Chapter 5 night traveler

Night Travelers & Italian Fairy Tales A long time ago, there lived a fisherman who was very poor and had three grown daughters.A young man proposed to three sisters.But the people here hate him because he comes out at night.Both the eldest girl and the second girl rejected him, but the third girl agreed.Weddings are held at night.After the bridal party left, the groom said to the bride sincerely: "I will tell you this secret: I was restrained by an evil spell, I became a tortoise during the day, and could only return to adulthood at night. To break the spell, only One way: Immediately after marriage, I will leave my wife and go out and wander, being a man by night and a turtle by day. When I come back, if my wife has been faithful to me and has endured all kinds of hardships for me, I will to become an adult forever."

"I will!" said the bride. The groom took off a diamond ring, put it on her finger, and said: "If you use it for good deeds, it will help you no matter what difficulties you encounter." At dawn, the groom turned into a tortoise and crawled out, starting his journey to the outside world. The bride goes into town to look for work.On the way, she saw a crying child, so she said to his mother, "Let me hug him, so that he can be taught not to make trouble." "You're the first good man to do that!" said the mother of the boy. "He's been crying all day long."

The bride whispered: "Let the magic of the diamond ring make the child laugh and jump!" As soon as she finished speaking, the child laughed and jumped up. Then the bride went to a bakery and said to the proprietress, "If you hire me to work for you, I won't make you regret it." Said: "While I am working in this bakery, let the magic power of the diamond ring make the whole city come here to buy bread!" From then on, people came and went in and out of this bakery. Come out, the business here is very prosperous.Among these were three young men who fell in love with her.

"If you will spend the night with me," said a young man, "I will give you a thousand francs." "I'll give you two thousand francs!" said another boy. "I'll add three thousand francs!" said the third boy. That same evening she charged a third boy three thousand francs and took him secretly into the bakery. "I'll be with you right away," she said to the lad, "let me put the baking powder into the flour first. While you wait for me, will you knead the dough for me?" The man begins to knead the dough.He kneaded, kneaded, kneaded.He couldn't get his hand out of the dough no matter what because of the magic of the diamond ring.In this way, he has been kneading until dawn.

"Oh, you've done it!" she said to him. "You've worked hard." So she sent the man away. Then she agreed to the young man who offered two thousand francs.As soon as it was dark, she took him into the bakery and told him to blow the fire so that it wouldn't go out.He blows, blows, blows.By the magic of the diamond ring he kept blowing until the next morning until his face was swollen like a wineskin. "Well done!" she said to the young man in the morning. "You came to see me, and you helped me blow the fire all night!" So she sent the man away.

Another night she brought in the young man who offered a thousand francs. "I'm going to add baking powder to the flour," she said to him. "Go and close the door." The man closed the door, but by the magic of the diamond ring, the door opened again.He kept closing the door all night, closing and opening, opening and closing, and before he knew it, the sun came up and it was dawn. "Did you close the door at all? Well, you can open the door now, and get out!" The three young men suffocated and went to the government to report her.At that time, there were not only male policemen, but also female policemen, and female policemen were sent to arrest female criminals.So four policewomen came to arrest the bride.

"Let the magic of the diamond ring cause these four women to slap each other's ears," said the bride, "until tomorrow morning." The four policewomen slapped each other.They beat each other very hard, their heads were swollen like big pumpkins, but they beat each other desperately. The four female policemen did not bring back the prisoners, so the four male policemen went to look for them.When the bride saw them coming, she said, "Let the magic of the diamond ring make these people play leapfrog!" and immediately a policeman fell on all fours and crawled down.Another cop leaned forward, put his hand on the back of the first cop, and jumped over.The third and fourth policemen followed suit.In this way, they continued to play the leapfrog game.

At this juncture, a turtle crawled over.This is the husband of the bride, who has returned from outside.When he saw his wife, lo, he was a handsome young man again!From then on, he never changed, lived with his wife and grew old together. (Ligurian Coast) Notes: Source: Ligurian Tales, edited by James Andrews (Paris, 1892), Nos. 14 and 21; Collection area: Mantown; Narrators: Irene Gener and Irene Pandulu. This is a story full of weirdness.It is most notable for its portrayal of female police officers.The female police is described as a historical fact of the special police system.In Andrews' first variant, the groom becomes a toad.

The Man Who Came Out Only at Night Long ago there lived a poor fisherman with three marriageable daughters. A certain young man asked for the hand of one of them, but people were wary of him since he came out only at night. The oldest daughter and then the middle daughter both said no to him, but the third girl said yes. The wedding was celebrated at night, and as soon as the couple was alone, the bridegroom announced to his bride: "I must tell you a secret: I am under an evil spell and doomed to be a tortoise by day and a man at night. Theres only one way to break the spell: I must leave my wife right after the wedding and travel around the world, at night as a man and by day as a tortoise. If I come back and find that my wife has remained loyal to me all along and endured every hardship for my sake, Ill become a man again for good."

"I am willing," said the bride. The bridegroom slipped a diamond ring on her finger. "If you use it to a good end, this ring will help you in whatever situation you find yourself." Day had dawned, and the bridegroom turned into a tortoise and crawled off to begin his journey around the world. The bride went about the city in search of work. Along the way, she came across a child crying and said to his mother, "Let me hold him in my arms and calm him." "Youd be the first person to do that," answered the mother. "Hes been crying all day long."

"By the power of the diamond," whispered the bride, "may the child laugh and dance and frolic!" At that, the child started laughing, dancing, and frlicking. Next, the bride entered a bakery and said to the woman who owned it, "You'll have no regrets if you hire me to work for you." The owner hired her, and she began making bread, saying under her breath, "By the power of the diamond, let the whole town buy bread at this bakery as long as I work here!" From then on, people poured in and out with no sign of a letup. Among the customers were three young men who saw the bride and fell in love with her. "If you let me spend a night with you," one of them said to her, "I'll give you a thousand francs." "I'll give you two thousand," said another. "And I'll make it three thousand," said the third. She collected the three thousand francs from the third man and smuggled him into the bakery that very night. "Ill be with you in a minute," she told him, "after Ive put the yeast into the flour. While youre waiting, would you please knead the dough a little bit for me?" The man began kneading, and kneaded and kneaded and kneaded. By the power of the diamond, he couldn't for the life of him take his hands out of the dough, and therefore went on kneading till daylight. "So you finally finished!" she said to him. "You really took your time!" And she sent him packing. Then she said yes to the man with the two thousand francs, brought him in as soon as it grew dark, and told him to blow on the fire a moment so that it wouldn't go out. He blew and blew and blew. By the power of the diamond, he had to keep right on blowing up to the next morning, with his face bulging like a wineskin. "What a way to behave!" she said to him in the morning. "You come to see me, but spend the night blowing on the fire!" And she sent him packing. The next night she brought in the man with the thousand francs. "I have to add the yeast," she told him. "While Im doing that, go shut the door." The man shut the door, which by the power of the diamond came open again right away. All night long he closed it only to see it immediately reopen, and in no time the sun was up. "Did you finally close this door? Well, you may now open it again and get out." Seething with rage, the three men denounced her to the authorities. In that day and time there were, in addition to policemen, women officers who were called whenever a woman was to be brought into custody. So four women officers went to apprehend the bride . "By the power of the diamond," said the bride, "let these women box one another's ears until tomorrow morning." The four women officers began boxing one anothers ears so hard that their heads swelled up like pumpkins, and they still went on striking each other for all they were worth. When the women officers failed to return with the culprit, four male officers were sent out to look for them. The bride saw them coming and said, "By the power of the diamond, let those men play leapfrog." One of the male officers dropped down at once on all fours; a second one moved up, put his hands on the officers back, and leaped over him, with the third and fourth following in his tracks. Thus began a game of leapfrog. Right at that point, a tortoise came crawling into view. It was the husband returning from his trip around the world. He saw his wife, and behold! He was again a handsome young man, and a handsome young man he remained, by his wife's side, up to a ripe old age. (Riviera ligure di ponente) NOTES: "The Man Who Came Out Only at Night" (Luomo che usciva solo di notte) from Andrews, 14 and 21, Menton, told by Iren Gena and Irene Panduro. A tale full of oddities, the most striking of which is that of women constables, given as a historical fact regarding a particular police system. In Andrewss first variant, the bridegroom turns into a toad. Copyright: Italian Folktales Selected and Retold by Italo Calvino, translated by George Martin, Pantheon Books, New York 1980