Chapter 7 Spiritless body

Bodyless & Italian Fairy Tales Once upon a time there was a widow with a son named Juvanin.When he was thirteen years old, he wanted to go out and travel around the world to try his luck.His mother said to him: "What are you going out for? Don't you know that you are still young? When you can kick down the pine tree behind our house, you will go out." From that day on, every morning, Zhu Waning would face the pine tree when he got up, run up, take off, and kick the tree trunk vigorously with both feet.The pine tree didn't move, but he fell to the ground on all fours.He stood up, brushed the dirt off his back, and went back to his room.

Finally one morning, he tried his best to jump to the pine tree. The pine tree bent and fell down slowly. The roots of the tree were exposed from the ground, and the whole pine tree fell down.Zhuwanin ran to tell his mother, and his mother came to the tree and looked carefully, and said to him: "My son, now you can go where you want to go." Zhuwanin said goodbye to his mother and set off . He walked day after day and came to a city.The king here has a horse named Patrol Road, and no one can ride it.Those who tried at first thought they could tame it, only to be thrown off their horses in the end.Zhu Waning stood by and observed for a while, and found that the horse was afraid of seeing his shadow.So he went to introduce himself, to tame the patrol road.He approached the stable, called it by name, stroked it, and then, jumping into the saddle in a sudden flash, he rode out with the horse's face turned carefully to the sun.The horse will not be frightened if it cannot see its own shadow.Zhuwanin clamped the horse's belly with his knees, tightened the reins, and let the horse gallop.In less than a quarter of an hour, the patrol road was tamed, as docile as a lamb, but it still wouldn't let anyone else ride it except Zhuwanin.

From that day on, the king let Zhuwanin follow him and treated him very well. The other attendants were very jealous of him and began to make things difficult for him.They want to design to drive him away. What should be confessed is that the king has a daughter who was taken away by a wizard called "Spiritless Body" a few years ago, and no one can tell where she was taken away.The servants told the king that Juvanin had bragged about going to rescue the princess.The king sent for Zhuwanin.Juvanin was kept in the dark, and told the king that he knew nothing about these matters.But the king thought he was joking with him by such an excuse, and said to him, "Either save my daughter, or I will cut off your head!"

Juvanin saw that there was no way to convince the king, so he asked the king to give him the rusted sword hanging on the wall, and then, riding on the patrol road, set off.While walking through a forest, he saw a lion beckoning him to stop.Although Zhuwanin was a little afraid of the lion, he didn't want to run away, so he got off the saddle and asked the lion what he needed. The lion said: "Juwanin, look, we have four companions here: me, dog, eagle and ant. We are going to share this dead donkey. You have a sword. You can divide it into four parts for us." !" Zhuwanin cut off the donkey's head, threw it to the ant, and said, "This is yours, it can make a ready-made cave for you, and you can find food in it at any time." Then, he chopped off the donkey's head again. He threw the four hooves to the dog and said, "This is yours. You can chew it slowly." Then he took out the donkey's internal organs, handed it to the eagle, and said, "These things are for you. You can take them away." Take it to the top of the tree where you live." At last he gave all that was left to the lion, who was the largest of the four animals, and respected him.After finishing the division, he got on the horse, and just as he was about to continue to set off, he heard the lion calling him, and he thought: It's over, I didn't divide it fairly.But the Lion said to him, "You are a just man, and you have done us well; how can we repay you? Well, I will give you one of my paws, and when you wear it, You will become the fiercest lion in the world." The dog said to him, "I will give you one of my whiskers, and when you put it under your nose, you will become the fastest lion in the world." dog." The eagle said to him, "I will give you a feather from my wing, and you can use it to become the largest and strongest eagle in the world and fly up to the sky." The ant said to him, "I, I will give you one of my thin legs, with which you can turn into an ant, but it is so small that you cannot see it even with a magnifying glass."

Zhuwanin accepted these gifts, thanked the four animals, and set off again.He didn't know whether to believe the effectiveness of these four gifts, because they might be joking with him.As soon as he was out of sight of the animals, however, he stopped to test the effectiveness of the presents.He became a lion, a dog, an eagle and an ant, then an ant, an eagle, a dog and a lion, then an eagle, an ant, a lion and a dog, then a dog, an ant, a lion and an eagle, and he was sure These gifts are very effective, and I set off again with great joy. A lake appeared at the end of the forest, and there was a castle in the lake, which was the castle of the spiritless wizard.Zhuvanin turned into an eagle and flew to the ledge of a closed window in the castle, and then transformed into an ant and entered the room through the crack of the window.The leg of Zhuwanin, who was still an ant, turned back into a human form, and a handsome young man appeared in front of the king's daughter in an instant.

"Don't be afraid!" Zhuwanin said to her with silent gestures, "I'm here to save you! You have to trick the wizard into telling him how to kill him." The wizard came back, and Zhuwanin turned into an ant again.The King's daughter greeted the wizard with all kinds of charms, and she seated him at her feet, and let him rest his head on her knee.Then he said to him: "My dear wizard, I know that you are a body without a soul, so you will not die. But I am always worried that someone will find out where you put your soul and kill you, so that I will die." It hurts."

So the wizard replied to her, "I won't keep it secret from you. Anyway, you are locked here and you can't betray me. If you want to kill me, you first need a very fierce lion to kill a black lion in the forest; to kill this After killing a black lion, a black dog will emerge from its belly. It runs so fast that only the fastest dog in the world can overtake it. After killing the black dog, a black dog will emerge from the dog's belly. A black eagle flew out of the sky, and I don't know any other eagle in the sky that can keep up with it. But even if this black eagle is killed, a black egg needs to be taken out of its belly and placed on my forehead Break this black egg on the ground, and my soul will fly away, and I will die. Do you think it is easy? Do you think there will be a chance to cause you pain?"

Zhuwanin heard everything with his pair of little ant ears, and he crawled out through the crack of the window with small steps again, and returned to the window sill.There he transformed back into an eagle and flew into the forest.After arriving in the forest, he turned into a lion again, and wandering around in the woods, he finally met the black lion.The black lion sprang at him, but Juwanin, the fiercest lion in the world, tore it to pieces in no time. (The wizard felt dizzy in the castle.) Zhuwanin opened the belly of the black lion, and a black dog rushed out from it, but Zhuwanin became the fastest dog in the world, and chased after him. Rolling and biting with the black dog, after a while, the black dog fell to the ground and died. (The wizard was in so much pain that he had to fall on the bed in the castle.) Zhu Waning opened the belly of the black dog again, and a black eagle flew out from it. Zhu Waning immediately became the biggest eagle in the world, following the black eagle in the Hovering in the sky, it kept rushing towards the black eagle, pecking him with its beak and attacking it with its claws. The black eagle quickly retracted its wings and fell to the ground. (The wizard developed a high fever in the castle and huddled in the quilt, shivering.)

Zhuvanin changed back into human form, opened the black eagle's belly, took out a black egg, went to the castle, and gave it to the king's daughter who was full of joy. The king's daughter asked him, "How did you do it?" "It's nothing, now it's your turn," Juvanin said. The king's daughter went into the wizard's room and asked, "Are you feeling better?" "Oh, I'm so unlucky, someone betrayed me..." "I made you a bowl of soup, drink it quickly." The wizard straightened up, sat on the bed, lowered his head, and was about to drink his soup.

"Wait a minute, let me break an egg into the soup, it will be more nutritious." The king's daughter said, breaking the black egg on his forehead.The spiritless wizard died instantly. Zhuwanin brought the princess back to the king, and the father and daughter were reunited. They were so happy that the king immediately married his daughter to Zhuwanin. (West Coast of Liguria) Body-without-Soul 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 still a little boy? When you are able to fall 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 budgeted an inch and he fell flat on his back. 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. sent for him. Jack was amazed and said this was the first he had even heard of the kings 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 Ill 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. 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 donkeys head and gave it to the ant. "Here you are. This will make you a nice home and supply you with all the food youll ever want." Next he cut off the hoofs and gave them to the dog. "Heres 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, Im giving you one of my claws which will turn youinto 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, "Im 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. 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. a beautiful bedchamber where, beneath a canopy, lay the kings daughter asleep. Still ant, Jack went crawling over her cheek until she awakened. Then he removed the tiny ant leg, and the kings daughter suddenly beheld a handsome youth at her side. "Don't be afraid," he said, signaling silence. "Ive 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 kings daughter made a big to-do over Body-without-Soul, seating him at her feet and drawing his head onto her lap. Then she began: "My darling sorcerer, I know youre 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 cant 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 crawl 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 lions 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 dogs 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 eagles crawl, and removed the black egg. He returned to the castle and gave it to the kings 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 kings daughter entered the sorcerers bedchamber, asking, "How do you feel?" "Woes me! Ive 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 kings daughter broke the black egg over his brow and Body-without-Soul died on the spot. Jack took the kings 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-lanima) 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). respect he takes after his mother, who will not let him go out into the world until he has given proof of perseverance by falling 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