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Jules Verne - "Michael Strogoff"

Gregory Walker, Austin, Texas, - "American Hand Book of the Daguerreotype by Samuel D. Humphrey"

Jules Verne - "De la Terre  la Lune"

Ludwig Anzengruber - "Der Gwissenswurm"

Stories from Pentamerone

G >> Giambattista Basile >> Stories from Pentamerone




Meanwhile Fioravante, returning home, was told by the horses that
the locksmith had carried off Cannetella in the cask, on hearing
which, burning with shame, and all on fire with rage, off he ran
towards High-Hill, and, meeting an old woman who lived opposite
to the palace, he said to her, "What will you charge, good mother,
to let me see the King's daughter?" Then she asked a hundred
ducats, and Fioravante, putting his hand in his purse, instantly
counted them out, one a-top of the other. Thereupon the old
woman took him up on the roof, where he saw Cannetella drying
her hair on a balcony. But--just as if her heart had whispered to
her--the maiden turned that way and saw the knave. She rushed
downstairs and ran to her father, crying out, "My lord, if you do
not this very instant make me a chamber with seven iron doors I
am lost and undone!"

"I will not lose you for such a trifle," said her father; "I would
pluck out an eye to gratify such a dear daughter!" So, no sooner
said than done, the doors were instantly made.

When Fioravante heard of this he went again to the old woman and
said to her, "What shall I give you now? Go to the King's house,
under pretext of selling pots of rouge, and make your way to the
chamber of the King's daughter. When you are there contrive to
slip this little piece of paper between the bed-clothes, saying, in an
undertone, as you place it there--

Let every one now soundly sleep,
But Cannetella awake shall keep."

So the old woman agreed for another hundred ducats, and she
served him faithfully.

Now, as soon as she had done this trick, such a sound sleep fell on
the people of the house that they seemed as if they all were dead.
Cannetella alone remained awake, and when she heard the doors
bursting open she began to cry aloud as if she were burnt, but no
one heard her, and there was no one to run to her aid. So
Fioravante threw down all the seven doors, and, entering her room,
seized up Cannetella, bed-clothes and all, to carry her off. But, as
luck would have it, the paper the old woman had put there fell on
the ground, and the spell was broken. All the people of the house
awoke, and, hearing Cannetella's cries, they ran--cats, dogs, and
all--and, laying hold on the ogre, quickly cut him in pieces like a
pickled tunny. Thus he was caught in the trap he had laid for poor
Cannetella, learning to his cost that--

"No one suffereth greater pain
Than he who by his own sword is slain."



XVIII

CORVETTO

I once heard say that Juno went to Candia to find Falsehood. But if
any one were to ask me where fraud and hypocrisy might truly be
found, I should know of no other place to name than the Court,
where detraction always wears the mask of amusement; where, at
the same time, people cut and sew up, wound and heal, break and
glue together--of which I will give you one instance in the story
that I am going to tell you.

There was once upon a time in the service of the King of
Wide-River an excellent youth named Corvetto, who, for his good
conduct, was beloved by his master; and for this very cause was
disliked and hated by all the courtiers. These courtiers were filled
with spite and malice, and bursting with envy at the kindness
which the King showed to Corvetto; so that all day long, in every
corner of the palace, they did nothing but tattle and whisper,
murmur and grumble at the poor lad, saying, "What sorcery has
this fellow practised on the King that he takes such a fancy to him?
How comes he by this luck that not a day passes that he receives
some new favours, whilst we are for ever going backward like a
rope-maker, and getting from bad to worse, though we slave like
dogs, toil like field-labourers, and run about like deer to hit the
King's pleasure to a hair? Truly one must be born to good fortune
in this world, and he who has not luck might as well be thrown
into the sea. What is to be done? We can only look on and envy."
These and other words fell from their mouths like poisoned arrows
aimed at the ruin of Corvetto as at a target. Alas for him who is
condemned to that den the Court, where flattery is sold by the
kilderkin, malignity and ill-offices are measured out in bushels,
deceit and treachery are weighed by the ton! But who can count all
the attempts these courtiers made to bring him to grief, or the false
tales that they told to the King to destroy his reputation! But
Corvetto, who was enchanted, and perceived the traps, and
discovered the tricks, was aware of all the intrigues and the
ambuscades, the plots and conspiracies of his enemies. He kept his
ears always on the alert and his eyes open in order not to take a
false step, well knowing that the fortune of courtiers is as glass.
But the higher the lad continued to rise the lower the others fell;
till at last, being puzzled to know how to take him off his feet, as
their slander was not believed, they thought of leading him to
disaster by the path of flattery, which they attempted in the
following manner.

Ten miles distant from Scotland, where the seat of this King was,
there dwelt an ogre, the most inhuman and savage that had ever
been in Ogreland, who, being persecuted by the King, had fortified
himself in a lonesome wood on the top of a mountain, where no
bird ever flew, and was so thick and tangled that one could never
see the sun there. This ogre had a most beautiful horse, which
looked as if it were formed with a pencil; and amongst other
wonderful things, it could speak like any man. Now the courtiers,
who knew how wicked the ogre was, how thick the wood, how
high the mountain, and how difficult it was to get at the horse,
went to the King, and telling him minutely the perfections of the
animal, which was a thing worthy of a King, added that he ought to
endeavour by all means to get it out of the ogre's claws, and that
Corvetto was just the lad to do this, as he was expert and clever at
escaping out of the fire. The King, who knew not that under the
flowers of these words a serpent was concealed, instantly called
Corvetto, and said to him, "If you love me, see that in some way or
another you obtain for me the horse of my enemy the ogre, and you
shall have no cause to regret having done me this service."

Corvetto knew well that this drum was sounded by those who
wished him ill; nevertheless, to obey the King, he set out and took
the road to the mountain. Then going very quietly to the ogre's
stable, he saddled and mounted the horse, and fixing his feet
firmly in the stirrup, took his way back. But as soon as the horse
saw himself spurred out of the palace, he cried aloud, "Hollo! be
on your guard! Corvetto is riding off with me." At this alarm the
ogre instantly set out, with all the animals that served him, to cut
Corvetto in pieces. From this side jumped an ape, from that was
seen a large bear; here sprang forth a lion, there came running a
wolf. But the youth, by the aid of bridle and spur, distanced the
mountain, and galloping without stop to the city, arrived at the
Court, where he presented the horse to the King.

Then the King embraced him more than a son, and pulling out his
purse, filled his hands with crown-pieces. At this the rage of the
courtiers knew no bounds; and whereas at first they were puffed up
with a little pipe, they were now bursting with the blasts of a
smith's bellows, seeing that the crowbars with which they thought
to lay Corvetto's good fortune in ruins only served to smooth the
road to his prosperity. Knowing, however, that walls are not
levelled by the first attack of the battering-ram, they resolved to try
their luck a second time, and said to the King, "We wish you joy of
the beautiful horse! It will indeed be an ornament to the royal
stable. But what a pity you have not the ogre's tapestry, which is a
thing more beautiful than words can tell, and would spread your
fame far and wide! There is no one, however, able to procure this
treasure but Corvetto, who is just the lad to do such a kind of
service."

Then the King, who danced to every tune, and ate only the peel of
this bitter but sugared fruit, called Corvetto, and begged him to
procure for him the ogre's tapestry. Off went Corvetto and in four
seconds was on the top of the mountain where the ogre lived; then
passing unseen into the chamber in which he slept, he hid himself
under the bed, and waited as still as a mouse, until Night, to make
the Stars laugh, puts a carnival-mask on the face of the Sky. And
as soon as the ogre and his wife were gone to bed, Corvetto
stripped the walls of the chamber very quietly, and wishing to steal
the counterpane of the bed likewise, he began to pull it gently.
Thereupon the ogre, suddenly starting up, told his wife not to pull
so, for she was dragging all the clothes off him, and would give
him his death of cold.

"Why you are uncovering me!" answered the ogress.

"Where is the counterpane?" replied the ogre; and stretching out
his hand to the floor he touched Corvetto's face; whereupon he set
up a loud cry,--"The imp! the imp! Hollo, here, lights! Run
quickly!"--till the whole house was turned topsy-turvy with the
noise. But Corvetto, after throwing the clothes out of the window,
let himself drop down upon them. Then making up a good bundle,
he set out on the road to the city, where the reception he met with
from the King, and the vexation of the courtiers, who were
bursting with spite, are not to be told. Nevertheless they laid a plan
to fall upon Corvetto with the rear-guard of their roguery, and went
again to the King, who was almost beside himself with delight at
the tapestry--which was not only of silk embroidered with gold,
but had besides more than a thousand devices and thoughts worked
on it. And amongst the rest, if I remember right, there was a cock
in the act of crowing at daybreak, and out of its mouth was seen
coming a motto in Tuscan: IF I ONLY SEE YOU. And in another
part a drooping heliotrope with a Tuscan motto: AT
SUNSET--with so many other pretty things that it would require a
better memory and more time than I have to relate them.

When the courtiers came to the King, who was thus transported
with joy, they said to him, "As Corvetto has done so much to serve
you, it would be no great matter for him, in order to give you a
signal pleasure, to get the ogre's palace, which is fit for an
emperor to live in; for it has so many rooms and chambers, inside
and out, that it can hold an army. And you would never believe all
the courtyards, porticoes, colonnades, balconies, and spiral
chimneys which there are--built with such marvellous architecture
that Art prides herself upon them, Nature is abashed, and Stupor is
in delight."

The King, who had a fruitful brain which conceived quickly,
called Corvetto again, and telling him the great longing that had
seized him for the ogre's palace, begged him to add this service to
all the others he had done him, promising to score it up with the
chalk of gratitude at the tavern of memory. So Corvetto instantly
set out heels over head; and arriving at the ogre's palace, he found
that the ogress, whilst her husband was gone to invite the kinsfolk,
was busying herself with preparing the feast. Then Corvetto
entering, with a look of compassion, said, "Good-day, my good
woman! Truly, you are a brave housewife! But why do you torment
the very life out of you in this way? Only yesterday you were ill in
bed, and now you are slaving thus, and have no pity on your own
flesh."

"What would you have me do?" replied the ogress. "I have no one
to help me."

"I am here," answered Corvetto, "ready to help you tooth and
nail."

"Welcome, then!" said the ogress; "and as you proffer me so much
kindness, just help me to split four logs of wood."

"With all my heart," answered Corvetto, "but if four logs are not
enow, let me split five." And taking up a newly-ground axe,
instead of striking the wood, he struck the ogress on the neck, and
made her fall to the ground like a pear. Then running quickly to
the gate, he dug a deep hole before the entrance, and covering it
over with bushes and earth, he hid himself behind the gate.

As soon as Corvetto saw the ogre coming with his kinsfolk, he set
up a loud cry in the courtyard, "Stop, stop! I've caught him!" and
"Long live the King of Wide-River." When the ogre heard this
challenge, he ran like mad at Corvetto, to make a hash of him. But
rushing furiously towards the gate, down he tumbled with all his
companions, head over heels to the bottom of the pit, where
Corvetto speedily stoned them to death. Then he shut the door, and
took the keys to the King, who, seeing the valour and cleverness of
the lad, in spite of ill-fortune and the envy and annoyance of the
courtiers, gave him his daughter to wife; so that the crosses of
envy had proved rollers to launch Corvetto's bark of life on the sea
of greatness; whilst his enemies remained confounded and bursting
with rage, and went to bed without a candle; for--

"The punishment of ill deeds past,
Though long delay'd, yet comes at last."



XIX

THE BOOBY

An ignorant man who associates with clever people has always
been more praised than a wise man who keeps the company of
fools; for as much profit and fame as one may gain from the
former, so much wealth and honour one may lose by the fault of
the latter; and as the proof of the pudding is in the eating, you will
know from the story which I am going to tell you whether my
proposition be true.

There was once a man who was as rich as the sea, but as there can
never be any perfect happiness in this world, he had a son so idle
and good-for-nothing that he could not tell a bean from a
cucumber. So being unable any longer to put up with his folly, he
gave him a good handful of crowns, and sent him to trade in the
Levant; for he well knew that seeing various countries and mixing
with divers people awaken the genius and sharpen the judgment,
and make men expert.

Moscione (for that was the name of the son) got on horseback, and
began his journey towards Venice, the arsenal of the wonders of
the world, to embark on board some vessel bound for Cairo; and
when he had travelled a good day's journey, he met with a person
who was standing fixed at the foot of a poplar, to whom he said,
"What is your name, my lad? Whence are you, and what is your
trade?" And the lad replied, "My name is Lightning; I am from
Arrowland, and I can run like the wind." "I should like to see a
proof of it," said Moscione; and Lightning answered, "Wait a
moment, and you will see whether it is dust or flour."

When they had stood waiting a little while, a doe came bounding
over the plain, and Lightning, letting her pass on some way, to give
her the more law, darted after her so rapidly and light of foot, that
he would have gone over a place covered with flour without
leaving the mark of his shoe, and in four bounds he came up with
her. Moscione, amazed at this exploit, asked if he would come and
live with him, and promised to pay him royally.

So Lightning consented, and they went on their way together; but
they had not journeyed many miles when they met another youth,
to whom Moscione said, "What is your name, comrade? What
country are you from? And what is your trade?" "My name,"
replied the lad, "is Quick-ear; I am from Vale-Curious; and when I
put my ear the ground I hear all that is passing in the world without
stirring from the spot. I perceive the monopolies and agreements
of tradespeople to raise the prices of things, the ill-offices of
courtiers, the appointments of lovers, the plots of robbers, the
reports of spies, the complaints of servants, the gossiping of old
women, and the oaths of sailors; so that no one has ever been able
to discover so much as my ears can."

"If that be true," said Moscione, "tell me what they are now saying
at my home."

So the lad put his ear to the ground, and replied, "An old man is
talking to his wife, and saying, Praised be Sol in Leo! I have got
rid from my sight of that fellow Moscione, that face of
old-fashioned crockery, that nail in my heart. By travelling through
the world he will at least become a man, and no longer be such a
stupid ass, such a simpleton, such a lose-the-day fellow,
such a ---'"

"Stop, stop!" cried Moscione, "you tell the truth and I believe you.
So come along with me, for you have found the road to
good-luck."

"Well and good!" said the youth. So they all went on together and
travelled ten miles farther, when they met another man, to whom
Moscione said, "What is your name, my brave fellow? Where were
you born? And what can you do in the world?" And the man
answered, "My name is Shoot-straight; I am from Castle Aimwell;
and I can shoot with a crossbow so point-blank as to hit a
crab-apple in the middle."

"I should like to see the proof," said Moscione. So the lad charged
his crossbow, took aim, and made a pea leap from the top of a
stone; whereupon Moscione took him also like the others into his
company. And they travelled on another day's journey, till they
came to some people who were building a large pier in the
scorching heat of the sun, and who might well say, "Boy, put water
to the wine, for my heart is burning." So Moscione had
compassion on them, and said, "My masters, how is it you have the
head to stand in this furnace, which is fit to roast a buffalo?" And
one of them answered, "Oh, we are as cool as a rose; for we have a
young man here who blows upon us from behind in such a manner
that it seems just as if the west wind were blowing." "Let me see
him, I pray," cried Moscione. So the mason called the lad, and
Moscione said to him, "Tell me, by the life of your father, what is
your name? what country are you from? and what is your
profession!" And the lad replied, "My name is Blow-blast; I am
from Windy-land; and I can make all the winds with my mouth. If
you wish for a zephyr, I will breathe one that will send you in
transports; if you wish for a squall, I will throw down houses."

"Seeing is believing," said Moscione. Whereupon
Blow-blast breathed at first quite gently, so that it seemed to be the
wind that blows at Posilippo towards evening; then turning
suddenly to some trees, he sent forth such a furious blast that it
uprooted a row of oaks.

When Moscione saw this he took him for a companion; and
travelling on as far again, he met another lad, to whom he said,
"What is your name, if I may make so bold? Whence are you, if
one may ask? And what is your trade, if it is a fair question?" And
the lad answered, "My name is Strong-back; I am from Valentino;
and I have such strength that I can take a mountain on my back,
and it seems to me only a feather."

"If that be the case," said Moscione, "you deserve to be the king of
the custom-house, and you should be chosen for standard-bearer
on the first of May. But I should like to see a proof of what you
say."

Then Strong-back began to load himself with masses of rock,
trunks of trees, and so many other weights that a thousand large
waggons could not have carried them; which, when Moscione saw,
he agreed with the lad to join him.

So they travelled on till they came to Fair-Flower, the King of
which place had a daughter who ran like the wind, and could pass
over the waving corn without bending an ear; and the King had
issued a proclamation that whoever could over-take her in running
should have her to wife, but whoever was left behind should lose
his head.

When Moscione arrived in this country and heard the
proclamation, he went straight to the King, and offered to run with
his daughter, making the wise agreement either to win the race or
leave his noddle there. But in the morning he sent to inform the
King that he was taken ill, and being unable to run himself he
would send another young man in his place. "Come who will!"
said Ciannetella (for that was the King's daughter), "I care not a
fig--it is all one to me."

So when the great square was filled with people, come to see the
race, insomuch that the men swarmed like ants, and the windows
and roofs were all as full as an egg, Lightning came out and took
his station at the top of the square, waiting for the signal. And lo!
forth came Ciannetella, dressed in a little gown, tucked
half-way up her legs, and a neat and pretty little shoe with a single
sole. Then they placed themselves shoulder to shoulder, and as
soon as the tarantara and too-too of the trumpets was heard, off
they darted, running at such a rate that their heels touched their
shoulders, and in truth they seemed just like hares with the
grey-hounds after them, horses broken loose from the stable, or
dogs with kettles tied to their tails. But Lightning (as he was both
by name and nature) left the princess more than a
hand's-breadth behind him, and came first to the goal. Then you
should have heard the huzzaing and shouting, the cries and the
uproar, the whistling and clapping of hands of all the people,
bawling out, "Hurra! Long life to the stranger!" Whereat
Ciannetella's face turned as red as a schoolboy's who is going to
be whipped, and she stood lost in shame and confusion at seeing
herself vanquished. But as there were to be two heats to the race,
she fell to planning how to be revenged for this affront; and going
home, she put a charm into a ring of such power that if any one
had it upon his finger his legs would totter so that he would not be
able to walk, much less run; then she sent it as a present to
Lightning, begging him to wear it on his finger for love of her.

Quick-ear, who heard this trick plotted between the father and
daughter, said nothing, and waited to see the upshot of the affair.
And when, at the trumpeting of the birds, the Sun whipped on the
Night, who sat mounted on the jackass of the Shades, they returned
to the field, where at the usual signal they fell to plying their heels.
But if Ciannetella was like another Atalanta, Lightning had
become no less like an old donkey and a foundered horse, for he
could not stir a step. But Shoot-straight, who saw his comrade's
danger, and heard from Quick-ear how matters stood, laid hold of
his crossbow and shot a bolt so exactly that it hit Lightning's
finger, and out flew the stone from the ring, in which the virtue of
the charm lay; whereupon his legs, that had been tied, were set
free, and with four goat-leaps he passed Ciannetella and won the
race.

The King seeing this victory of a blockhead, the palm thus carried
off by a simpleton, the triumph of a fool, bethought himself
seriously whether or no he should give him his daughter; and
taking counsel with the wiseacres of his court, they replied that
Ciannetella was not a mouthful for the tooth of such a miserable
dog and lose-the-day bird, and that, without breaking his word, he
might commute the promise of his daughter for a gift of crowns,
which would be more to the taste of a poor beggar like Moscione
than all the women in the world.

This advice pleased the King, and he asked Moscione how much
money he would take instead of the wife who had been promised
him. Then Moscione, after consulting with the others, answered, "I
will take as much gold and silver as one of my comrades can carry
on his back." The king consented; whereupon they brought
Strong-back, on whom they began to load bales of ducats, sacks of
patacas, large purses full of crowns, barrels of copper money,
chests full of chains and rings; but the more they loaded him the
firmer he stood, just like a tower, so that the treasury, the banks,
the usurers, and the money-dealers of the city did not suffice, and
he sent to all the great people in every direction to borrow their
silver candlesticks, basins, jugs, plates, trays, and baskets; and yet
all was not enough to make up the full load. At length they went
away, not laden but tired and satisfied.

When the councillors saw what heaps and stores these six
miserable dogs were carrying off, they said to the King that it was
a great piece of assery to load them with all the sinews of his
kingdom, and that it would be well to send people after them to
lessen the load of that Atlas who was carrying on his shoulders a
heaven of treasure. The King gave ear to this advice, and
immediately despatched a party of armed men, foot and horse, to
overtake Moscione and his friends. But Quick-ear, who had heard
this counsel, informed his comrades; and while the dust was rising
to the sky from the trampling of those who were coming to unload
the rich cargo, Blow-blast, seeing that things were come to a bad
pass, began to blow at such a rate that he not only made the
enemies fall flat on the ground, but he sent them flying more than
a mile distant, as the north wind does the folks who pass through
that country. So without meeting any more hindrance, Moscione
arrived at his father's house, where he shared the booty with his
companions, since, as the saying goes, a good deed deserves a
good meed. So he sent them away content and happy; but he
stayed with his father, rich beyond measure, and saw himself a
simpleton laden with gold, not giving the lie to the
saying--

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