Once upon a time, a peasant worked hard to make a living from his land.
Every year his pear tree produced four basketfuls of fruit which had to
be
given to the king, a greedy ruler who grew rich at the expense of the poor.
One year, part of the pear harvest went bad and the peasant was able to
pick only three and a half baskets of fruit. The poor man was beside himself
with fear, for the king refused to take less than four basketfuls, and the
peasant would be cruelly punished.
All he could do was put his youngest daughter into one of the baskets and
cover her with a layer of pears, so that the basket looked full. The king's
servants took away the four baskets without ever noticing the trick, and
the
little girl found herself all alone in the pantry, under the pears.
One day, the cook went into the pantry and discovered her. Nobody could
understand where on earth she had come from, and not knowing what to do
with
her, it was decided she should become a maid in the castle. Folk called
her
Violetta, for her eyes reminded them of the colour of violets.
Violetta was a pretty girl, sweet and generous. One day, as she was
watering the flowers in the royal gardens, she met the king's son, a youth
of
her own age, and the two became friends. The other maids, jealous of
Violetta's beauty and of the affection many people in the castle felt for
the
girl, did everything they could to get her into trouble, by spreading nasty
rumours about her. One day, the king sent for her and said severely:
"I'm told you boast of being able to steal the witches' treasure trove.
Is
that true?" Violetta said 'no,' but the king refused to believe her
and drove
her out of his kingdom.
"You may return only when you have laid hands on the treasure,"
he said.
All Violetta's fondest friends, including the prince, were sorry to hear
of
the king's decision, but could do nothing to stop her going. The girl wandered
through the forest and, when she came to a pear tree, she climbed into its
branches and fell asleep. She was wakened at dawn by an old woman calling
her:
"What are you doing up there, all by yourself?" Violetta told
the old woman
her tale. She offered to help the little girl, gave her some round loaves,
a
broom, a little oil and some good advice, and the girl again set off. She
reached a clearing with a large wood stove and saw three women tearing their
hair, using it to sweep the ashes from the stove. Violetta offered them
the
broom and the women pointed out the way to the witches' palace.
Suddenly, two hungry mastiffs blocked her path. Violetta threw them the
loaves, the dogs ate them and let her pass. Then she came to the bank of
a
river in flood, but remembering the old woman's advice, she sang:
Clear sparkling river
Let me cross over,
and the minute her song wafted into the air, the water stopped flowing.
Violetta thus crossed the river and at last reached the witches' palace.
The
door was unlocked, but Violetta could not push it open for the hinges were
rusted. So she rubbed on a little oil and the door swung open. The little
girl
walked through the empty halls till she came to a splendid room in wich
lay a
magnificent coffer full of jewels. Holding the coffer under her arm, Violetta
made for the door, but the coffer, being enchanted, cried out:
"Door! Don't let her out!" However, the door did open, for Violetta
had
oiled the hinges. Down at the river, the coffer cried out. This time it
said:
"Water! Drown her!" But the river did not stop the little girl
from
crossing; the two mastiffs did not attack ant the three strange women did
not
burn her in their stove. For each, in its own way, repaid the girl's courtesy.
Back at the king's palace again, the prince ran happily to meet Violetta,
telling her:
"When my father asks you what you want as a reward, ask him for the
basket
of pears in the pantry!" And this Violetta did. Pleased at paying such
a
modest price, the king instantly ordered the humble basket to be brought.
But
nobody ever imagined for a minute that underneath the pears lay the prince.
The young man came out of his hiding place, swore he was in love with Violetta
and that he wanted to marry her.
In this way, the king was forced to give his consent. Violetta brought her
family to court and they all began a new and happy life.
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