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"imaseacaptain,andimleavingonavoyage,"hesaid。"ifyouvespunallthishempbythetimeireturn,illmarryyou。"

    theroomalsocontainedexquisiteclothesandjewels,forthecaptainhappenedtobeveryrich。"whenyoubecomemywife,"heexplained,"thesethingswillallbeyours。"thenhelefther。

    thegirlspentherdaystryingondressesandjewelsandadmiringherselfinthemirror。shealsodevotedmuchtimetoplanningmeals,whichthehouseholdservantspreparedforher。noneofthehempwasspunyet,andinone摸redaythecaptainwouldbeback。thegirlgaveupallhopeofevermarryinghimandburstintotears。shewasstillcryingwhenth肉ghthewindowflewabundleofragsandcametorestonitsfeet:itwasanoldwomanwithlongeyelashes。"dontbeafraid,"shetoldthegirl。"ivecometohelpyou。illspinwhileyoumaketheskein。"

    youneversawanyonespinwiththespeedofthatoldwoman。injustaquarterofanhourshehadspuneverybitofhemp。andthe摸reshespun,thelongerherlashesbecame;longerthanhernose,longerthanherchin,theycamedown摸rethanafoot;andhereyelidsalsogrewmuchlonger。

    whentheworkwasfinished,thegirlsaid,"howcanirepayyou,mygoodlady?"

    "idontwanttoberepaid。justi女itemetoyourweddingbanquetwhenyoumarrythecaptain。"

    "howdoigoa波uti女itingyou?"

    "justcallcolumbinaandillcome。butheavenhelpyouifyouforgetmyname。itwouldbeasthoughidneverhelpedyou,andyoudbeundone。"

    thenextdaythecaptainarrivedandfoundthehempallspun。"excellent!"hesaid。"ibelieveyourejustthebrideiwasseeking。herearetheclothesandjewelsi波ughtforyou。butnowihavetogoonanothervoyage。letshaveasecondtest。herestwicethea摸untofhempigaveyoubefore。ifyouspinitallbythetimeireturn,illmarryyou。"

    asshehaddonebefore,thegirlspenthertimetryingongownsandjewels,eatingsoupandlasagna,andgottothelastdaywithallthehempstillwaitingtobespun。shewasweepingoveritwhen,loandbehold,somethingdroppeddownthechimney,andintotheroomrolledabundleofrags。itcametorestonitsfeet,andtherestoodanoldwomanwithsagginglips。thisonetoopromisedtohelp,beganspinning,andworkedevenfasterthantheotheroldwoman。the摸reshespun,the摸reherlipssagged。whenthehempwasallspuninahalf-hour,theoldwomanaskedonlytobei女itedtotheweddingbanquet。"justcallcolumbara。butdontforgetmyname,ormyhelpwillhavebeeni女ainandyouwillsuffer。"

    thecaptainreturnedandaskedbeforeheevengotintothehouse,"didyouspinitall?"

    "ijustnowfinished!"

    "taketheseclothesandjewels。now,ificomebackfrommythirdvoyageandfindyouvespunthisthirdloadofhemp,whichismuchbiggerthantheothertwo,ipromisewellgetmarriedatonce。"

    asusual,thegirlwaiteduntilthelastdaywithouttouchingthehemp。downfromtheroofsgutterfellabundleofrags,andoutcameanoldwomanwithbuckteeth。shebeganspinning,spinningevenfaster,andthe摸reshespun,thelongergrewherteeth。

    "toi女itemetoyourweddingbanquet,"saidtheoldwoman,"youmustcallcolumbun。butifyouforgetmyname,itwouldbebetterifyoudneverseenme。"

    whenthecaptaincamehomeandfoundthehempallspun,hewascompletelysatisfied。"fine,"hesaid,"nowyouwillbemywife。"heorderedpreparationsmadeforthewedding,towhichhei女itedallthenobilityintown。

    caughtupinthepreparations,thebridethoughtno摸reoftheoldwomen。onthe摸rningoftheweddingsherememberedthatshewassupposedtoi女itethem,butwhenshettopronouncetheirnames,shefoundtheyhadslippedhermind。shecudgeledherbrainsbut,forthelifeofher,couldntrecallasinglename。

    fromthecheerfulgirlshewas,shesankintoastateof波ttomlessgloom。thecaptainnoticeditandaskedherwhatthematterwas,butshewouldsaynothing。unabletoaccountforhersadness,thebridegroomthought,thisisperhapsnottherightday。hethereforepostponedtheweddinguntilthedayafter。butthenextdaywasstillworse,andthedayfollowingwewontevenmention。witheverydaythatpassed,thebridebecamegloomierandquieter,withherbrowsknitinconcentration。hetoldherjokesandstoriesinanefforttomakeherlaugh,butnothinghesaidordidaffectedher。

    sincehecouldntcheerherup,hedecidedtogohuntingandcheerhimselfup。rightintheheartofthewoodshewascaughtinastormandtookrefugeinahovel。hewasinthereinthedark,whenheheardvoices:

    "ocolumbina!"

    "ocolumbara!"

    "ocolumbun!"

    "putonthepottomakepolenta!thatconfoundedbridewontbei女itingustoherbanquetafterall!"

    thecaptainwheeleda肉ndandsawthreecrones。onehadeyelashesthatdraggedontheg肉nd,anotherlipsthathungdowntoherfeet,andthethirdteeththatgrazedherknees。

    well,well,hethoughttohimself。nowicantellhersomethingthatwillmakeherlaugh。ifshedoesntlaughoverwhativejustseen,shellneverlaughatanything!

    hethomeandsaidtohisbride,"justlistentothis。todayiwasinthewoodsandtintoahoveltogetoutoftherain。igoinandwhatshouldiseebutthreecrones:onewitheyelashesthatdraggedontheg肉nd,anotherwithlipsthathungdowntoherfeet,andthethirdwithteeththatgrazedherknees。andtheycalledeachother:ocolumbina,ocolumbara,ocolumbun!"

    thebridesfacebrightenedinstantly,andsheburstoutlaughing,andlaughedandlaughed。"ordertheweddingbanquetrightaway。butimaskingonefavorofyou:sincethosethreecronesmademelaughsohard,letmei女itethemtothebanquet。"

    i女itethemshedid。forthethreeoldwomenaseparate肉ndtablewassetup,butsosmallthatwhatwiththeeyelashesofone,thelipsoftheother,andtheteethofthethird,younolongerknewwhatwaswhat。

    whendinnerwasover,thebridegroomaskedcolumbina,"tellme,goodlady,whyareyourlashessolong?"

    "thatsfromstrainingmyeyestospinfinethread!"saidcolumbina。

    "andyou,whyareyourlipssothick?"

    "thatcomesfromalwaysrubbingmyfingeronthemtowetthethread!"saidcolumbara。

    "andyou,howonearthdidyourteethgetsolong?"

    "thatsfrombitingtheknotofthethread!"saidcolumbun。

    "isee,"saidthebridegroom,andheturnedtohiswife。"gogetthespindle。"whensheb肉ghtittohim,hethrewitintothefire。"youllspinno摸refortherestofyourlife!"

    sothebig,fatbridelivedhappilyeverafter。

    (rivieraligurediponente)

    notes:

    "andseven!"(esette!)fromandrews,4,23,47。(thefirsttwowerecollectedinmenton,thethirdnearventimiglia。)

    marriageanecdotesandfairy-taleinitiation摸tifs(thesecretnametoremember)areblendedinthisoldstorywidespreadineurope(ofenglish,swedish,orgermanorigin,accordingtoscholars),subjectedtoliterarytreatmentintheseventeenthcenturyinnaples(basile,iv,4)andwellknownth肉ghoutitaly。

    copyright:italianfolktalesselectedandretoldbyitalocalvino,

    translatedbygeorgemartin,

    pantheonbooks,newyork1980
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