This is post #14 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.
LA FLEUR
The Wind of Autan set off through the clouds. Twenty times an hour, he shouted deafeningly:
“Master, valet, are you there?”
"Yes."
At the break of dawn, the Wind of Autan landed on the roof of the most beautiful castle in the city of Jerusalem. This was where the Princess lived. The Flower and her valet each got out of their boots.
“Wind of Autan, another service. Tear off a shutter and break a window in the Princess's room."
"My friends, it's done."
"Thank you, Wind of Autan."
The Wind of Autan left. Then, La Fleur looked through the broken window into the Princess's room. She was sleeping. La Fleur threw the three silk handkerchiefs on her bed.
Waking up, the princess saw the three handkerchiefs and thought:
"Good. La Fleur is here. We are done suffering."
Already, La Fleur and her valet were roaming the streets of Jerusalem. All the bells were ringing. The streets were scented with flowers and fennel. The houses were hung with white bed sheets, as for the Corpus Christi procession.
“Brave people, what is happening in your city?"
"Stranger, today the Archbishop of Jerusalem is marrying the King of England to a Princess as beautiful as the day. Come into this church. You'll see something worth looking at."
In the church, the King of England was waiting, surrounded by his parents and friends.
La Fleur went and sat down ten steps from him.
Finally, the Princess arrived with her godfather on the right, and her godmother on the left, followed by her parents and her friends. She arrived, dressed in white, crowned with orange flowers.
His first look was for La Fleur.
Already, the Archbishop of Jerusalem, with his deacon and sub-deacon, was at the foot of the high altar, to sing the wedding mass.
Then, La Fleur spoke:
“Archbishop of Jerusalem, listen. Archbishop of Jerusalem, my name is La Fleur. Archbishop of Jerusalem, I have come to denounce an obstacle against the marriage of the Princess with the King of England."
“La Fleur,” cried the King of England, “there is no hindrance. But the church is not made for arguments. Let's go out and fight."
"King of England, I am at your command. However, peace is better than battle. I will speak. You will answer. Archbishop of Jerusalem, judge us."
"La Fleur, speak. I will answer. Archbishop of Jerusalem, judge us."
"King of England, I did the Princess a favor. As payment, she gave me three silk handkerchiefs, one white, the other blue, and the other red. If I want to keep them, can she take them back from me?"
"No, La Fleur. What is given is given. What is promised is promised."
"King of England, that is well said. But you have condemned yourself. The Princess has the three silk handkerchiefs because I was pleased to give them back to her. But, in payment for my services, she also promised me marriage. I am pleased to keep this promise."
"Princess, said the Archbishop of Jerusalem, did La Fleur tell the truth?"
"Archbishop of Jerusalem, La Fleur spoke the truth. As payment for his services, I gave him three silk handkerchiefs, one blue, the other white, and the other red. I have these handkerchiefs because he was pleased to give them back to me. I also promised him marriage. He keeps this promise, and my heart is happy with it. Archbishop of Jerusalem, judge us."
"King of England, you are wrong."
"Archbishop of Jerusalem, it’s true. I condemned myself. The Princess is at La Fleur. Archbishop of Jerusalem, sing the wedding mass for them."
After the mass was said and the wedding done, La Fleur brought the Princess back to his country. They lived there happily for a long time.
Cric, Cric,
My tale is done.
Cric, Crac,
My tale is finished.
Source: La Fleur, from the French book Contes populaires de la Gascogne, tome 1, published in 1886.
Next Tale: Buebeard
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.
So, La Fleur arrived (with his devoted valet) in Jerusalem, just in time to be able to claim the Princess.
We had no idea, before their arrivals in Jerusalem, that the Princess could have been married to the King of England.
The colors of the three silk handkerchiefs are interesting: blue, white, and red. These are the colors of the French flag.
This has been the official French flag since 1830. Blue and Red are the colors of Paris, and white is the color of the French kings.
As I said yesterday, there was nobody to greet me at the hotel near Stuttgart. This does not bother me. In fact, such hotels are cheaper than traditional hotels. However, I was not happy to discover that the hot water was not hot and not even lukewarm. So, I did not take a shower.
Today, I left the hotel three minutes after 7 a.m., 15 minutes before sunrise. And I arrived at our family house twenty minutes after 3 p.m. Eight hours and seventeen minutes for around 950 km. I stopped twice to get gas and go to the toilet.
Our family house was originally a priory of nuns that was built in the XIIth century. It has not been inhabited by nuns for over 300 years, and it has been modified extensively. But there are still some remnants of the original priory.
This priory was an annex of a larger abbey. But, in our family, it is known as "The Abbey" (L'Abbaye).
My eldest brother, Philippe, who is 76 years old, lived alone in this big house. You can see him below in front of the outside door.
After my arrival at the Abbey, Philippe discovered that there were many edible mushrooms on our property. They will probably be picked up tomorrow.
Good night. I believe I will sleep well tonight.
-- Vincent Celier