無畏的小喬萬尼&意大利童話
從前，有一個小伙子，天不怕地不怕，被人稱作無畏的小喬萬尼。他遊歷世界，有一次來到一家小店過夜。店主說：“這裡沒有空房了，不過，你要是不怕，我帶你去一幢樓住。”
“我為什麼要怕，沒有一個人能從哪里活著出來。每到早晨，修道士就帶著棺材去給敢於在樓裡過夜的人收屍。”
好小子！帶著一盞燈、一瓶酒和一根香腸就去了。
半夜，他正坐在桌子旁吃著，從煙囪里傳來了一個聲音：“我下來？”
小喬萬尼回答：“下來吧！”
從煙囪上掉下來一條人腿。小喬萬尼喝了一杯酒。
隨後那個聲音又說：“我下來？”
小喬萬尼說：“下來吧！”另一條腿也掉下來了。小喬萬尼咬了一口香腸。
“我下來？”
“下來吧！”掉下來一隻胳膊。小喬萬尼吹起口哨。
“我下來？”
“下來吧！”掉下來另一隻胳膊。
“我下來？”
“下來吧！”
掉下來一個身子，與胳膊、腿接在一起，連成一個沒有腦袋的人站立起來。
“我下來？”
“下來吧！”
腦袋掉了下來，蹦到了身子上。這是一個巨人，小喬萬尼舉起酒杯說：“為你的健康乾杯！”
巨人道“拿著燈，來。”
小喬萬尼拿起燈，但沒動。
“你在前邊走！”巨人說。
“你先走。”小喬萬尼說。
“你先走！”巨人說。
“你先走。”小喬萬尼說。
於是，巨人先動了，一間屋挨一間屋地穿過這幢樓，小喬萬尼跟在後邊照著亮。來到樓梯下的一間小屋，面前出現一扇小門。
“打開！”巨人對小喬萬尼說。
小喬萬尼說：“你去開！”
巨人對肩膀撞開門。裡邊有一個盤旋式的小樓梯。
“下去。”巨人說。
“你先下。”小喬萬尼說。
來到地下室，巨人指著地上的一塊石板：“搬起來！”
“你搬！”小喬萬尼說。巨人像捏小石子一樣搬走了石板。
下邊是三罐金幣。巨人說：“抬起來！”
“你抬！”小喬萬尼說。巨人一次一個地把它們抬了上來。
他們回到那個有煙囪的客廳，巨人說：“小喬萬尼，我的法力失靈了！”說著，一條腿卸了下來，踢上了煙囪。 “這三罐金幣中的一罐給你，”說著，卸下來一隻胳膊，胳膊爬上了煙囪。 “另一罐給那些來替你收屍的修道士，”另一隻胳膊卸了下來，跟著前邊那隻爬上了煙囪。 “第三罐金幣送給從這裡經過的第一個窮人，”另一條腿也卸了下來，巨人的身子坐在了地上。 “這幢樓就歸你了，”巨人的身子也卸了下來，只剩下腦袋立在地上。 “因為擁有這幢樓的那個家族的人永遠地消失了。”說完，巨人的腦袋升了起來，升上煙囪裡了。
天剛亮，就听到有人在唱：上帝憐憫我們，上帝憐憫我們。正是那群教士帶著棺材來收小喬萬尼的屍首。他們看見小伙子正在窗口抽煙斗呢。
無畏的小喬萬尼有了那些金幣成了富人，他快樂地住在那幢樓裡。直到有一天，他僅僅因為一轉身，看見了自己的影子，被嚇死了。
Dauntless Little John
There was once a lad whom everyone called Dauntless Little John, since he was afraid of nothing. Traveling about the world, he came to an inn, where he asked for lodgings. "We have no room here," said the innkeeper, "but if youre not afraid, I will direct you to a certain palace where you can stay."
"Why should I be afraid?"
"People shudder at the thought of that palace, since nobody whos gone in has come out alive. In the morning the friars go up with the bier for anyone brave enough to spend the night inside."
So what did Little John do but pick up a lamp, a bottle, and a sausage, and march straight to the palace.
At midnight he was sitting at the table eating, when he heard a voice in the chimney. "Shall I throw it down?"
"Go ahead!" replied Little John.
Down the chimney into the fireplace fell a mans leg. Little John drank a glass of wine.
Then the voice spoke again. "Shall I throw it down?"
"Go ahead!" So another leg dropped into the fireplace. Little John bit into the sausage.
"Shall I throw it down?"
"Go ahead!" So down came an arm. Little John began whistling a tune.
"Shall I throw it down?"
"By all means!" And there was another arm.
"Shall I throw it down?"
"Yes!"
Then came the trunk of a body, and the arms and legs stuck onto it, and there stood a man without a head.
"Shall I throw it down?"
"Throw it down!"
Down came the head and sprang into place atop the trunk. He was truly a giant, and Little John raised his glass and said, "To your health!"
The giant said, "Take the lamp and come with me."
Little John picked up the lamp, but didnt budge.
"You go first!" said the giant.
"No, after you," insisted Little John.
"After you!" thundered the giant.
"You lead the way!" yelled Little John.
So the giant went first, with Little John behind him lighting the way, and they went through room after room until they had walked the whole length of the palace. Beneath one of the staircases was a small door.
"Open it!" ordered the giant.
"You open it!" replied Little John.
So the giant shoved it open with his shoulder. There was a spiral staircase.
"Go on down," directed the giant.
"After you," answered Little John.
They went down the steps into a cellar, and the giant pointed to a stone slab on the ground. "Raise that!"
"You raise it!" replied Little John, and the giant lifted it as though it were a mere pebble.
Beneath the slab there were three pots of gold. "Carry those upstairs!" ordered the giant.
"You carry them up!" answered Little John. And the giant carried them up one by one.
When they were back in the hall where the great fireplace was, the giant said, "Little John, the spell has been broken!" At that, one of his leg came off and kicked its way up the chimney. "One of these pots of gold is for you." An arm came loose and climbed up the chimney. "The second pot of gold is for the friars who come to carry away your body, believing you perished." The other arm came off and followed the first. "The third pot of gold is for the first poor man who comes by." Then the other leg dropped off, leaving the giant seated on the floor. "Keep the palace for yourself." The trunk separated from the head and vanished. "The owners of the palace and their children are now gone forever." At that, the head disappeared up the chimney.
As soon as it was light, a dirge arose: "Miserere mei, miserere mei." The friars had come with the bier to carry off Little Johns body. But there he stood, at the window, smoking his pipe!
Dauntless Little John was a wealthy youth indeed with all those gold pieces, and he lived happily in his palace. Then one day what should he do but look behind him and see his shadow: he was so frightened he died.
NOTES:
"Dauntless Little John" (Giovannin senza paura)
I begin with a folktale for which I do not indicate, in contrast to my procedure in all the other tales, the particular version I followed. As the versions of it from the various regions of Italy are all quite similar, I let myself be freely guided by common tradition. Not only for that reason have I put this tale first, but also because it is one of the simplest and, in my view, one of the most beautiful folktales.
Italian tradition sharply diverges from the Grimms "Tale of a Boy Who Set Out to Learn Fear" (Grimm no.4) which is no doubt closer to my no.80. The type of tale is of European origin and not found in Asia.
The disappearance of the man limb by limb is not traditional, but a personal touch of my own, to balance his arrival piece by piece. I took the finishing stroke of the shadow from a Sienese version (De Gubernatis, 22), and it is merely a simplification of the more common ending, where Little John is given a salve for fastening heads back on. He cuts his head off and puts it on again--backward; the sight of his rear end so horrifies him that he drops dead.
Copyright: Italian Folktales Selected and Retold by Italo Calvino,
translated by George Martin,
Pantheon Books, New York 1980