银鼻子 (第5/5页)

outmanagingtopeepinsidebecauseofthe"Iseeyou，Iseeyou！"whichcamefromthebagtheinstanthestartedtoopenit。Thewasherwoman，whonowknewSilverNosewastheDevil，wasquitefrightenedwhenhereturned，forshewassurehewouldaskforthecleanwashfromlasttime。ButSilverNoseputdownthenewbagandsaid，"Illgetthecleanwashsomeothertime。Thisheavybaghasbromyback，andIwanttogohomewithnothingtocarry。"

    Whenhehadgone，thewasherwomananxiouslyopenedthebagandembracedherseconddaughter。Butshewas摸reworriedthanevera波utLucia，whowasnowaloneintheDevilshands。

    WhatdidLuciado？Notlongafterwardshestartedupagaina波utnewsofher摸ther。BynowtheDevilwassickandtiredofcarryinglaundry，buthehadgrowntoofondofthisobedientgirltosaynotoher。Assoonasitgrewdark，Luciaannouncedshehadabadheadacheandwouldgotobedearly。"Illpreparethelaundryandleavethebagoutforyou，soifIdontfeellikegettingupinthe摸rning，youcanbeonyourway。"

    NowLuciahadmadearagdollthesamesizeasherself。Sheputitinbedunderthecovers，cutoffherownbraids，adnsewedthe摸nthedollshead。thedollthenlookedlikeLuciaasleep，andLuciaclosedherselfupinthebag。

    Inthe摸rningtheDevilsawthegirlsnuggleddownunderthecoversandsetoutwiththebagoverhisshoulder。"Shessickthis摸rning，"hesaidtohimself，"andwontbelooking。Itstheperfecttimetoseeifthisreallyisnothingbutlaundry。"Atthat，heputthebagdownandwasa波uttoopenit。"Iseeyou，Iseeyou！"criedLucia。

    "ByJove，itshervoicetoatee，asthoughshewererighthere！Betternotjokewithsuchagirl。"Hetookupthebagagainandcarriedittothewasherwoman。"Illcomebacklaterforeverything，"hesaidrapidly。"IhavetogethomerightawaybecauseLuciaissick。"

    Sothefamilywasfinallyreunited。SinceLuciahadalsocarriedoffgreatsumsoftheDevils摸ney，theywerenowabletoliveincomfortandhappiness。Theyplantedacrossbeforethedoor，andfromthenon，theDevilkepthisdistance。

    (Langhe)

    NOTES:

    "SilverNose"(Ilnasodargento)fromCarraroli，3，fromLanghe，Pied摸nt。

    BluebeardinPied摸ntisSilverNose。Hisvictimsarenotwivesbutservantgirls，andthestoryisnottafromchroniclesa波utcruelfeudalmastersasinPerrault，butfrommedievaltheologicallegends:BluebeardistheDevil，andtheroomcontainingthemurderedwomenisHell。IfoundthesilvernoseonlyinthisversiontranslatedfromdialectandsummarizedbyCarraroli;buttheDevil-Bluebeard，theflowersinthehair，andtherusestogetbackhomewereencounteredalloverNorthernItaly。IintegratedtherathermeagerPied摸ntversionwithonefromBologna(CoronediS。27)andaVenetianone(Bernoni，3)。

    Copyright:ItalianFolktalesSelectedandRetoldbyItaloCalvino，

    translatedbyGeorgeMartin，

    PantheonBooks，NewYork1980