This is post #16 of my penance after I have been blacklisted by Hivewatchers for plagiarizing.
No need to upvote this post, as the payout has been declined.
But comments are welcome. I will continue to upvote all meaningful comments.
BLUEBEARD
From then on, the lady and the pretty Bergerette became great friends. But they no longer spoke of anything, fearing being sold by the valets and servants of the castle.
One day, Bluebeard said to his wife:
"Listen. Tomorrow morning, at dawn, I am leaving for a big trip. Here are seven keys. The six largest open the bedrooms and wardrobes of the castle. You can use it as you wish. But the smallest key opens the door to this room. There, I forbid you to enter. If you don't obey, I will know, and bad luck will happen to you."
The next morning, at dawn, Bluebeard set off at a gallop on his black horse, followed by his three mastiffs, tall and strong as bulls.
For three months, the lady did as the master had ordered. With the six large keys, she only opened the rooms and wardrobes of the castle. But she thought a hundred times a day:
“I would like to know what is in the room."
This couldn't last long.
"Well!", she said to herself one day, "let's satisfy my desire. Bluebeard won't know."
No sooner said than done. The Lady called the pretty Bergerette, took the little key, and opened the door of the room.
"Holy Virgin! Eight iron fangs. Seven dead women hanging."
The Lady tried to close the door. But the little key fell to the ground. The pretty Bergerette picked it up. Misfortune! The little key had a bloodstain on it.
With the room closed, the Lady and the pretty Bergerctte scoured the bloodstain until sunset. They polished it with vinegar, salt, hot ashes, and horsetail. Nothing happened. The more the two unfortunate women rubbed, the redder the blood stain appeared on the iron.
Finally, the little key spoke.
“Rub, women. Certainly, you can scrub well. My bloodstain will never, ever go away. In seven days, Bluebeard will be back."
Then, the pretty Bergerette said to her mistress:
“Madam, the right time has come to dispatch the talking jay. — Cac cac cac."
At this cry, the talking jay came in through the window.
“Cac cac cac. Pretty Bergerette, what do you want from me?"
"Talking Jay, go abroad. Leave for the army of the King of France. There, you will say to my mistress's two brothers: “Quickly, quickly, run to the aid of your sister, prisoner in Bluebeard's castle."
In the dark night, the talking jay flew away. By sunrise, he had done his duty.
Seven days later, Bluebeard returned to his castle, still mounted on his black horse, followed by his three mastiffs as tall and strong as bulls.
“Woman, give me back my seven keys."
The poor girl presented him with the six large keys to the rooms and cupboards.
“Trout! I don't have my account. The little key! The little key!"
Trembling, the unfortunate woman presented the little key stained with blood.
“Carrion! You looked into the room. In an hour, you will hang dead from the eighth iron hook."
Bluebeard went down into the courtyard to sharpen his cutlass on the stone.
While sharpening his cutlass, he was saying: — “Sharpen, sharpen, cutlass. — By the neck of my wife you will pass.»
The Lady and the pretty Bergerette listened, all trembling.
Source: Barbe-Bleue, from the French book Contes populaires de la Gascogne, tome 1, published in 1886.
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.
Horsetail is a "living fossil", that looks like a horse tail.
Once again, someone was told to refrain from doing something and they could not resist the temptation. This is not the first time that it has happened in these folk tales.
Let's hope that the two brothers will arrive on time to save their sister.
Two trees at the Abbey that have a story
We have planted two trees that were not bought, in the garden of the Abbey.
1. An Araucaria
When I was very young, every summer, we stayed for a month at the house of my great-grandmother. In her garden, there were three Araucaria. They were already tall, so I think they were at least 50 years old. Today, they are more than a century old.
These trees are commonly called "monkey puzzle trees" because they have thick and sharp leaves.
In 2018, I went back to the house that is now owned by one of my first cousins, and I collected several seeds. I gave two to my brother Philippe and one of them germinated. We kept it indoors for two years, then outdoors in a planter for two more years and finally, we planted it in the ground.
It is a tree that grows very slowly and does not yield seed before 30 years. However, they can achieve an age beyond 1,000 years.
2. A Red Maple
At the end of the 1960's, my father planted several trees. One of them was a red maple. However, several years later, the tree died. Last year, I saw that in the garden of our neighbors, there was a small red maple; obviously, this was a descendant of my father's red maple. My brother Benoit asked the neighbors if we could have it, and they gave us permission. So, this year in April, my brothers Benoit and Philippe planted it at the exact place where my father's red maple was.
-- Vincent Celier