Brides on their trial


La scelta della sposa


There was once a young shepherd who wished much to marry, and was acquainted with three sisters who were all equally pretty, so that it was difficult to him to make a choice, and he could not decide to give the preference to any one of them. Then he asked his mother for advice, and she said, "Invite all three, and set some cheese before them, and watch how they eat it." The youth did so; the first, however, swallowed the cheese with the rind on; the second hastily cut the rind off the cheese, but she cut it so quickly that she left much good cheese with it, and threw that away also; the third peeled the rind off carefully, and cut neither too much nor too little. The shepherd told all this to his mother, who said, "Take the third for thy wife." This he did, and lived contentedly and happily with her.
C'era una volta un giovane pastore che si sarebbe sposato volentieri, e conosceva tre sorelle, una più bella dell'altra, sicché‚ la scelta era difficile, ed egli non sapeva decidere a chi dare la preferenza. Allora domandò consiglio a sua madre, che disse: -Invitale tutt'e tre, offri loro del formaggio e guarda come lo tagliano-. E così fece; ma la prima inghiottì il formaggio con la crosta; la seconda tagliò via la crosta in gran furia, così di furia che vi lasciò attaccato del formaggio, e buttò via tutto insieme; la terza invece, levò la crosta per bene, n‚ troppo n‚ poco. Il pastore raccontò tutto a sua madre, che disse: -Sposa la terza-. Così egli fece, e visse con lei, felice e contento.