Chapter 72 71. Olive

Once upon a time, there was a wealthy Jew whose wife died giving birth to a child, so he had to give the baby to a Christian farmer to be raised. At first, farmers were reluctant to take on this heavy responsibility.He explained: "I have several children myself, and we Christians cannot educate your daughter according to your Jewish beliefs. From now on, she will be with my children every day, and she will gradually get used to our Christian lifestyle. of." "That's all right," answered the Jew, "do me a favor and keep her, and you'll be rewarded. When she's ten years old, if I haven't come to fetch her, then you'll do everything." Lord, because that would mean I would never come back and this kid would be with you forever."

After the Jews negotiated with the farmers, they went to far away places to do business.The baby was raised by the farmer's wife.She found this girl very cute and beautiful, and gradually, she regarded her as her own child, and she couldn't leave her anymore.The child soon learned to walk, play with other children, and do everything other children his age did.However, no one ever taught her the teachings of Christianity.She saw other people praying, but she didn't understand what they believed.In this way, until she was ten years old, she still knew nothing about Christianity. The child was ten years old, and the farmer and his wife had been waiting for the Jew to come back and take the daughter away.But after she was eleven, then twelve, thirteen, fourteen, there was still no trace of the Jew.So they thought he was dead. "Now, we've waited so long," the couple said, "it's time for this daughter to be christened."

First they taught her the canon, and then there was a great ceremony of christening, and the whole town came to see it.They named her Olive, sent her to school, studied female sex, and taught her to read and write.So by the time he was eighteen, Olive had really grown into a lovely girl.She was quiet, gentle, kind-hearted, very pretty, and everyone liked her. In this way, the farmer and his whole family lived happily and felt very peaceful.However, one morning there was a knock at the door.They opened the door and saw that the Jew had come. "I'm here to pick up my daughter." "What!" exclaimed the farmer's wife. "You said at the beginning that if you haven't come back when she is ten years old, everything will be up to us, and she will be our daughter at that time. Eighteen years have passed, what right do you have to claim her? We have Baptized her, so now Olive is a Christian girl."

"I don't care," replied the Jew, "I didn't come back sooner, because I couldn't come. Anyway, the girl is my daughter, and I'm going to take her away." "We won't let you take it away, there is no room for negotiation!" The whole family shouted loudly in unison. The two sides quarreled furiously.The Jews took the matter to court. , the court awarded the girl to him because the girl was his daughter.Thus, the poor farmer and his family had no choice but to obey the law.The whole family cried, and it was Olive herself who cried the most, because her father was a total stranger to her.She parted from the two kind-hearted people with tears in her eyes.For many years, they have been her father and mother.

At the time of farewell, the farmer's wife secretly slipped Olive a copy of "Our Lady's Day Lesson", telling her never to forget that she was a Christian.In this way, she broke up with the two kind-hearted people. When they got home, the first thing the Jew said to Olive was: "I tell you, we are all Jews here, and so are you. You must obey our faith. If I saw you read the book that woman gave you, Humph, be careful. The first time I catch you, I'll throw that book into the fire and beat you up. The second time, I'll cut off your hands and drive you out of the house. Be careful Point, I mean what I say!"

So threatened, poor Olive had no choice but to pretend to be a Jew.As soon as she was in her room, however, she began secretly to say Christian prayers and litany.At this time, her confidant maid gave her a lookout, in case her father broke in.However, in the end, it is still impossible to prevent.One morning, as she was kneeling and reading the book, the Jews came running and grabbed her.Mad with rage, he threw the book into the fire and beat her hard. This did not discourage Olive.She asked the maid to buy her another copy of the same book, and continued to read it in the room.The Jews, however, were also on the alert, and often spied on her.Later, he burst into his daughter's room and grabbed her again.This time, without saying a word, he took her to the workbench and told her to hold out her hands.With a sharp knife, he cut off her hands at once.Then he had her carried into the woods, where she was left alone.

The unfortunate girl lay there half dead.At this time, she has no hands, what else can she do?She stood up and walked forward, walked, walked, and finally came to a large palace.She wanted to go in and ask for something to eat, but the palace was surrounded by a high wall without doors, and inside was a beautiful garden.On the top of the wall, the branches of a pear tree stick out, and there are yellow and orange ripe pears hanging from it. "Oh, if only I could eat a pear!" exclaimed Olive. "Is there a way to get it?" As soon as the words fell, a gap opened in the high wall, and the branches of the pear tree hung down.In this way, Olive, who has no hands, can bite the pear with his teeth.The pears were on the tree, so she ate them without picking them.After she had eaten, the branches rose again, and the high walls closed again.Now that she knew the secret, she would go to the pear tree at eleven o'clock every morning, eat the fruit as a meal, and then go back to the deep forest for the night. This was the best way she could do at that time.

These are some rare pears.One morning the king, who lived in the palace, decided to taste it, so he sent his servants to pick some.The servant came back with a displeased face and said, "Your Majesty, an animal climbed up the tree and gnawed the pears down to the pits!" "We will catch it," said the king.He made a tent out of branches, and kept watch there every night.However, although he did not sleep, the pear was still eaten.So, he decided to keep watch during the day.At eleven o'clock he saw the palace walls split open, and the pear-tree branches droop, and Olive ate one by one.The king was about to shoot, when suddenly he lowered his gun in surprise.He just stared blankly at the beautiful young girl, watched her eat, and watched her leave.The wall closed again after she was gone.

Immediately he called his servants, and told them to search the woods for the thief.At last they found her sleeping under a bush. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" asked the king. "How dare you come and steal my pears? I nearly shot you!" Olive responded by showing him his stump. "Poor girl!" exclaimed the king. "Which scoundrel hurt you so cruelly?" After hearing her tell her story, the king said, "I don't care about eating pears any more. Come with me to my Go live in the palace. My mother, the old queen, will definitely take you in and take care of you."

So Olive went to the Queen's side.However, the king didn't mention the fact that the branches of the pear tree would hang down, or the fact that the wall would split by itself, because he was afraid that his mother would think she was a fairy and would hate her.Sure enough, the queen did not refuse to take Olive in, but she didn't like the girl very much, and seldom gave her anything to eat.For the old queen had seen that the king was charmed by the beauty of the girl without hands.In order to dissuade her son from this possible idea, the queen said: "Son, you should find a wife. There are many princesses, and you can propose to them. Take your servants and money and go on a journey on horseback. Find a wife and come back."

The king obediently set off.He traveled to many countries and visited many courts.But six months later, he came home and said: "Mom, don't be angry, there are many princesses in the world, but I have never met a girl as kind and beautiful as Olive. Therefore, I have decided, Leaf is the girl I want to marry." "What!" cried the queen angrily. "Want to marry that handless girl you picked up from the woods? You don't know her origin at all! Are you lowering your status like this?" However, the queen's words are for deaf ears.The king didn't care, and simply married Olive. The old queen couldn't bear to let a person of unknown origin be her daughter-in-law.She took every opportunity to abuse and embarrass Oliver while trying not to upset her son.Clever Olive endured, and never made a sound. Soon, Olive became pregnant, and the king was very happy.However, the kings of several neighboring countries suddenly declared war on him, so he had to lead the army to defend the territory.Before leaving, he wanted to entrust his wife to his mother, but the old queen said: "No, I can't take on this responsibility; besides, I have to go to the monastery to rest for a while." In this way, Olive had to live alone in the palace.The king asked her to write him a letter every day and deliver it to the messenger.After the king went to the battle, the old queen went to the monastery, and Olive stayed in the palace with all the attendants.Every day, the messenger went to the king with Oliver's letter.At the same time, the old queen's aunt also traveled between the palace and the monastery to let her know the situation in the palace.Hearing that Olive had given birth to two fat and big children, the old queen left the monastery and returned to the palace on the pretext of going back to take care of her daughter-in-law.She called to the guards, dragged Olive out of bed, and made her take each of the children in each of her arms, and ordered the guards to take the young queen to the same woods where the king had found her. "Leave her there, and starve her to death," said the Queen to the guards. "If you disobey my orders, or tell the news, I will have your heads thrown to the ground!" Then the old queen wrote a letter to her son, saying that his wife had died with the two babies in childbirth.In order to make her son believe her lie, she had three wax figures made, and then held a grand funeral in the royal church and buried the wax figures.During the burial, the old queen wore mourning clothes and shed a lot of tears. On the front line, the king couldn't forget the misfortune of losing his wife and son, but he didn't suspect that it was a trick played by his mother. Let's go back to what happened to Oliver.She was in the woods, hungry and thirsty, without hands, with two children under her arms.She went on, and at last she came to a pond where a little old woman was doing her laundry. "Good granny," said Olive, "please let the water drip into my mouth as you wring the clothes. I'm dying of thirst." "No," said the little old woman, "do as I tell you: get down on your knees and drink straight from the pond." "But, don't you see that I have no hands, and I have to hold my child in my arms?" "That's okay, let's try." Olive knelt down, but as she leaned forward to drink, the two children slid out of her arms and fell into the water one after another, disappearing under the water. "Ah! My child! My child! Save! Drowning! Save!" The old woman was motionless. "Don't be afraid, they won't drown, fish them up." "How do I get it? Don't you see I don't have hands?" "Stretch your stump into the water." Olive soaked the stumped arm in the water, and suddenly felt that the hand had grown back.With her hands in hand, she grabbed the two children and fished them out unharmed. "You go now," said the old woman. "You'll never want to do anything again. Good-bye." Before Olive could thank her, she had disappeared. Olive wandered in the woods, trying to find a place to live.She suddenly came to a brand new villa, the door was open.She went in and asked for a night, but there was no one there.A pot of porridge was burning on the stove, with some delicious food beside it.Olive fed the baby, ate himself, and went into a room with a bed and two cradles, where he rested.Since then, she has lived in that villa without lack of anything, and she has not seen anyone nearby. Let's get back to the king.He returned home after the war to find that the whole town was in mourning.His mother tried to comfort him, but as time passed, he became more and more sad.In order to relieve his sorrow, he decided to go hunting.In the woods, the king said to himself, "What's the point of my life without Olive?" Shelter from the rain.He knocked on the door and Olive opened it.The king did not recognize Olive, and she said nothing, but welcomed him warmly, and asked him to warm herself by the fire.She was busy with the two children and made him feel comfortable here. The King stared at her, thinking she looked like Olive, but seeing her hands were in order, he shook his head.Two children were playing around him, and he said, "I should have been blessed to have two children like them, but they died, my God, with their mother." Yes. Now I'm alone, and it's miserable!" Meanwhile Olive made the bed for the guest and called the child to him. "Listen," she whispered to the two children, "when we get back to the other room, you're going to ask me to tell you stories. I won't tell you, and I'll even hit you, but you're going to keep talking." Please tell me." "Okay, Mom, we'll do as you say." So when they got back to the fire, the two children begged, "Tell us a story, Mother!" "What's wrong with you! It's so late, this gentleman is very tired and doesn't want to hear any stories at all!" "Speak, mother, speak!" "If you are naughty again, I will slap you in the face!" "Poor little things!" said the King, "how can you beat them? Tell them, and make them happy. I am not tired at all, and I would like to hear stories." Encouraged, Olive sat down to tell the story.Gradually, the king listened carefully, and the more he listened, the more nervous he became, asking again and again, "What happened next? What happened next?" Because the story was exactly the same as his poor wife's.But he dared not hope for anything, for the secret of the hands remained unexplained.Then he interjected, "What happened to her hands when they were cut off?" and Olive told the story of the old woman who did the laundry. "Ah, it is you!" exclaimed the king.They hug and kiss each other.However, after they were excited for a while, the king's face darkened. "I must go back to the palace immediately and let my mother receive the punishment she deserves!" "No, you can't do that!" said Olive. "If you really love me, you must promise me never to touch your mother a finger. In fact, she will regret it too. Besides, that poor The old man thought that she was doing that in the interests of the country. Spare her life, because I forgive her despite what she did to me." So the king returned to the palace without saying anything to his mother. "I was worried about you just now," she said to her son. "It's so windy and rainy outside, how did you stay overnight?" "I slept well, Mom." "What!" the queen became suspicious. "Really, living in a family of kind people keeps me happy. It's the first time I've been happy since Olive died. Say, mother, is Olive really dead?" "What are you talking about? Everyone in the city attended the funeral!" "I'd love to lay flowers on her grave and want to see for myself..." "Why are you so suspicious?" said the Queen, flushing with anger. "I doubt what my mother said. Is this the attitude a son should have towards his mother?" "Come on, mother, I haven't told enough lies! Olive, come in!" Olive walked in with the two children.The old queen's face was blood red with anger, but now she was pale with fright.But Olive said, "Don't be afraid, we won't hurt you. I am so glad to see the King again, that other things are of secondary importance." So, the old queen lived in the monastery, and the king and Olive lived peacefully for a lifetime. (Village of Montal, Pistoia region) -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Notes: Source of material: Grado Nirosi's "Sixty Folk Tales of Montal" (Florence, 1880 edition) thirty-ninth; collection area: Montal village, Tuscany province; narrator: Widow Luisa Ginaini. The name Olive appears in both a mystery play, Queen Olive, and a ballad, The Tale of Queen Olive.Both works are about the great suffering of a woman without hands.These elements are found in the Tuscan folk tale "Oliver": cruel torture, religious incompatibility (as reflected in the barbaric Jew) and joyous tone of the story (the girl eats The plot of the pear is reflected).The subject matter of these aspects is combined naturally and skillfully, just like the altarpiece oil painting painted by Paolo Userou in Urbino.Stories of girls being persecuted and their hands cut off are common throughout Europe (see Chapter 31) and Asia (see "Fairy Night Lake"), and are found in every region of Italy. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ [1] Paolo Osero (1397-1475) was an Italian painter.Urbino is the name of a city in Italy.