意大利童話 The Ship with Three Decks 有三個貨艙的船

Once there was a poor couple who lived way out in the country A baby boy was born to them, but there was no one anywhere around to be his godfather They went into town, but they didn't know a soul there and couldn't have the child baptized without a godfather They saw a man wrapped in a black cloak on the church doorstep and asked, "Kind sir, would you please be this boy's godfather?" The man agreed, and the child was baptized

When they came out of the church, the stranger said, "I now must give my godson his present Take this purse, which is to be used to raise and educate him And give him this letter when he has learned to read" The father and mother were thunderstruck, but before they could find words of thanks and ask the man his name, he had disappeared

The purse was full of gold crowns, which paid for the boy's education Once he could read, his parents gave him the letter, which said:

Dear Godson,

I am going back to repossess my throne after a long exile, and I need an heir As soon as you read this letter, set out on a journey to your dear godfather, the king of England

PS Along the way, beware of a cross-eyed man, a cripple, and a mangy character

The youth said, "Father, Mother, farewell I must go to my godfather" After a few days of walking, he met a traveler who asked, "Where are you going, my lad?"

"To England"

"So am I We shall travel together"

The youth noticed the man's eyes: one of them looked east, and the other west, so the boy realized this was the cross-eyed man he must avoid He found a pretext for stopping, then took another road

He met another traveler sitting on a stone "Are you going to England? We'll therefore travel together," said the stranger, who got up and limped along, leaning on a stick He's the cripple, thought the youth, and changed roads again

He met a third traveler, whose eyes, like his legs, bespoke perfect health As for any scalp disease, this man had the thickest and cleanest head of black hair you ever saw As the stranger was also on his way to England, they traveled together They stopped for the night at an inn, where the youth, wary of his companion, handed over his purse and the letter for the king to the innkeeper for safekeeping During the night while everybody was sleeping, the stranger rose and went to the innkeeper for the purse, letter, and horse In the morning the young man found himself alone, penniless, on foot, and with no letter for the king

"Your servant came to me in the night," explained the innkeeper, "for all your belongings Then he left"

The youth set out on foot At a bend in the road he spied his horse tethered to a tree in a field He was about to untie it, when from behind the tree rushed last night's companion armed with a pistol "If your don't want to die on the spot," he said, "you must become my servant and pretend I'm the king of England's godson" As he spoke, he removed his black wig, revealing a scalp completely covered with mange

They set out, the mangy one on horseback, the youth on foot, and at last reached England With open arms the king welcomed the mangy one, taking him for his godson, while the real godson was assigned to the stables as stable boy But the mangy one couldn't wait to get rid of his companion, and the opportunity soon presented itself The king one day said to the false godson, "If you could free my daughter from the spell that holds her prisoner on a certain island, I'd give her to you in marriage The only difficulty is that nobody who has attempted to free her has ever come back alive" The mangy one lost no time in replying "Try sending my servant, who is surely capable of setting her free"

The king summoned the youth at once and asked, "Can you set my daughter free?"

"Your daughter? Tell me where she is, Majesty!"

The king would only say, "I warn you that you'll lose your head if you come back to me without her"

The youth went to the pier and watched the ships sail away He had no idea how to reach the princess's island An old sailor with a beard down to his knees approached him and said, "Ask for a ship with three decks"

The youth went to the king and had a ship with three decks rigged When it was in port and ready to weigh anchor, the old sailor reappeared "Now have one deck loaded with cheese rinds, another with bread crumbs, and the third with stinking carrion"

The youth had the three decks loaded

"Now," said the old man, "when the king says, 'Choose all the sailors you want,' you will reply, 'I need only one,' and select me" That he did, and the whole town turned out to watch the ship sail off with that strange cargo and a crew of one, who also happened to be on his last legs

They sailed for three months straight, at the end of which time they spied a lighthouse in the night and entered a port All they could make out on shore were low, low houses and stealthy movement At last a voice asked, "What cargo do you carry?"

"Cheese rinds," replied the old sailor

"Fine," they said on shore "That's what we need"

It was the Island of Rats, where all the inhabitants were rats, who said, "We'll buy the entire cargo, but we have no money with which to pay you But any time you need us, you have only to say, 'Rats, fine rats, help us!' and we'll be right there to help you"

The youth and the sailor dropped the gangplank, and the rats came aboard and unloaded the cheese rinds in a flash

From there the men sailed to another island It was also night and they could make out nothing at all in port It was worse than the other place, with not a house or a tree anywhere in sight "What cargo do you bring?" asked voices in the dark

"Bread crumbs," replied the sailor

"Fine! That's just what we need!"

It was the Island of Ants, where all the inhabitants were ants Nor did they have any money either, but they said, "Whenever you need us, you have only to say, 'Ants, fine ants, help us!' and we'll be right there, no matter where you are"

The ants carried all the bread crumbs down the fore and aft moorings, and the ship cast off again

It came to an island of rocky cliffs that dropped straight down to port "What cargo do you bring?" cried voices from above

"Stinking carrion!"

"Excellent! That's just what we need," and huge shadows swooped down on the ship

It was the Island of Vultures, inhabited entirely by those greedy birds They flew off with every ounce of carrion, promising in return to help the men whenever they called, "Vultures, fine vultures, help us!"

After several more months of sailing, they landed on the island where the king of England's daughter was a prisoner They disembarked, walked through a long cave, and emerged before a palace in a garden A dwarf walked out to meet them "Is the king of England's daughter here?" asked the youth

"Come in and ask Fairy Sibiana," replied the dwarf, showing them into the palace, which had gold floors and crystal walls Fairy Sibiana sat on a throne of crystal and gold

"Kings and princes have brought entire armies to free the princess," said the fairy, "and every last one of them died"

"All I have are my will and my courage," said the youth

"Well, then, you must undergo three trials If you fail, you'll not get away from here alive Do you see that mountain shutting out the sun from my view? You must level it by tomorrow morning When I wake up I want the sunlight streaming into my room"

The dwarf came out with a pickax and led the youth to the foot of the mountain The young man brought the pickax down once, and the blade snapped in two "Now how am I going to dig?" he wondered, then remembered the rats on the other island "Rats, fine rats, help me!"

He'd not got the words out of his mouth before the mountain was swarming with rats from top to bottom They dug and gnawed and clawed, while the mountain dwindled and dwindled and dwindled

Next morning Fairy Sibiana was awakened by the first rays of sun streaming into her room "congratulations!" she said to the youth, "but you're not done yet" She led him to the palace's underground vaults, in the center of which was a room with a ceiling as high as a church's and containing one big heap of peas and lentils that reached the ceiling "You have this whole night to separate the peas from the lentils into two distinct piles Heaven help you if you leave one single lentil in the pea pile, or one single pea in the lentil pile"

The dwarf left him a candle wick and went off with the fairy As the wick burned down to nothing, the youth continued to stare at the huge pile, wondering how any human could ever accomplish so intricate a task Then he remembered the ants on the other island "Ants, fine ants," he called, "help me!"

No sooner had he said those words than the entire cellar teemed with those tiny insects They converged on the heap and, with order and patience, made two separate piles, one team of ants carrying peas and the other lentils

"I'm still not defeated," said the fairy when she saw the task completed "A far more difficult trial now awaits you You have from now till dawn to fetch me a barrel of the water of long life"

The spring of long life was at the top of a steep mountain infested with savage beasts Scaling the mountain was out of the question, much less while carrying a barrel But the youth called, "Vultures, fine vultures, help me!" and the sky darkened with vultures circling down to earth The youth attached a phial to the neck of each, and the vultures soared in a grand formation straight to the spring on the mountaintop, filled their phials, and flew back with them to the youth, who poured the water into the barrel he had waiting

When the barrel was full, hoofbeats were heard retreating Fairy Sibiana was fleeing for dear life, followed by her dwarfs, while out of the palace ran the king of England's daughter, cheering: "I'm safe at last! You set me free!"

With the king's daughter and the water of long life, the youth returned to his ship, where the old sailor was all ready to weigh anchor

The king of England scanned the sea every day through his telescope Seeing a ship approach that was flying the English flag, he ran to port overjoyed When the mangy one beheld the youth safe and sound and escorting the king's daughter, he was fit to be tied and resolved to have him killed

While the king was celebrating his daughter's return with a grand banquet, two grim-looking fellows came to get the youth, saying it was a matter of life and death Puzzled, he followed them When they got to the woods, the two fellows, who were assassins hired by the mangy one, drew their knives and cut the youth's throat

Meanwhile at the banquet, the king's daughter was more and more worried, since the youth had gone off with that sinister pair and not returned She went out looking for him and, reaching the woods, found his body covered with wounds But the old sailor had brought along the barrel containing the water of long life, in which he immersed the youth's body, only to see him jump right back out as sound as ever and so handsome that the king's daughter threw her arms around his neck

The mangy one was livid with rage "What's in that barrel?" he asked

"Boiling oil," replied the sailor

So the mangy one had a barrel of oil heated to boiling and announced to the princess: "If you don't love me I'll kill myself" He stabbed himself with his dagger and leaped into the boiling oil He was instantly scalded to death Also his black wig had flown off when he leaped, revealing his mangy head

"Ah, the mangy one!" exclaimed the king of England "The cruelest of all my enemies He finally got what was coming to him So you, valiant youth, are my godson! You shall marry my daughter and inherit my kingdom!" And so it was

(Riviera ligure di ponente)

NOTES:

"The Ship with Three Decks" (Il bastimento a tre piani) from Andrews, 2 and 27, Menton, told by Giuanina Piombo dite La Mova, and by Angelina Moretti

Prosperous sea trading, with unusual cargos coming into ports where the merchandise is highly prized, is a metaphor of luck in the popular mind It recurs in diverse folktales and is woven into various plots (cf my no173, from Sicily) In this tale from the Italian Riviera border, the curious motifs of the ship with three decks and of the isles inhabited by animals are incorporated into the widespread type featuring the enchanted filly (in one of Andrews's versions, advice is given by the horse) and grateful animals (cf my nos 24 and 79) I have freely rendered the two versions summarized in French by Andrews

Copyright: Italian Folktales Selected and Retold by Italo Calvino,

translated by George Martin,

Pantheon Books, New York 1980

有三個貨艙的船

從前，在一個偏僻的鄉(xiāng)下住著一對貧窮的夫妻。他們生了個兒子，可是附近找不到人來當孩子的教父。他們想進城去找，在那兒又沒有熟人;沒有教父，就不能給孩子洗禮。在教堂門口的臺階上，他們看見一個披黑斗篷的男人，便問道：“好心的先生，您愿意當這個孩子的教父嗎?”那人同意了，這樣就給孩子施了洗禮。

他們走出了教堂，那個陌生人說：“現(xiàn)在，我要送一件禮物給我的教子。請收下這個錢包，就用這些錢來撫養(yǎng)他，供他上學。等他識字以后，把這封信交給他。”孩子的父母大吃一驚，還沒來得及問他姓甚名誰，也沒來得及感謝他，他已經(jīng)不見了。

錢包里裝滿了金克郎，孩子后來讀書就用的是這筆錢。當孩子能寫會念以后，父母便把那封信交給了他，信上寫著：

親愛的教子：

經(jīng)長期流放以后，我現(xiàn)在回去重新執(zhí)掌朝政了。我需要一個繼承人。你讀完此信，馬上動身來找你親愛的教父——英格蘭國王。

又及，旅途中，你務必提防三個人：一個斗雞眼，一個跛子和一個瘌痢頭。

年輕人讀完信說：“爸爸，媽媽，再見啦，我得去找我的教父。”走了幾天以后，他在路上遇到一個行人。這個人問道：“小伙子，你上哪兒去呀?”

“去英格蘭。”

“正好跟我同路，咱們一起走吧。”

年輕人見那人的眼睛一只眼珠向左，一只眼珠向右，發(fā)覺正是他要提防的那個斗雞眼。于是他找了個借口，停了下來，后來朝另一條路走了。

他又遇到一個坐在石頭上休息的行人。“你去英格蘭嗎?我們一起走吧，”陌生人說。他站起身來，拄著拐棍一瘸一拐地朝前走。年輕人想：他是個跛子，我必須避開他，于是朝另一條路走了。

他遇到的第三個行人的眼睛和腿腳都正常，還長著一頭烏黑發(fā)亮的頭發(fā)。也是去英格蘭，所以他們就結(jié)伴同行。他們在一家旅店過夜。為了預防意外，年輕人將他的錢包和國王的信交給旅店老板保管。夜間，趁大家都睡熟了，陌生人爬起來，向老板要了年輕人的錢包、信和馬便逃走了。第二天早晨，年輕人發(fā)現(xiàn)只剩下自己一個人，身上一分錢也沒有，信也丟了，馬也丟了。

“夜里，你的仆人來找我，”老板解釋說，“他要了你你的財物，就走了……”

年輕人只好步行趕路，走到一個岔路口時，驀地發(fā)現(xiàn)他的馬拴在田里的一棵樹上。他正要解韁繩，突然，他那個同伴拿著手槍從樹后奔了出來。“如果你想活，”他說，“你就得給我當仆人，就說我是英格蘭國王的教子。”說著，他脫下頭上的黑色假發(fā)，露出了禿頂，頭上滿是瘌疤。

瘌痢頭騎著馬，年輕人步行跟在后頭，最后到了英格蘭。國王伸開雙臂歡迎瘌痢頭，把他當作自己的教子，而真教子卻被派到馬廄里當馬倌去了?？墒牵☆^急不可耐地還想把真教子除掉。不久，機會來了。一天，國王對瘌痢頭說：“我的女兒被符咒鎮(zhèn)住了，被囚禁在某個島上，假如你能救她出來，我就將她許配給你做妻子。不過，這事不容易做到，以前去救她的人沒有一個能活著回來的。”瘌痢頭一聽，連忙回話說：“派我的仆人去試試吧，他肯定能行。”

國王馬上把年輕人叫來，問他：“你能救我的女兒嗎?”

“您的女兒?陛下，請告訴我她在什么地方!”

國王只是說：“我警告你，假如你救不回來，我可要砍你的腦袋。”

年輕人到了碼頭，望著一艘艘揚帆出航的船。他不知道怎樣才能到達公主居住的島上。一位胡須拖到膝蓋的老水手走到他面前說：“去要一艘有三個貨艙的船吧。”

年輕人去見國王，要了一艘有三個貨艙的船。當這艘船停在港口準備起航時，老水手又出現(xiàn)了。他說：“你在一個貨艙里裝干酪皮，另一個貨艙里裝面包屑，第三個貨艙里裝臭肉。”

年輕人就叫人把三個貨艙都裝滿了這些貨。

“現(xiàn)在，”老年人說，“當國王說‘去選你所需要的水手’時，你就回答說‘我只需要一個水手’，就挑選我。”年輕就照這樣做了。這艘船揚帆出海的時候，全城的市民都出來看稀奇：船上裝著稀奇古怪的貨物;只有一個水手，還是個快要死的老頭子。

他們連接航行了三個月。一天夜里，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)一座燈塔，便駛進了港口。他們模模糊糊地只看到岸上有一些非常低矮的房子，還有些小東西在鬼鬼祟祟地來回走動。后來，他們聽到一個聲音問道：“船上裝的什么貨啊?”

“干酪皮。”老水手回答。

“妙極啦，”岸上的聲音說，“這正是我們需要的。”

這是一座鼠島，上面住的全是老鼠。它們說：“我們要買下全部貨物，但我們沒有錢付給你們。不過，無論你們什么時候需要我們，你們只要說，‘老鼠啊，可愛的老鼠，來幫助我們!’我們馬上就會去幫助你們的。”

年輕人和老水手放下跳板，老鼠上了船，轉(zhuǎn)眼間就把干酪皮全卸光了。

從鼠島啟航后，兩人又到了另一個島上。這時夜已經(jīng)深了，港口里什么也沒有;這兒比上次那個地方更糟糕，連一所房子或一棵樹也看不到。“你們帶來什么貨啊?”黑夜中，有幾個聲音同時問道。

“面包屑，”老水手回答。

“妙極啦，這正是我們需要的。”

這是一座螞蟻島，島上住的全是螞蟻。它們也付不出錢，不過它們說：“無論什么時候需要我們，你們只要說，‘螞蟻啊，可愛的螞蟻，來幫助我們!’不管你們在什么地方，我們馬上會出現(xiàn)在那兒的。”

螞蟻在船上到處爬著，把全部面包屑都卸下船去。接著，船又啟航出發(fā)了。

船又來到一座懸崖峭壁的海島，海港就在懸崖下面。“你們帶來的什么貨啊?”聲音從懸崖上面?zhèn)鱽怼?/p>

“臭肉!”

“妙極啦，這正是我們需要的。”幾個巨大的影子在船的上空掠過。

這是一座禿鷲島，島上全棲息著這種貪婪的巨鳥。它們叼走了船上的所有臭肉;它們答應在老水手和年輕人需要幫助時，只要喊一聲“禿鷲啊，可愛的禿鷲，來幫助我們”時，它們就會立刻趕到。

又航行了幾個月，他們抵達了囚禁英格蘭國王女兒的那個島上。他們上了岸，步行穿過一個長長的山洞，突然來到花園里的一座宮殿前。一個侏儒從宮殿里出來招呼他們。“英格蘭國王的女兒在這兒嗎?”年輕人問道。

“進來去問仙女賽比安娜吧!”侏儒回答。他把年輕人和老水手帶進宮殿，宮殿里面鋪著金地板，砌著水晶墻。仙女賽比安娜端坐在用黃金和水晶做成的御座上。

“不少國王和王子帶了大隊人馬來搭公主，”仙女說，“但他們都在這兒送了命。”

“我所帶來的是我的意志和勇氣，”年輕人說。

“那么，好吧，你必須經(jīng)受三次考驗。如果失敗了，你就甭想活著從這兒出去。你看見我前面那座擋住陽光的大山了嗎?明天早晨以前，你必須把它鏟平。等我醒來，就要讓陽光照進我的房間。”

侏儒拿著把鶴嘴鋤走出來，帶著年輕人走到山腳下。年輕人用力一鋤，鋤刃斷裂成兩半。“這叫我怎么挖呢?”他不知怎么辦才好。突然，他想起另一個島上的老鼠來。“老鼠啊，可愛的老鼠，來幫助我!”

他的話還沒說完，從山頂?shù)缴侥_到處是一群群的老鼠在蠕動。它們挖啊，咬啊，刨啊，山被它們越挖越小，越咬越小，越刨越小了。

第二天早晨，陽光一照進房間里，仙女賽比安娜醒過來了。“祝賀你!”她對年輕人說：“但是，事情還沒完呢。”她領著年輕人走進了地窖;這個大地窖的中央是一間房間，房內(nèi)的天花板跟教堂里的一樣高。里面堆滿了豌豆和小扁豆，一直堆到天花板。“今天夜里，你要把這堆混和在一起的豆子，清清楚楚地分成兩堆：一堆碗豆，一堆小扁豆。要是你將一粒小扁豆留在豌豆里，或者把一粒豌豆留在小扁豆里，你就會遭殃的。”

那個侏儒留給他一支蠟燭，便跟仙女一起走了。蠟燭燃完時，年輕人還望著那一大堆豆在發(fā)呆，心想誰也干不了這樣繁難的活呀!這時，他想起了另一個島上的螞蟻。“螞蟻啊，可愛的螞蟻!快來幫助我!”

他的話音剛落，整個地窖里密密麻麻地爬滿了螞蟻。它們聚集在豆子堆上，有條不紊地、仔細地將豆子分成兩堆;一隊螞蟻專門運豌豆，另一隊螞蟻專門運小扁豆。

“我還不認輸呢，”仙女看到這事也辦成了，就對年輕人說，“在你面前還有一次更大的考驗。天亮以前，你必須給我送一桶長命水來。”

長命泉在陡峭的高山頂上，山上到處是兇猛的野獸。連爬都爬不上去，更不用說還要帶著一只桶了。但年輕人喊道：“禿鷲啊，可愛的禿鷲!快來幫助我!”這時許許多禿鷲遮天蔽日地盤旋著飛到地上。年輕人在每只鳥的脖子上拴一個小瓶子，于是，這些禿鷲排成浩浩蕩蕩的隊伍徑直向山頂飛去。小瓶子里灌滿泉水，以后它們又回到年輕人身邊;他在地上等著，將長命水倒進他隨身帶來的桶里。

當桶里灌滿水時，遠處傳來噠噠的馬蹄聲。原來，仙女賽比安娜倉惶逃命去了，后面跟著那個侏儒。這時候，英格蘭國王的女兒從宮殿里跑出來，高興地喊著：“我解脫符咒啦!你把我救出來啦!”

年輕人帶著國王的女兒和長命水回到自己的船上，老水手己做好了啟航的準備。

英格蘭國王每天用望遠鏡細心地眺望大海。當他看到一艘飄揚著英國國旗的船駛來，便興高采烈地奔向港口。瘌痢頭看到年輕人帶著國王的女兒勝利返航，簡直氣壞了。他下狠心要把年輕人弄死。

國王舉行盛大宴會，歡慶女兒得救。席間，有兩個面露兇相的家伙把年輕人叫了出去，說有件生死攸關的大事要同他商量。年輕人不知是怎么回事，便跟著他們走了。他們走到樹林里時，這兩個家伙拔出刀來，刺死了年輕人。原來，他們是瘌痢頭雇用的兇手。

這時，宴會上國王的女兒心里十分焦急，年輕人跟那兩個兇狠的家伙出去了，怎么一直不見他回來。她便到外面去找他，找到樹林時，發(fā)現(xiàn)年輕人躺在那兒，身上有許多刀傷。好在老水手隨身帶來了裝著長命水的水桶，他便將年輕人的身體浸到水桶里去。一會兒工夫，她便看到年輕人騰地站了起來，又健康又英俊，國王的女兒伸開雙臂摟住了他的脖子。

瘌痢頭氣得臉色鐵青，問道：“桶里裝的是什么玩意兒?”

“滾燙的油，”老水手回答。

于是，瘌痢頭弄來一桶滾沸的油，對公主說：“如果你不愛我，我就跳進去。”說罷，他用匕首對自己刺去，然后跳進沸滾的油里，立刻被燙死了。他往油里跳時，黑色假發(fā)脫落下來，露出了光禿禿的腦袋瓜兒。

“呃，原來是那個瘌痢頭!”國王驚叫起來，“他是我最兇惡的敵人。他自殺了，真是罪有應得。勇敢的年輕人，你才是我的教子!你將跟我的女兒結(jié)婚，繼承我的王位!”后來，年輕人就跟公主結(jié)婚，當了國王。

(利古里亞海岸)

注釋：

材料來源：詹姆士·安德魯斯編《利古里亞故事集》(巴黎，1892年版)第二和第二十七篇;搜集地區(qū)：曼敦;講述者：喬安尼娜·皮奧姆勃和安格利娜·莫瑞蒂。

源源不斷地將稀有貨物運往能賣高價的港口去出售——多數(shù)人都把這種繁榮的海上貿(mào)易比作財運亨通。描寫海上貿(mào)易在各地的民間故事中都有，而且被編排在不同的情節(jié)之中(比較本書第一七三篇《貨船》)。這篇故事來自意大利的邊境地區(qū)里維埃拉。它將有三個貨艙的船以及居住著動物的島這兩個奇特的題材融為一體。這類故事廣為流傳，它的特點是描寫著魔的雌馬(在安德魯斯所選的一篇故事中，小馬給人出主意)和感恩圖報的動物(比較本書第二十四篇《三間小屋》和第七十九篇《菲奧雷凡特和美女艾索琳娜》)。在編寫這篇故事時，我將安德魯斯用法語寫的兩篇故事梗概結(jié)合在一起了。