This is post #1 of my penance after I have been blacklisted by @hivewatchers for plagiarizing.
No need to upvote this post, as the payout has been declined.
THE SWORD OF SAINT PETER
Source
"Queen, is this child yours?"
"Yes, King of the Pagans, he is mine. The Good Lord made him born deaf and dumb."
But the King of the Pagans was wary.
“Little one, it was I who killed your father."
The child did not flinch.
But the King of the Pagans was wary.
“Little one, I’m going to kill you."
The child did not flinch.
But the King of the Pagans was wary.
“Little one, I’m going to kill your mother."
The child did not flinch.
Then, the King of the Pagans was no longer suspicious and believed that the child was really deaf and mute.
“Queen,” he said, “I am madly in love with you. You must be my wife. Otherwise, I will kill you and your child."
"King of the Pagans, kill my child if it pleases you. I am ashamed of having done this cripple. Perhaps I would also give you other children like him."
"Queen, I don’t care. You must be my wife. Otherwise, I will kill you and your child."
"King of the Pagans, give me time to mourn."
"Queen, you must be my wife tomorrow. Otherwise, I will kill you and your child."
"King of the Pagans, you will be obeyed."
The queen returned to her room and went to bed with her child. Then she cried all the tears in her eyes.
"Holy Virgin! And to think that tomorrow I will be the wife of the King of the Pagans."
The little one was silent and pretended to be asleep.
The next day, the queen jumped out of bed early and put on her sun-colored dress. As she got dressed, she cried tears from her eyes.
"Holy Virgin! And to think that today I am going to be the wife of the King of the Pagans."
The little one was silent and pretended to be asleep.
Finally, the queen came out. She returned three hours later. The little one was silent, but he no longer pretended to be asleep.
Then the queen spoke.
“We are both alone, very alone."
"Mother, I know where you come from, with your sun-colored dress. You have just married the King of the Pagans."
"My poor son, it’s true. When you grow up big and strong, don’t forget what I endured for you.
"Mother, you will be obeyed."
Nine months later, the queen gave birth to a boy, who was not baptized. On him, as on his father, iron and hardened steel lost all power. He screamed like someone possessed by the Devil. The King of the Pagans laughed and rubbed his hands.
“Here is one who is not deaf and dumb, like this cripple, whom I am wrong to let live."
"King of the Pagans, kill this cripple if it pleases you. I would let him live. Soon we will be able to make a little valet out of it."
This is what the queen said. But she thought:
"Holy Virgin! What shame! I am the mother of a Pagan. When my eldest son is big and strong, he will not forget what I endured for him."
Until the age of fourteen, the king's son lived in the castle, always acting as if he were deaf and mute. Since the day she married the King of the Pagans, her mother had not said a word to him. But one evening the queen spoke.
“We are both alone, very alone."
"Listen. My poor son, you are no longer a child. In seven years you will be a man. Here, take this stick. Take this purse. Go travel the world. You will send me your news in secret. Find the sword of Saint Peter. My poor son, when you are big and strong, don't forget what I endure for you.
"Mother, you will be obeyed."
The boy saluted his mother and left.
Source: L’Épée de saint Pierre, from the French book Contes populaires de la Gascogne, tome 1, published in 1886.
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.
In this tale, we have Christians and Pagans.
"Christian" here means "Roman Catholic. The French people have been Roman Catholic for a long time. Starting in the XVth century, the kings of France have been titled "Fils aîné de l'Église" (Eldest Son of the Church). And in the XIXth century,France started to be called "Fille ainée de l'Église" (Eldest Daughter of the Church).
Here the "Pagans" may have been a reference to the Arabs. Garcony is north of the Pyrenees, the mountains that separate France from Spain. In the year 711, the Arabs had conquered Spain. The Arabs tried to conquer Gaul (which was not yet called France) for several decades, but the local armies resisted successfully. In particular, the Arabs were defeated in 732 in the Battle of Poitiers (also known as the Battle of Tours). They were finally ousted from Gaul in 759.
So, the Arabs had invaded Gascony. Because they were Muslims, they were deemed to be "Pagans".
In the tale, to avoid her son being killed by the King of the Pagans, the queen instructs her seven-year-old son to play deaf and dumb. I don't know about you, but I am sure that no normal boy of this age can fake to be deaf and dumb for very long. Especially if he is tested with threats of killing him or his mother. But, this is a folk tale, and as in other folk tales, this son of a king is a hero and is capable of uncommon acts.
As I said yesterday, my wife is from Pécs in Hungary. She was a student at a high school in Pécs in the 1970s. Most of the students in her graduating class stayed in touch over the years.
Yesterday, she had invited five of her classmates to her house near her vineyard.
For the meal, Kati had prepared a very Hungarian dish: chicken paprikash with nokedli. To make the noodles, she used a special device that dropped pieces of dough in boiling water.
When the noodles are floating on the water, she fishes them and it's done.
One of her classmates came especially from Budapest by train. Another one owns a good vineyard and makes better wines than us; he had brought three bottles of his wine: one white, one rosé, and one red. The food and the wine were very good and everybody had a good time.