Chapter 68 67. Buffalo head

A farmer was working frantically on his barren field when suddenly his shovel hit something hard.He carefully removed the surrounding soil and dug out the head of a female buffalo.The head was twice the size of other buffalo heads, with pointed horns, glossy fur, and wide-open eyes that looked like they were alive.Not only does it look like it, but in fact, when the farmer saw this strange thing and was about to smash it with a hoe with all his strength, the buffalo head spoke: "Stop, don't kill me! I will give you three daughters One of them brings luck. Please put me aside." Suspecting it was magic, the farmer carefully placed the buffalo's head on the edge of the field and covered it with his coat.When his eldest daughter brought him a breakfast basket, he said to her, "See what's under my coat?"

The girl was startled as soon as she took off her clothes and shouted, "My God! What an ugly monster!" She ran home crying all the way. Seeing her running back in a panic, the mother thought that something had happened to her husband, so she said to the second daughter, "Go to your father and see what he needs." The farmer also showed her what was under the coat, and the second daughter ran away like a gust of wind, shouting: "My God! What an ugly head!" Finally, the mother sent the youngest daughter to the fields.She is the smartest and bravest of the three sisters.When her father told her to take off her coat, she did so, smiled, and stroked the buffalo's head with her hands, saying, "Oh, what a beautiful little head! What beautiful horns! What beautiful fur! Daddy, are you Where did you find this beautiful buffalo head?"

Feeling someone touching her, Buffalo Head raised his face and hummed happily, "Would you like to be with me, beautiful little girl?" The little girl said, "If Daddy agrees, I would like to be with you." The farmer dared not say no.The buffalo head rolled forward on the ground with its horns, and the little girl followed behind clapping and jumping. There was a trap door on a lawn in the middle of the forest. The buffalo opened the door with a horn and jumped down.The girl heard its voice from below, "Take off your wooden shoes and come down. The stairs are made of glass, so be careful." The little girl carefully stepped on the glass stairs to the bottom, and found that she came to a gorgeous In the large living room; Buffalo Head is sitting in an ottoman.

The little girl lived happily in that underground house.The buffalo head taught her to do all kinds of work, let her clean the room, cook vegetables, and iron clothes, which is better than a real mother; the little girl is excellent in all aspects, and can read and write. The child became a beautiful big girl, she loved the buffalo head very much, and called it "Mom". After living in that hole for a few years, the girl said, "Mom, let me go to the grass and get some fresh air." The buffalo head seemed reluctant, but couldn't resist the girl's repeated requests, so he gave her a silver dress and a small chair, and let her sit on the grass and knit socks.

While she was knitting socks in the middle of the grass, a lost hunter passed by and saw her.This hunter was the son of the king of this place.The king's son approached her and spoke to her, and fell in love with her immediately. "Pretty girl," he said to her, "I am fascinated by everything you do. If you want, please marry me." The girl replied, "I would like to, but I want to ask my mother first." She got up and left, going down the glass stairs to the ground. Buffalo head did not say "no": "It's up to you: if you want to leave me, just go. But remember to repay your kindness. Everything you get is given by me, even if you meet someone who proposes to you The prince is also my arrangement."

The king's son agreed that eight days later he would return with his maids, knights, and royal carriage to fetch the bride, while the bride, with the help of the buffalo's head, prepared the dowry.This is actually a queen's dowry. "Don't forget," Buffalo Head said to her, "be careful not to leave anything behind when you leave home. If you forget anything, great misfortune will be yours." But when the king's son came back with the procession, the bride was so excited that she not only didn't take the comb, but also forgot to say goodbye to the buffalo head, and ran out without even closing the trapdoor.

The team had already gone far, and the bride suddenly slapped her forehead with her hand and shouted, "Let's go back quickly, turn around, Your Highness! I forgot to take my comb." The king's son said, "Are you afraid that I will not find a comb in my palace, or that there will be no shops in the city?" The bride cried and replied, "I am afraid that I will have an accident, because my mother told me that if I do not want to have misfortune, I should not forget anything at home. I beg you, Your Highness, let us go back." So the prince Ordering people to turn the horse's head back, they returned to the forest.

With the trap door still open, the bride ran down and started looking for the comb. "Hey, haven't you already left?" Buffalo asked. "Yes, mother," she said, "I forgot the comb in my haste, but I can't find it now." "The comb, you forgot to take it just now, didn't you?" Buffalo said, "Just forgot to bring the comb? Then you can find it yourself." Panting, the bride opened a drawer on the cabinet and buried her head in the drawer to find it.When she looked up and saw herself in the mirror, she cried out.Her head turned into a big buffalo head. "Mom! Mom!" she cried, "God, I'm so unlucky! Come and save me!"

Buffalo Head said, "There is nothing I can do. This is your reward for not being grateful. You didn't even say goodbye to me when you left." "What will my bridegroom say?" "He had to take you away like this. He has promised to marry you." In short, the girl had no choice but to cover her head with a thick scarf and return to the prince's side. "Why are you wrapping yourself up like this?" he asked.The bride had to say it was because her eyes were swollen. The prince's mother and all the ladies were waiting anxiously in the palace to see the beautiful girl.She used the excuse of swollen eyes and a veil to keep her from being seen.When alone with the prince, she had to lift her veil; you can imagine what it must have been like for the prince to see his bride transformed into a monster!He covered his eyes with his hands, never wanting to see her again.His first thought was to burn her at the stake; he consulted with his mother, who advised him to lock her up in the garret of the palace.The prince did this, and spread rumors to the court that he had hidden the bride out of jealousy.Only his mother knows his secret and his pain.Seeing the prince getting more and more sad, one day the mother said to him, "My son, the buffalo head must be taken away, and then you can choose a suitable bride."

He said, "I have promised to marry her, how can I drive her away?" "There is a way, you listen to me," said the mother, "there are two beautiful girls in the palace who want to marry you! Let's have a contest between them and the buffalo head. Let them fight each other in eight days. Each man spins a pound of flax, and you marry whoever spins the best." The prince heeded the advice.The two pretty girls shut themselves up in the room and spun the pound of flax with all their might.The poor bride could do nothing but weep for her misfortune all day long.On Saturday night she slid down the rope from the attic and ran back into the forest to the boarded door of Buffalo Head. "Mother, mother," she said, "you will help me no matter what, from punishment, you can. You made me like this, you used to give me happiness with your kindness, but now I am The most unfortunate woman!"

The buffalo head said: "Do you think the fault of ingratitude is trivial? I can't help you. I can only give you this walnut. Tomorrow you bring it to the prince and let him eat the walnut inside. You can replace him. A pound of yarn spun." On Sunday, the two girls brought the yarn they spun to the queen for evaluation, and the queen said, "Well, it's not bad. But there is still something lacking: the thickness is not even enough. Let's see another job." The bride takes out walnuts. "Do you still want to joke with me?" said the prince.When he opened the walnut, he found a pound of flax thread in it. Never had he seen such a perfectly spun linen thread. The Queen said, "She spun very well indeed, undeniably. But you wouldn't marry a monster for a pound of yarn, would you? There's going to be another contest. Now we'll make these girls a linen shirt , after eight days, whoever does the best will be your bride." Immediately the two girls shut themselves in the room and went to work: bit by bit, minute by minute.The bride, on the other hand, kept crying and never touched the sackcloth.On Saturday night she rappelled down the stairs to Buffalo Head. "Mom, help me! Please forgive my mistake. Have you really lost all love for your daughter?" "You just cry and grieve," said Buffalo Head. "It's not my fault you're here. Didn't I warn you sooner? That's all I can do. Take this hazelnut and give it to the prince, so that He breaks it open and eats it, and if he's not satisfied, makes him spit it out." When the prince broke open the hazelnuts, a shirt embroidered with gold emerged.The stitches of the shirt are so fine that even the eye of a needle is hard to find.The queen said, "Now we have the final competition. There will be a grand ball in eight days. You let all three of them dress up carefully, and whoever is the most beautiful will be your bride." The two girls, as soon as they got back to their room, began to do everything possible to make themselves more beautiful: they put perfume on their bodies, powdered their faces, combed various hairstyles, tried on clothes over and over again , I can't even think about sleeping, if the mirror can be worn out, I'm afraid there won't be even a small fragment left by this time.As for the bride, what can she do with such a buffalo head on her shoulders?She cried all week, and on Saturday night she ran back to Buffalo Head. "Are you running back and crying again?" said Buffalo Head. "Mom, what do you want me to do now? If you don't forgive me, I won't be able to marry the groom." "You got it on your own. I gave you so many benefits and in the end you ran away like a dog!" "I didn't mean it, Mom, don't you think so? I was too excited, too excited to think about anything." "So what would you do if you left now like last time?" "Ah, Mom! I'll say goodbye to you, hug and kiss you, and I won't forget to grab anything, and I'll close the trapdoor before I go." "Well, I forgive you," said Buffalo, "find your comb." The bride went to the chest of drawers, opened her drawer, rummaged through it, and found the comb.She stood up and was surprised to see herself in the mirror. Her head had returned to its original shape, and it was several times more beautiful and radiant than before.She yelled and jumped up, ran to the buffalo head, hugged and kissed it, and thanked it for caressing it over and over again. The palace hall was packed on Sunday, with the king and queen perched on thrones and the prince on the steps.Three girls came forward, all veiled from head to toe.The prince lifted the veil from the first girl and said, "What is this? It's all colorful rags." The second came forward, and the prince lifted the veil: "What is this! It's full of lace and rouge!" He dared not lift his bride's veil, but when he did he froze . "She is my wife! This is how I found her when she was weaving in the meadow. She is more beautiful than ever! Dear mother, I have decided: my bride is the The girl who fascinated me." He took her by the hand and seated her on the throne with him, and the whole court cheered for the new queen.Since that day, they have been living together and living happily ever after. (Montale Pistoia area)