Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino Page A

pass.
    After walking for miles and miles she came to a blood-red river, which she had no idea how to cross. But the old woman had told her to say:
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“Fine water so red,
I must make haste;
Else, of you would I taste.”
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    At those words, the waters parted and let her through.
    On the other side of the river, Perina beheld one of the finest and largest palaces in the world. But the door was opening and slamming so rapidly that no one could possibly go in. Perina therefore applied the three pounds of grease to its hinges, and from then on it opened and closed quite gently.
    Inside, Perina spied the treasure chest sitting on a small table. She picked it up and was about to go off with it, when the chest spoke: “Door, kill her, kill her!”
    â€œI won’t, either, since she greased my hinges that hadn’t been looked after since goodness knows when.”
    Perina reached the river, and the chest said, “River, drown her, drown her!”
    â€œI won’t, either,” replied the river, “since she called me ‘Fine water so red.’”
    She came to the dogs, and the chest said, “Dogs, devour her, devour her!”
    â€œWe won’t, either,” replied the dogs, “since she gave us three pounds of bread.”
    She came to the bakery oven. “Oven, burn her, burn her!”
    But the three women replied, “We won’t, either, since she gave us three pounds of millet, so that now we can spare our hair.”
    When she was almost home, Perina, who had as much curiosity as the next little girl, decided to peep into the treasure chest. She opened it, and out came a hen and her brood of gold chicks. They scuttled away too fast for a soul to catch them. Perina struck out after them. She passed the apple tree, but they were nowhere in sight. She passed the peach tree, where there was still no sign of them. She came to the pear tree, and there stood the little old woman with a wand in her hand and hen and chicks feeding around her. “Shoo, shoo!” went the old woman, and the hen and chicks reentered the treasure chest.
    Upon her arrival, the king’s son came out to meet her. “When my father asked what you want as a reward, tell him that box filled with coal in the cellar.”
    On the doorstep of the royal palace stood the maidservants, the king, and the entire court. Perina handed the king the hen with the brood of gold chicks. “Ask for whatever you want,” said the king, “and I will give it to you.”
    â€œI would like the box of coal in the cellar,” replied Perina.
    They brought her the box of coal, which she opened, and out jumped the king’s son, who was hiding inside. The king was then happy for Perina to marry his son.
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    (
Monferrato
)

12
The Snake
    A farmer went out mowing every day, and at noon one or the other of his three daughters would bring him his lunch. On a certain day it fell to the oldest girl to go. By the time she reached the woods, though, she was tired and sat down on a stone to rest a minute before proceeding to the meadow. No sooner had she taken a seat than she felt a strong thud underneath, and out crawled a snake. The girl dropped the basket and ran home as fast as her legs would carry her. That day the father went hungry and when he came in from the field he scolded his daughters angrily.
    The next day the middle girl started out. She too sat down on the stone, and the same thing occurred as the day before. Then the third girl said, “It’s my turn now, but I’m not afraid.” Instead of one lunch basket, she prepared two. When she felt the thud and saw the snake, she gave it one of the baskets of food, and the snake spoke. “Take me home with you, and I will bring you luck.” The girl put the snake in her apron and then went on to her father with his lunch. When she got back home, she placed the snake under her bed. It grew so rapidly that soon it was too big