Page 70 - RIVISTA NOIQUI FEBBRAIO 2022

iRIs vIgnOLA

gelide acque. THE MANNEQUIN AND THE WHITE WOLF
La buona Fata Lucilla, Regina delle Ninfe, che abitava in fondo al lago, non poteva On top of a great mountain, there is a small village with a minuscule square, at whose
accettare quella triste fine, pertanto, da un solo gesto delle sue mani, due vortici d’acqua center stand the statues of a beautiful damsel and a white wolf, in memory of an an-
scaturirono dal profondo e sollevarono i due corpi inanimati al di fuori del lago, deposi- cient tale strange to say the least, that every grandfather still tells to his nephews during
tandoli sulla sponda. the long winter nights, sitting by the lit fireplace.
Le Ninfe, risvegliate dal rumore del ghiaccio che si spezzava, erano affrante per la sorte
dei poveretti e, in lacrime, li attorniarono, nel momento in cui la loro Regina riemerse a Everything started in the shop of the seamstress who worked in that district, an old
lady who had spent her life sawing dresses for her fellow countrymen. Among her few
sua volta dal lago per chinarsi a fare una carezza ai due freddi cadaveri. possessions, she owned a wooden mannequin with the shape of a woman, on which
Nell’attimo che seguì, gli occhi chiusi di entrambi si riaprirono alla vita e le Ninfe prese- she used to try the dresses after she had cut and busted them, before she asked her
ro a danzare festose intorno a loro. clients to try them on themselves.
Lucilla sorrise, soddisfatta della sua opera, a Irene e al suo amico che erano ancora con- Since she never got married and, as a consequence, didn’t have children, she gave to the
fusi e di seguito si inabissò nelle gelide acque trasparenti del lago incantato, intanto che
il canto delle Ninfe inondava tutta mannequin the name she would have given to her daughter if only she ever had one:
Irene. She addressed it this way, as if it was a real person, and felt less lonely.
la vallata. One bad winter day, the old lady suddenly died and her shop was closed. Her working
Gli abitanti di quel piccolo paese tools, the mannequin included, were stuffed in a corner of the adjacent courtyard.
eressero le due statue e tramanda- Many days and many nights passed. The poor mannequin lay naked on top of the pile,
rono la storia ai loro posteri, i quali, half covered with snow, its nice, dark and deep eyes addressing the sky, almost pleading.
perfino un centinaio di anni dopo,
andavano ancora affermando di Christmas Eve came. It was snowing and freezing. When the bells of the Church ringed
at midnight to announce the birth of Baby Jesus, a blaze lit up the sky: it was the Star
aver intravisto più volte, nel bosco, of Bethlehem that, for an instant, showered the Earth with a cold light, gifting with
le due sagome della fanciulla e del heat the inanimate body of the mannequin, so that it came to life and became human,
lupo bianco camminare fianco a probably because of the will of the Creator, who gave a soul to the dashing damsel
fianco, inseparabili.
with long raven-black hair, who quickly fell on her knees and crossed herself, thanking
God.
She rose right after and looked for a dress in the heap of old cloths; she found a pie-
ce that was a bit threadbare and a tattered overcoat, too. She dressed up and started
to walk on the deserted street. The Holy Mass had already ended and the countrymen
were back in their homes.
From the still lit windows at the ground floors, she could sneak a peak and watch the
joy of all the children still awake, next to the big trees full of decorations and lights.
The poor girl felt lonely and cried. God in Heaven granted her a wish, but at what cost?
She walked and walked and walked; she arrived at the border of the forest and then
plucked up her courage to venture among the dark profiles of the trees. The cold light
of the moon, passing through the majestic leafy branches, created terrifying and threa-
tening shadows.
She noticed a huge hole that some animal had probably dug out; luckily it was under an
enormous magnolia tree, and snow hadn’t covered it; she curled up inside the pit and
instantly fell asleep, exhausted.
At first light everything seemed different, the scary shadows of the night had disappe-
ared. The forest was asleep under a thick, white and freezing mantle of snow, and the
animals were safe inside their lairs in hibernation.
The poor damsel, since she had become a human being, felt the pangs of hunger and
thirst, but there was nothing she could feed herself with and the water of the nearby
creek was frosted too.
She went back to the village and, trusting the good heart of its inhabitants, sat at the
corner of an alley, begging for alms. The passersby stopped, curious at seeing a new

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