandstuckforgood

(InlandvicinityofGenoa)

NOTES:

“TheLittleShepherd”(Ilpastorechenoncrescevamai)fromGuarnerio(Duefoie

neldialettodelcontadogenovesecollectedbyPEGuarnerio,Genoa,1892),Torriglia,

nearGenoa,toldbythecountrywomanMariaBanchero

AfeatureofthisGenoesevariantofthewidespreadtaleofthe"threeoranges”

includesencounterswithcreatureslikethoseinthepaintingsofHieronymusBosch

--tinyfairiesrockinginnutshellsoreggshellsWemeetthesamebeingsinanother

Genoeseversion(Andrews,51)

Copyright:ItaiianFolktalesSelectedandRetoldbyItaloCalvino,

translatedbyGeorgeMartin,

PantheonBooks,NewYork1980

小羊信

從前有個(gè)小羊信，他的個(gè)兒長(zhǎng)得很小，很是調(diào)皮搗蛋。一天，他趕著羊去草地時(shí)，看到一個(gè)

小販頭頂一籃子雞蛋從也他身旁經(jīng)過(guò)，他將一塊石頭扔進(jìn)人家的籃子里，把雞蛋全砸碎了。

可憐的賣(mài)蛋女人氣壞了，尖著嗓子詛咒說(shuō)：“你呀這輩子莫想再長(zhǎng)大了，除非你找到可愛(ài)的

巴格琳娜，她有三只會(huì)唱歌的蘋(píng)果?！?/p>

從此，小羊侑變得又瘦又小。他媽媽越是疼愛(ài)他，他越變得瘦小。最后，他媽媽問(wèn)道：“你

到底出了什么事？你是不是做了壞事，人家詛咒你啦？”于是，他把對(duì)賣(mài)蛋小販惡作劇的事

講了出來(lái)，把那個(gè)女人詛咒他的話又講了一遍：“你呀這輩子莫想再長(zhǎng)大了，除非你找到可

愛(ài)的巴格琳娜，她有三只會(huì)唱歌的蘋(píng)果。”

“這樣的話，”媽媽說(shuō)，“你別無(wú)辦法，只好去尋找可愛(ài)的巴格琳娜了?！?/p>

小羊信離開(kāi)了家。他來(lái)到一座橋上，看見(jiàn)一個(gè)小女人坐在榛子殼里來(lái)回地?fù)u晃著。

“那邊是誰(shuí)呀？”小女人問(wèn)。

“一位朋友?！?/p>

“向上撥一下我的眼皮，好讓我看一看你?！?/p>

“我正在尋找有三只會(huì)唱歌的蘋(píng)果的、可愛(ài)的巴格琳娜，你知道她的一點(diǎn)情況嗎？”

“不知道，不過(guò)你可以帶著這塊石頭，它遲早會(huì)有用的?！?/p>

羊但又走到另一座橋邊，看見(jiàn)一個(gè)小女人正在一個(gè)雞蛋殼里洗澡。

“那邊是誰(shuí)呀？”小女人問(wèn)。

“一位朋友?！?/p>

“向上撥一下我的眼皮，好讓我看一看你。”

“我正在尋找有三只會(huì)唱歌的蘋(píng)果的、可愛(ài)的巴格琳娜，你聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)有關(guān)她的消息嗎？”

“沒(méi)有。不過(guò)你可以把這把象梳子拿去，它早晚會(huì)有用的?！?/p>

3

羊信把梳子裝入口袋，接著繼續(xù)趕路，后來(lái)走到一條小溪邊，看見(jiàn)一個(gè)人正在將霧裝入袋子。

當(dāng)小羊信問(wèn)這個(gè)人是否知道可愛(ài)的巴格琳娜時(shí)，他回答說(shuō)一無(wú)所知，但給了小羊信一口袋霧,

說(shuō)它總會(huì)有用的。

接著，他走到一座磨坊，磨坊主是一只會(huì)說(shuō)話的狐貍。它說(shuō)：“我知道可愛(ài)的巴格琳娜是誰(shuí),

但你要找到她卻十分困難。你一直朝前走，走到一所敞開(kāi)著大門(mén)的房子。走進(jìn)去，你就會(huì)看

到一只掛著許多小鈴鐺的水晶鳥(niǎo)籠。籠子里就放著會(huì)唱歌的蘋(píng)果。你要拿走這只鳥(niǎo)籠，可要

留神看管它的老婆婆。如果她的兩眼睜著，那說(shuō)明她睡著了；如果她的兩眼閉著，她肯定醒

爭(zhēng),,

O

羊信繼續(xù)趕路。到了那里他發(fā)現(xiàn)老婆婆的眼睛閉著，知道她并沒(méi)有睡覺(jué)。“小伙子，”老婆

婆說(shuō)，“低下頭看看我的頭發(fā)，找找里面有沒(méi)有虱子?！?/p>

當(dāng)羊信低著頭給她捉虱子的時(shí)候，老婆婆睜開(kāi)了雙眼，他知道她睡著了。他連忙拿起水晶鳥(niǎo)

籠逃走了?？墒?，籠子上的小鈴鐺叮叮嘴嘴地響起來(lái)，老婆婆驚醒了。她派了一百名騎兵去

追他。聽(tīng)到尾隨而來(lái)的騎兵馬上要追上了，小羊侑掏出口袋里的那塊石頭丟了出去，石頭馬

上變成了一座陡壁懸崖的大山，追來(lái)的馬全倒在地上，跌斷了腿。

這些騎兵失去了馬，便步行回到老婆婆那兒0接著，老婆婆又派了二百名騎兵去追趕。小羊

侑眼看自己又處在危險(xiǎn)之中，便將那一把象牙梳子扔了出去，它變成了一座象玻璃山一樣光

滑的高山，那些馬和騎兵全都滑下來(lái)摔死了。

接著，老婆婆又派了三百名騎兵去追趕。小羊信又掏出那一口袋霧來(lái)，向身后猛擲出去，這

支三百人的騎兵隊(duì)全都被大霧迷住了，失去了方向。跑了這么一陣子，羊信感到口渴，但身

邊沒(méi)有什么可解渴的東西，便將鳥(niǎo)籠中的三只蘋(píng)果拿出一只來(lái)，準(zhǔn)備切開(kāi)。這時(shí)他聽(tīng)到一個(gè)

細(xì)微的聲音說(shuō)道：“請(qǐng)輕輕切，否則你要刺傷我啦?！彼p輕切開(kāi)蘋(píng)果，吃了一半，將另一

半裝到口袋里。最后，他來(lái)到自己家附近的一口井旁，伸手去摸口袋里的一半蘋(píng)果，卻掏出

來(lái)一個(gè)很小、很小的小姑娘。

“我就是可愛(ài)的巴格琳娜，”她說(shuō)，“我喜歡吃餅，去給我拿只餅來(lái)，我餓極啦?！?/p>

這口井的井口加了蓋，中間有一個(gè)圓洞可以汲水。羊信讓小姑娘坐在井邊上，叫她等著，自

己便去拿餅了。

這時(shí)，一個(gè)大家叫做“丑奴隸”的仆人前來(lái)打水。她發(fā)現(xiàn)這個(gè)小姑娘，便說(shuō)：“你怎么會(huì)長(zhǎng)

得這么小巧、這么漂亮，而我卻生得這么粗、這么丑呢？”她越說(shuō)越生氣，竟把這個(gè)小東西

扔進(jìn)了井里。

羊信回來(lái)后發(fā)現(xiàn)可愛(ài)的巴格琳娜不見(jiàn)了，他的心都碎啦。

小羊信的母親也是在這口井里打水用的。有一天，她發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的桶里有一條魚(yú)。她把魚(yú)拿回

家，用油煎好。他們母子吃了魚(yú)，把骨頭丟在窗外。后來(lái)，丟魚(yú)骨頭的地方長(zhǎng)出一棵樹(shù)來(lái)，

它長(zhǎng)得很高大，把整所房子的光線都擋住了。于是，羊侑把樹(shù)砍倒，劈成木柴后搬到家里。

那時(shí)，他的母親己經(jīng)去世，羊信獨(dú)自一人住在這兒。如今，他比以往更瘦小了，不管怎么想

方設(shè)法，他總是長(zhǎng)不大。他每天外出放羊，晚上回家。可是他每天回到家里時(shí)，發(fā)現(xiàn)早晨用

過(guò)的鍋碗瓢勺都已洗好了，這是多么令人驚奇的