Flyaway Tales

by Stefano Amadei

  No one in the village had ever seen anything so beautiful, refined and precious.

  Even Don Carlo for a moment was speechless.

  Like the others he watched the solid gold bell hanging there, like a bunch of grapes on its gleaming branch.

  Thin but strong threads of gold came down from the pure branch that, who knew how, was anchored to the wall and wrapped, firmly supporting the beautiful bell.

  But what was even more surprising were its features. The arms of a beautiful peasant woman came down on the two sides and hands ran down into the pockets of her apron that served as the bell. Her generous shapes were hidden by a chaste neckline.

  But the girl’s head had exaggerated features, almost grotesque. If the body was well proportioned, the top of the bell, which in fact was the head, was oval and much smaller.

  From beneath the lace cap that hid her hair, stuck two huge ears, much larger than they should have been, bright eyes and a mouth that seemed to want to speak at any moment.

  The overall impression was of something very beautiful, but somewhat disturbing.

  Don Carlo collected himself a little after and announced to all that Mass would be held soon, given the large and unusual number of faithful for that hour.

  During the sermon, Don Carlo could not help but rejoice in the gift of the bell and asked the clerk to arrange a rope to be installed to call the faithful to mass.

  At the door people stopped a long while to look at the strange features of the golden girl.

  Then, little by little, everyone went back to their daily worries and forgot the precious instrument that had appeared in the night.

  The next day the village was awakened by the hurried and annoying ringing from the golden figure.

  An unpleasant voice accompanied the notes.

  Despite the fact that the sexton had not yet fixed the rope that the parish priest had asked for, the clapper swung strongly, the bell rang and the voice alone was perfectly distinguishable in that crashing.

  You did not need to be close to hear what the voice said as it could be heard far away, accompanying the chimes.

  “Tonight Anselmo the steward has moved the boundary of his father’s field, enlarging his to double the size!”

  Always the same phrase was repeated, with the same force with which the gold bell sounded. What was said bounced around in the head and didn’t seem to want to go away again.

  After an hour the ringing stopped.

  Needless to say, the first to run was Don Carlo.

  This time, at that sight, he immediately made the sign of the cross.

  In his hiding place Badwinter stopped for a moment to rub his hands and grinning, he was surprised by a sray of vomit.

  He doubled over as he came prey to a twinge, then spat on the ground and began to recover. It was passing...

  Don Carlo, who at first had thought it was all a bad joke, and faced with this situation that had got so far out of hand went to Anselmo’s house.

  The whole village knew that, whenever there was work to do in the field, that Anselmo moved the border of his father’s field, who was very old and perhaps would not listen to reason. To have his son do his work, well, he wouldn’t hear of it. And then what would he have done all day?

  Anselmo then moved the border enlarging his field to avoid giving his parent the trouble and, when work the work was finished, he put everything back in place.

  “It’s true Don Carlo, last night I moved the border post, but I just told my wife. ‘Look dear I moved the boundary post twice’. I told her that. Fortunately, my father does not hear very well and I told him that what he had heard was the sound of the bell that had been a little ruined by the wind. That is what I told him. He shrugged, and my father went to the field very happy. But if he had heard? He would have believed the worse! That’s what! And everyone in the village would be upset because they care for us all! Here come the neighbors to see how we are!”

  And while Don Carlo stepped aside, his doubts seemed to take a well-defined direction.

  After all the bell did not seem to be a gift of providence.

  Badwinter hopped in place with joy. More than smile, he showed his sharp jaws. There was hardly ever a mistake to be made with discord.

  The next day, at the same time, the bell repeated a phrase in exactly the same way, only the phrase between the notes changed.

  “Mirko the farmer has put his neighbors bales of hay in his barn and he is overjoyed,” the bell kept repeating.

  This time also Don Carlo went to Mirko the farmer’s house first of all. As he had the day before for Anselmo, Mirko was also stunned and confused, but a little frightened.

  “Ah, Don Carlo! It’s only you! You have to stop that hellish instrument! We can’t go on like this, with everything made public.”

  “What happened Mirko? Is what the bell says true?”

  “Of course, it couldn’t be otherwise! Enzo, my neighbor, had to go to his mother’s bedside, who is very ill, however, she lives a long way from here. Not knowing how long he would be away he asked me a favor, to take care of his things. So I took his hay up with mine, otherwise it would certainly have rotted.

  If needed I will also look after his fields, but I hope his mother get’s better and he will come back soon. Enzo is a really good person and I do this favor for him willingly...”

  “And this thing, Mirko, did you tell anyone last night?” interrupted Don Carlo.

  “Yes, my wife. I was tired, but satisfied. I told her only last night, before I went to sleep. What anger! I don’t want, I don’t like it that all my actions are made public, even if we are talking about good deeds. And then everyone was made aware of Enzo’s situation. Here everyone helps everyone and you know this Don Carlo!”

  “I know, but someone else doesn’t!”

  From his refuge Badwinter laughed so hard that he was almost discovered.

  If things were going like this, soon the village would be in an uproar.

  On the way back Don Carlo thought.

  That evening, he went to the back of the church and took out a long ladder from a closet in the sacristy.

  He placed it just below the golden bell, which in the meantime had stopped ringing, he reached out and pulled out the clapper.

  Don Carlo thought he would have to work hard to do it, or at least of having to open the hook, of course, holding it in place inside the bell.

  As soon as he put his hands on it, instead, the clapper stuck to his hand as happens sometimes if you touch a piece of fruit hanging from a plant and it comes unstuck by itself, resting, without your wanting it, in the hands of those who maybe only wanted to admire it.

  Don Carlo was surprised at how light that gold was, although up to a certain point.

  He carried the clapper into the sacristy, placed it on a table and went to sleep.

  The next day the bell sounded even stronger than the day before. It shouted: “Don Carlo stole the clapper from the golden bell, but it won’t help! Don Carlo is a thief priest!”

  It was what the priest had somehow expected, even though he would have preferred not to know that he was right. He ran into the sacristy and on the table he saw what was left of the clapper: a dried-up twig, which looked nothing at all like the gold it wanted to make you think it was made.

  The golden bell had grown another clapper in the night to replace the old.

  Badwinter could not believe his eyes and his ears. The priest there had fallen for it and had served his upgrade on a silver platter. Or rather, gold! He laughed so much that he had to lie on his stomach and beat his fists on the ground. He certainly would have cried because of all the fun he was having if only he had tears. But deep down this was enough for him!

  Needless to say, many people went to the church to see if, once again, the bell was telling the truth.

  Don Carlo invited everyone to enter the sanctuary, he climbed into the pulpit and explained how everything had happened showing what remained of the fake gold clap
per.

  So he summoned an extraordinary meeting of the parish council for that evening.

  And when the hour of the meeting had arrived and everyone was seated Don Carlo motioned for silence, then a document was distributed to the participants who read it silently, very surprised.

  “I was wrong and I apologize to all of you. I began to doubt the bell since it started playing alone. Today I had the proof that, as many suspected, the devil has had a hand. I write because, as you certainly know, the big ears of the bell are not only a grotesque stretch, but hear behind all the walls in the village and in the more distant fields, and its mouth will always speak only half-truths and if it hurts someone with its words, so much the better. The bell was put there on purpose to sow discontent and unrest, to separate and divide the villagers. As we have seen we cannot remove it from the wall because it will just grow back. But we can do something. Here’s what I thought...”

  There were many silent nods of the head as the assembly, as it began, broke up silently. Many could not help but cast a grim look at the bell of discord.

  As expected the following day the bell declared: “Don Carlo held a secret meeting last night: will he also steal the golden bell?” and again “A silent meeting was held only by conspirators!”

  By now, however, the people in the village knew what to do and in their homes, fields and shops, they all followed the wise counsel of the pastor.

  So it was that the following dawn the ringing was accompanied by different words: “Nicodemo asked Marta to marry him and she told him yes. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!” and “The mayor and his wife invited Don Carlo to lunch who arrived with wine and a bouquet of flowers!” and again “Giovanna told Luca that she is pregnant and he has gone mad with joy!” and so on. Good news had suddenly taken the place of the bad.

  Don Carlo had known for a long time that every object keeps its own nature and is supposed to be used for what it is.

  The hoe wants to make furrows in the ground, the hammer drives nails... and the bell can’t help itself but ring. But having only good news in the village, the bell had to choose between sounding the good news, or remaining silent. And it was forced to make a choice.

  But as the bad news, bad thought and discord created by it had nourished discord, a little at a time it became less intense, but more festive and the voice less penetrating, but more joyful and a little at a time the bell became more opaque.

  All continued until one Sunday morning Don Carlo went to church very early as usual, to recite the morning prayers and noticed the bell, now powerless and almost completely withered, smiled benevolently.

  “Thank you Don Carlo!” it had become good “Thank you for forcing me to sound like all the other bells, to bring hope and joy to people’s hearts. To announce only beautiful and holy things, things for which it is worth living! Farewell!”

  That said the cry of discord let go of the front of the church and rolled dried up to the ground. Then it crumbled to dust that was taken away by the light breeze that came down from the nearby mountains.

  And Badwinter?

  As the bell sounded for the villagers’ good news, the devil, who like all the devils had the pot but not the cover and had not thought that it is not always possible to lead someone astray, first he stopped grinning, then he began to worry and to feel too bad to get involved. Finally, he made himself ever smaller, curling up at every chime, writhing and putting his hands over his ears at every good announcement. Until, the bell fell, even Badwinter ended up with his tail between his legs, in a crack in the ground where he disappeared forever.

  A THOUSAND YEARS OF LOVE

  The White Fairy would soon give birth to her daughter. Usually, if you want to find out if you will have a boy or a girl and to know if they are well you must go to the doctors, but fairies don’t need to do that. The fairies know these things on their own.

  The White Fairy was very happy about the new life she was about to give birth to, but she was also very sad because the daughter of a white fairy would have to wait a thousand years before they can enter Fairyland for the first time and where all the fairies had to return.

  But since the White Fairy already loved her daughter, she decided to travel to the Kingdom of the Four Winds and ask for help from Queen Rose of the Winds, as she was known for having helped many other fairies who had found themselves in the same situation.

  Than she pointed her wand at herself and immediately appeared on a very high snow-covered mountain, where the great castle of Queen Rosa of the Winds stood.

  A thousand fluttering flags and colored festive pinwheels welcomed the White Fairy who arrived in the presence of the Queen, accompanied by a mild and warm breeze.

  “White Fairy, I greet you and welcome you into my kingdom. What more can I do for you?”

  “Your majesty, as you can see I need your help, I have to give birth to the little one that I am carrying within me, but unfortunately I’ll have to immediately return to Fairyland without her. It is the law of the fairies. It is hard to understand if you are not a fairy, as in how fish breathe underwater and how birds fly in the sky, so I’ll have to be separated from her for a very long time! But a thin invisible thread will always unite our hearts.”

  “Your Majesty...” continued the White Fairy “... this fairy will need two parents that love her as the hot summer sun and as the morning dew. Who will have her as a daughter will be ready to love her more than they love themselves, will have to be ready to love her for a thousand years!”

  Queen Rose of the Winds did not think a moment and immediately agreed to receive the White Fairy in her castle and to do everything in her power to help her.

  It was a beautiful and warm day in June when a ray of sunshine welcomed the birth of fairy Gaia! She was a wonderful girl like the full moon that shines in the valleys and woods, and her smile was like a rainbow: she smelled of spring and filled the hearts of those who saw her with joy and love. In the castle there was much hurrying back and forth, a general agitation and everyone, absolutely everyone, wanted to see the little one and fell in love with her.

  As they were caught up in the happy event, only after a while someone noticed that the White Fairy had returned to Fairyland, just like she had said, certain that the queen would keep the promise she had made.

  Immediately, Queen Rose of the Winds called Gust before her, as soon as she learned the White Fairy had left.

  Gust, which was a slight breeze, showed up in a whisper, as he was proud of being able to help the small and beautiful fairy.

  “Get on the back of the Southwest wind, the Sirocco, Mistral and the North Wind and go through the whole realm. Look in every corner, go into every house, as quickly as you can find Gaia’s heart mother and father and bring them here!” ordered the queen.

  “As your Majesty wishes so it shall be done!” replied Gust happily, and flew away immediately.

  But the realm of the Four Winds was so large and there were so many people living there that even if Gust could fly it took him forty days before he could return with his report.

  “Well, my dear breeze, you’ve done your job?” asked the Queen of the Winds curious and full of hope as soon as she saw him return from his search.

  With the only voice he had left for having traveled for so long and so far Gust replied: “I have seen many places and paths in the valleys and plains, villages and cities, and wherever I went, with my soft breath, I searched carefully. I didn’t forget to slip under the door of every house, good or bad and, more importantly, I didn’t forget to knock on anyone’s heart. I have checked throughout the realm, but I found nothing good. Then, hidden by a large cherry tree, I saw a house that I’d not noticed before. I entered it and, in a flash, I realized Gaia’s heart parents had just come home. I was certain as I am sure you are the queen, like when you meet a friendly face among many, and you recognize it, so I was sure it was really them.

  And what their hearts told me I placed in this coffer that I offer so tha
t Your Majesty may be pleased to hear it.”

  The queen opened the chest and two wonderful voices could be heard around the castle, a man and a woman who sang a beautiful song:

  Someone has just asked us

  we will love only you

  And until that shall be

  Our love you could see:

  When sea will have fresh water,

  morning rise in the west rather,

  If plants all year will,

  Flower and be fruitful,

  The mountains will be flat,

  beaches of fine gold, what!

  Up to when we won't know

  Until then we will love you:

  How much waves takes the sea?

  and the wind knows how to sing?

  Why does every rose bloom?

  How many drops in the rain?

  Has more leaves jasmine flowers

  Or needles in all the pines?

  The reason for our big love

  That is found in every hour

  Certainly you already know

  We are your Dad and Mom!

  Star who was born for us

  Finally we now meet again,

  For the scattered world

  In the end hugged again,

  We are Mom and Dad,

  Our joy begins here!

  After a long moment of silence, the queen nodded smiling. This love is for more than a thousand years, she thought to herself contented.

  Immediately Gust arranged to bring Gaia and her heart parents together and Gaia’s parents arrived at the castle in a flash on the wind.

  “Here they are...” whispered the winds as they passed “... they are the ones, fairy Gaia’s mother and father!”

  “Welcome, we have been waiting for some time!” they were greeted by the smiling Queen Rosa of the Winds who lead them into a warm room in the castle where in a beautiful white bed the little one was sleeping.

  The queen held Gaia’s mother to her tightly and said, “She’s beautiful!”

  The excitement and happiness was so great that Gaia’s father and mother began to rise from the ground, first a few centimeters, but then it was like the anchor that kept them tied to the ground was cut. They began to flutter around the room without stopping to look at each other in disbelief and happiness and to look at the bed where Gaia was determined to stay without being disturbed.