A Gata da Lareira

Era uma vez uma professora viúva que tinha uma filha muito feia. Tinha também uma aluna muito bonita, filha de um viajante que vivia na mesma aldeia. A professora afeiçoou-se ao pai da menina e todos os dias pedia-lhe que fosse perguntar ao pai se ele queria casar com ela, prometendo-lhe papas feitas com mel.

Once there was a widowed schoolmistress who had a very plain daughter. She also had a very pretty pupil, the daughter of a traveller who lived in the same village. The mistress grew fond of the girl's father and every day asked her to go ask her father whether he wished to marry her, promising her porridge made with honey.

O pai respondia sempre que não, pois bem sabia que quem hoje prometia papas com mel, amanhã daria papas com fel. Mas a filha insistia tanto, a chorar, que o pai, para a consolar, disse que mandaria fazer umas botas de ferro e que quando essas botas apodrecem de velhas, casaria com a professora. A menina correu a contar à professora, que a instruiu a molhar as botas todos os dias. Assim fez, e as botas desfizeram-se rapidamente. O pai cumpriu a palavra e casou.

The father always replied no, for he well knew that whoever today promised porridge with honey, tomorrow would give porridge with gall. But his daughter insisted so much, weeping, that the father, to comfort her, said he would have iron boots made, and that when those boots rotted with age, he would marry the mistress. The girl ran to tell the mistress, who instructed her to wet the boots every day. She did so, and the boots fell apart quickly. The father kept his word and married.

Enquanto o pai estava em casa, a menina era tratada com carinho. Mas, mal ele saía, a madrasta maltratava-a. Mandava-a guardar a vaca com uma broa que devia trazer inteira ao fim do dia e um pote de barro cheio de água que devia trazer cheio também. Um dia, ordenou-lhe que enrolasse meadas de linho até à noite. A menina chorava de desespero, mas a vaca consolou-a: disse-lhe para enfiar o novelo nos seus cornos e assim o linho ficaria enrolado sozinho. A vaca tirou ainda o miolo do pão com um dos cornos, tapou o buraco e devolveu-lhe a broa inteira.

While the father was at home, the girl was treated with kindness. But the moment he left, the stepmother mistreated her. She sent her to herd the cow with a loaf of bread that she had to bring back whole by the end of the day, and an earthenware pot full of water she had to bring back full too. One day, she ordered her to wind skeins of linen until evening. The girl wept in despair, but the cow comforted her: it told her to thread the skein onto its horns and the linen would wind itself. The cow also took the bread's crumb out with one of its horns, plugged the hole, and returned the loaf whole.

A madrasta, ao ver a tarefa cumprida, ficou furiosa. Suspeitando da vaca, ordenou que a matassem. A menina chorou muito, mas a vaca disse-lhe para não se afligir: quando fossem lavar as tripas num tanque, devia ficar atenta ao que visse sair delas. A menina obedeceu e, ao lavar as tripas, viu uma bola de ouro cair na água. Mergulhou no tanque a procurá-la e encontrou-se dentro de uma casa toda em desordem. Com cuidado, foi arrumando tudo.

The stepmother, seeing the task completed, was furious. Suspecting the cow, she ordered it killed. The girl wept bitterly, but the cow told her not to grieve: when they went to wash the entrails in a tank, she should pay attention to what she saw come out of them. The girl obeyed and, while washing the entrails, she saw a ball of gold fall into the water. She dived into the tank to look for it and found herself inside a house in complete disarray. Carefully, she began to tidy everything up.

De repente ouviu passos. Na pressa, escondeu-se atrás da porta. As fadas entraram e um cão veio com elas. O cão farejou-a e começou a ladrar: "Au, au, atrás da porta está alguém que nos fez bem e que nos há de fazer mais." As fadas encontraram-na e, em vez de a castigar, ofereceram-lhe três dons: tornaram-na a rapariga mais bonita que se podia ver; quando abrisse a boca, pérolas e ouro cairiam dos seus lábios; e por fim deram-lhe uma varinha mágica que realizaria todos os seus desejos.

Suddenly she heard footsteps. In her haste, she hid behind the door. The fairies entered and a dog came with them. The dog sniffed her out and began to bark: "Bow-wow, behind the door stands someone who has done us good and will do us more." The fairies found her and, rather than punishing her, offered her three gifts: they made her the most beautiful girl that could be seen; when she opened her mouth, pearls and gold would fall from her lips; and finally they gave her a magic wand that would grant her every wish.

Ao voltar a casa, a filha da madrasta viu-a chegar e gritou: "Ó mãe, a gata da lareira voltou!" A madrasta correu a cumprimentá-la e perguntou-lhe onde estivera. A menina, conforme as fadas tinham instruído, contou o contrário do que vira: que havia encontrado a casa toda arrumada e que ela desorganizara tudo. A madrasta logo mandou a própria filha ao mesmo lugar. Mas a filha fez tudo ao contrário: chegou à casa e desorganizou tudo. Quando as fadas chegaram e o cão ladrou, disseram que ela fizera mal e sempre faria mais mal, e lançaram-lhe três maldições: ficou a mais feia de todas, da boca saía-lhe todo o tipo de sujidade quando falava, e tornou-se a mais miserável do mundo.

On returning home, the stepmother's daughter saw her arrive and shouted: "Oh mother, the hearth-cat has come back!" The stepmother ran to greet her and asked where she had been. The girl, as the fairies had instructed, told the opposite of what she had seen: that she had found the house all tidy and had messed everything up. The stepmother immediately sent her own daughter to the same place. But the daughter did everything the wrong way: she arrived at the house and disarranged everything. When the fairies came and the dog barked, they said she had done harm and would always do more harm, and they cast three curses on her: she became the ugliest of all, all manner of filth came from her mouth when she spoke, and she became the most wretched in the world.

A madrasta, furiosa com o resultado, mandou a enteada para a lareira: era a gata da lareira e era lá que devia ficar. Num certo dia, a madrasta e a filha foram às corridas. Mal saíram, a menina pediu à sua varinha mágica um vestido precioso, botas e chapéu, adornando-se de alto a baixo. Foi às corridas e ficou em frente ao palco real. A filha da professora, ao vê-la, pôs-se a gritar: "Ó mãe, aquela bonita donzela é a nossa gata da lareira!" A mãe, para a calar, disse-lhe que não podia ser, pois ela ficara em casa fechada à chave.

The stepmother, furious at the outcome, sent her stepdaughter to the hearth: she was the hearth-cat and that was where she should stay. One day, the stepmother and daughter went to the races. The moment they left, the girl asked her magic wand for a precious dress, boots and a hat, adorning herself from head to toe. She went to the races and stood in front of the royal stand. The schoolmistress's daughter, on seeing her, began to shout: "Oh mother, that beautiful maiden is our hearth-cat!" The mother, to silence her, said it could not be, as she had stayed home under lock and key.

O rei, que a vira, ficou apaixonado. Nos dias seguintes a menina voltou às corridas com vestidos ainda mais esplêndidos, pedidos à varinha. Cada vez mais enamorado, o rei não conseguia encontrá-la antes de ela partir a correr. Na terceira vez, na pressa de entrar na carruagem, ela perdeu uma sapatilha. O rei apanhou-a e voltou ao palácio já enfermo de amor. A sapatilha tinha gravadas umas letras que diziam: "Este sapato só cabe na sua dona."

The king, who had seen her, fell in love. In the following days the girl returned to the races in ever more splendid dresses, requested from the wand. Ever more enamoured, the king could not find her before she departed running. On the third occasion, in her hurry to enter the carriage, she lost a slipper. The king picked it up and returned to the palace already lovesick. The slipper had letters engraved on it that said: "This shoe fits only its owner."

Percorreram todo o reino à procura da donzela cujo pé encaixasse na sapatilha, mas ninguém a conseguia calçar. A professora foi ao palácio e tentou, mas sem êxito. A filha também tentou e também falhou. Só faltava a gata da lareira. O rei perguntou à professora se havia mais alguma rapariga em casa, e ela admitiu que só restava a gata da lareira, mas que nunca na vida ela calçara uma sapatilha daquelas. O rei mandou trazê-la. Quando a menina meteu o pezinho na sapatilha, encaixou perfeitamente. O rei ficou encantado e casou com ela. Quanto à madrasta e à sua filha, mandou-as pôr à morte, pois a sua crueldade e inveja haviam chegado ao fim.

They searched the whole kingdom for the maiden whose foot would fit the slipper, but no one could wear it. The schoolmistress went to the palace and tried, but without success. Her daughter also tried and also failed. Only the hearth-cat remained. The king asked the mistress whether there was any other girl at home, and she admitted that only the hearth-cat was left, but that she had never in her life worn a slipper like that. The king had her brought in. When the girl slipped her little foot into the slipper, it fitted perfectly. The king was enchanted and married her. As for the stepmother and her daughter, he had them put to death, for their cruelty and envy had come to an end.