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IRIs vIgNOLA

                                                                                                                                         For certain Annalisa couldn’t imagine that the granny was actually the Fairy of the Wo-
               Le nozze tra il Principe Maurizio e Annalisa, incantevole Principessa nel suo abito bian-                                 ods, who wanted to test her to discover if her character had at least a good side. Howe-
               co, furono celebrate con una grande festa e, da quel giorno in avanti, visse amando il                                    ver, the attempt had failed miserably, so the Fairy was forced to punish her severely: the
               prossimo e aiutando tutti quelli che ne avevano bisogno.                                                                  magic that sprang from just one gesture blocked the girl as she was picking up a fruit
                                                                                                                                         and turned her into a stone statue, in which the heart was still beating.
                                                                                                                                         The words of the Fairy inexorably condemned her: <This is the punishment you de-
                                                                                                                                         serve, now you are made of the same stone your heart has always been; you’ll live for
                                                                                                                                         all eternity looking like this, so that remorse can persecute you for a long time. Only at
                                                                                                                                         nightfall your body will turn back to normal, although, at the crack of dawn the spell
                                                                                                                                         will force you to return to this pedestal, where you’ll become a statue again. But beware,
                                                                                                                                         if someone sees you in your human form, you’ll remain forever made of stone!> When
                                                                                                                                         the Fairy of the Woods finished telling her these terrible words, she disappeared.
                                                                                                                                         Many years passed and the statue remained in place, standing in the same position.
                                                                                                                                         Countless bramble bushes covered some of her, hiding her from human eyes. Day after
                                                                                                                                         day, Annalisa waited anxiously for nighttime, when her body came back to life. Then,
                                                                                                                                         leaving her hiding place and working her way through the shrubs, she simply wandered
                                                                                                                                         aimlessly like a restless spirit, gathering berries, roots, fruits, chestnuts… everything the
                                                                                                                                         woods could offer her to eat.
                                                                                                                                         One chilly winter morning, it befell that some woodsmen discovered her while they
                                                                                                                                         were focused on cutting firewood.
                                                                                                                                         <Hey... come to see what I’ve found!> One of them yelled.
                                                                                                                                         <But it cannot be! How can this be here?> Replied another.
                                                                                                                                         <Come on, let’s free it from the brambles.> The third suggested. The news of the unu-
                                                                                                                                         sual finding traveled fast through the village,
                                                                                                                                         flying from mouth to mouth; everyone wanted to see the statue with their own eyes
                                                                                                                                         and was stupefied at the sight of those perfect limbs. Surely the sculptor who crafted it
                                                                                                                                         must have been a real genius for having created such a masterpiece. It seemed alive!
                                                                                                                                         What amazed them more than anything were the red marks scattered on the nude parts
               HEART OF STONE                                                                                                            of the body, like on the arms, the legs, the face… If she had been real, those could
                                                                                                                                         have been small injuries caused by the brambles, but she was made of stone… It was
                                                                                                                                         an inexplicable mystery. Anyway, they moved it to the village.

               Once upon a time, there was a child who lived in a small house a little bit out of the                                    The king was informed of the event and, between the multitude of countrymen that
                                                                                                                                         had been beckoned by the extraordinary discovery, the local Prince, Maurizio, arrived as
               village, at the limit of the woods. Her magnificent looks contrasted with her difficult                                   well. He was an attractive young man who, deeply stricken by her sad eyes, wanted the
               character, since her parents had rather spoiled her and she had grown up selfish and                                      statue for himself. He had her transported to the castle and placed in a corner of the
               bullying. For this reason and because she kept picking up a fight with everyone, the chil-                                vastest room of his chambers, where he remained to admire her at length.
               dren who lived in the village avoided her company.                                                                        At night, Annalisa descended her pedestal and went to poke around in the different ro-
               She was already a young lady when, during a walk through the woods, she bumped into                                       oms of the castle, careful not to make the tiniest of noises not to be discovered. Mau-
               a poor old woman covered in rags, bent over her cane.                                                                     rizio, though, was a fairly light sleeper and certain soft footsteps aroused his suspicion.
               <Pretty little girl, how lucky to find you here! I have been wandering these paths a long                                 He rolled out of bed and called the guards who had fallen asleep. An inspection of the
               time, but I’m afraid I lost my way home. I’m really tired and I’m thirsty, too. Would you                                 chambers reassured him. He must have dreamt of the noises.
               be so kind to lead me to your house, so that I can rest and drink a sip of water?> The                                    All of this aside, the strange event repeated the following nights, so one evening he de-
               old lady said with a feeble voice.                                                                                        cided to hide himself behind a big closet, from where he exited unseen when he heard
               Nevertheless, the girl, whose name was Annalisa, had no intentions of going back                                          the usual soft noise coming from inside his chambers.
               home. She had just left it! She can deal with it! The girl thought while answering rudely:                                He was astonished when he discovered the origin of those strange noises and spied on
               <I’m sorry, but I’m busy now; besides, my parents aren’t home and I don’t have the                                        her, following the maiden until the light of dawn was on the brink of shooing the night
               keys. You’ll have to find someone else to help you.> When she finished speaking she                                       away, and she went back. Only then he lashed out at her disrespectfully: <Stop right
               walked away, leaving the poor woman speechless.



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                periodico mensile del gruppo NOIQUI                                                                                                                                         periodico mensile del gruppo NOIQUI
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