Towards Her"] Towards Her"] of «The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault» by Charles Perrault: the whole text, 210 sentences and 5525 words. Every sentence has its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself; 3 of them are in the tales treebank and were checked by a teacher model.
1 "What fine glowing embers!" he said, "and what a fine toasting fire! 2 I wish we had a black pudding at hand." 3 Hardly had he spoken these words when his wife beheld, to her great astonishment, a long black pudding which, issuing from a corner of the hearth, came winding and wriggling towards her. 4 She uttered a cry of fear, and then again exclaimed in dismay, when she perceived that this strange occurrence was due to the wish which her husband had so rashly and foolishly spoken. 5 Turning upon him, in her anger and disappointment she called the poor man all the abusive names that she could think of. 6 "What!" she said to him, "when you can call for a kingdom, for gold, pearls, rubies, diamonds, for princely garments and wealth untold, is this the time to set your mind upon black puddings!" 7 "Nay!" answered the man, "'twas a thoughtless speech, and a sad mistake; but I shall now be on my guard, and shall do better next time." 8 "Who knows that you will?" returned his wife. " 9 Once a witless fool, always a witless fool!" and giving free rein to her vexation and ill-temper she continued to upbraid her husband until his anger also was stirred, and he had wellnigh made a second bid and wished himself a widower. 10 "Enough! woman," he cried at last; "put a check upon thy froward tongue! 11 Who ever heard such impertinence as this! 12 A plague on the shrew and on her pudding! 13 Would to heaven it hung at the end of her nose!" 14 No sooner had the husband given voice to these words than the wish was straightway granted, and the long coil of black pudding appeared grafted to the angry dame's nose. 15 Our man paused when he beheld what he had wrought. 16 Fanny was a comely young woman, and blest with good looks, and truth to tell, this new ornament did not set off her beauty. 17 Yet it offered one advantage, that as it hung right before her mouth, it would thus effectively curb her speech. 18 So, having now but one wish left, he had all but resolved to make good use of it without further delay, and, before any other mischance could befall, to wish himself a kingdom of his own. 19 He was about to speak the word, when he was stayed by a sudden thought. 20 "It is true," he said to himself, "that there is none so great as a King, but what of the Queen that must share his dignity? 21 With what grace would she sit beside me on the throne with a yard of black pudding for a nose?" 22 In this dilemma he resolved to put the case to Fanny, and to leave her to decide whether she would rather be a Queen, with this most horrible appendage marring her good looks, or remain a peasant wife, but with her shapely nose relieved of this untoward addition. 23 BEAUTY"] 24 Fanny's mind was soon made up: although she had dreamt of a crown and sceptre, yet a woman's first wish is always to please. 25 To this great desire all else must yield, and Fanny would rather be fair in drugget than be a Queen with an ugly face. 26 Thus our woodcutter did not change his state, did not become a potentate, nor fill his purse with golden crowns. 27 He was thankful enough to use his remaining wish to a more humble purpose, and forthwith relieved his wife of her encumbrance. 28 _The Moral_ 29 _Ah! so it is that miserable man, By nature fickle, blind, unwise, and rash, Oft fails to reap a harvest from great gifts Bestowed upon him by the heav'nly gods. 30 _ 31 _Donkey-skin_ 32 (_page_ 145)] 33 Donkey-skin 34 Once upon a time there was a King, so great, so beloved by his people, and so respected by all his neighbours and allies that one might almost say he was the happiest monarch alive. 35 His good fortune was made even greater by the choice he had made for wife of a Princess as beautiful as she was virtuous, with whom he lived in perfect happiness. 36 Now, of this chaste marriage was born a daughter endowed with so many gifts that they had no regret because other children were not given to them. 37 Magnificence, good taste, and abundance reigned in the palace; there were wise and clever ministers, virtuous and devoted courtiers, faithful and diligent servants. 38 The spacious stables were filled with the most beautiful horses in the world, and coverts of rich caparison; but what most astonished strangers who came to admire them was to see, in the finest stall, a master donkey, with great long ears. 39 Now, it was not for a whim but for a good reason that the King had given this donkey a particular and distinguished place. 40 The special qualities of this rare animal deserved the distinction, since nature had made it in so extraordinary a way that its litter, instead of being like that of other donkeys, was covered every morning with an abundance of beautiful golden crowns, and golden louis of every kind, which were collected daily. 41 Since the vicissitudes of life wait on Kings as much as on their subjects, and good is always mingled with ill, it so befell that the Queen was suddenly attacked by a fatal illness, and, in spite of science, and the skill of the doctors, no remedy could be found. 42 There was great mourning throughout the land. 43 The King who, notwithstanding the famous proverb, that marriage is the tomb of love, was deeply attached to his wife, was distressed beyond measure and made fervent vows to all the temples in his kingdom, and offered to give his life for that of his beloved consort; but he invoked the gods and the Fairies in vain. 44 The Queen, feeling her last hour approach, said to her husband, who was dissolved in tears: "It is well that I should speak to you of a certain matter before I die: if, perchance, you should desire to marry again...." 45 At these words the King broke into piteous cries, took his wife's hands in his own, and assured her that it was useless to speak to him of a second marriage. 46 "No, my dear spouse," he said at last, "speak to me rather of how I may follow you." 47 "The State," continued the Queen with a finality which but increased the laments of the King, "the State demands successors, and since I have only given you a daughter, it will urge you to beget sons who resemble you; but I ask you earnestly not to give way to the persuasions of your people until you have found a Princess more beautiful and more perfectly fashioned than I. I beg you to swear this to me, and then I shall die content." 48 Perchance, the Queen, who did not lack self-esteem, exacted this oath firmly believing that there was not her equal in the world, and so felt assured that the King would never marry again. 49 Be this as it may, at length she died, and never did husband make so much lamentation; the King wept and sobbed day and night, and the punctilious fulfilment of the rites of widower-hood, even the smallest, was his sole occupation. 50 But even great griefs do not last for ever. 51 After a time the magnates of the State assembled and came to the King, urging him to take another wife. 52 At first this request seemed hard to him and made him shed fresh tears. 53 He pleaded the vows he had made to the Queen, and defied his counsellors to find a Princess more beautiful and better fashioned than was she, thinking this to be impossible. 54 But the Council treated the promise as a trifle, and said that it mattered little about beauty if the Queen were but virtuous and fruitful. 55 For the State needed Princes for its peace and prosperity, and though, in truth, the Princess, his daughter, had all the qualities requisite for making a great Queen, yet of necessity she must choose an alien for her husband, and then the stranger would take her away with him. 56 If, on the other hand, he remained in her country and shared the throne with her, their children would not be considered to be of pure native stock, and so, there being no Prince of his name, neighbouring peoples would stir up wars, and the kingdom would be ruined. 57 The King, impressed by these considerations, promised that he would think over the matter. 58 And so search was made among all the marriageable Princesses for one that would suit him. 59 Every day charming portraits were brought him, but none gave promise of the beauty of his late Queen; instead of coming to a decision he brooded over his sorrow until in the end his reason left him. 60 In his delusions he imagined himself once more a young man; he thought the Princess his daughter, in her youth and beauty, was his Queen as he had known her in the days of their courtship, and living thus in the past he urged the unhappy girl to speedily become his bride. 61 The young Princess, who was virtuous and chaste, threw herself at the feet of the King her father and conjured him, with all the eloquence she could command, not to constrain her to consent to his unnatural desire. 62 The King, in his madness, could not understand the reason of her desperate reluctance, and asked an old Druid-priest to set the conscience of the Princess at rest. 63 Now this Druid, less religious than ambitious, sacrificed the cause of innocence and virtue to the favour of so great a monarch, and instead of trying to restore the King to his right mind, he encouraged him in his delusion. 64 The young Princess, beside herself with misery, at last bethought her of the Lilac-fairy, her godmother; determined to consult her, she set out that same night in a pretty little carriage drawn by a great sheep who knew all the roads. 65 When she arrived the Fairy, who loved the Princess, told her that she knew all she had come to say, but that she need have no fear, for nothing would harm her if only she faithfully fulfilled the Fairy's injunctions. " 66 For, my dear child," she said to her, "it would be a great sin to submit to your father's wishes, but you can avoid the necessity without displeasing him. 67 Tell him that to satisfy a whim you have, he must give you a dress the colour of the weather. 68 Never, in spite of all his love and his power will he be able to give you that." 69 The Princess thanked her godmother from her heart, and the next morning spoke to the King as the Fairy had counselled her, and protested that no one would win her hand unless he gave her a dress the colour of the weather. 70 The King, overjoyed and hopeful, called together the most skilful workmen, and demanded this robe of them; otherwise they should be hanged. 71 But he was saved from resorting to this extreme measure, since, on the second day, they brought the much desired robe. 72 The heavens are not a more beautiful blue, when they are girdled with clouds of gold, than was that lovely dress when it was unfolded. 73 The Princess was very sad because of it, and did not know what to do. 74 Once more she went to her Fairy-godmother who, astonished that her plan had been foiled, now told her to ask for another gown the colour of the moon. 75 The King again sought out the most clever workmen and expressly commanded them to make a dress the colour of the moon; and woe betide them if between the giving of the order and the bringing of the dress more than twenty-four hours should elapse. 76 The Princess, though pleased with the dress when it was delivered, gave way to distress when she was with her women and her nurse. 77 The Lilac-fairy, who knew all, hastened to comfort her and said: "Either I am greatly deceived or it is certain that if you ask for a dress the colour of the sun we shall at last baffle the King your father, for it would never be possible to make such a gown; in any case we should gain time." 78 So the Princess asked for yet another gown as the Fairy bade her. 79 The infatuated King could refuse his daughter nothing, and he gave without regret all the diamonds and rubies in his crown to aid this superb work; nothing was to be spared that could make the dress as beautiful as the sun. And, indeed, when the dress appeared, all those who unfolded it were obliged to close their eyes, so much were they dazzled. 80 And, truth to tell, green spectacles and smoked glasses date from that time. 81 What was the Princess to do? 82 Never had so beautiful and so artistic a robe been seen. 83 She was dumb-founded, and pretending that its brilliance had hurt her eyes she retired to her chamber, where she found the Fairy awaiting her. 84 On seeing the dress like the sun, the Lilac-fairy became red with rage. " 85 Oh! this time, my child," she said to the Princess, "we will put the King to terrible proof. 86 In spite of his madness I think he will be a little astonished by the request that I counsel you to make of him; it is that he should give you the skin of that ass he loves so dearly, and which supplies him so profusely with the means of paying all his expenses. 87 Go, and do not fail to tell him that you want this skin." 88 The Princess, overjoyed at finding yet another avenue of escape; for she thought that her father could never bring himself to sacrifice the ass, went to find him, and unfolded to him her latest desire. 89 Although the King was astonished by this whim, he did not hesitate to satisfy it; the poor ass was sacrificed and the skin brought, with due ceremony, to the Princess, who, seeing no other way of avoiding her ill-fortune, was desperate. 90 At that moment her godmother arrived. " 91 What are you doing, my child?" she asked, seeing the Princess tearing her hair, her beautiful cheeks stained with tears. " 92 This is the most happy moment of your life. 93 Wrap yourself in this skin, leave the palace, and walk so long as you can find ground to carry you: when one sacrifices everything to virtue the gods know how to mete out reward. 94 Go, and I will take care that your possessions follow you; in whatever place you rest, your chest with your clothes and your jewels will follow your steps, and here is my wand which I will give you: tap the ground with it when you have need of the chest, and it will appear before your eyes: but haste to set forth, and do not delay." 95 The Princess embraced her godmother many times, and begged her not to forsake her. 96 Then after she had smeared herself with soot from the chimney, she wrapped herself up in that ugly skin and went out from the magnificent palace without being recognised by a single person. 97 The absence of the Princess caused a great commotion. 98 The King, who had caused a sumptuous banquet to be prepared, was inconsolable. 99 He sent out more than a hundred gendarmes, and more than a thousand musketeers in quest of her; but the Lilac-fairy made her invisible to the cleverest seekers, and thus she escaped their vigilance. 100 Meanwhile the Princess walked far, far and even farther away; after a time she sought for a resting place, but although out of charity people gave her food, she was so dishevelled and dirty that no one wanted to keep her. ← previous Upon Earth"]next → The Year's At the Spring↑ back to The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg29021/15/