JEAN DE CALAIS
An hour later, the Great White Bird placed Jean de Calais on the threshold of his house.
“Jean de Calais, I kept my promise. The time is near when I will ask you to hold yours."
And the Great White Bird flew away we don’t know where.
In the seven years that Jean de Calais had lived on his rock, on his rock without trees or greenery, he had never had his hair cut or his beard shaved. His clothes were falling in tatters. The poor man went, like a beggar, to the kitchen door, where the maids were busy preparing the wedding dinner.
“A small alms, please, servants, for the love of God and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pater noster, who is in coelis…
"Off, lousy. Keep your vermin to yourself. Here, take this bowl of soup, this piece of bread, this bottle, and go and have your fill in the stable."
Jean de Calais obeyed. While he was drinking and eating, his wife's sister came into the stable, carrying a plate full of stew.
“Poor man, our servants are worthless nothing. They kicked you out of the kitchen, without giving you everything you needed. I beg your pardon. Here, here’s for you; but pray to God for us."
Jean de Calais prayed to God and fell on the stew. For the past seven years, he had not eaten anything like this.
“Thank you, dear. May the Good Lord reward you. You do not recognize me. But I recognize you. You are the youngest daughter of the son of the King of Lisbon in Portugal. I am Jean de Calais, your sister's husband."
"It’s true, Jean de Calais. I recognize you now."
"My dear, let's be careful. Go tell my wife that I have come from far away and that she come here and speak to me in great secret."
The young lady obeyed but her sister didn't want to believe what she heard.
“My sister, this poor thing is lying. To my misfortune, Jean de Calais died. He will never, ever come back. Yet go look at this poor thing, and speak to him once more."
The young lady obeyed and returned almost immediately.
“My sister, you can believe me. Jean de Calais has returned."
Then the two sisters went down secretly to the stable, and the eldest recognized Jean de Calais.
"You are my husband! You are my husband!"
"Quiet, poor woman. We'll talk later. Now let's quickly go up to your room."
What was said was done. Once in the room, Jean de Calais pushed the bolts and double-locked the door.
“Woman, quickly a sword. Good. And now, quickly, scissors. Quickly, a razor and some soap. Quickly, white linen, and nice clothes. Good. And now hurry up and dress like a bride."
The woman obeyed. While she was dressing as a bride, Jean de Calais cut his hair, shaved his beard, put on white linen, put on his beautiful clothes, and girded his sword.
“Well, woman, do I still look like a poor beggar?"
At that moment a great noise of drums and trumpets was heard. In front of the castle, thirty thousand men came to line up in battle, thirty thousand men commanded by two kings crowned with gold, and mounted on white horses.
“Woman, look. Look at your father, the king of Lisbon in Portugal. The good old man got tired of waiting for us for seven years. Here he comes to pick us up, in the company of the King of France. Listen, woman, run quickly and find them. Act like you want to marry the steward. Pretend I'm not there, and count on me to arrive at the right time."
The woman obeyed.
Source: Jean de Calais, from the French book Contes populaires de la Gascogne, tome 2, published in 1886
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5
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.
Jean de Calais was able to be recognized by the two princesses and he prepared for his revenge against the traitor.
At that moment, two kings and 30,000 soldiers were outside Jean de Calais' castle. Seriously? They needed 30,000 soldiers to investigate what happened to the two princesses of Portugal? Obviously, there is some exaggeration in this story!
At the bottom of the street where Kati's mother's house is, there is a sign that I noticed several years ago.
Teca Mama: Small restaurant. Homemade cuisine.
I have been wanting to visit this restaurant for several years. Today, Kati, her mother, her daughter, and her two granddaughters went away for several hours. As there could be a maximum of five people in Kati's car, I stayed alone. So, for lunch, I went to the Teca Mama restaurant.
Well, it is not a "small" restaurant anymore. I counted 49 seats inside and 36 outside.
They even had a menu in English.
I had a peach soup and breaded mushrooms with rice.
-- Vincent Celier