The nights of Straparola, volume 1 [of 2]Straparola, Giovanni Francesco
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The nights of Straparola, volume 1 [of 2]
Straparola, Giovanni Francesco
Fairy tales -- Italy; Tales -- Italy
And when the evening had come, the husband of this good dame took a
rusty old sword of his, and, laying about with it now against this wall
and now against that, ran after his wife, who, screaming and crying with
a loud voice, fled out of the house. The two sisters, when they heard
this hurlyburly, ran to look out into the street to see what might be
the cause thereof, whereupon they recognized the voice of their
neighbour, who was screaming lustily. They at once rushed away from the
window, and ran down to the door giving on to the street, and having
opened this they pulled her into the house. The good woman, when she had
been questioned by them for what reason her husband had pursued and
assaulted her with such anger, thus made reply: ‘This evening he came
home so dazed with wine-bibbing that he wots not anything that he does.
And only for the reason that I reproved him on account of his
drunkenness, he seized his sword and ran after me threatening to kill
me; but as I am more nimble and swift of foot than he, I was only too
ready to get out of his way, so as to keep him from working some
scandalous deed, and here I am in your charge.’ When they heard these
words both the sisters said: ‘You did well, my mother, and you must
assuredly bide this night with us, lest you should fall into some fresh
danger of your life, and in the meantime your husband’s drunken humour
will dissipate itself.’ And when they had prepared the supper they all
sat down together.
Adamantina, when she went to bed, anointed the doll according to her
wont, and afterwards at the same hour of the night the doll cried out as
before, and Adamantina, when she had attended to its wants, found that a
large quantity of money had come from the doll in the same marvellous
wise as before. The good woman who had sought refuge with the sisters
was mightily astonished at what she saw, and every hour which must pass
until she could steal the doll, and work this miracle for her own
benefit, seemed a thousand years.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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