Pedro e o Príncipe

Era uma vez um rei que tinha um filho único. Em frente ao palácio vivia um homem que tinha um filho chamado Pedro, da mesma idade que o príncipe. Um dia o príncipe disse ao pai que queria fazer uma viagem, mas que gostaria de ir com Pedro, e não com a sua comitiva. O rei, embora estranhasse, mandou preparar os dois melhores cavalos do exército — um para o príncipe e outro para Pedro — e os dois partiram juntos.

Once there was a king who had an only son. Opposite the palace lived a man who had a son named Pedro, of the same age as the prince. One day the prince told his father he wanted to make a journey, but would like to go with Pedro rather than with his retinue. The king, though surprised, had the two finest horses in the army made ready — one for the prince and one for Pedro — and the two set off together.

Viajaram muito, viram muitas terras belas. Ao chegarem a certo lugar, apearam-se. O príncipe disse a Pedro que ficasse a guardar o cavalo enquanto ele ia beber água. O príncipe desapareceu. Pedro, angustiado, correu por todo o lado à sua procura, mas não o encontrou. Ao voltar à cidade, passando junto a uma lagoa, ouviu umas lavadeiras que eram bruxas a rir às gargalhadas e a dizer: «Que tolo! Julgou que ia acompanhar o príncipe e que o rei o recompensaria! Vai desencantá-lo de onde ele está!»

They travelled far and saw many beautiful lands. On arriving at a certain place, they dismounted. The prince told Pedro to watch his horse while he went to drink some water. The prince disappeared. Pedro, anguished, ran everywhere searching for him but could not find him. On returning to the city, passing beside a pond, he heard some washerwomen who were witches laughing in fits and saying: "What a fool! He thought he was going to accompany the prince and be rewarded by the king! Go and disenchant him from where he is!"

Pedro aproximou-se das lavadeiras e implorou-lhes que lhe dissessem onde estava o príncipe. Uma delas, com pena dele, disse-lhe que fosse a um velho palácio ali perto. Pedro foi, entrou, mas não viu ninguém — apenas laranjeiras e limoeiros. Cheio de raiva, começou a arrancar as laranjas e os limões e a atirá-los ao chão. Cada fruto que caía transformava-se num príncipe ou numa princesa que tinha estado encantado, e o seu próprio príncipe ficou desencantado entre todos eles.

Pedro approached the washerwomen and begged them to tell him where the prince was. One of them, taking pity on him, told him to go to an old palace nearby. Pedro went, entered, but saw no one — only orange and lemon trees. Full of rage, he began pulling the oranges and lemons off and throwing them to the ground. Each fruit that fell transformed into a prince or princess who had been spell-bound, and his own prince was disenchanted among them all.

Pedro, cheio de alegria, implorou ao príncipe que regressasse com ele ao seu país. Mas o príncipe avistou uma das princesas desencantadas e apaixonou-se por ela. Disse a Pedro que queria levá-la consigo. Partiu os três, com a princesa. Depois de muitas horas de caminho, estavam exaustos e não encontravam onde ficar. Pedro descobriu um abrigo num quintal e propôs que passassem ali a noite. O príncipe e a princesa aceitaram, muito cansados. Pedro não se deitou: ficou de sentinela, armado, junto à janela.

Pedro, full of joy, begged the prince to return with him to his own country. But the prince caught sight of one of the disenchanted princesses and fell in love with her. He told Pedro he wished to take her with him. The three set off together with the princess. After many hours of travel they were exhausted and could find nowhere to stay. Pedro discovered a shelter in a courtyard and suggested they spend the night there. The prince and princess accepted, very tired. Pedro did not lie down: he stood as sentry, armed, beside the window.

A meio da noite, Pedro ouviu bruxas a rir no telhado do abrigo. Ouvia o que diziam: «Que tolo! Julgou que ia acompanhar o príncipe e a princesa até casa! A primeira coisa que acontecerá à princesa é que encontrará uma mula bonita e vai querer montá-la. Ao montá-la, morrerá; e quem ouvir isto e o repetir será transformado em mármore.» Uma segunda bruxa disse: «Desse perigo se livrará, mas verá uma pereira com peras muito boas que desejará provar; ao comê-las será envenenada; e quem ouvir e contar será transformado em mármore!»

In the middle of the night, Pedro heard witches laughing on the roof of the shelter. He listened to what they said: "What a fool! He thought he was going to accompany the prince and princess all the way home! The first thing that will happen to the princess is that she will find a beautiful mule and will want to ride it. On riding it she will die; and whoever hears this and repeats it shall be turned to marble." A second witch said: "From that danger she shall be delivered, but she will see a pear tree with very fine pears she will wish to taste; on eating them she will be poisoned; and whoever hears and tells shall be turned to marble!"

Uma terceira bruxa acrescentou: «Desse perigo se livrará, mas encontrarão uma ponte magnífica que ela desejará atravessar; ao atravessá-la a ponte cederá; e quem ouvir e contar será transformado em mármore.» E a quarta disse: «Desse perigo se livrará, mas na noite do casamento entrarei disfarçada de fantasma pela janela do quarto e decapitarei os dois; e quem ouvir e contar será inevitavelmente transformado em mármore.» Depois as bruxas foram-se embora. Pedro ficou em grande angústia a pensar no que havia de fazer.

A third witch added: "From that danger she shall be delivered, but they will come to a magnificent bridge which she will want to cross; as she crosses it the bridge will give way; and whoever hears and tells shall be turned to marble." And the fourth said: "From that danger she shall be delivered, but on the night of the wedding I shall enter disguised as a phantom through the bedroom window and behead them both; and whoever hears and tells shall inevitably be turned to marble." Then the witches departed. Pedro was left in great anguish thinking about what he must do.

Continuaram a jornada no dia seguinte. Quando surgiu uma mula muito bonita e a princesa disse que queria montá-la por estar cansada, Pedro correu à frente e matou o animal. O príncipe ficou muito espantado com o acto, mas como gostava de Pedro não disse nada. Mais adiante, vendo uma pereira carregada de peras, a princesa mostrou desejo de as provar. Pedro correu e enterrou as peras. O príncipe manifestou o seu desagrado. Depois Pedro viu uma ponte ao longe, correu à frente e pagou a alguns trabalhadores para a destruírem antes que a princesa chegasse. O príncipe ficou muito zangado e reprehendeu Pedro, mas ele respondeu que mais tarde lhe daria uma razão satisfatória para o que fizera.

They continued the journey the next day. When a very beautiful mule appeared and the princess said she wanted to ride it as she was tired, Pedro ran ahead and killed the animal. The prince was very surprised by the act, but since he was fond of Pedro said nothing. Further on, seeing a pear tree laden with pears, the princess showed a desire to taste them. Pedro ran ahead and buried the pears. The prince made his displeasure known. Then Pedro saw a bridge in the distance, ran ahead, and paid some workers to destroy it before the princess arrived. The prince was very angry and reprimanded Pedro, but he replied that later he would give a satisfactory reason for what he had done.

À chegada ao palácio, houve grande festa na capital. Celebrou-se o casamento, e Pedro disse que tinha forçosamente de dormir no mesmo quarto que os noivos na primeira noite. O príncipe achou impossível, mas Pedro manteve-se firme. Ficou armado junto à janela. Já era tarde da noite quando viu a bruxa entrar em forma de fantasma, com uma espada na mão, prestes a degolar a princesa e o príncipe. Pedro ergueu a sua espada e lutou com o fantasma, mas sem querer feriu a princesa na face, fazendo-a sangrar.

On arriving at the palace, there was great celebration in the capital. The wedding was solemnised, and Pedro said he had of necessity to sleep in the same room as the newlyweds on the first night. The prince thought it impossible, but Pedro held firm. He stood armed beside the window. It was late into the night when he saw the witch enter in the form of a phantom, sword in hand, about to behead the princess and the prince. Pedro raised his sword and grappled with the phantom, but inadvertently struck the princess's face and drew blood.

A princesa acordou aos gritos, dizendo que Pedro era um traidor que queria decapitá-la. O príncipe, cheio de raiva, disse que Pedro havia de morrer. Pedro disse que não se importava de morrer, mas que antes pedisse ao rei que desse um banquete a toda a corte, pois tinha algo a declarar. O rei acedeu. No banquete, Pedro sentou-se à mesa real e começou a contar o que ouvira as bruxas dizer. À medida que contava a parte da mula, as pernas começaram a endurecer em pedra. Ao contar a parte das peras, já estava petrificado até aos joelhos. O príncipe pediu-lhe que parasse, dizendo que já o tinha inocentado. Mas Pedro insistiu em declarar tudo, e ao acabar de contar o que disse a última bruxa, ficou completamente transformado numa estátua de mármore.

The princess woke up screaming, saying Pedro was a traitor who had wanted to behead her. The prince, full of rage, said Pedro must die. Pedro said he did not mind dying, but asked the king to give a banquet to all the court first, as he had something to declare. The king agreed. At the banquet, Pedro sat at the royal table and began to recount what he had heard the witches say. As he told the part about the mule, his legs began to harden into stone. As he recounted the part about the pears, he was already petrified to his knees. The prince asked him to stop, saying he had already pardoned him, satisfied of his innocence. But Pedro insisted on declaring everything, and on finishing the account of what the last witch had said, he was completely transformed into a marble statue.

O príncipe, muito aflito, mandou colocar a estátua debaixo da cama no seu quarto. Ao fim de um ano, a princesa tinha um filho muito bonito. Um dia o príncipe estava sozinho no quarto com a criança quando apareceu a bruxa e disse-lhe que para a estátua voltar a ser Pedro era necessário matar o filho e banhar a estátua com o seu sangue. O príncipe ficou em grande angústia, mas acabou por compreender que a vida de Pedro era mais necessária, pois ainda poderia salvar muitas vidas. Tirou uma gotinha de sangue do braço do menino e derramou-a sobre a pedra. Pedro começou a mover-se. O príncipe ganhou coragem, matou o menino e banhando a estátua com o sangue, Pedro voltou à vida. A princesa, ao regressar ao quarto, ficou em grande dor quando soube que o filho tinha morrido e mandou erguer um mausoléu no jardim. No dia seguinte, enquanto celebravam a ressurreição de Pedro, encontraram o menino vivo a brincar no jardim. Grande foi a alegria de todos, e viveram felizes e contentes.

The prince, deeply distressed, had the statue placed under the bed in his room. At the end of a year, the princess had a very handsome son. One day the prince was alone in the room with the child when the witch appeared and told him that for the statue to become Pedro again it was necessary to kill the child and bathe the statue in his blood. The prince was in great anguish, but came to understand that Pedro's life was more necessary, as he might yet save many lives. He drew a tiny drop of blood from the boy's arm and poured it over the stone. Pedro began to move. The prince took courage, killed the boy, and bathing the statue in the blood, Pedro returned to life. The princess, on returning to the room, was in great grief when she learned the child had died and had a mausoleum built in the garden. The next day, while they were celebrating Pedro's resurrection, they found the boy alive, playing in the garden. Great was the joy of all, and they lived happily and contentedly.