Folk Tales from Gascony: The Bastard, Part 6.
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This is post #30 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.
THE BASTARD
The general left, and returned a moment later.
“Bastard, you are going to ride a horse. Here is a letter for the King of France, and you will give it to him yourself. If you open it to read it, great misfortunes will happen to you."
"General, you will be obeyed."
"Have a good trip, Bastard."
The Bastard took the letter and jumped on his horse. Seven days later he was before the King of France.
“Hello, King of France. Here is a letter from my general, who commands your army in a foreign country."
The King of France took the letter and read it from the beginning to the end. Then he became pale as death.
“Bastard, your general tells me that you cut in two a man who had the power to change into all kinds of things seven times a night, and who had changed into wind."
"King of France, my general has told you the truth."
"Quickly, Bastard, stick out your tongue."
The Bastard stuck out his tongue and showed the golden fleur-de-lys.
“You are my son! You are my son! I've been waiting for you for a long time. I am happy to be the father of a strong and bold man like you. Quickly, tell me what you want, in payment for the service you have done for me."
"King of France, I have promised marriage to a young lady as beautiful as day and honest as gold. She is the daughter of a nobleman from the Castle of Sérillac. If you do not give her to me as my wife, you will be the cause of great misfortune. I will go far, far away, to a foreign country, to become a monk in a convent, and I will never, ever come back.
“Bastard, I don’t want you to become a monk. Everyone here needs you. I'm too old to be king any longer. From now on, you will be the one in charge in my place. I give you one month to go and marry your mistress and bring her here. Leave, and be sure to return on time."
"Thank you, King of France."
The Bastard left immediately to marry the young lady, and he returned with her at the appointed time. The King of France was very pleased to see them both. He ordered great festivals throughout the country and ordered large amounts of alms to be given. The Bastard became king in his father's place, and he lived for a long time with his wife, feared and loved by everyone.
Source: Le Bâtard, from the French book Contes populaires de la Gascogne, tome 1, published in 1886
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5
Next Tale: The Two Tins and the Two Faries.
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.
As expected, the Bastard was recognized by the King of France as his long-lost son.
Also as expected, the Bastard married the lady of his dreams.
The Bastard became King of France and he was "feared and loved by everyone." How can you be at the same time feared and loved? It is easy to believe that he was feared by bad people and loved by good people. But feared and loved by everyone?
Think about the relationship between a good father and his son. The son usually loves his father, but at the same time he fears him because he knows that if he does not behave well he might be punished or, at the very least, he might disappoint his father.
Today, Kati had invited her first cousins who live in the village of Pécs-Somogy, located 3 km from her vineyard house. Unfortunately, there was a huge rainstorm last night, and the road is too slippery to drive. So, Kati had to cancel the get-together that was supposed to happen this afternoon.
But, she has started to cook pastries and sausages in advance.
So, now we have a lot of food already cooked. As I am vegan, Kati will have to eat the sausages by herself, unless she gives some to her mother and/or to her sister.
Tomorrow, workers are coming to trim the vine in Kati's vineyard. Kati has to go get them very early, as they live 50 km from here, and they have no car. I will bring them back to their home after they have finished their work.
-- Vincent Celier
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