"comeaboard,then."
"rthat,othersailorstookheartandboardedtheship.
oncehewasontheship,rsailorscursedhimbecausetherewasnoknowingwhenthevoyagewouldend,provisionswerescarce,ptaindecidedtogetridofhim."seethatlittleisland?"heasked,pointingtoanisolatedreefinthemiddleofthesea."becruisingrightaroundhere."
samphirestarboardsteppedintotherowboat,andtheshipsailedawayatfullspeed,pproachedthereef,spiedacave,dupinsidewasaverybeautifulmaiden,whowasnoneotherthanthekingsdaughter.
"howdidyoumanagetofindme?"sheasked.
"iwasfishingforoctopi,"explainedsamphire.
"iwaskidnappedbyahugeoctopus,whoseprisonerinowam,"saidthekingsdaughter."fleebeforeitreturns.butnotethatforthreehoursadayitchangesintoaredmulletandcanbecaught.butyourhavetokillthemulletatonce,oritwillchangeintoaseagullandflyaway."
romtheseaemergedtheoctopus,ssuckersshook,havingsmelledamanonthereef.butthehourarrivedwhenithadtochangeintoafish,andsuddenlyitbecamearedmulletanddisappearedintothesea.samphirestarboardloweredfishingnetsandpulledthembackupfullofgurnard,sturgeon,sthaulproducedtheredmullet,shakinglikealeaf.samphireraisedhisoartokillit,ullthenchangedbackintoanoctopus,whosewoundedtentaclesspurteddarkredbloodsdaughtergavehimadiamondringasatokenofthegratitudeshewouldalwaysfeeltowardhim.
"comeandilltakeyoutoyourfather,"hesaid,showingherintohisborrowingandrowingtheyspiedashipinthedistancesthesameshipthathadearlierdischargedandabandonedsamphire.seeinghimbackwiththekingsdaughter,thecaptainsaid,"poorsamphirestarboard!herewethoughtyouwerelostandnow,afterlookingalloverforyou,weseeyoureturnwiththekingsdaughter!thatcallsforarealcelebration!"tosamphirestarboard,whodnottouchedadropofwineformonthsonend,thatseemedtoogoodtobetrue.
theywerealmostinsightoftheirhomeportwhenthecaptainledsamphiretoatableandplacedseveralbottlesofwinebeforehiptainsaidtothekingsdaughter,"reedyoumyself,sinceimthecaptainoftheshipandorderedhimtorescueyou."
thekingsdaughterneitheragreednordisagreed."iknowwhatilltellhim,"sheanswered.
tobeonthesafeside,,theypickedhimup,stillasdrunkascouldbe,bandplayedonthepier,wherethekingwaitedwiththeentirecourt.
dayofthewedding,scoveredfromheadtofootwithseaweed,bedoutofthewaterandwentamblingthroughthecitystreets,veryonestopped."whoisthis?"askedtheking."seizehim!"theguardscameup,butsamphirestarboardraisedahandandthediamondonhisfingersparkledinthesunlight.
"mydaughtersring!"exclaimedtheking.
"yes,"saidthedaughter,"thismanwasmyrescuerandwillbemybridegroom."
samphirestarboardtoldthestory,reenthoughhewaswithseaweed,samphiretookhisplacebesidethebridecladinwhiteandwasjoinedtoherinmatrimony.
(rivieraligurediponente)
notes:
"themanwreathedinseaweed"(luomoverdedalghe)fromandrews,7,menton,toldbythewidowlavigna.
thisseataletransferstoanunusualsettingaplotwellknownthroughouteurope:thatoftheyoungerbrotherwhogoesdownintothewelltofreetheprincessandissubsequentlyabandonedtherehimself(yno.78).andrewsscollectionoftalespresentsnomorethanbriefsummariesinfrench;forthistale,then,aswellasthefollowing,takenfromthesamecompilation,igavefreereintomyimaginationinsupplyingdetails,sethenamebaciccintribordo(giovannibattistastarboard)riginaltext,theprincessisabductedbyadragoninsteadofbyanoctopus,andthedragonchangesintoabarnacle,whichseemedtometooeasytocatch.
copyright:italianfolktalesselectedandretoldbyitalocalvino,
translatedbygeorgemartin,
pantheonbooks,newyork1980
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