The nights of Straparola, volume 1 [of 2]Straparola, Giovanni Francesco
History
The nights of Straparola, volume 1 [of 2]
Straparola, Giovanni Francesco
Fairy tales -- Italy; Tales -- Italy
After she had wrought this terrible deed the Princess Bellisandra was
greatly feared and reverenced by all in the city on account of the
strange and marvellous power that was in her, and when the news was
brought to her that the young man was a son of Dalfreno, King of Tunis,
and that his rightful name was Livoretto, she wrote a letter to the old
father, giving him therein a full account of all the amazing accidents
which had befallen his son, and begging him most urgently to come at
once to Cairo in order that he might be present at the nuptials of
herself and Livoretto. And King Dalfreno, when he heard this good news
about his son—of whom no word had been brought since he left Tunis with
his brother—rejoiced greatly, and, having put all his affairs in good
order, betook himself to Cairo and was welcomed by the whole city with
the most distinguished marks of honour. After the space of a few days
Bellisandra and Livoretto were married amidst the rejoicings of the
whole people, and thus with the princess as his lawful spouse, with
sumptuous triumphs and feastings, and with the happiest omens, Livoretto
was made the Sultan of Cairo, where for many years he governed his realm
in peace and lived a life of pleasure and tranquillity. Dalfreno tarried
in Cairo a few days after the nuptials, and then took leave of his son
and daughter-in-law and returned to Tunis safe and sound.
As soon as Arianna had come to the end of her interesting story, she
propounded her enigma forthwith, in order that the rule which governed
the entertainment might be strictly kept:
Small what though my compass be,
A mighty furnace gendered me.
The covering which round me clings,
Is what from marshy plain upsprings.
My soul, which should be free as air,
Is doomed a prisoner close to fare.
It is a liquor bland and sweet.
No jest is this which I repeat:
All silken are my festal clothes,
And man will put me to his nose,
To make me all my charms disclose.
All those assembled listened with the keenest attention to the ingenious
enigma set forth by Arianna, and they made her repeat it over and over
again, but not one of the whole company proved to have wit sharp enough
for the disentangling thereof. At last the fair Arianna gave the
solution in these words: “Ladies and gentlemen, my enigma is supposed to
describe a little flask of rose water, which has a body of glass born in
a fiery furnace. Its covering comes from the marshes, for it is made of
straw, and the soul which is contained within is the rose water. The
gown or robe with which it is surrounded is the vessel, and whosoever
sees it puts it under his nose to enjoy the odour thereof.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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