In the Thompson Motif Index, this is ATU 2030 old woman and her pig (but with an obstinate child instead of an obstinate animal).
The author was not really into the spirit of the cumulative tale and simply skipped over the last bit, providing just a summary, even though the Sicilian original is complete. So, I took the liberty of filling in what the mother said to the rope, to the mouse, and to the cat. As far as I am concerned, the longer the chain, the better, but Professor Crane apparently ran out of patience. :-)
Want more? Click here for previous Stories-of-the-Day.
PITIDDA
Once upon a time there was a mother who had a daughter named Pitidda. She said to her: "Go sweep the house."
"Give me some bread first."
"I cannot," she answered.
When her mother saw that she would not sweep the house, she called the wolf. "Wolf, go kill Pitidda, for Pitidda will not sweep the house."
"I can't," said the wolf.
"Dog, go kill the wolf," said the mother, "for the wolf will not kill Pitidda, for Pitidda will not sweep the house."
"I can't," said the dog.
"Stick, go kill the dog, for the dog will not kill the wolf, for the wolf won't kill Pitidda, for Pitidda won't sweep the house."
"I can't," said the stick.
"Fire, burn stick, for stick won't kill dog, for dog won't kill wolf, for wolf won't kill Pitidda, for Pitidda won't sweep the house."
"I can't," said the fire.
"Water, quench fire, for fire won't burn stick, for stick won't kill dog, for dog won't kill wolf, for wolf won't kill Pitidda, for Pitidda won't sweep the house."
"I can't."
"Cow, go drink water, for water won't quench fire, for fire won't burn stick, for stick won't kill dog, for dog won't kill wolf, for wolf won't kill Pitidda, for Pitidda won't sweep the house."
"I can't," said the cow.
"Rope, go choke cow, for cow won't drink water, for water won't quench fire, for fire won't burn stick, for stick won't kill dog, for dog won't kill wolf, for wolf won't kill Pitidda, for Pitidda won't sweep the house."
"I can't," said the rope.
"Mouse, go gnaw rope, for rope won't choke cow, for cow won't drink water, for water won't quench fire, for fire won't burn stick, for stick won't kill dog, for dog won't kill wolf, for wolf won't kill Pitidda, for Pitidda won't sweep the house."
"I can't," said the mouse.
"Cat, go eat mouse, for mouse won't gnaw rope, for rope won't choke cow, for cow won't drink water, for water won't quench fire, for fire won't burn stick, for stick won't kill dog, for dog won't kill wolf, for wolf won't kill Pitidda, for Pitidda won't sweep the house."
The cat runs and begins to eat the mouse,
the mouse runs and begins to gnaw the rope,
the rope to choke the cow,
the cow to drink the water,
the water to quench the fire,
the fire to burn the stick,
the stick to kill the dog,
the dog to kill the wolf,
the wolf to kill Pitidda,
Pitidda to sweep the house,
and her mother runs and gives her some bread.
NOTES
LXXVIII. * Pitidda. (Sicilian, Pitrè, No. 131, Pitidda) 248
The next story is one that has always enjoyed great popularity over the whole of Europe, and is a most interesting example of the diffusion of nursery tales. It is also interesting from the attempt to show that it is of comparatively late date, and has been borrowed from a people not of European extraction. [The discussion of this point may best be found in the following works: Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes of England (Percy Soc. IV.), London, 1842, pp. 2, 159; Romania, I. p. 218; and Un Canto popolare piemontese e un Canto religioso popolare israelitico. Note e confronti di Cesare Foa, Padova, 1879. The references to the other European versions of this story may be found in Romania, No. 28, p. 546 (Cosquin, No. 34), and Köhler in Zeit. f. rom. Phil. III. 156.]
The story belongs to the class of what may be called "accumulative" stories, of which "The House that Jack built" is a good example. It is a version of the story so well known in English of the old woman who found a little crooked sixpence, and went to market and bought a little pig. As she was coming home the pig would not go over the stile. The old woman calls on a dog to bite pig, but the dog will not. Then she calls in turn on a stick, fire, water, ox, butcher, rope, rat, and cat. They all refuse to help her except the cat, which promises help in exchange for a saucer of milk. "So away went the old woman to the cow. But the cow said to her: 'If you will go to yonder hay-stack and fetch me a handful of hay, I'll give you the milk.' So away went the old woman to the hay-stack; and she brought the hay to the cow. As soon as the cow had eaten the hay, she gave the old woman the milk; and away she went with it in a saucer to the cat.
"As soon as the cat had lapped up the milk, the cat began to kill the rat; the rat to gnaw the rope; the rope began to hang the butcher; the butcher began to kill the ox; the ox began to drink the water; the water began to quench the fire; the fire began to burn the stick; the stick began to beat the dog; the dog began to bite the pig; the little pig in a fright jumped over the stile, and so the old woman got home that night." [Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes, p. 160.]
The Italian versions may be divided into two classes: first, where the animals and inanimate objects are invoked to punish some human being; second, where all the actors are animals. The first version of the first class that we shall give is from Sicily, Pitrè, No. 131, and is called: Pitidda.
[There is a poetical version of this story in Vigo, Raccolta amplissima di Canti pop. sicil. 2da ediz. Catania, 1870-1874, No. 4251, beginning:—
"Susi, Bittudda
Va scupa la casa.
—Signura, non pozzu
Mi doli lu cozzu," etc.
The ending, however, is incomplete.]
The Italian story, it will be seen, has a moral. The animals, etc., are invoked to punish a disobedient child. In the Neapolitan version a mother sends her son to gather some fodder for the cattle. He does not wish to go until he has had some macaroni that his mother has just cooked. She promises to keep him some, and he departs. While he is gone the mother eats up all the macaroni, except a small bit. When her son returns, and sees how little is left for him, he begins to cry and refuses to eat; and his mother calls on stick, fire, water, ox, rope, mouse, and cat to make her son obey, and eat the macaroni. [Imbriani, Pomiglianesi, p. 232, "Micco."] The disobedient son is also found in two Tuscan versions, one from Siena, and one from Florence, which are almost identical. [The version from Siena is in Saggio di Letture varie per i Giovani di T. Gradi, Torino, 1865, p. 175, "La Novella di Petuzzo;" the Tuscan (Florence) version is in Imbriani, Nov. fior. p. 548, "Petruzzo." Another Tuscan version may be found in Nerucci, Cincelle da Bambini, No. 7; and one from Apulia in Archivio, III. p. 69.]
In the Venetian version, a naughty boy will not go to school, and his mother invokes dog, stick, fire, water, ox, butcher, and soldier. [Bernoni, Punt. III. p. 72, "Petin-Petele."]
~ ~ ~
If you want to see the Sicilian original, it is online at Hathi [Tradizioni popolari siciliane by Giuseppe Pitrè]. I've included here the ending of the story:
Gattu, va' mànciati lu surci,
ca lu surci nun voli arrusicari lu lazzu,
ca lu lazzu nun voli affucari a la vacca,
ca la vacca nun voli viviri l'acqua,
ca l'acqua nun voli astutari a lu focu,
ca lu focu nun voli abbruciari a la mazza,
ca la mazza nun voli ammazzari a lu cani,
ca lu cani nun voli ammazzari a Pitidda,
ca Pitidda nun voli scupari la casa.
And here is how the story is resolved:
Curri lu gattu
e si va a mancia lu surci,
curri lu surci
e si va a rusica lu lazzu,
curri lu lazzu
e va a'ffuca la vacca,
curri la vacca
e si va vivi l'acqua,
curri l'acqua
e va a'stuta lu focu,
curri lu focu
e va a ardi la mazza,
curri la mazza
e va a'mmazza lu cani,
curri lu cani
e va a'mmazza a lu lupu,
curri lu lupu
e va' a'mmazza a Pitidda,
curri Pitidda
e va a scupa la casa,
curri la matri
e ci duna lu pani.
CHAIN: daughter - wolf - dog - stick - fire - water - cow - rope - mouse - cat
No comments:
Post a Comment