THE WITCH | THE CRAZY BOY
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THE WITCHES
In popular belief, the conviction of the existance of the "janara" Is confirmed by the presumed effectiveness of some practices, generally put in place by wizards, aimed to cancel the curse operated by these women. An emblematic episode, including all the elements that characterize the many stories on this topic Is the following One, referred with worried partecipation by the father of Two Twins remained for a long time victims of janares'spell. Since kids'health conditions were getting worse day after day, so that also the doctor ended up despairing, the parents decided to submit them to a wizard's examination Who initially had no dubts about the nature of the disturb: janare!
Thing soon confirmed by the reading of magic books. The cure was quickly suggested: they needed, in the first Place, to put the strips that enveloped the children in a "nappata"(a sort of tangle made of fabrics) and cover them with sticks, a task assigned to the mother and the Grandmother. Then they had to identify the woman responsable of the spell and force Her to hold in the arms the babies, a necessary condition to obtain a full healing; in addition they had to secure to the kids' body a little bag of cloth, containing the picture of a Saint whom they were particulary devoted. Three consacrated palm leaves, a pinch of terrain picked up under the anterior right paw of a cow.Meanwhile, the father should have visited the wizard for three consecutive nights, this one included. A necessary condition to make the Janara show up in the house of her victims, which happened the second night, when in fact the woman penetrated into the house to “take” the children. Seen this time by the grandmother, awake, but unable to talk because blocked by the janara herself. She, having noticed the vigilant presence of the grandmother, exclaimed:
-Rall tu, che n’ata vot’è! – clearly hinting at the beats she gave to the the nappata.
The following day, while the children were sleeping and the other components of the familly were busy with usual daily tasks, like washing the loundry for the women or working the ground for men, a gipsy showed up. The grandmother recognised her immediately, not only because the woman had been several time begging in that house, but because she was full with bruises. After the gipsy had been quietly watching, for a long time, the work of the women, she said:
-You have got two young children! –
-Yes –
-Children are a sad thing! –
-And how do you know? –
-I know! –
The mother without hesitating any further ran to take the kids, trying to convince her to hold them in her arms, but she refused repeatedly. Then arrived the grandfather of the children, he obtained with threats the so hoped gesture. In exchange, the gipsy asked one hundred lire (italian currency until 2002) destinated, she claimed, to the celebration of a mass and, because this was denied, she begged for at least one of the kids’ strips, in order to make sure that the janara wouldn’t bother them anymore. This was also denied by the women, afraid to make things worse.
-You come to take the children!-
They accused.
The gipsy, frightened, was quiet.
-Who sends you? –
-The mother superior- revealed the gipsy, running away.
After that day the kids recovered quickly.
The wizard reassured the father preannouncing him that his descendants, for seven generations, wouldn’t have been harmed by the janara.
THE CRAZY BOY
Once upon a time, an husband with his wife and seven sons. The last one of them was a little bit Crazy.
One day the king spread the voice that the one able to recognize the skin of a drum and of its drumsticks, existing in the palace, would have received his daughter as bride, clarifying that those Who tried without success would have been hanged. Therefore, six of the sons attempted the venture, but they failed and were hanged. The seventh son, the crazy one, wanted to try, even against his parents' disapproval.
He moved toward the Castle and along the way he noticed a man leaning with his shoulder to the mountain.
-What are You doing? – asked the young boy
-Don't You see? I am holding the mountain! - the man answered.
The boy, surprised by his strength, proposed him to leave the mountain and to follow the same path through the castle, explaining the challenge he was going to make; the man followed him
Further on he Met another man who was killing a lot of cows.
-Why are you killing so many of them? - he asked.
-I am very hungry and I am trying to feed myself! - the man replied.
Same proposal, same explaination. The man accepted. One more time, along the way, he saw another man with the mouth open across the river and he asked him:
-what are you doing? -
-I am waiting the flood of the river to quench my thirst!
Also him was asked to join the others and he was agree.
While they were keeping walking, he didn't miss the weird behaviour of a man fidgeting with an open sack in the hands.
-What are You doing?-
-I am filling the sack with the fog!- He also accepted to follow them.
A little bit further, he saw a man with the ear laid on the ground.
-What are you doing?-
-I am listening to the grass that grows!- the young man asked him to follow and he accepted.
Once arrived to the castle he introduced himself to the king, announcing his willingness to attempt the trial
The king asked him to wait and went to the throne hall, were they were taking the Princes council, to consult these ones.
He referred that a madman wanted to solve the riddle. Meanwhile the boy asked to the man able to hear the grass growing, to eavesdrop what the king was saying. The princes to reassure the king, said:
"Your magesty! Who will guess the skin of this drum? It is lice skin and the sticks are made of fennel"
When the king left the room, the young man didn’t even want to see the drum, he immediately told him that the skin of the drum was of lice and the chopsticks of fennel.
The king, astonished and concerned to give his daughter to a madman, went back to consulting with the Princes who advised him to prepare a table and cook a lot of maccheroni (a type of italian pasta) that they can't finish and say:
“In the house of the great lords no leftovers are accepted’’ - this meant that the surplus of a maccherone would annul the deal.
Than the man who was killing the cows was called by the young man, and he devored everything. The king, increasingly stunned and worried, went to ask for advice to the Princes again who recommended to give him ten win’s barrels. So the young fool seeks help to the man who was near the river and in a moment drank all the wine.
The desperate king adopted the last advice recommended by the Princes, convinced that he had won the challenge. He - put the princess in a robust house.
- If you want the Princess, you have to take her with the whole house!- said to the young man.
But he, as you can imagine, still had winning cards to play! He did not hesitate to ask the intervention of the man who was holding the mountain that pulled the house out of the ground like a twig and ran away with all the others.
At this point the king, not being able to respect the pacts, he decided to order the intervention of the soldiers who began to chase them.
Here the young man, ordered to the man with the bag to release the fog inside and he was able to trick the king and marry the princess.
