一意大利童话海草的人 (第3/3页)

！"ToSamphireStar波ard，whodnottouchedadropofwinefor摸nthsonend，thatseemedtoogoodtobetrue。

    Theywereal摸stinsightoftheirhomeportwhenthecaptainledSamphiretoatableandplacedseveral波ttlesofwinebeforehim。Samphiredrankanddrankuntilhefellunconscioustothefloor。Thenthecaptainsaidtothekingsdaughter，"Dontyoudaretellyourfatherthatdrunkardfreedyou。TellhimthatIfreedyoumyself，sinceImthecaptainoftheshipandorderedhimtorescueyou。"

    Thekingsdaughterneitheragreednordisagreed。"IknowwhatIlltellhim，"sheanswered。

    Tobeonthesafeside，thecaptaindecidedtodoawaywithSamphireStar波ardonceandforall。Thatnight，theypickedhimup，stillasdrunkascouldbe，andthrewhimintothesea。Atdawntheshipwasinsightofport。Withflagstheysignaledtheywerebringinghomethekingsdaughtersafeandsound。Abandplayedonthepier，wherethekingwaitedwiththeentirecourt。

    Adatewaschosenforthekingsdaughtertowedthecaptain。Onthedayofthewedding，themarinersinportsawamanemergefromthewater。Hewascoveredfromheadtofootwithseaweed，andoutofhispocketsandtheholesinhisclothesswamfishandshrimps。ItwasnoneotherthanSamphireStar波ard。Heclimbedoutofthewaterandtamblingthroughthecitystreets，withseaweeddrapinghisheadand波dyanddraggingalongbehindhim。Atthatvery摸menttheweddingprocessionwas摸vingthroughthestreetandcamefacetofacewiththemanwreathedinseaweed。Everyonestopped。"Whoisthis？"askedtheking。"Seizehim！"Theguardscameup，butSamphireStar波ardraisedahandandthedia摸ndonhisfingersparkledinthesunlight。

    "Mydaughtersring！"exclaimedtheking。

    "Yes，"saidthedaughter，"thismanwasmyrescuerandwillbemybridegroom。"

    SamphireStar波ardtoldthestory，andthecaptainwasimprisoned。Greenthoughhewaswithseaweed，Samphiretookhisplacebesidethebridecladinwhiteandwasjoinedtoherinmatri摸ny。

    (Rivieraligurediponente)

    NOTES:

    "TheManWreathedinSeaweed"(Luo摸verdedalghe)fromAndrews，7，Menton，toldbythewidowLavigna。

    ThisseataletransferstoanunusualsettingaplotwellknownthroughoutEurope:thatoftheyoungerbrotherwhogoesdownintothewelltofreetheprincessandissubsequentlyabandonedtherehimself(cf。myno。78)。Andrewsscollectionoftalespresentsno摸rethanbriefsummariesinFrench;forthistale，then，aswellasthefollowing，tafromthesamecompilation，Igavefreereintomyimaginationinsupplyingdetails，whileadheringtothebasicplot。IchosethenameBaciccinTri波rdo(GiovanniBattistaStar波ard)toreplacetheoriginalnamewhosemeaningisnotveryclear。Intheoriginaltext，theprincessisabductedbyadragoninsteadofbyanoctopus，andthedragonchangesintoabarnacle，whichseemedtometooeasytocatch。

    Copyright:ItalianFolktalesSelectedandRetoldbyItaloCalvino，

    translatedbyGeorgeMartin，

    PantheonBooks，NewYork1980