The seven ravens


I sette corvi


There was once a man who had seven sons, and still he had no daughter, however much he wished for one. At length his wife again gave him hope of a child, and when it came into the world it was a girl. The joy was great, but the child was sickly and small, and had to be privately baptized on account of its weakness. The father sent one of the boys in haste to the spring to fetch water for the baptism. The other six went with him, and as each of them wanted to be first to fill it, the jug fell into the well. There they stood and did not know what to do, and none of them dared to go home. As they still did not return, the father grew impatient, and said, "They have certainly forgotten it for some game, the wicked boys!" He became afraid that the girl would have to die without being baptized, and in his anger cried, "I wish the boys were all turned into ravens." Hardly was the word spoken before he heard a whirring of wings over his head in the air, looked up and saw seven coal-black ravens flying away.
The parents could not recall the curse, and however sad they were at the loss of their seven sons, they still to some extent comforted themselves with their dear little daughter, who soon grew strong and every day became more beautiful. For a long time she did not know that she had had brothers, for her parents were careful not to mention them before her, but one day she accidentally heard some people saying of herself, "that the girl was certainly beautiful, but that in reality she was to blame for the misfortune which had befallen her seven brothers." Then she was much troubled, and went to her father and mother and asked if it was true that she had had brothers, and what had become of them? The parents now dared keep the secret no longer, but said that what had befallen her brothers was the will of Heaven, and that her birth had only been the innocent cause. But the maiden took it to heart daily, and thought she must deliver her brothers. She had no rest or peace until she set out secretly, and went forth into the wide world to trace out her brothers and set them free, let it cost what it might. She took nothing with her but a little ring belonging to her parents as a keepsake, a loaf of bread against hunger, a little pitcher of water against thirst, and a little chair as a provision against weariness.
And now she went continually onwards, far, far to the very end of the world. Then she came to the sun, but it was too hot and terrible, and devoured little children. Hastily she ran away, and ran to the moon, but it was far too cold, and also awful and malicious, and when it saw the child, it said, "I smell, I smell the flesh of men." On this she ran swiftly away, and came to the stars, which were kind and good to her, and each of them sat on its own particular little chair. But the morning star arose, and gave her the drumstick of a chicken, and said, "If you thou hast not that drumstick thou canst not open the Glass mountain, and in the Glass mountain are thy brothers."
The maiden took the drumstick, wrapped it carefully in a cloth, and went onwards again until she came to the Glass mountain. The door was shut, and she thought she would take out the drumstick; but when she undid the cloth, it was empty, and she had lost the good star's present. What was she now to do? She wished to rescue her brothers, and had no key to the Glass mountain. The good sister took a knife, cut off one of her little fingers, put it in the door, and succeeded in opening it. When she had gone inside, a little dwarf came to meet her, who said, "My child, what are you looking for?" - "I am looking for my brothers, the seven ravens," she replied. The dwarf said, "The lord ravens are not at home, but if you will wait here until they come, step in." Thereupon the little dwarf carried the ravens' dinner in, on seven little plates, and in seven little glasses, and the little sister ate a morsel from each plate, and from each little glass she took a sip, but in the last little glass she dropped the ring which she had brought away with her.
Suddenly she heard a whirring of wings and a rushing through the air, and then the little dwarf said, "Now the lord ravens are flying home." Then they came, and wanted to eat and drink, and looked for their little plates and glasses. Then said one after the other, "Who has eaten something from my plate? Who has drunk out of my little glass? It was a human mouth." And when the seventh came to the bottom of the glass, the ring rolled against his mouth. Then he looked at it, and saw that it was a ring belonging to his father and mother, and said, "God grant that our sister may be here, and then we shall be free." When the maiden, who was standing behind the door watching, heard that wish, she came forth, and on this all the ravens were restored to their human form again. And they embraced and kissed each other, and went joyfully home.
Un uomo aveva sette figli maschi e neanche una bimba, per quanto la desiderasse. Finalmente la moglie si trovò a essere di nuovo incinta e diede alla luce una femmina. Tuttavia, anche se molto bella, ella era piccola e gracile e tanto debole che dovettero battezzarla subito. Il padre inviò di fretta uno dei ragazzi alla fonte a prendere l'acqua per il battesimo, ma anche gli altri sei corsero con lui. E siccome ciascuno voleva essere il primo a attingere l'acqua, la brocca cadde loro nella fonte. Allora se ne stettero là confusi, senza sapere cosa fare, e nessuno osava ritornare a casa. Nel frattempo il padre temeva che la bimba morisse senza battesimo, e non capiva perché‚ i ragazzi tardassero tanto. -Sicuramente- diss'egli -si saranno persi dietro a un qualche gioco!- e siccome continuavano a non venire, adirato, inveì dicendo: -Vorrei che diventassero tutti corvi!-. Aveva appena pronunciato queste parole che udì un frullio nell'aria, sopra il suo capo: alzò lo sguardo e vide sette corvi, neri come il carbone, alzarsi in volo e sparire. I genitori non poterono più ritrattare la maledizione e, per quanto fossero tristi per la perdita dei loro sette figli, si consolarono tuttavia in qualche modo con la loro cara figlioletta che riacquistò ben presto le forze, facendosi ogni giorno più bella. Per lungo tempo ella non seppe neppure di avere avuto dei fratelli, perché‚ i genitori si guardavano dal farne cenno davanti a lei; finché‚ un giorno sentì dire per caso che sì, era bella, ma in fondo era responsabile della sventura toccata ai suoi sette fratelli. La fanciulla ne fu molto afflitta, andò dal padre e dalla madre e domandò se avesse avuto dei fratelli e dove fossero finiti. I genitori, così, non poterono più nasconderle il segreto, ma dissero che si trattava della volontà celeste, e che la sua nascita non era stata che l'innocente pretesto. Ma la fanciulla se lo rimproverava ogni giorno, ed era fermamente convinta di dover liberare i suoi fratelli. Non ebbe pace n‚ tregua, finché‚ un giorno partì di nascosto e se ne andò in giro per il mondo alla ricerca dei suoi fratelli per liberarli a qualunque costo. Non prese altro con s‚ che un anellino dei suoi genitori, un tozzo di pane per la fame, una brocchetta d'acqua per la sete, e una seggiolina per la stanchezza. Cammina cammina, arrivò ai confini del mondo. Andò al sole, ma era troppo caldo e spaventoso e divorava i bambini piccoli. Scappò in fretta e andò dalla luna, ma era troppo fredda e anche lei crudele e cattiva e, quando si accorse della bambina, disse: -Sento odore, sento odore di carne umana!-. Ella allora corse via in fretta e andò dalle stelle, ed esse furono gentili e buone con lei, sedute ciascuna sulla propria seggiolina. La stella mattutina si alzò, le diede un ossicino di pollo e disse: -Senza quest'ossicino non puoi aprire il monte di vetro dove sono i tuoi fratelli-. La fanciulla prese l'ossicino, lo avvolse per bene in un fazzoletto e camminò finché‚ giunse al monte di vetro. Il portone era chiuso ed ella volle prendere l'ossicino; aprì il fazzoletto, ma ecco che era vuoto: aveva perduto il dono delle buone stelle. Che fare? Voleva salvare i suoi fratelli e non aveva la chiave per il monte di vetro. La buona sorellina prese allora un coltello, si tagliò il dito mignolo, lo mise nella serratura e aprì facilmente la porta. Appena fu entrata le andò incontro un nano che disse: -Bimba mia, che cerchi?-. -Cerco i miei fratelli, i sette corvi- rispose ella. Il nano disse: -I signori corvi non sono in casa, ma se vuoi aspettare finché‚ tornano, entra pure-. Poi il nano portò la cena dei sette corvi su sette piattini e in sette bicchierini, ed ella mangiò una briciola da ciascun piattino e bevve un piccolo sorso da ciascun bicchierino; nell'ultimo invece lasciò cadere l'anello che aveva portato con s‚. D'un tratto udì un frullo e nell'aria passò come un soffio di vento, e il nano disse: -I signori corvi tornano a casa!-. Essi entrarono, volevano bere e mangiare e cercarono i loro piattini e i loro bicchierini. Allora, uno dopo l'altro, dissero: -Chi ha mangiato dal mio piattino? Chi ha bevuto dal mio bicchierino? E' stata una bocca umana!-. E quando il settimo giunse al fondo del bicchiere, l'anellino gli rotolò giù. Guardandolo si accorse che era un anello dei genitori e disse: -Volesse Iddio che la nostra sorellina fosse qua! Saremmo liberati-. Udite queste parole, la fanciulla, che stava a sentire dietro la porta, si fece avanti, e tutti i corvi riacquistarono figura umana. Si abbracciarono, si baciarono e ritornarono felicemente a casa.