La bella addormentata: Quando i tempi non sono maturi - Il merito del principe

FIABA
La bella addormentata (Rosaspina) 
Sleeping Beauty (Rosamond)
La bella durmiente (Preciosa Rosa)
La belle au bois dormant

Riflessioni e considerazioni:
Le fiabe fanno quello che vogliono
Fairytales do as they please
Quando i tempi non sono maturi - Il merito del principe
La bella addormentata è la fiaba del Risveglio
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Quando i tempi non sono maturi
"…ogni tanto veniva qualche principe che si avventurava attraverso il roveto tentando di raggiungere il castello. Ma non riuscivano a penetrarvi perché‚ le spine li trattenevano come se si fosse trattato di mani, ed essi si impigliavano e morivano miseramente."
Talvolta capitano periodi in cui qualsiasi cosa si faccia non si va da nessuna parte.

Nonostante l’impegno, la preparazione, la cura, per un motivo o per l’altro si finisce sempre con un nulla di fatto, si viene accantonati a colpi di “le faremo sapere” con idee e progetti che non vengono nemmeno presi in considerazione.

Situazioni di stallo in cui nonostante potenzialità e competenze ci si ritrova come i principi della fiaba a perire  miseramente tra le spine. E allora ci si interroga e ci si tormenta: “cos’ho sbagliato? cosa non va in quel che faccio? cosa non va in me?”.

Ma forse non c’è proprio nulla di sbagliato e la ricerca di errori che non ci sono fa solo star male e colpevolizzarsi invano.

Del resto che impegno e valore da soli non bastino è risaputo pure negli ambiti più realistici e concreti, non a caso le aziende ordinano studi e ricerche di mercato per fare delle scelte, si sa che quando i tempi non sono maturi è inutile proporre un prodotto.

Talvolta, assurdamente, viene respinto proprio ciò che è troppo valido perché cozza contro atteggiamenti di chiusura, rigidità e immobilismo per il momento insuperabili.

Se si cerca d’insistere, il rifiuto si fa solo più ostinato e il fallimento è inevitabile ma è inutile tormentarsi cercando errori o colpe, l'impossibilità è esterna, in sé non c’è assolutamente nulla che non va.

Il merito del principe

Il principe che infine trionfa non è il predestinato, non è l'eletto, non è il più bello, il più intelligente, il più buono. È solo colui che arriva al momento giusto.

Ancora una volta di doti o virtù la fiaba non parla proprio, ancora una volta il protagonista che trionfa potrebbe essere chiunque.

Ma mostrandoci l’agire del principe la fiaba ci offre un grande insegnamento.
"Già suo nonno gli aveva narrato che molti principi avevano tentato di penetrare fra le spine ma vi erano rimasti imprigionati ed erano miseramente periti."
Stando ai discorsi del nonno ci sono tutte le sacrosante ragioni per lasciar perdere, i precedenti sono scoraggianti.
E discorsi come quelli del nonno sono frequenti in tempi come i nostri, tempi di crisi, tempi di contratti non rinnovati, di posti di lavori che saltano, di mancati pagamenti, di porte chiuse in faccia. Tempi in cui ci sono tutte le sacrosante ragioni per non provarci nemmeno “tanto si sa già come va a finire”

Perché il principe ce la fa? Perché sposa la bella? Perché il lieto fine?!

Esclusivamente perché non dà retta al vecchio. Sa che ci sono stati solo fallimenti ma non si lascia fermare da quel che è successo in passato.
"Allora il giovane disse: "Io non ho timore: attraverserò i rovi e vedrò la bella Rosaspina." Il vecchio cercò di dissuaderlo in tutti i modi, ma egli non gli diede retta."
Nulla di speciale nel principe, nessuna qualità, nessuna abilità, nessuna prova in cui eccellere, solo questa: pur conoscendo i fallimenti del passato attraversa la siepe.
Questa è la sola prova, la sola cosa che conta.

Solo per questo la bella e l’intero reame riprendono vita, solo per questo i cento anni non scadono invano.

The Sleeping Beauty: Fairytales do as they please

FIABA
La bella addormentata (Rosaspina) 
Sleeping Beauty (Rosamond)
La bella durmiente (Preciosa Rosa)
La belle au bois dormant

Riflessioni e considerazioni:
Le fiabe fanno quello che vogliono
Fairytales do as they please
Quando i tempi non sono maturi - Il merito del principe
La bella addormentata è la fiaba del Risveglio
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Fairytales do as they please (original Italian draft Le fiabe fanno quello che vogliono)
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(original Italian draft Le fiabe fanno quello che vogliono)

Looking at it through the eyes of reason, the prince character from “The Sleeping Beauty” isn’t right. He should be looked at, as there is no “reason” for his success. He doesn’t pass any trial, he isn’t the best, he isn’t more brave, or stronger, or bolder than anyone before him.

If he doesn’t do and doesn’t have anything special what are we teaching to our children? There should be something more “educative”, with a prince without virtues our fairy tale isn’t transferring any “moral value”.
But who are we kidding?!


What happens in reality?
Oh no, how frustrating reality is! It doesn’t give two hoots about how things should be and what is right and what isn’t. It doesn’t follow any schemes, it improvises, and when you think you have all the answers it changes the questions. And it’s pointless to complain “things don’t pan out as they should and there’s no justice in this world”, it just does as it pleases.

“Reasoning”, there should be something to give motivation, to give a point to what happens, to justify it, “reasoning” what happens “must” be the effect to a cause.
And one must understand, dig into the past, find causes, culprits and faults, and assemble the pieces together. If memory isn’t enough there must be something else, past lives and debts, or occult designs of some sort.


It’s a chase without end behind feelings of guilt and fears that never seem to match.


If “The Sleeping Beauty” were a fable, the reason why the prince is triumphant and the others fail would be clear as day.


What happens instead is the prince kissing and marrying the beauty simply because he’s in the right place at the right time.

Now, one hundred years had passed since the day when the prince attempted the task. When he approached the thorned vines all he found was beautiful flowers that moved as he passed through, closing behind him and letting him through unharmed.
Why? Because “The Sleeping Beauty” is a fairy tale, and fairy tales break all schemes.
There is no cause and effect chain!



FIABA
La bella addormentata (Rosaspina) 
Sleeping Beauty (Rosamond)
La bella durmiente (Preciosa Rosa)
La belle au bois dormant

Riflessioni e considerazioni:
Le fiabe fanno quello che vogliono
Fairytales do as they please
Quando i tempi non sono maturi - Il merito del principe
La bella addormentata è la fiaba del Risveglio
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The Three Spinners - Considerations


Riflessioni e considerazioni
Considerations



A disconcerting story? Uneducational? A joke perhaps?
A do-nothing liar who winds up in the best possible way.
This couldn’t possibly be our moral!
We’d rather accept what the queen says “You may be poor, but I make nothing of that: your industry is dowry enough”
Effort, skill, success. These would be ethical teachings!
Or would they?

It took me a while to put things together.

On one occasion it occurred to me to tell this story to a couple that would go on and on complaining about how lazy and indolent their daughter was. She wasn’t appreciative of the cultural vacations they took her on, or of the museums they visited together, or of the classes they signed her up for. All she wanted was to play, and she was very close to a friend that they considered to be little more than a savage.

This fable left them stunned. They demanded that I explain it to them at once.
Unfortunately what is explained to us by others doesn’t hold the same value of what we discover ourselves. At the time they wouldn’t bother to consider this, so I just shared my discoveries with them.

This fable wouldn’t be bothered meddling with your everyday moral trivialities.
It looks to be as straightforward as possible, and avoids mentioning any positive qualities that could trick our thoughts.
It doesn’t want to create any doubts. The young girl holds no virtue, and no merit.
It must be clear! She can’t do anything and she doesn’t even want to.
She’s indolent!
In comparison, “The Golden Goose”’s Simpleton makes an effort, he wills and he insists.
Here the young girl can only lie to avoid being shamed.
She finds herself in the castle, set to marry the prince with mountains of linen to spin without ever having intended to do such things.
Desperate, all she knows how to do is looking out the window.

This fable is extremely honest.
Our protagonist isn’t a paragon of skill and virtue.
She’s a person like any of us, who get out of bed in the morning and run around all day hiding our inconfessable sloth.
We do what we do to avoid the worst.

Yet we are asked to do the things we don’t know how to do.
It doesn’t matter if we ended up in such situations because of others. It doesn’t matter if what we are asked is far beyond our possibilities. It doesn’t matter if we never intended to be surrounded by impossible amounts of work.
At times we may be in deep to our necks and still maintain our attitude, pretending like everything is under our control and all we can do is take time, make up excuses.
We can’t always do what is expected of us, therefore we can’t always be men and women of virtue, or sincere.

The tale isn’t trivial to the point of confronting us with impossible examples of perfection that would make us feel inadequate or guilty.
It seeks to help us.

What message is it trying to convey?
First of all that the girl reaches out the window, sees the spinsters and is presented with an offer of help.
Help comes from the outside! This is the first teaching.
Shutting ourselves into a room, to try and manage or to cry alone, we won’t receive any help.

What the fable wants to be clear is that the girl will live a splendid life because she doesn’t feel ashamed for the help she received.

Those who reach a certain status can weave themselves into a web of relationships and duties to the point of forgetting people that were once very dear to them.
There is no time to spare for others. They’re not part of the circle and they wouldn’t belong.

The young girl from our story does not forget about the spinsters.
She wants them by her side on the day of her wedding. She welcomes them in the most sincere and loving fashion.
The prince won’t understand what binds her to those old, goofy hags.However the girl doesn’t care about their appearances, and shows no shame in front of the prince.

This marks the beginning of her fortune.

And to me, this looks like a really ethical story, am I right?


Riflessioni e considerazioni
Considerations

Who’s following the Piper? And Why?

Il pifferaio magico
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Lascio aperta la domanda: è da raccontare ad un bambino?

Riflessioni e considerazioni:
Si salvò il bimbo zoppo, cosa può voler dire?
Chi è il pifferaio?
Chi segue il pifferaio? Perché?
Who’s following the Piper? And Why? 


Who’s following the Piper?


Inside all of us is something that can see the magic, that wants to march forward laughing and singing, hand in hand with our peers.
That is the best part of us. It is our inner child euphorically running inside of those who can let him dream.
And within the image of the children of Hamelin dancing behind the piper is us chasing our chimeras.

Why such grief?

I can’t justify all those children disappearing; what is the meaning behind it? Is it a lesson for parents? Writes Norma in her comment.


Something tragic happened in Hamelin around 1300 A.D., but what we know is little more than the altered memory of a historic event.


Had the event been told as a fable, as fables end with morals, the ending would have been clear:

Because of their greed the citizens of Hamelin had driven away all cats, an as absolutely unnecessary decision since all canteens, granary and kitchens were well stocked, as near-sighted as it allowed vermin to proliferate and a crisis to manifest itself. Unfortunately later, rather than learning by their mistakes, the townsfolk fell into their old habits. The reward was well within the reach of their pockets, but they refused to pay the Pied Piper.

Had this been a fable the moral would have been clear: the townsfolk were so greedy to behave in such a dishonest way that they brought punishment upon themselves.
Fairy tales, however, have no morals.
Inside the image of the children dancing behind the piper is some sort of indication. It’s not clear what it is, but it’s a haunting omen we need to be wary of.

We feel the desperation of the children of Hamelin and dishonesty and greed are just words to the wind.
With a moral it would be easy to keep our distances and condemn mindlessness turning into greed, then into dishonesty, leading to the loss of the children.

Without a moral it’s harder to keep our distances.
The fact is, we also know that we are supposed to save our money where we can, think about tomorrow and let go of the unnecessary.

“Did we sign anything? Do you have a written contract? No! What now? It’s our word against yours!”
“If we trouble ourselves too much we’re done. Anyways if we won’t do it someone else will”
“The point is: maximize gains and keep costs low”
“I’d like to see him go to a lawyer over a fistful of coins. And even if he gets one, it’s going to take him forever to get a definitive ruling! If they rule in his favor after all…”

The mindlessness of the townsfolk of Hamelin is our own, too.



Why follow the Pied Piper?

In Hamelin everything started with the driving away of the cats, because they had their cost.

It happens to give up on something here and there because of costs.

The cost isn’t always pecuniary, perhaps the coin is time, or energy that we could instead spend on our craft, or our family.
And it’s not always about giving up on an expense: we wouldn’t look back twice on investing in our career or our social status, instead we give up on what’s not functional, on what doesn’t fulfill a specific purpose.

“It’s common for women who aren’t independent to dream of cats and to be attached in a canine-like way to their husbands and children: in this case, I always point out what a cat would do. A cat goes his own way. He knows what he wants and he goes for it. He’s back for his meals to show affection, but when he wants to leave he’ll just “Meow”” *

What happens when we too often tell ourselves we can do without something?
The more we give up on something the more we get mad, we get bitter over our accomplishments feeling unrewarded, over our uncertainties towards the future, over our sense of impotence. Perhaps we just need a little something to turn these things around.
And it’s because of all the vermin that we end up in need of a Piper.
 But instead of chasing a Piper, what would a cat do?
“When I was younger I enjoyed observing how much of a suck-up a cat could be. For example, when he wanted to be fed or pet, he would brush his tail against my legs and at times, if I didn’t have time for him I would say 'go away, I’m reading'.
The cat would answer 'ok, alright…' and he would brush himself against the chair, as if to say: 'If you won’t pet me, I’ll pet myself! That’s fine too…' A dog would have been deeply wounded and would have looked at me full of grief; you wouldn’t do something like that to him. But a cat: 'Oh, nevermind…' He would never put himself in our hands. He’s friendly, he uses us, but he keeps his independence."*

* Excerpts from M.L. Von Franz’s “The Cat: A Tale of Feminine Redemption”

Il pifferaio magico
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Lascio aperta la domanda: è da raccontare ad un bambino?

Riflessioni e considerazioni:
Si salvò il bimbo zoppo, cosa può voler dire?
Chi è il pifferaio?
Chi segue il pifferaio? Perché?
Who’s following the Piper? And Why? 

The Golden Goose - Considerations

L'oca d'oro
The golden goose
La oca de oro
L'oie d'or

Riflessioni e considerazioni
Considerations


Those who don’t know Fairy Tales think they’ll just find the usual morals.
However within fairytales lie deep truths, not obvious facts.
The lead character doesn’t earn it, he obtains it through other means.
In Fairy Tales the classic virtues hold no value.

The Simpleton holds no merit in his surpassing of the King’s trials.
He is neither smart, nor skilled. He never even realizes that it’s always the little old grey man helping him.

As towards the end, the old man says “I’m doing all of this because you were kind to me since the start”, we could be persuaded that the story is aiming to praise the Simpleton’s good will.

All in all, however, the Simpleton is not a good person.
He acts horribly towards those who are left stuck to the goose, girls, priests, workers. He makes them run around. He takes them to the princess for her amusement.

In this fairytale there are no wit, skill, dedication and good will is not rewarded, as this fairytale is not trying to lie.  In real life success often goes to those without any special qualities, or often who is certainly worth less than others. He’s dumber, less skilled and works less.

For years I kept painting The Golden Goose and giving it to children, wondering if it was just a practical joke or if it carried some sort of message.

The Simpleton is a good for nothing fool, as his father says and everyone else knows. And he does nothing to prove otherwise.
Once they found the goose anyone else would try to draw something out of such a treasure, he instead goes to the inn and the morning after he just goes wherever his legs will take him, goose tucked under his arm with a line of people behind him.

The thought that he could become someone who is liked by others doesn’t even brush through his head.

He shouldn’t be eating as soon as he enters the woods. He should be cutting wood, as everyone at home expected him to do and keep the food for later.
His brothers had dutifully gotten to work after explaining to the little old grey man that they couldn’t have given him anything or once their work was done they would have found themselves hungry and exhausted.
Reason always keeps misery into consideration (See “The Sweet Porridge”). The Simpleton doesn’t. He doesn’t worry about the future.

He doesn’t fill the need to fulfill his duties. Everyone knows that he’s a fool, he doesn’t even have a name, he’s just “The Simpleton”. He is therefore completely free from the reason for his own importance, he doesn’t need to hold any responsibilities. 

He shares his food with the first person he encounters, not because he feels for him, but for the simple company of someone while eating.

He isn’t saddened by the fact that his mother gave him less than his brothers, he simply tells the little man that it’s all he has to offer.

The King never holding to his word is unfair, but he doesn’t seem to show suffering, he simply goes through the tests.
He doesn’t have any self-respect, that’s not worthy of consideration to him.

Not even the Goose he cares about.
The goose is like a perfect storm that elevates someone, a brand, a music song to the apex of success.
It gives popularity, through the good and the bad and it often leads to stress, burning out, fear of “losing it”.
But our Simpleton is a happy-go-lucky fool, who sees the comedic side of the situation and makes the princess laugh.
The Goose has now lost all its importance and the story never mentions it again.

The Simpleton only cares about what he wants.
He wants to go to the woods? That’s his destination now.
He wants to make the princess laugh? He does so.
He wants to marry her, and become king? In the end things go the way he wants.

Complaining about fairy tales princesses being limited to being objects to marry and succeed is natural, but superficial.

It is now widely accepted to consider two components to the human personality, a male side, rational and scientific (Reason, Logo, Yang) and a female side, intuitive and sentimental (Soul, Ying) and praising their eventual harmonic fusion.
Fairy Tales eending in marriage allude to this fusion. And the princess who can’t laugh is the female component, the Soul, whose emotions and fragility often leading her to sadness.

Either that, or the princess can be seen as the truer and more profound aspiration. That one purpose that once it’s found we know we want with all our heart. That secret dream that if it became part of our lives would make us feel like kings. Becoming a singer, a writer, living in our personal heaven on earth, becoming who we always wanted to be.
Most of the times we won’t even dare to think what this should be, as we’re far too involved in what we should do, what we should be and our responsibilities.

Instead, if we were free, if we didn’t let anyone and anything push us around we could one day reach the town with the princess we want to marry.

The princess laughs hard and loud when she sees the Simpleton make fun of anyone trying to have their way with him.
With a laughing Soul and the certainty of what we want, we can begin to think about leading a happy life.

But we’re not done yet!

The king who keeps submitting trials is a lot like reality.
Once an objective is completed, instead of a reward lies another obstacle in our path.
Skill, wits, effort are never enough.
The Simpleton doesn’t quit. But he doesn’t kill himself over the impossible. He isn’t affected by feelings of inadequacy, he simply takes it for grant from the start that he wouldn’t be able to make it.
Whenever he is looking for the little old grey man, he knows he can find him in the woods.

He doesn’t need to ask, he always encounters someone whose needs seem to perfectly fit into the solution to the trial the King has given him, what the others need coincides with what he needs. He doesn’t need to ask, all he does is offer opportunities, like at the beginning he wasn’t charitable as much as he was needing for company.

That’s what the story is trying to teach!
It is the Simpleton who marries the princess and becomes king because he holds the merit and virtue of being the Simpleton.


L'oca d'oro
The golden goose
La oca de oro
L'oie d'or

Riflessioni e considerazioni
Considerations

Fairy Tales NOT fables

(Original Italian draft Fiabe NON Favole)

The words “fable” and “fairytale” are often used as synonyms. They most certainly are not.
I hold nothing against fables, but I have nothing to say about them.

Fables teach about morals and virtue.
A young shepherd used to play cry wolf.
When the wolf actually came, the shepherd boy tried to cry for help, but nobody would listen, and the wolf ate him.
The moral is: he who always lies won’t be heard when he’s telling the truth.

They teach what’s right and what’s wrong, through animals that behave like humans.
The grasshopper would do nothing but sing the whole summer, while the ant was hard at work storing food in its hill.
When winter came and the crops were dry, the hungry grasshopper came to the ant for help.
The ant said “I have so much food because I worked all summer, what were you doing back then?”
“I sang”
“Well you should dance now”
                                                
Fables belong to reason.

Everything they speak of has a purpose, clear and well understandable, that’s all I have to say.

Fairy Tales speak of princes, princesses, witches and spells.
They narrate events that happened who knows where and who knows when.

Some react with anger, they see chauvinism in princesses getting married, animal cruelty in skinned wolves, ignorance in old ladies being hunted as witches.
But that’s not the case.
Fairy tales do NOT belong to reason.

They simply don’t feature every day common sense.
In this blog I only write about classic fairy tales.

La bella addormentata: Le fiabe fanno quello che vogliono

FIABA
La bella addormentata (Rosaspina) 
Sleeping Beauty (Rosamond)
La bella durmiente (Preciosa Rosa)
La belle au bois dormant

Riflessioni e considerazioni:
Le fiabe fanno quello che vogliono
Fairytales do as they please
Quando i tempi non sono maturi - Il merito del principe
La bella addormentata è la fiaba del Risveglio
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Le fiabe fanno quello che vogliono


(English translation Fairytales do as they please)

“Ragionando” il personaggio del principe de “la bella addormentata” così com’è non va. Andrebbe rivisto, non c’è nessuna “ragione” per il suo successo, non supera nessuna prova, non è migliore, più audace o forte o coraggioso di tutti coloro che l’hanno preceduto.

Se non fa e non ha nulla di speciale cosa stiamo insegnando ai bambini? Ci vorrebbe qualcosa di più “educativo”, col principe che non ha nessun merito la fiaba non trasmette nessun “valore”.

Ma chi vogliamo prendere in giro?!

Cos’accade nella realtà?

Oh no, è così frustrante la realtà! Se ne infischia di come dovrebbe essere e di quel che è giusto. Non rispetta gli schemi, improvvisa, cambia le carte in tavola, butta all’aria i progetti. Ed è inutile protestare, “le cose non vanno come dovrebbero andare e non c’è giustizia a questo mondo”, tanto fa quello che vuole.

“Ragionando” dovrebbe esserci qualcosa che motivi, dia senso a ciò che accade, che lo giustifichi, "ragionando" ciò che accade “deve” essere l'effetto di una causa.
E bisogna capire, scavare nel passato, trovare le cause, colpevoli e colpe, incastrare i pezzi. Se la memoria non basta dev’esserci qualcos'altro, devono esserci vite e colpe passate, disegni occulti tracciati chissà da chi.

È una caccia senza fine tra sensi di colpa e paure coi pezzi che non s’incastrano mai.

Se la bella addormentata fosse una favola le ragioni per cui il principe trionfa e quelle per cui gli altri falliscono sarebbero ben chiare.

Invece?
Il principe bacia e sposa la bella solo perché capita al momento giusto.
Ora, proprio il giorno in cui il principe tentò l'impresa erano trascorsi cento anni. Quando si avvicinò al roveto, non trovò che fiori bellissimi che si scostarono spontaneamente al suo passaggio, ricongiungendosi alle sue spalle, sicché‚ egli passò illeso.
Perché? Perché “La bella addormentata” è una fiaba e le fiabe spezzano gli schemi.



E “La bella addormentata” spezza un grande inganno. 
Svela che  non esiste la catena causa effetto!




FIABA
La bella addormentata (Rosaspina) 
Sleeping Beauty (Rosamond)
La bella durmiente (Preciosa Rosa)
La belle au bois dormant

Riflessioni e considerazioni:
Le fiabe fanno quello che vogliono
Fairytales do as they please
Quando i tempi non sono maturi - Il merito del principe
La bella addormentata è la fiaba del Risveglio
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La Belle au bois dormant

FIABA
La bella addormentata (Rosaspina) 
Sleeping Beauty (Rosamond)
La bella durmiente (Preciosa Rosa)
La belle au bois dormant

Riflessioni e considerazioni:
Le fiabe fanno quello che vogliono
Fairytales do as they please
Quando i tempi non sono maturi - Il merito del principe
La bella addormentata è la fiaba del Risveglio
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....



Il était une fois un roi et une reine. Chaque jour ils se disaient: "Ah! si seulement nous avions un enfant." Mais d'enfant, point. Un jour que la reine était au bain, une grenouille bondit hors de l'eau et lui dit: "Ton voeu sera exaucé. Avant qu'une année ne soit passée, tu mettras une fillette au monde."

Ce que la grenouille avait prédit arriva. La reine donna le jour à une fille. Elle était si belle que le roi ne se tenait plus de joie. Il organisa une grande fête. Il ne se contenta pas d'y inviter ses parents, ses amis et connaissances, mais aussi des fées afin qu'elles fussent favorables à l'enfant. Il y en avait treize dans son royaume. Mais, comme il ne possédait que douze assiettes d'or pour leur servir un repas, l'une d'elles ne fut pas invitée.

La fête fut magnifique. Alors qu'elle touchait à sa fin, les fées offrirent à l'enfant de fabuleux cadeaux: l'une la vertu, l'autre la beauté, la troisième la richesse et ainsi de suite, tout ce qui est désirable au monde. Comme onze des fées venaient d'agir ainsi, la treizième survint tout à coup. Elle voulait se venger de n'avoir pas été invitée. Sans saluer quiconque, elle s'écria d'une forte voix: "La fille du roi, dans sa quinzième année, se piquera à un fuseau et tombera raide morte." Puis elle quitta la salle. Tout le monde fut fort effrayé. La douzième des fées, celle qui n'avait pas encore formé son voeu, s'avança alors. Et comme elle ne pouvait pas annuler le mauvais sort, mais seulement le rendre moins dangereux, elle dit: "Ce ne sera pas une mort véritable, seulement un sommeil de cent années dans lequel sera plongée la fille du roi."

Le roi, qui aurait bien voulu préserver son enfant adorée du malheur, ordonna que tous les fuseaux fussent brûlés dans le royaume. Cependant, tous les dons que lui avaient donnés les fées s'épanouissaient chez la jeune fille. Elle était si belle, si vertueuse, si gentille et si raisonnable que tous ceux qui la voyaient l'aimaient. Il advint que le jour de sa quinzième année, le roi et la reine quittèrent leur demeure. La jeune fille resta seule au château. Elle s'y promena partout, visitant les salles et les chambres à sa fantaisie. Finalement, elle entra dans une vieille tour. Elle escalada l'étroit escalier en colimaçon et parvint à une petite porte. Dans la serrure, il y avait une clé rouillée. Elle la tourna. La porte s'ouvrit brusquement. Une vieille femme filant son lin avec application, était assise dans une petite chambre.

"Bonjour, grand-mère, dit la jeune fille. Que fais-tu là?" - "Je file, dit la vieille en branlant la tête." - "Qu'est-ce donc que cette chose que tu fais bondir si joyeusement," demanda la jeune fille. Elle s'empara du fuseau et voulut filer à son tour. À peine l'eut-elle touché que le mauvais sort s'accomplit: elle se piqua au doigt. À l'instant même, elle s'affaissa sur un lit qui se trouvait là et tomba dans un profond sommeil.

Et ce sommeil se répandit sur l'ensemble du château. Le roi et la reine, qui venaient tout juste de revenir et pénétraient dans la grande salle du palais, s'endormirent. Et avec eux, toute la Cour. Les chevaux s'endormirent dans leurs écuries, les chiens dans la cour, les pigeons sur le toit, les mouches contre les murs. Même le feu qui brûlait dans l'âtre s'endormit et le rôti s'arrêta de rôtir. Le cuisinier, qui était en train de tirer les cheveux du marmiton parce qu'il avait raté un plat, le lâcha et s'endormit. Et le vent cessa de souffler. Nulle feuille ne bougea plus sur les arbres devant le château. Tout autour du palais, une hale d'épines se mit à pousser, qui chaque jour devint plus haute et plus touffue. Bientôt, elle cerna complètement le château, jusqu'à ce qu'on n'en vît plus rien, même pas le drapeau sur le toit.

Dans le pays, la légende de la Belle au Bois Dormant - c'est ainsi que fut nommée la fille du roi, - se répandait. De temps en temps, des fils de roi s'approchaient du château et tentaient d'y pénétrer à travers l'épaisse muraille d'épines. Mais ils n'y parvenaient pas. Les épines se tenaient entre elles, comme par des mains. Les jeunes princes y restaient accrochés, sans pouvoir se détacher et mouraient là, d'une mort cruelle.

Au bout de longues, longues années, le fils d'un roi passa par le pays. Un vieillard lui raconta l'histoire de la haie d'épines. Derrière elle, il devait y avoir un château dans lequel dormait, depuis cent ans, la merveilleuse fille d'un roi, appelée la Belle au Bois Dormant. Avec elle, dormaient le roi, la reine et toute la Cour. Le vieil homme avait aussi appris de son grand-père que de nombreux princes étaient déjà venus qui avaient tenté de forcer la hale d'épines; mais ils y étaient restés accrochés et y étaient morts d'une triste mort. Le jeune homme dit alors: "Je n'ai peur de rien, je vais y aller. Je veux voir la Belle au Bois Dormant." Le bon vieillard voulut l'en empêcher, mais il eut beau faire, le prince ne l'écouta pas. Or, les cent années étaient justement écoulées et le jour était venu où la Belle au Bois Dormant devait se réveiller. Lorsque le fils du roi s'approcha de la haie d'épines, il vit de magnifiques fleurs qui s'écartaient d'elles-mêmes sur son passage et lui laissaient le chemin. Derrière lui, elles reformaient une haie. Dans le château, il vit les chevaux et les chiens de chasse tachetés qui dormaient. Sur le toit, les pigeons se tenaient la tête sous l'aile. Et lorsqu'il pénétra dans le palais, il vit les mouches qui dormaient contre les murs. Le cuisinier, dans la cuisine, avait encore la main levée comme s'il voulait attraper le marmiton et la bonne était assise devant une poule noire qu'elle allait plumer.

En haut, sur les marches du trône, le roi et la reine étaient endormis. Le prince poursuivit son chemin et le silence était si profond qu'il entendait son propre souffle. Enfin, il arriva à la tour et poussa la porte de la petite chambre où dormait la Belle. Elle était là, si jolie qu'il ne put en détourner le regard. Il se pencha sur elle et lui donna un baiser.

Alors, la Belle au Bois Dormant s'éveilla, ouvrit les yeux et le regarda en souriant. Ils sortirent tous deux et le roi s'éveilla à son tour, et la reine, et toute la Cour. Et tout le monde se regardait avec de grand yeux. Dans les écuries, les chevaux se dressaient sur leurs pattes et s'ébrouaient les chiens de chasse bondirent en remuant la queue. Sur le toit, les pigeons sortirent la tête de sous leurs ailes, regardèrent autour d'eux et s'envolèrent vers la campagne. Les mouches, sur les murs, reprirent leur mouvement; dans la cuisine, le feu s'alluma, flamba et cuisit le repas. Le rôti se remit à rissoler; le cuisinier donna une gifle au marmiton, si fort que celui-ci en cria, et la bonne acheva de plumer la poule.

Le mariage du prince et de la Belle au Bois Dormant fut célébré avec un faste exceptionnel. Et ils vécurent heureux jusqu'à leur mort.


Fiaba n 50 dei fratelli Grimm

FIABA
La bella addormentata (Rosaspina) 
Sleeping Beauty (Rosamond)
La bella durmiente (Preciosa Rosa)
La belle au bois dormant

Riflessioni e considerazioni:
Le fiabe fanno quello che vogliono
Fairytales do as they please
Quando i tempi non sono maturi - Il merito del principe
La bella addormentata è la fiaba del Risveglio
....
....

La bella addormentata (Rosaspina)

FIABA
La bella addormentata (Rosaspina) 
Sleeping Beauty (Rosamond)
La bella durmiente (Preciosa Rosa)
La belle au bois dormant

Riflessioni e considerazioni:
Le fiabe fanno quello che vogliono
Fairytales do as they please
Quando i tempi non sono maturi - Il merito del principe
La bella addormentata è la fiaba del Risveglio
....
....

C'era una volta un re e una regina che ogni giorno dicevano: "Ah, se avessimo un bambino!" Ma il bambino non veniva mai. Un giorno, mentre la regina faceva il bagno, ecco che un gambero saltò fuori dall'acqua e le disse: "Il tuo desiderio sarà esaudito: darai alla luce una bambina."

La profezia del gambero si avverò e la regina partorì una bimba così bella che il re non stava più nella pelle dalla gioia e ordinò una gran festa. Non invitò soltanto i suoi parenti, amici e conoscenti, ma anche le fate perché‚ fossero benevole e propizie alla neonata. Nel suo regno ve n'erano tredici, ma siccome egli possedeva soltanto dodici piatti d'oro per il pranzo, dovette rinunciare a invitarne una.

Dopo la festa, le fate diedero alla bimba i loro doni meravigliosi: la prima le donò la virtù, la seconda la bellezza, la terza la ricchezza, e così via, tutto ciò che si può desiderare al mondo. Dieci fate avevano già formulato il loro auspicio, quando giunse la tredicesima che voleva vendicarsi perché‚ non era stata invitata. Ella disse ad alta voce: "A quindici anni, la principessa si pungerà con un fuso e cadrà a terra morta." Allora si fece avanti la dodicesima, che doveva formulare il suo voto; certo non poteva annullare la spietata sentenza, ma poteva attenuarla e disse: "La principessa non morirà ma cadrà in un sonno profondo che durerà cento anni."

Il re, sperando di poter preservare la sua bambina da quella grave disgrazia, ordinò che tutti i fusi del regno fossero bruciati. Frattanto, nella fanciulla si adempirono i voti delle fate: ella era così bella, virtuosa, gentile e intelligente, che non si poteva guardarla senza volerle bene. Ora avvenne che proprio il giorno in cui compì quindici anni, il re e la regina erano fuori ed ella rimase sola nel castello. Giro dappertutto, visitò ogni stanza a piacer suo e giunse infine a una vecchia torre. Salì una stretta scaletta che la condusse fino a una porticina. Nella serratura c'era una chiave arrugginita e quand'ella la girò, la porta si spalancò: in una piccola stanzetta c'era una vecchia con un fuso che filava con solerzia il suo lino.

"Oh, nonnina," disse la principessa, "che cosa stai facendo?" - "Filo," rispose la vecchia, e assentì con il capo. "Come gira quest'aggeggio!" esclamò la fanciulla, e prese in mano il filo per filare anche lei. Ma non appena lo toccò, si compì l'incantesimo ed ella si punse un dito.

Come sentì la puntura, cadde a terra in un sonno profondo. E il re e la regina, che stavano rincasando, si addormentarono anch'essi con tutta la corte. I cavalli si addormentarono nelle stalle, i cani nel cortile, le colombe sul tetto, le mosche sulla parete; persino il fuoco che fiammeggiava nel camino si smorzò e si assopì, l'arrosto smise di sfrigolare e il cuoco, che voleva prendere per i capelli uno sguattero colto in flagrante, lo lasciò andare e si addormentò anche lui. Tutto ciò che aveva parvenza di vita, tacque e dormì.


Intorno al castello crebbe una siepe di fitte spine, che ogni anno diventava sempre più alta finché‚ arrivò a cingerlo completamente e a ricoprirlo tutto; così non se ne vide più nulla, neanche le bandiere sul tetto. Ma nel paese si diffuse la leggenda di Rosaspina, la bella addormentata, come veniva chiamata la principessa; e ogni tanto veniva qualche principe che si avventurava attraverso il roveto tentando di raggiungere il castello. Ma non riuscivano a penetrarvi perché‚ le spine li trattenevano come se si fosse trattato di mani, ed essi si impigliavano e morivano miseramente.

Dopo molti, molti anni, giunse nel paese un altro principe; un vecchio gli parlò dello spineto che circondava un castello nel quale una meravigliosa principessa di nome Rosaspina dormiva con tutta la corte. Già suo nonno gli aveva narrato che molti principi avevano tentato di penetrare fra le spine ma vi erano rimasti imprigionati ed erano miseramente periti. Allora il giovane disse: "Io non ho timore: attraverserò i rovi e vedrò la bella Rosaspina." Il vecchio cercò di dissuaderlo in tutti i modi, ma egli non gli diede retta.

Ora, proprio il giorno in cui il principe tentò l'impresa erano trascorsi cento anni. Quando si avvicinò al roveto, non trovò che fiori bellissimi che si scostarono spontaneamente al suo passaggio, ricongiungendosi alle sue spalle, sicché‚ egli passò illeso. Giunto nel cortile del castello, vide cavalli e cani da caccia pezzati che dormivano, distesi a terra; sul tetto erano posate le colombe con le testine sotto l'ala. Quando entrò, le mosche dormivano sulla parete e il cuoco, in cucina, tendeva ancora la mano per afferrare lo sguattero, mentre la serva sedeva davanti al pollo nero che doveva spennare.

Egli andò oltre e vide dormire tutta la corte e in alto, sul trono, dormivano il re e la regina. Proseguì ancora e il silenzio era tale che egli udiva il proprio respiro. Finalmente giunse alla torre e aprì la porta della cameretta in cui dormiva Rosaspina. Giaceva là, ed era così bella che egli non riusciva a distoglierne lo sguardo. Si chinò e le diede un bacio.

E, come l'ebbe baciata, Rosaspina aprì gli occhi, si svegliò e lo guardò tutta ridente. Allora scesero insieme e il re, la regina e tutta la corte si svegliarono e si guardarono l'un l'altro stupiti. I cavalli in cortile si alzarono e si scrollarono; i cani da caccia saltarono su scodinzolando; le colombe sul tetto levarono la testina da sotto l'ala, si guardarono intorno e volarono nei campi; le mosche ripresero a muoversi sulle pareti; il fuoco in cucina si ravvivò, si mise ad ardere e continuò a cuocere il pranzo; l'arrosto ricominciò a sfrigolare, il cuoco diede allo sguattero uno schiaffo che lo fece gridare, e la serva finì di spennare il pollo.

Poi furono celebrate con gran fasto le nozze del principe e di Rosaspina, che vissero felici fino alla morte.

Fiaba n 50 dei fratelli Grimm

FIABA
La bella addormentata (Rosaspina) 
Sleeping Beauty (Rosamond)
La bella durmiente (Preciosa Rosa)
La belle au bois dormant

Riflessioni e considerazioni:
Le fiabe fanno quello che vogliono
Fairytales do as they please
Quando i tempi non sono maturi - Il merito del principe
La bella addormentata è la fiaba del Risveglio
....
....

Sleeping Beauty (Rosamond)

FIABA
La bella addormentata (Rosaspina) 
Sleeping Beauty (Rosamond)
La bella durmiente (Preciosa Rosa)
La belle au bois dormant

Riflessioni e considerazioni:
Le fiabe fanno quello che vogliono
Fairytales do as they please
Quando i tempi non sono maturi - Il merito del principe
La bella addormentata è la fiaba del Risveglio
....
....

In times past there lived a king and queen, who said to each other every day of their lives, "Would that we had a child!" and yet they had none. But it happened once that when the queen was bathing, there came a frog out of the water, and he squatted on the ground, and said to her: "Thy wish shall be fulfilled; before a year has gone by, thou shalt bring a daughter into the world."

And as the frog foretold, so it happened; and the queen bore a daughter so beautiful that the king could not contain himself for joy, and he ordained a great feast. Not only did he bid to it his relations, friends, and acquaintances, but also the wise women, that they might be kind and favourable to the child. There were thirteen of them in his kingdom, but as he had only provided twelve golden plates for them to eat from, one of them had to be left out.

However, the feast was celebrated with all splendour; and as it drew to an end, the wise women stood forward to present to the child their wonderful gifts: one bestowed virtue, one beauty, a third riches, and so on, whatever there is in the world to wish for. And when eleven of them had said their say, in came the uninvited thirteenth, burning to revenge herself, and without greeting or respect, she cried with a loud voice: "In the fifteenth year of her age the princess shall prick herself with a spindle and shall fall down dead." And without speaking one more word she turned away and left the hall. Every one was terrified at her saying, when the twelfth came forward, for she had not yet bestowed her gift, and though she could not do away with the evil prophecy, yet she could soften it, so she said: "The princess shall not die, but fall into a deep sleep for a hundred years."

Now the king, being desirous of saving his child even from this misfortune, gave commandment that all the spindles in his kingdom should be burnt up. The maiden grew up, adorned with all the gifts of the wise women; and she was so lovely, modest, sweet, an
d kind and clever, that no one who saw her could help loving her. It happened one day, she being already fifteen years old, that the king and queen rode abroad, and the maiden was left behind alone in the castle. She wandered about into all the nooks and corners, and into all the chambers and parlours, as the fancy took her, till at last she came to an old tower. She climbed the narrow winding stair which led to a little door, with a rusty key sticking out of the lock; she turned the key, and the door opened, and there in the little room sat an old woman with a spindle, diligently spinning her flax.

"Good day, mother," said the princess, "what are you doing?" - "I am spinning," answered the old woman, nodding her head. "What thing is that that twists round so briskly?" asked the maiden, and taking the spindle into her hand she began to spin; but no sooner had she touched it than the evil prophecy was fulfilled, and she pricked her finger with it. In that very moment she fell back upon the bed that stood there, and lay in a deep sleep.

And this sleep fell upon the whole castle; the king and queen, who had returned and were in the great hall, fell fast asleep, and with them the whole court. The horses in their stalls, the dogs in the yard, the pigeons on the roof, the flies on the wall, the very fire that flickered on the hearth, became still, and slept like the rest; and the meat on the spit ceased roasting, and the cook, who was going to pull the scullion's hair for some mistake he had made, let him go, and went to sleep. And the wind ceased, and not a leaf fell from the trees about the castle. Then round about that place there grew a hedge of thorns thicker every year, until at last the whole castle was hidden from view, and nothing of it could be seen but the vane on the roof.

And a rumour went abroad in all that country of the beautiful sleeping Rosamond, for so was the princess called; and from time to time many kings' sons came and tried to force their way through the hedge; but it was impossible for them to do so, for the thorns held fast together like strong hands, and the young men were caught by them, and not being able to get free, there died a lamentable death.

Many a long year afterwards there came a king's son into that country, and heard an old man tell how there should be a castle standing behind the hedge of thorns, and that there a beautiful enchanted princess named Rosamond had slept for a hundred years, and with her the king and queen, and the whole court. The old man had been told by his grandfather that many king's sons had sought to pass the thorn-hedge, but had been caught and pierced by the thorns, and had died a miserable death. Then said the young man: "Nevertheless, I do not fear to try; I shall win through and see the lovely Rosamond." The good old man tried to dissuade him, but he would not listen to his words. For now the hundred years were at an end, and the day had come when Rosamond should be awakened. When the prince drew near the hedge of thorns, it was changed into a hedge of beautiful large flowers, which parted and bent aside to let him pass, and then closed behind him in a thick hedge. When he reached the castle-yard, he saw the horses and brindled hunting-dogs lying asleep, and on the roof the pigeons were sitting with their heads under their wings. And when he came indoors, the flies on the wall were asleep, the cook in the kitchen had his hand uplifted to strike the scullion, and the kitchen-maid had the black fowl on her lap ready to pluck.

Then he mounted higher, and saw in the hall the whole court lying asleep, and above them, on their thrones, slept the king and the queen. And still he went farther, and all was so quiet that he could hear his own breathing; and at last he came to the tower, and went up the winding stair, and opened the door of the little room where Rosamond lay. And when he saw her looking so lovely in her sleep, he could not turn away his eyes; and presently he stooped and kissed her.

And she awaked, and opened her eyes, and looked very kindly on him. And she rose, and they went forth together, and the king and the queen and whole court waked up, and gazed on each other with great eyes of wonderment. And the horses in the yard got up and shook themselves, the hounds sprang up and wagged their tails, the pigeons on the roof drew their heads from under their wings, looked round, and flew into the field, the flies on the wall crept on a little farther, the kitchen fire leapt up and blazed, and cooked the meat, the joint on the spit began to roast, the cook gave the scullion such a box on the ear that he roared out, and the maid went on plucking the fowl.

Then the wedding of the Prince and Rosamond was held with all splendour, and they lived very happily together until their lives' end.

Fiaba n 50 dei fratelli Grimm

FIABA
La bella addormentata (Rosaspina) 
Sleeping Beauty (Rosamond)
La bella durmiente (Preciosa Rosa)
La belle au bois dormant

Riflessioni e considerazioni:
Le fiabe fanno quello che vogliono
Fairytales do as they please
Quando i tempi non sono maturi - Il merito del principe
La bella addormentata è la fiaba del Risveglio
....
....