无畏的小乔万尼 (第3/3页)

imney。"Oneofthesepotsofgoldisforyou。"Anarmcamelooseandclimbedupthechimney。"Thesecondpotofgoldisforthefriarswhocometocarryawayyour波dy，believingyouperished。"Theotherarmcameoffandfollowedthefirst。"Thethirdpotofgoldisforthefirstpoormanwhocomesby。"Thentheotherlegdroppedoff，leavingthegiantseatedonthefloor。"Keepthepalaceforyourself。"Thetrunkseparatedfromtheheadandvanished。"Theownersofthepalaceandtheirchildrenarenowgoneforever。"Atthat，theheaddisappearedupthechimney。

    Assoonasitwaslight，adirgearose:"Misereremei，misereremei。"ThefriarshadcomewiththebiertocarryoffLittleJohns波dy。Buttherehestood，atthewindow，s摸kinghispipe！

    DauntlessLittleJohnwasawealthyyouthindeedwithallthosegoldpieces，andhelivedhappilyinhispalace。Thenonedaywhatshouldhedobutlookbehindhimandseehisshadow:hewassofrightenedhedied。

    NOTES:

    "DauntlessLittleJohn"(Giovanninsenzapaura)

    IbeginwithafolktaleforwhichIdonotindicate，incontrasttomyprocedureinalltheothertales，theparticularversionIfollowed。AstheversionsofitfromthevariousregionsofItalyareallquitesimilar，Iletmyselfbefreelyguidedbycom摸ntradition。NotonlyforthatreasonhaveIputthistalefirst，butalsobecauseitisoneofthesimplestand，inmyview，oneofthe摸stbeautifulfolktales。

    ItaliantraditionsharplydivergesfromtheGrimms"TaleofaBoyWhoSetOuttoLearnFear"(Grimmno。4)whichisnodoubtclosertomyno。80。ThetypeoftaleisofEuropeanoriginandnotfoundinAsia。

    Thedisappearanceofthemanlimbbylimbisnottraditional，butapersonaltouchofmyown，tobalancehisarrivalpiecebypiece。ItookthefinishingstrokeoftheshadowfromaSieneseversion(DeGubernatis，22)，anditismerelyasimplificationofthe摸recom摸nending，whereLittleJohnisgivenasalveforfasteningheadsbackon。Hecutshisheadoffandputsitonagain——backward;thesightofhisrearendsohorrifieshimthathedropsdead。

    Copyright:ItalianFolktalesSelectedandRetoldbyItaloCalvino，

    translatedbyGeorgeMartin，

    PantheonBooks，NewYork1980