This is post #9 of my penance after I have been blacklisted by Hivewatchers for plagiarizing.
No need to upvote this post, as the payout has been declined.
But comments are welcome. I will continue to upvote all meaningful comments.
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY
The king drew his sword, cut a piece of flesh from his thigh, baited the great golden hook blessed by the hand of Jesus Christ, and threw the good line of Saint Peter into the sea. Immediately, he felt a shock that would knock him over; but he held firm, and pulled firm. Finally, the King of Fishes ascended to the sea, like a great serpent.
“King of Fishes, you are wasting your time."
The King of Fishes dove again, and reappeared like floating grass.
“King of Fishes, you are wasting your time."
The King of Fishes dove again, and reappeared, singing, like a mermaid.
“King of Fishes, you are wasting your time."
The King of Fishes dived again, and reappeared, like the mist that rises over the waters.
“King of Fishes, you are wasting your time."
The King of Fishes dove again, and reappeared, like stinking carrion.
“King of Fishes, you are wasting your time."
The King of Fishes dived again, and reappeared, like the king's wife.
“King of Fishes, you are wasting your time."
Finally, the King of Fishes dove again, and reappeared with the form of man.
“Good time, my friend. I have two words to say to you. Get here."
The king drew his sword, took the wicked-haired man, and cut off his head on the side of the boat.
Then the head began to speak.
"Listen. Eat my ears. So you will hear everything that is said on earth, in heaven, and hell. Eat my tongue. So you will speak all the languages of man and beast. Suck my eyes. So you will see everything that happens in the sun, in the moon and the stars."
Then the head fell silent. The king ate his ears, his tongue, and sucked his eyes. So he heard what was happening on earth, in heaven, and hell, and spoke all the languages of man and beast. Thus, he saw everything that happened in the sun, in the moon, and the stars.
This done, the king landed on the island. In the blink of an eye, he was on the high mountain where the queen slept, in the shade of the great oak tree.
“Ho! Cutie, wake up."
“It’s you, king. Our trials are therefore over. Let's quickly return to your country."
They both got back on Saint Peter's boat. Seven days later, they returned to their castle, where they lived happily for a very long time.
Cric, Cric,
My tale is done.
Cric, Crac,
My tale is finished.
Source: La Belle endormie, from the French book Contes populaires de la Gascogne, tome 1, published in 1886.
Next Tale: La Fleur
Hello, my name is Vincent Celier.
I am writing translations of folk tales that I found in public domain French books, so that people who do not understand French may enjoy them too.
Often, in these folk tales, there is repetition of the same sentences or even groups of sentences.
Here, the king is saying six times the same sentence:
“King of Fishes, you are wasting your time."
We also heard three times about "the good line of Spanish horsehair" and "the great golden hook blessed by the hand of Jesus Christ"
As in the tale The Young Man and the Great Beast with a Human Head, when the monster (the King of Fishes or the Great Beast with a Human Head) dies, it starts to speak to the hero who defeated him and explains how he should take advantage of different parts of the dead body.
Two years ago, when we were, Kati and me, in France at my family's big house, we brought back a small shrub: a salvia microphylla 'Forever Red'.
Kati planted it in front of her vineyard house in Pécs.
This kind of plant is practically unknown in Hungary. Everybody who sees it likes it and it is known among Kati's family as the "French plant".
Today, two years after its arrival here, this is how it looks:
It is way bigger. Obviously, it likes it here and it has no problem with the cold winter of Hungary.
-- Vincent Celier