Folk Tales of Sardinia — Part 1 (The Bird That Flew Away · The Ogre and the Two Godmothers · The Two Brothers · The Bear and the Three Sisters · The Enchanted Bird)
Disclosure: this performance is narrated by AI-generated voices.
Part one — the premiere of a new shelf. Five folk tales of Sardinia from the south of the island, the Campidano, collected by Francesco Mango with Emilia Lippi-Mango and published in his Novelline popolari sarde (1890) — heard here in a fresh English translation made from Mango's own Italian. In The Bird That Flew Away, a king's young servant answers two impossible questions — how many stars are in the sky, and how far it is to the Region of the Sun — with a ball of string and an invitation to count together. In The Ogre and the Two Godmothers, Maria climbs to the Ogre's castle on her godmother's errand and will not come down; her sweetheart stays below, three magic balls buy their flight across seas of water, fire and thorns, and the Ogre's own gift of magic waters lifts the curse from her face. In The Two Brothers, the poor brother who speaks kindly at the red gate receives a wishing wand, while his rich brother's rudeness is answered by whips — until pity, and a share of the treasure, close the story. In The Bear and the Three Sisters, a merchant's youngest daughter keeps her promise to a Bear, reads at his table while he sleeps, refuses every richer suitor — and her tears at his still body break the spell and wake a king. And in The Enchanted Bird, a black bird steals a spinner's thread night after night until she opens the forbidden room; a year later his ring turns up in her cake at the queen's feast, and he claims her as his bride. The episode opens and closes with its theme, Imperial Violin Masquerade, heard also briefly between the stories.
Chapters
0:39 The Bird That Flew Away
5:00 The Ogre and the Two Godmothers
12:09 The Two Brothers
18:46 The Bear and the Three Sisters
22:33 The Enchanted Bird
The remaining tales of Mango's volume are not read in this part. Held for the owner's ruling by name: The Leaf of the Rose · The Poor Woman's Daughter. Excluded by name: The Fisherman and the Devil · The Death of the Poor Man · The Mother and the Daughter · The Master and the Servant · Solomon's Counsels · The Two Godfathers · The Prince and His Wife · The Three Sisters · The Two Godmothers · The Schoolmistress and the Stepdaughter · The Thirteen Bandits. Standing on the bench for later parts of this shelf: Once There Was · The Little Whistle · The Devil · The Greedy Girl · The Cheating Widow · The Foolish Shepherd · The Girl Who Hated Smoke · The Three Stupid Girls. No claim of completeness for Mango's book is made.
From Novelline popolari sarde, by Francesco Mango (Palermo, 1890), public domain — the Campidanese tales of southern Sardinia in a fresh English translation from Mango's Italian. Narrated by Madame de Pamplemousse. Theme: Imperial Violin Masquerade.
KacheliTV — world classics, read aloud. Season 164, Episode 1.
