A Donzela das Pérolas

Era uma vez uma mulher que tinha um filho marinheiro e uma filha muito bonita. Quando a mãe estava muito doente e sentia que ia morrer, chamou a filha e deu-lhe uma toalha e um pente, dizendo-lhe: "Nunca uses outra toalha senão esta, nem outro pente senão este." Dito isto, morreu. A filha cumpriu sempre a recomendação da mãe.

Once there was a woman who had a sailor son and a very beautiful daughter. When the mother was very ill and felt she was going to die, she called her daughter and gave her a towel and a comb, saying: "Never use any towel but this one, nor any comb but this one." Having said this, she died. The daughter always followed her mother's instruction.

Sempre que a donzela usava o pente, caíam-lhe muitas pérolas miúdas e grandes da cabeça; e quando usava a toalha para se enxugar, o mesmo acontecia. A donzela contou isto ao irmão, que a aconselhou a guardar todas as pérolas que caíam e a enfiá-las em molhos. A donzela formou seis molhos, e o irmão disse-lhe que na próxima viagem as venderia a algum rei. Assim aconteceu: quando embarcou e chegou a um certo país, foi ao palácio oferecer os seis molhos de pérolas ao rei.

Whenever the maiden used the comb, many small and large pearls fell from her head; and when she used the towel to dry herself, the same thing happened. The maiden told her brother, who advised her to keep all the pearls that fell and thread them into bunches. The maiden formed six bunches, and the brother told her that on his next voyage he would sell them to some king. And so it happened: when he embarked and arrived at a certain country, he went to the palace to offer the six bunches of pearls to the king.

O rei achou as pérolas muito raras e preciosas e pagou-lhe uma grande soma, perguntando-lhe onde as havia encontrado. O jovem contou tudo: como a mãe, ao morrer, dera à irmã uma toalha e um pente, e como cada vez que ela se penteava ou se enxugava caíam-lhe pérolas grandes e miúdas. O rei disse que queria conhecer a rapariga e que, se o que ele dizia fosse verdade, casaria com ela; se fosse mentira, mandava-o matar. O marinheiro voltou a casa muito contente e contou tudo à irmã, que resolveu ir com ele.

The king found the pearls very rare and precious and paid him a large sum, asking where he had found them. The young man told everything: how his mother, on dying, had given his sister a towel and a comb, and how every time she combed her hair or dried herself, large and small pearls fell from her head. The king said he wished to meet the girl and that, if what he said was true, he would marry her; if it was a lie, he would have him put to death. The sailor returned home very happy and told everything to his sister, who decided to go with him.

Antes de partir, a donzela contou a uma vizinha que ia tornar-se rainha. A vizinha pediu-lhe que a deixasse ir com ela, ela e a filha. A donzela concordou. Quando já estavam no mar alto, a vizinha deu à donzela uma bebida envenenada. A donzela ficou muito mal e o irmão, preocupado, ia todos os dias ver como ela estava. Um dia a vizinha deu-lhe tanto veneno que a donzela ficou como morta. O irmão, cheio de dor, mandou lançar o corpo ao mar, como era costume.

Before leaving, the maiden told a neighbour she was going to become queen. The neighbour asked to be allowed to go with her, herself and her daughter. The maiden agreed. When they were already on the high sea, the neighbour gave the maiden a poisoned drink. The maiden became very ill and her brother, worried, went every day to see how she was doing. One day the neighbour gave her so much poison that the maiden lay as if dead. The brother, full of grief, had the body thrown into the sea, as was the custom.

Depois, o irmão lamentou muito não ter a irmã consigo, pois nela estavam todas as suas esperanças. A astuta vizinha aconselhou-o a apresentar a sua filha ao rei como se fosse a irmã. O irmão disse que o problema era que a toalha e o pente não funcionariam com ela. Testaram-na, mas não caiu nada. A vizinha disse que era de esperar que não funcionassem ali, mas que na presença do rei certamente funcionariam. Chegaram ao reino e foram ao palácio. O irmão apresentou a filha da vizinha, a toalha e o pente ao rei, dizendo que era a sua irmã. O rei mandou que ela usasse logo a toalha, mas não caiu nada. Penteou-se com o pente, mas em vez de pérolas caiu caspa.

Afterwards the brother mourned greatly not having his sister with him, as all his hopes lay with her. The cunning neighbour advised him to present her daughter to the king as if she were his sister. The brother said the problem was that the towel and comb would not work with her. They tested her, but nothing fell. The neighbour said it was to be expected they would not work there, but in the king's presence they would surely work the miracle. They arrived at the kingdom and went to the palace. The brother presented the neighbour's daughter, the towel and the comb to the king, saying she was his sister. The king had her use the towel immediately, but nothing fell. She combed herself with the comb, but instead of pearls, scurf fell.

O rei ficou furioso e mandou meter o irmão na prisão para depois o executar. Entretanto, um criado que fora à praia pescar para a mesa real viu uma grande baleia morta encalhada na areia. Mas no interior do peixe via-se algo a mover-se e ouvia-se uma voz que dizia: "Tirai-me daqui, tirai-me daqui." O criado foi buscar uma faca, abriu a pele da baleia com muito cuidado e de lá saiu a donzela, viva. O criado levou-a consigo, mas disse-lhe que devia ficar fechada num quarto do palácio sem que ninguém soubesse que ela estava lá.

The king was furious and had the brother put in prison to be executed afterwards. Meanwhile, a servant who had gone to the beach to fish for the royal table saw a large whale dead on the sand. But inside the fish something could be seen moving and a voice was heard saying: "Take me out of here, take me out of here." The servant fetched a knife, opened the whale's skin very carefully and out came the maiden, alive. The servant took her with him, but told her she must stay shut in a room in the palace without anyone knowing she was there.

A donzela contou-lhe tudo o que lhe acontecera, e o criado contou-lhe o que a vizinha andava a fazer no palácio, passando a filha por irmã do marinheiro, e que o irmão estava na prisão sentenciado a morrer. A donzela ficava todos os dias à janela a olhar para a porta da prisão. Um dia viu a sua cadela e chamou-a: "Cilindra, diz-me como está o meu irmão." A cadela respondeu: "Está cada dia à espera de ser executado; e hoje é o primeiro dia em que o pregão o anuncia." No dia seguinte a donzela voltou a perguntar, e a cadela respondeu: "Hoje anunciam a sentença pela segunda vez."

The maiden told him everything that had happened to her, and the servant told her what the neighbour had been doing in the palace, passing off her daughter as the sailor's sister, and that her brother was in prison sentenced to die. The maiden spent every day at the window looking at the prison door. One day she saw her little dog and called to it: "Cylindra, tell me how my brother is." The dog replied: "He is daily awaiting execution; and today is the first day the crier announces it." The following day the maiden asked again, and the dog replied: "Today the sentence is announced for the second time."

O criado, ao ouvir isto, foi ter com o rei e contou-lhe o que se passava. O rei disse: "Se o que dizes é verdade, chama-me amanhã quando a donzela falar com o cão, pois quero ouvir." No dia seguinte, na hora certa, o rei colocou-se junto à janela e ouviu a donzela perguntar: "Cilindra, como está o meu irmão hoje?" E a cadela respondeu: "Hoje publicam a execução pela última vez!" O rei mandou chamar o irmão e a donzela. Ao ver a donzela, mandou que ela usasse a toalha — logo caíram pérolas em abundância. Mandou que se penteasse — e caíram pérolas grandes e raras, como as dos molhos.

The servant, on hearing this, went to the king and told him what was happening. The king said: "If what you say is true, call me tomorrow when the maiden speaks to the dog, for I wish to listen." The following day, at the right moment, the king placed himself by the window and heard the maiden ask: "Cylindra, how is my brother today?" And the dog replied: "Today they publish the execution for the last time!" The king had the brother and the maiden summoned. On seeing the maiden, he had her use the towel — pearls at once fell in abundance. He had her comb herself — and large, rare pearls fell, like those in the bunches.

O rei mandou executar a vizinha e a filha pelos crimes que haviam cometido, e casou com a donzela. O irmão teve a grande honra de ser cunhado do rei, e nunca mais precisou de ir ao mar vender pérolas, pois a felicidade da irmã era também a sua recompensa. A toalha e o pente da mãe ficaram guardados num cofre precioso, como memória de que a bondade de uma mãe é capaz de proteger os filhos muito para além da morte.

The king had the neighbour and her daughter executed for the crimes they had committed, and he married the maiden. The brother had the great honour of being the king's brother-in-law, and never again needed to go to sea selling pearls, for his sister's happiness was also his reward. The mother's towel and comb were kept in a precious chest, as a reminder that a mother's goodness is capable of protecting her children long beyond death.