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Sweet Porridge - Considerations

Sweet Porridge

This story is very dear to me.

What’s good about it is that it can be told to very small children as it tells them that porridge is endless.

I would love to convince moms, dads, grandparents to tell it to their children again and again, and I will try to do so with my reflections and considerations.

I believe that the Mother stands to represent Reason, Adulthood,

That part of us that doesn’t fall for delusions and adapts to the place that life finds for it, but despite its best efforts can’t manage to do all the things that it should do, always feels wanting and can’t find a way out.

Should it find greatness all of a sudden it won’t be able to handle it, it just can’t remember how the saying for the little pot goes.

So, as winning leads to its ruin, a special situation ends in crisis, too much work produces stress, achieving more than what was predicted leads to an excess of leftovers with the inability to handle
them, with our surplus having to be burned away.

The Child, on the other hand, represents the Soul, the Eternal Child, and our individual creative energy.

That part of us that if doesn’t receive enough from the world hungers for more.

We can silence it by trying to bring it to reason, to be realistic, not to fall for dreams as there are things that just can’t be afforded. We need to learn to make amends, to know that there isn’t enough for everyone, and that we have to do without. To be responsible, to think about the others, to be good.

In the end the Child no longer speaks. However, she is still hungry and within us remains that malcontent, that lack of satisfaction.

If the Child is able to make itself heard, things will change.

In the story everything happens because the child expresses her wish.

Some speak of a part that is always within us and that we need to learn to get in contact with, other speak of angels or superior beings, of Deep Wisdom.

However things may be, the Old Lady is able to reach the source of solutions and provide them to the Soul.

The source of solutions is represented by the Woods, the collective unconscious per say, the place where everything that Reason can’t comprehend lies, the place where everything that is new, inventive, intuitive, congenial comes from.

The Small Pot is the solution, it is able to produce all the porridge that’s needed, it is the very representation of the infinite, it is the cornucopia of bounty.

In life we had to get used to the fact that something is always escaping us: whether it may be work, knowledge, opportunities, time, money, means or resources.

Should we get an original idea and for a moment we believe it could work, we immediately chastise ourselves for being unrealistic, we list to ourselves a valid series of reasons why that would be that inevitably lead us back to a familiar pessimism, however should we be unable to even imagine other possible perspectives it’s impossible to achieve anything, and we’re always starting on the wrong foot.

Lacks and limitations stem from our evaluating only that which we have knowledge of, looking at things from a rigid, fixed perspective and putting heaps of restrictions on ourselves.

Why do I believe that “Sweet Porridge” should be told to a child from a young age?

Because growing next to him they will always have someone ready to project uncertainties and inhibitions onto them, others will strive to infect them with their fears teaching them resignation and misery. This is why deep inside somehow I want them to know about the little pot and all that Porridge.

The two kings' children

Il principe e la principessa
The two kings' children
Los dos príncipes

Riflessioni e considerazioni:

Il principe delle fiabe non è mai né forte né valoroso

Il compito impossibile

There was once on a time a King who had a little boy of whom it had been foretold that he should be killed by a stag when he was sixteen years of age, and when he had reached that age the huntsmen once went hunting with him. In the forest, the King's son was separated from the others, and all at once he saw a great stag which he wanted to shoot, but could not hit. At length he chased the stag so far that they were quite out of the forest, and then suddenly a great tall man was standing there instead of the stag, and said, "It is well that I have thee. I have already ruined six pairs of glass skates with running after thee, and have not been able to get thee." Then he took the King's son with him, and dragged him through a great lake to a great palace, and then he had to sit down to table with him and eat something. When they had eaten something together the King said, "I have three daughters, thou must keep watch over the eldest for one night, from nine in the evening till six in the morning, and every time the clock strikes, I will come myself and call, and if thou then givest me no answer, to-morrow morning thou shall be put to death, but if thou always givest me an answer, thou shalt have her to wife."

When the young folks went to the bed-room there stood a stone image of St. Christopher, and the King's daughter said to it, "My father will come at nine o'clock, and every hour till it strikes three; when he calls, give him an answer instead of the King's son." Then the stone image of St. Christopher nodded its head quite quickly, and then more and more slowly till at last it stood still. The next morning the King said to him, "Thou hast done the business well, but I cannot give my daughter away. Thou must now watch a night by my second daughter, and then I will consider with myself, whether thou canst have my eldest daughter to wife, but I shall come every hour myself, and when I call thee, answer me, and if I call thee and thou dost not reply, thy blood shall flow." Then they both went into the sleeping-room, and there stood a still larger stone image of St. Christopher, and the King's daughter said to it, "If my father calls, do you answer him." Then the great stone image of St. Christopher again nodded its head quite quickly and then more and more slowly, until at last it stood still again. And the King's son lay down on the threshold, put his hand under his head and slept. The next morning the King said to him, "Thou hast done the business really well, but I cannot give my daughter away; thou must now watch a night by the youngest princess, and then I will consider with myself whether thou canst have my second daughter to wife, but I shall come every hour myself, and when I call thee answer me, and if I call thee and thou answerest not, thy blood shall flow for me."

Then they once more went to the sleeping-room together, and there was a much greater and much taller image of St. Christopher than the two first had been. The King's daughter said to it, "When my father calls, do thou answer." Then the great tall stone image of St. Christopher nodded quite half an hour with its head, until at length the head stood still again. And the King's son laid himself down on the threshold of the door and slept. The next morning the King said, "Thou hast indeed watched well, but I cannot give thee my daughter now; I have a great forest, if thou cuttest it down for me between six o'clock this morning and six at night, I will think about it." Then he gave him a glass axe, a glass wedge, and a glass mallet. When he got into the wood, he began at once to cut, but the axe broke in two, then he took the wedge, and struck it once with the mallet, and it became as short and as small as sand. Then he was much troubled and believed he would have to die, and sat down and wept.

Now when it was noon the King said, "One of you girls must take him something to eat." - "No," said the two eldest, "We will not take it to him; the one by whom he last watched, can take him something." Then the youngest was forced to go and take him something to eat. When she got into the forest, she asked him how he was getting on? "Oh," said he, "I am getting on very badly." Then she said he was to come and just eat a little. "Nay," said he, "I cannot do that, I shall still have to die, so I will eat no more." Then she spoke so kindly to him and begged him just to try, that he came and ate something. When he had eaten something she said, "I will comb thy hair a while, and then thou wilt feel happier."

So she combed his hair, and he became weary and fell asleep, and then she took her handkerchief and made a knot in it, and struck it three times on the earth, and said, "Earth-workers, come forth." In a moment, numbers of little earth-men came forth, and asked what the King's daughter commanded? Then said she, "In three hours' time the great forest must be cut down, and the whole of the wood laid in heaps." So the little earth-men went about and got together the whole of their kindred to help them with the work. They began at once, and when the three hours were over, all was done, and they came back to the King's daughter and told her so. Then she took her white handkerchief again and said, "Earth-workers, go home." On this they all disappeared. When the King's son awoke, he was delighted, and she said, "Come home when it has struck six o'clock." He did as she told him, and then the King asked, "Hast thou made away with the forest?" - "Yes," said the King's son. When they were sitting at table, the King said, "I cannot yet give thee my daughter to wife, thou must still do something more for her sake." So he asked what it was to be, then? "I have a great fish-pond," said the King. "Thou must go to it to-morrow morning and clear it of all mud until it is as bright as a mirror, and fill it with every kind of fish." The next morning the King gave him a glass shovel and said, "The fish-pond must be done by six o'clock." So he went away, and when he came to the fish-pond he stuck his shovel in the mud and it broke in two, then he stuck his hoe in the mud, and broke it also. Then he was much troubled. At noon the youngest daughter brought him something to eat, and asked him how he was getting on? So the King's son said everything was going very ill with him, and he would certainly have to lose his head. "My tools have broken to pieces again." - "Oh," said she, "thou must just come and eat something, and then thou wilt be in another frame of mind." - "No," said he, "I cannot eat, I am far too unhappy for that!" Then she gave him many good words until at last he came and ate something. Then she combed his hair again, and he fell asleep, so once more she took her handkerchief, tied a knot in it, and struck the ground thrice with the knot, and said, "Earth-workers, come forth." In a moment a great many little earth-men came and asked what she desired, and she told them that in three hours' time, they must have the fish-pond entirely cleaned out, and it must be so clear that people could see themselves reflected in it, and every kind of fish must be in it. The little earth-men went away and summoned all their kindred to help them, and in two hours it was done. Then they returned to her and said, "We have done as thou hast commanded." The King's daughter took the handkerchief and once more struck thrice on the ground with it, and said, "Earth-workers, go home again." Then they all went away.

When the King's son awoke the fish-pond was done. Then the King's daughter went away also, and told him that when it was six he was to come to the house. When he arrived at the house the King asked, "Hast thou got the fish-pond done?" - "Yes," said the King's son. That was very good.

When they were again sitting at table the King said, "Thou hast certainly done the fish-pond, but I cannot give thee my daughter yet; thou must just do one thing more." - "What is that, then?" asked the King's son. The King said he had a great mountain on which there was nothing but briars which must all be cut down, and at the top of it the youth must build up a great castle, which must be as strong as could be conceived, and all the furniture and fittings belonging to a castle must be inside it. And when he arose next morning the King gave him a glass axe and a glass gimlet with him, and he was to have all done by six o'clock. As he was cutting down the first briar with the axe, it broke off short, and so small that the pieces flew all round about, and he could not use the gimlet either. Then he was quite miserable, and waited for his dearest to see if she would not come and help him in his need. When it was mid-day she came and brought him something to eat. He went to meet her and told her all, and ate something, and let her comb his hair and fell asleep. Then she once more took the knot and struck the earth with it, and said, "Earth-workers, come forth!" Then came once again numbers of earth-men, and asked what her desire was. Then said she, "In the space of three hours they must cut down the whole of the briars, and a castle must be built on the top of the mountain that must be as strong as any one could conceive, and all the furniture that pertains to a castle must be inside it." They went away, and summoned their kindred to help them and when the time was come, all was ready. Then they came to the King's daughter and told her so, and the King's daughter took her handkerchief and struck thrice on the earth with it, and said, "Earth-workers, go home," on which they all disappeared. When therefore the King's son awoke and saw everything done, he was as happy as a bird in air.

When it had struck six, they went home together. Then said the King, "Is the castle ready?" - "Yes," said the King's son. When they sat down to table, the King said, "I cannot give away my youngest daughter until the two eldest are married." Then the King's son and the King's daughter were quite troubled, and the King's son had no idea what to do. But he went by night to the King's daughter and ran away with her. When they had got a little distance away, the King's daughter peeped round and saw her father behind her. "Oh," said she, "what are we to do? My father is behind us, and will take us back with him. I will at once change thee into a briar, and myself into a rose, and I will shelter myself in the midst of the bush." When the father reached the place, there stood a briar with one rose on it, then he was about to gather the rose, when the thorn came and pricked his finger so that he was forced to go home again. His wife asked why he had not brought their daughter back with him? So he said he had nearly got up to her, but that all at once he had lost sight of her, and a briar with one rose was growing on the spot.

Then said the Queen, "If thou hadst but gathered the rose, the briar would have been forced to come too." So he went back again to fetch the rose, but in the meantime the two were already far over the plain, and the King ran after them. Then the daughter once more looked round and saw her father coming, and said, "Oh, what shall we do now? I will instantly change thee into a church and myself into a priest, and I will stand up in the pulpit, and preach." When the King got to the place, there stood a church, and in the pulpit was a priest preaching. So he listened to the sermon, and then went home again.

Then the Queen asked why he had not brought their daughter with him, and he said, "Nay, I ran a long time after her, and just as I thought I should soon overtake her, a church was standing there and a priest was in the pulpit preaching." - "Thou shouldst just have brought the priest," said his wife, "and then the church would soon have come. It is no use to send thee, I must go there myself." When she had walked for some time, and could see the two in the distance, the King's daughter peeped round and saw her mother coming, and said, "Now we are undone, for my mother is coming herself: I will immediately change thee into a fish-pond and myself into a fish.

When the mother came to the place, there was a large fish-pond, and in the midst of it a fish was leaping about and peeping out of the water, and it was quite merry. She wanted to catch the fish, but she could not. Then she was very angry, and drank up the whole pond in order to catch the fish, but it made her so ill that she was forced to vomit, and vomited the whole pond out again. Then she cried, "I see very well that nothing can be done now," and said that now they might come back to her. Then the King's daughter went back again, and the Queen gave her daughter three walnuts, and said, "With these thou canst help thyself when thou art in thy greatest need." So the young folks went once more away together. And when they had walked quite ten miles, they arrived at the castle from whence the King's son came, and close by it was a village. When they reached it, the King's son said, "Stay here, my dearest, I will just go to the castle, and then will I come with a carriage and with attendants to fetch thee."

When he got to the castle they all rejoiced greatly at having the King's son back again, and he told them he had a bride who was now in the village, and they must go with the carriage to fetch her. Then they harnessed the horses at once, and many attendants seated themselves outside the carriage. When the King's son was about to get in, his mother gave him a kiss, and he forgot everything which had happened, and also what he was about to do. On this his mother ordered the horses to be taken out of the carriage again, and everyone went back into the house. But the maiden sat in the village and watched and watched, and thought he would come and fetch her, but no one came. Then the King's daughter took service in the mill which belonged to the castle, and was obliged to sit by the pond every afternoon and clean the tubs.

And the Queen came one day on foot from the castle, and went walking by the pond, and saw the well-grown maiden sitting there, and said, "What a fine strong girl that is! She pleases me well!" Then she and all with her looked at the maid, but no one knew her. So a long time passed by during which the maiden served the miller honorably and faithfully. In the meantime, the Queen had sought a wife for her son, who came from quite a distant part of the world. When the bride came, they were at once to be married. And many people hurried together, all of whom wanted to see everything. Then the girl said to the miller that he might be so good as to give her leave to go also. So the miller said, "Yes, do go there." When she was about to go, she opened one of the three walnuts, and a beautiful dress lay inside it. She put it on, and went into the church and stood by the altar. Suddenly came the bride and bridegroom, and seated themselves before the altar, and when the priest was just going to bless them, the bride peeped half round and saw the maiden standing there. Then she stood up again, and said she would not be given away until she also had as beautiful a dress as that lady there. So they went back to the house again, and sent to ask the lady if she would sell that dress. No, she would not sell it, but the bride might perhaps earn it. Then the bride asked her how she was to do this? Then the maiden said if she might sleep one night outside the King's son's door, the bride might have what she wanted. So the bride said, "Yes, she was willing to do that." But the servants were ordered to give the King's son a sleeping-drink, and then the maiden laid herself down on the threshold and lamented all night long. She had had the forest cut down for him, she had had the fish-pond cleaned out for him, she had had the castle built for him, she had changed him into a briar, and then into a church, and at last into a fish-pond, and yet he had forgotten her so quickly. The King's son did not hear one word of it, but the servants had been awakened, and had listened to it, and had not known what it could mean. The next morning when they were all up, the bride put on the dress, and went away to the church with the bridegroom. In the meantime the maiden opened the second walnut, and a still more beautiful dress was inside it. She put it on, and went and stood by the altar in the church, and everything happened as it had happened the time before. And the maiden again lay all night on the threshold which led to the chamber of the King's son, and the servant was once more to give him a sleeping-drink. The servant, however, went to him and gave him something to keep him awake, and then the King's son went to bed, and the miller's maiden bemoaned herself as before on the threshold of the door, and told of all that she had done. All this the King's son heard, and was sore troubled, and what was past came back to him. Then he wanted to go to her, but his mother had locked the door. The next morning, however, he went at once to his beloved, and told her everything which had
happened to him, and prayed her not to be angry with him for having forgotten her.

Then the King's daughter opened the third walnut, and within it was a still more magnificent dress, which she put on, and went with her bridegroom to church, and numbers of children came who gave them flowers, and offered them gay ribbons to bind about their feet, and they were blessed by the priest, and had a merry wedding. But the false mother and the bride had to depart. And the mouth of the person who last told all this is still warm.

Fiaba 113 dei Fratelli Grimm

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

(original Italian draft Le tre filatrici - Riflessioni e considerazioni)

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

(original Italian draft L'Oca d'oro - Riflessioni e considerazioni)

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.

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
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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
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The frog king or Iron Henry

Il principe ranocchio o Enrico di Ferro
The frog king or Iron Henry
El Rey Rana o Enrique el férreo
Le roi Grenouille ou Henri de Fer

Riflessioni e considerazioni (Chi, come e quando tirò fuori la storia del bacio?)

Ecco la versione originale del principe ranocchio! So che lascerà sconcertati.

E' quella dell'autentica tradizione popolare, trascritta fedelmente dai fratelli Grimm, senza addolcimenti.

In the old times, when it was still of some use to wish for the thing one wanted, there lived a King whose daughters were all handsome, but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun himself, who has seen so much, wondered each time he shone over her because of her beauty. Near the royal castle there was a great dark wood, and in the wood under an old linden-tree was a well; and when the day was hot, the King’s daughter used to go forth into the wood and sit by the brink of the cool well, and if the time seemed long, she would take out a golden ball, and throw it up and catch it again, and this was her favourite pastime.

Now it happened one day that the golden ball, instead of falling back into the maiden’s little hand which had sent it aloft, dropped to the ground near the edge of the well and rolled in. The king’s daughter followed it with her eyes as it sank, but the well was deep, so deep that the bottom could not be seen. Then she began to weep, and she wept and wept as if she could never be comforted. And in the midst of her weeping she heard a voice saying to her: “What ails thee, king’s daughter? Thy tears would melt a heart of stone.” And when she looked to see where the voice came from, there was nothing but a frog stretching his thick ugly head out of the water. “Oh, is it you, old waddler?” said she, “I weep because my golden ball has fallen into the well.” - “Never mind, do not weep,” answered the frog, “I can help you; but what will you give me if I fetch up your ball again?” - “Whatever you like, dear frog,” said she, “any of my clothes, my pearls and jewels, or even the golden crown that I wear.” - “Thy clothes, thy pearls and jewels, and thy golden crown are not for me,” answered the frog, “but if thou wouldst love me, and have me for thy companion and play-fellow, and let me sit by thee at table, and eat from thy plate, and drink from thy cup, and sleep in thy little bed, if thou wouldst promise all this, then would I dive below the water and fetch thee thy golden ball again.” - “Oh yes,” she answered, “I will promise it all, whatever you want, if you will only get me my ball again.” But she thought to herself: What nonsense he talks! As if he could do anything but sit in the water and croak with the other frogs, or could possibly be any one’s companion.

But the frog, as soon as he heard her promise, drew his head under the water and sank down out of sight, but after a while he came to the surface again with the ball in his mouth, and he threw it on the grass. The King’s daughter was overjoyed to see her pretty plaything again, and she caught it up and ran off with it. “Stop, stop!” cried the frog, “take me up too. I cannot run as fast as you!” But it was of no use, for croak, croak after her as he might, she would not listen to him, but made haste home, and very soon forgot all about the poor frog, who had to betake himself to his well again.

The next day, when the King’s daughter was sitting at table with the King and all the court, and eating from her golden plate, there came something pitter patter up the marble stairs, and then there came a knocking at the door, and a voice crying: “Youngest King’s daughter, let me in!” And she got up and ran to see who it could be, but when she opened the door, there was the frog sitting outside. Then she shut the door hastily and went back to her seat, feeling very uneasy. The King noticed how quickly her heart was beating, and said: “My child, what are you afraid of? Is there a giant standing at the door ready to carry you away?” - “Oh no,” answered she, “no giant, but a horrid frog.” - “And what does the frog want?” asked the King. “O dear father,” answered she, “when I was sitting by the well yesterday, and playing with my golden ball, it fell into the water, and while I was crying for the loss of it, the frog came and got it again for me on condition I would let him be my companion, but I never thought that he could leave the water and come after me; but now there he is outside the door, and he wants to come in to me.” And then they all heard him knocking the second time and crying:

“Youngest King’s daughter,
Open to me!
By the well water
What promised
you me?Youngest King’s daughter
Now open to me!"

“That which thou hast promised must thou perform,” said the King, “so go now and let him in.” So she went and opened the door, and the frog hopped in, following at her heels, till she reached her chair. Then he stopped and cried: “Lift me up to sit by you.” But she delayed doing so until the King ordered her. When once the frog was on the chair, he wanted to get on the table, and there he sat and said: “Now push your golden plate a little nearer, so that we may eat together.” And so she did, but everybody might see how unwilling she was, and the frog feasted heartily, but every morsel seemed to stick in her throat. “I have had enough now,” said the frog at last, “and as I am tired, you must carry me to your room, and make ready your silken bed, and we will lie down and go to sleep.” Then the King’s daughter began to weep, and was afraid of the cold frog, that nothing would satisfy him but he must sleep in her pretty clean bed. Now the King grew angry with her, saying: “That which thou hast promised in thy time of necessity, must thou now perform.”

So she picked up the frog with her finger and thumb, carried him upstairs and put him in a corner, and when she had lain down to sleep, he came creeping up, saying: “I am tired and want sleep as much as you; take me up, or I will tell your father.” Then she felt beside herself with rage, and picking him up, she threw him with all her strength against the wall, crying: “Now will you be quiet, you horrid frog!”

But as he fell, he ceased to be a frog, and became all at once a prince with beautiful kind eyes. And it came to pass that, with her father’s consent, they became bride and bridegroom. And he told her how a wicked witch had bound him by her spells, and how no one but she alone could have released him, and that they two would go together to his father’s kingdom.

And there came to the door a carriage drawn by eight white horses, with white plumes on their heads, and with golden harness, and behind the carriage was standing faithful Henry, the servant of the young prince. Now, faithful Henry had suffered such care and pain when his master was turned into a frog, that he had been obliged to wear three iron bands over his heart, to keep it from breaking with trouble and anxiety. When the carriage started to take the prince to his kingdom, and faithful Henry had helped them both in, he got up behind, and was full of joy at his master’s deliverance.

And when they had gone a part of the way, the prince heard a sound at the back of the carriage, as if something had broken, and he turned round and cried:

“Henry, the wheel must be breaking!”
“The wheel does not break,
‘Tis the band round my heart
That, to lessen its ache,
When I grieved for your sake,
I bound round my heart.”

Again, and yet once again there was the same sound, and the prince thought it must be the wheel breaking, but it was the breaking of the other bands from faithful Henry’s heart, because it was now so relieved and happy.

The brothers Grimm - KHM 001

Indice Fiabe
Indice Varie

The three spinners

Riflessioni e considerazioni
Considerations

There was once a girl who was lazy and would not spin, and her mother could not persuade her to it, do what she would. At last the mother became angry and out of patience, and gave her a good beating, so that she cried out loudly. At that moment the Queen was going by ; as she heard the crying, she stopped; and, going into the house, she asked the mother why she was beating her daughter, so that every one outside in the street could hear her cries.
The woman was ashamed to tell of her daughter’s laziness, so she said, “I cannot stop her from spinning; she is for ever at it, and I am poor and cannot furnish her with flax enough.” Then the Queen answered, “I like nothing better than the sound of the spinning-wheel, and always feel happy when I hear its humming; let me take your daughter with me to the castle - I have plenty of flax, she shall spin there to her heart’s content.” The mother was only too glad of the offer, and the Queen took the girl with her.

When they reached the castle the Queen showed her three rooms which were filled with the finest flax as full as they could hold.

“Now you can spin me this flax,” said she, “and when you can show it me all done you shall have my eldest son for bridegroom; you may be poor, but I make nothing of that - your industry is dowry enough.”

The girl was inwardly terrified, for she could not have spun the flax, even if she were to live to be a hundred years old, and were to sit spinning every day of her life from morning to evening.

And when she found herself alone she began to weep, and sat so for three days without putting her hand to it. On the third day the Queen came, and when she saw that nothing had been done of the spinning she was much surprised ; but the girl excused herself by saying that she had not been able to begin because of the distress she was in at leaving her home and her mother. The excuse contented the Queen, who said, however, as she went away, “Tomorrow you must begin to work.”

When the girl found herself alone again she could not tell how to help herself or what to do, and in her perplexity she went and gazed out of the window.
There she saw three women passing by, and the first of them had a broad flat foot, the second had a big under-lip that hung down over her chin, and the third had a remarkably broad thumb.
They all of them stopped in front of the window, and called out to know what it was that the girl wanted. She told them all her need, and they promised her their help, and said, “Then will you invite us to your wedding, and not be ashamed of us, and call us your cousins, and let us sit at your table; if you will promise this, we will finish off your flax-spinning in a very short time.”

“With all my heart,” answered the girl ; “only come in now, and begin at once.”

Then these same women came in, and she cleared a space in the first room for them to sit and carry on their spinning. The first one drew out the thread and moved the treddle that turned the wheel, the second moistened the thread, the third twisted it, and rapped with her finger on the table, and as often as she rapped a heap of yarn fell to the ground, and it was most beautifully spun.
But the girl hid the three spinsters out of the Queen's sight, and only showed her, as often as she came, the heaps of well-spun yarn; and there was no end to the praises she received.
When the first room was empty they went on to the second, and then to the third, so that at last all was finished.
Then the three women took their leave, saying to the girl, “Do not forget what you have promised, and it will be all the better for you.”

So when the girl took the Queen and showed her the empty rooms, and the great heaps of yarn, the wedding was at once arranged, and the bridegroom rejoiced that he should have so clever and diligent a wife, and praised her exceedingly.

“I have three cousins,” said the girl, “and as they have shown me a great deal of kindness, I would not wish to forget them in my good fortune ; may I be allowed to invite them to the wedding, and to ask them to sit at the table with us?“ The Queen and the bridegroom said at once, “There is no reason against it.”

So when the feast began in came the three spinsters in strange guise, and the bride said, “Dear cousins, you are welcome.”

“Oh,” said the bridegroom, “how come you to have such dreadfully ugly relations?“ And then he went up to the first spinster and said, “How is it that you have such a broad flat foot?“ - “With treading,” answered she, “with treading.” Then he went up to the second and said, “How is it that you have such a great hanging lip?“-“With licking,” answered she, “with licking.” Then he asked the third, “How is it that you have such a broad thumb?" - “With twisting thread,” answered she, “with twisting thread.”

Then the bridegroom said that from that time forward his beautiful bride should never touch a spinning-wheel. And so she escaped that tiresome flax-spinning.

The brothers Grimm - KHM 001

Le tre filatrici

The three spinners

Las tres hilanderas

Les trois fileuses

Riflessioni e considerazioni
Considerations