IT was old Clementina—a white-haired, delicate-featured peasant
woman, with a brightly-coloured handkerchief tied cornerwise on her
head, a big ball of coarse white wool stuck on a little stick in the
right-hand side of the band of her big apron, and the sock she was
knitting carried in the other hand. My companion had gone down to
Pistoia to do some shopping: I was alone in our rooms in the straggling
primitive little village that clings to the hill among the chestnut
woods above. Clementina thought I must be very lonely; besides,
she was anxious to know what sort of things these extraordinary
“_forestieri_”—foreigners—did all by themselves. They wrote, she
believed—well, but how did they look when they were writing, and what
sort of tools did they use? So she suddenly appeared in the doorway
with a bright smile, and:—“_Buon giorno a Lei._” It was just lunch
time, so I pushed aside my work, glad enough, as it happened, to see
her; begged her to sit down and tell me while I ate, one of those nice
stories which she, as great-grandmother, must know so well.
My lunch was the “_necci_” of the country people—a cake of sweet
chestnut-flour cooked in leaves of the same tree and eaten with
cheese—mountain strawberries, brown bread and country wine. Through
the open window of the whitewashed room came the noises of the village
street, the fresh mountain breeze and the bright sunlight which lighted
up the old woman’s well-cut features and kindling brown eyes, as,
seating herself with the grace of any lady, she leaned forward and
began:—
* * * * *
Once upon a time there lived a king who had one little girl called
Elisa. She was a dear little girl, and her father and mother loved
her very much. But presently her mother died, and the step-mother got
quite angry with jealousy of the poor little thing. She thought and she
thought what she could do to her, and at last she called a witch and
said:—
“Get rid of Elisa for me.”
The witch spirited her away into some meadows a long, long way off,
in quite another country, and left her there all alone; so that poor
little Elisa was very frightened. Presently there came by three fairies
who loved her because she was so pretty, and asked her who she was. She
said she was a king’s daughter, but she did not know where her home was
or how she had come to be where she was now, and that she was very
unhappy.
“Come with us,” said the fairies, “and we will take care of you.”
So they led her into another field where was a big hole. They took her
down into the hole, and there was the most beautiful palace that Elisa
had ever seen in her life.
“This palace is yours,” said the fairies, “live here, and do just as
you like.”
Well, time went by and Elisa forgot her home, and was very happy, when
one night her step-mother had a dream. She dreamt that Elisa was not
dead, but alive and happy. She called the witch again, and said:—
“Elisa is not dead, she is alive and well. Take some _schiacciata_ (a
kind of cake), put poison in it, and take it to her. She is very fond
of _schiacciata_, and will be sure to eat it.”
So the witch went to the hole and called “Elisa.”
“What do you want?” said Elisa.
“Here’s some _schiacciata_ for you.”
“I don’t want _schiacciata_,” said Elisa; “I have plenty.”
“Well, I’ll put it here, and you can take it if you like”: so she put
it down and went away.
Presently there came by a dog, who ate the _schiacciata_ and
immediately fell down dead. In the evening the fairies came home, took
up the dog and showed him to Elisa.
“See you never take anything that anyone brings you,” said they, “or
this will happen to you, too.”
Then they put the dog into their garden.
After a time the queen dreamt again that Elisa was alive and happy, so
she called the witch and said:—
“Elisa is very fond of flowers; pick a bunch and cast a spell upon
them, so that whoever smells them shall be bewitched.”
The witch did as she was told, and took the flowers to the hole.
“Elisa,” she called down.
“What is it?” said Elisa.
“Here are some flowers for you.”
“Well, you can put them down and go away. I don’t want them.”
So the witch put them down and went home. Soon some sheep and a
shepherd came by; the sheep saw the flowers, smelt them and became
spell-bound; the shepherd went to drive off the sheep, and became
spell-bound too. When the fairies came home that night, they found the
sheep and the shepherd, showed them to Elisa as a warning, and put them
too into their garden.
But the queen dreamt a third time, and a third time she called the
witch, saying:—
“Elisa is well and happy. Take a pair of golden slippers this time,
_pianelle_ (slippers with a covering for the toe only), bewitch them,
and take them to Elisa: those she will certainly put on.”
And the queen was right. When the witch had gone away from the hole
Elisa came up to look at the pretty golden _pianelle_. First she took
them in her hands, and then she put one on, and afterwards the other.
As soon as she had done it she was quite spell-bound, and could not
move. When the fairies came home they were very sad. They took her up
and put her into the garden, with the dog, the sheep, and the shepherd,
because they did not know what else to do with her.
There she stayed a long time, till one day the king’s son rode by as he
went out hunting. He looked through the garden gate, and saw Elisa.
“Oh, look,” said he to the hunters, “look at that lovely girl who does
not move; I never saw anyone so beautiful. I must have her.”
So he went into the garden, took Elisa, carried her home, and put her
into a glass case in his room. Now he spent all the time in his room;
he would never come out, and would not even let the servants in to make
his bed, for he loved Elisa more and more every day, and could not bear
to leave her, or to let anyone else see her.
“What can be in there?” said the servants; “we can’t keep his room
clean if we’re not allowed to go into it.”
So they watched their opportunity, and one day when the prince had
gone to take the holy water, they made their way in to dust.
“Oh! oh!” said they, “the prince was quite wise to keep his room shut
up. What a beautiful woman, and what lovely slippers!”
With that one went up, and said, “This slipper’s a little dusty; I’ll
dust it.”
While he was doing so, it moved; so he pushed it a little more, and it
came off altogether. Then he took off the other too, and immediately
Elisa came back to life. When the prince came home he wanted to marry
her at once; but his father said:—
“How do you know who she is? She may be a beggar’s daughter.”
“Oh, no,” said Elisa, “I’m a princess,” and she told them her father’s
name.
Then a grand wedding feast was prepared, to which her father and
step-mother were invited; and they came, not knowing who the bride
was to be. When they saw Elisa, the father was very glad, but the
step-mother was so angry that she went and hanged herself. Nevertheless
the marriage feast went off merrily. Elisa and the prince were very
happy, and presently united the two kingdoms under their single rule.
If they’re not alive now, they must be dead; and if they’re not dead,
they must still be alive.