Belle Madeleine
Once there was a young man as beautiful as the day, honest as gold, and strong and bold as Samson. He was the son of a widowed marchioness, the son of a wicked-as-hell marchioness. The two lived together in a superb castle.
One evening, the marquess said to his mother:
“Mother, I am madly in love with Belle Madeleine. I intend to marry her in three days. Do you consent to our marriage?"
The marchioness did not respond.
“Mother, I guess what you are thinking. You are afraid of a daughter-in-law. You are afraid of no longer commanding in this castle. Do not be afraid. You will always be mistress there. Belle Madeleine will be your first servant. Do you consent to our marriage?"
The marchioness did not respond.
“Again, Mother, do you consent to our marriage?"
"No."
"Well, mother, I am old enough to do without your consent."
Three days later, the marquess married Belle Madeleine and took her to his superb castle.
“Listen, wife. My mother hates you with all her heart. She's afraid she won't order here anymore. I intend that she will always be mistress there. You will be her first servant."
"Marquess, you will be obeyed."
What was said was done. The marchioness remained mistress of the castle, and Belle Madeleine was her first servant. However, the marchioness hated her daughter-in-law with all her heart and was preparing for the right moment to quarrel her to death with her husband.
A year later, Belle Madeleine gave birth to two twin daughters, as pretty as hearts.
But happiness doesn't last.
One fine morning, the marquess received a letter.
“Mother, wife, listen. The king calls me to war. In an hour I'll be gone. Do not Cry. You will hear from me. Take care of my two daughters. Take care of them well. Mother, I want you to always be mistress here. Wife, I intend for you always to be my mother’s first servant."
"Marquess, you will be obeyed."
An hour later, the marquess left for war, mounted on his large black horse.
Belle Madeleine did not forget her promise. She took good care of her two daughters. The marchioness was always the mistress of the castle. Belle Madeleine was her first servant.
For seven years, the marquess often gave his news. The war was still going on.
The two twin sisters were always pretty, as pretty as hearts, wise as little saints. Twenty times a day, the marchioness made them cry. But Belle Madeleine took care of them. The poor children already knew how to recite their prayers and catechism by heart. With their mother, they learned to read, sew and spin.
In all his letters, the marquess never failed to note:
“Take care of my two daughters. Take care of them well. Mother, I want you to always be mistress. Wife, I intend for you always to be my mother’s first servant."
However, the marquise hated her daughter-in-law with all her heart and was preparing for the right moment to quarrel her to death with her husband.
Source: La Belle Madeleine, from the French book Contes populaires de la Gascogne, tome 2, published in 1886
Previous Tale: The Prince of the Seven Golden Cows
Hello, my name is Vincent Celier.
I am writing translations of folk tales that I found in public domain French books, so that people who do not understand French may enjoy them too.
The marchioness is the evil mother-in-law, and Belle Madeleine is the obedient wife.
The marquess should have realized that his mother would torture his wife, Belle Madeleine, and his two daughters, but he did not. What will happen later? Will the marquess believe the lies of his mother or the truth from Belle Madeleine?
Kati's mother's birthday was actually yesterday, November 13th. We celebrated with the family the day before, because it was a Sunday and some people needed to work yesterday.
In the morning, the two granddaughters of Kati made another birthday cake. So we celebrated again Kati's mother's birthday.
After that, seven of us went for a walk in a forest that is less than one kilometer from Kati's mother's house.
We went around a small lake.
In the picture below you can see Gabi, Kati's sister, her son Dani (Daniel), Agi and her two daughters, and Gabor, Kati's younger son.
The name of the valley where this forest is is written on this construction: Éger völgy, which means "Alder valley".
Dani is a farmer, among other things. He is raising sheep, deer, and mouflons. After sunset, we went to feed the mouflons.
You can see that the mouflons are not too afraid of Kati's granddaughters.
In June, the two males were always hiding from humans. Obviously, this is no longer the case.
-- Vincent Celier