"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