This is post #5 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 SWORD OF SAINT PETER
Source
For a long, long time, the king's son and the man with the red hair traveled underground, without ever meeting anyone. In the bag, they found every morning, just enough bread not to starve. In the flask, they found every morning, just enough wine not to die of thirst. Finally, they arrived under the mountain of Calvary, where Our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. There was a large and beautiful church, where seven hundred candles and seven hundred lamps burned night and day. However, no one ever entered there. On the high altar of the great church, the king's son took the sword of Saint Peter. Then he knelt and prayed to God. This done, he looked around for his companion.
Misfortune! The red-haired man was no longer there. The iron door of the large church was triple-locked. Outside, the red-haired man pushed the bolts and shouted:
“Ha! ha! ha! I am Judas Iscariot. Ha! ha! ha! You wanted Saint Peter's sword! Ha! ha! ha! Now try to get out of here!"
Judas Iscariot left. Then the king's son began to think very sadly.
“Saint Peter said to me: “You are not at the end of your trials." Saint Peter did not lie. Mother of God, who will get me out of here?"
Then the king's son shouted loudly:
“Quiou uiou quiou."
But the woodpecker did not come.
Then the king's son whistled loudly:
“Tziou tziou tziou."
But the seven lizards did not come.
For a whole year, the king's son lived like this, alone, under the mountain of Calvary, in the great church where seven hundred candles and seven hundred lamps burned night and day. In his bag, every morning, he found just enough bread not to starve. In his flask, he found every morning, just enough wine not to die of thirst. Finally, he heard screaming underground.
“Tziou tziou tziou."
An hour later, the seven lizards had opened a hole in the pavement of the large church that a man could pass through.
“Tziou tziou tziou. Young man, we heard you underground. But it took us a whole year to make a way for you. Quickly, quickly, take the sword of Saint Peter, and be on your way."
"Lizards, you will be obeyed."
Three days later, the seven lizards brought the king's son back to earth.
“Thank you, lizards. Go back home."
The seven lizards went underground. Then the son shouted loudly:
“Quiou uiou quiou.”
This time the woodpecker heard. It came like a bullet.
“Woodpecker, go and tell my mother: “Your son has finished running around the world. He found the sword of Saint Peter, and he does not forget what you endure for him."
The woodpecker took off like a bullet.
For a whole year, the queen hoped, without seeing anything coming. Finally, a pilgrim from Santiago de Compostela came and knocked at the castle door.
"Bang! Bang! Valets, go tell the queen that I am selling beautiful gold and silver medals, beautiful diamond rosaries, blessed by the Pope of Rome."
The servants obeyed.
“Valets, return to your business."
After the servants had left, the pilgrim of Saint James locked the door within, opened his long robe, and showed the sword of Saint Peter, which hung from his belt.
Then the queen spoke.
“We are both alone, very alone."
"Hello, mother. I'm done traveling the world. I found the sword of Saint Peter. I have not forgotten what you endured for me. Where is the King of the Pagans?"
"My son, the King of the Pagans is hunting, with his son. In less than an hour, they will be back."
"Mother, in less than an hour, the King of the Pagans will have finished doing evil."
"My son, you will only have done half of your work. Holy Virgin! What shame! I am the mother of a Pagan. I hear that the son goes there like the father."
"Mother, Saint Peter said to me: “I want this one not to die because he is your stepbrother."
"My son, I was not born to contradict Saint Peter. But then, I want your brother to be unable to marry."
"Mother, you will be obeyed."
The king's son stripped off his pilgrim's robe, ran to the stable, chose the best horse, put the bridle and saddle on it, and set off at full gallop.
“Ho! King of the Pagans, I am the deaf and mute. King of the Pagans, I have found the sword of Saint Peter. King of the Pagans, beware."
At the first blow of the sword, the King of the Pagans fell pierced.
This done, the king's son dismounted.
“Brother, jump off your horse and get naked as a worm."
What was said was done.
With a stroke of the sword, the king's son castrated his brother.
Both returned to the castle.
“Mother, you are obeyed. Now my brother is unable to get married."
"My sons, I have nothing more to do here. Farewell. I am going to lock myself in a convent and pray to God until death."
The queen left. Then the castrated man asked for baptism and lived like a great saint. Over him, iron and steel had regained their power. The new king married a princess as beautiful as day and honest as gold. They lived happily for a long time.
Cric, Cric,
My tale is done.
Cric, Crac,
My tale is finished.
Source: L’Épée de saint Pierre, from the French book Contes populaires de la Gascogne, tome 1, published in 1886.
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5
Next Tale: The Sleeping Beauty
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.
At the conclusion of each of these tales, the bad guys are always punished and most of the time killed, the good guys are always rewarded, and the sinners repent in a convent for the rest of their life.
This is what happens here. The King of the Pagans is killed, the king's son becomes king, and the queen retires to a convent because she sinned when she married the King of the Pagans and gave him a son.
From the beginning, we guessed that the king's son would succeed in finding the sword of Saint Peter and killing the King of the Pagans.
The woodpecker had already helped the king's son in sending news to her mother.
But, before the end, we did not know how the lizards would help. When they did not show after the king's son called for them from the church under the Calvary, I thought the king's son would have to find a way to exit the church by himself. I was surprised when the three lizards arrived after a year.
How old was the king's son when he finally killed the King of the Pagans?
Let's see. He was 7 years old when his father was killed.
He was 14 years old when his mother sent him away.
He walked for a year before he arrived near the sea, became a shepherd, and helped the woodpecker. He was then 15 years old.
A year later he started to walk again. He was 16 years old.
He walked for a year before he helped the three lizards. He was 17 years old.
Shortly after, he helped Saint Peter. Then he went underground.
We don't know how long he walked underground before and after he met Judas Iscariot. Let's say one year before and one year after. So, he was 19 years old when he arrived at the church under the Calvary.
He stayed there for a year before he was delivered by the three lizards. He was 20 years old when he exited the church,
It took him another year to go back to the castle of his parents. So, he was 21 years old when he arrived there and killed the King of the Pagans.
This is the age when his mother said to him when he was 14 years old, that he will be a man:
My poor son, you are no longer a child. In seven years you will be a man.
The fate of the stepbrother is interesting. He was not guilty of any wrongdoing, but still, he was punished by castration. That is because he was a Pagan, that was not baptized.
It has not rained a lot in Pécs since the beginning of September. But today, it has rained for more than twelve hours and it is going to rain again tomorrow.
Until yesterday, the highest temperature of the day had not been below 25 degrees Celsius. Today it was 18 and tomorrow it will be 14 only. So, up to September 24th, the average high has been above 24 degrees.
From 1991 to 2020, the average high temperature in Pécs in September was 22.2 degrees Celsius.
Starting Monday, the high temperature will be above 23 degrees. So, this year, the average high temperature in Pécs in September will be around 2 degrees higher than between 1991 to 2020.
-- Vincent Celier