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useless-sloveniafacts · 7 years

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Sʟᴏᴠᴇɴᴇ Fᴏʟᴋ ᴀɴᴅ Fᴀɪʀʏ Tᴀʟᴇs

4•∞ Pastirček

The Shepherd

In his day, a small shephed would let some cows pasture by the sea in Istria, joined by some sheep and goats. It was afternoon and the scorching sun was beating down on earth. Suddenly, the boy saw three beautiful girls sleeping on the soft grass. They were fairies. Words couldn’t capture their beauty and they looked very much alike; they were almost identical. They lay peacefully and seemingly slept soundly. The boy didn’t think for a moment that they could be fairies. He thought they were ordinary girls who grew weary because of the sun, lay down and fell asleep. But the sun will burn them, thought the boy to himself. Their faces are too pretty to let that happen! I must help them. He climbed a linden tree nearby, cut down some especially bushy branches and stuck them into the ground around the beautiful girls so that the sun couldn’t get to them anymore. Not long after, the fairies woke up and rose. They began wondering and asking one another, whoever had been so charitable as to have shielded them from the sun’s scorch. (Though they knew very well what had occurred, for fairies never sleep and only pretend to do so. They were only asking one another to see whether the boy would speak up or not.)

… continued below, along with Slovene original. Illustration by Ančka Gošnik Godec.

But the shepherd didn’t speak up, even more, he tried to run away because he couldn’t look at the fairies; their hair shone too brightly. It shone like pure gold. — Immediately, all three of them were by him. He couldn’t get away. They asked him what he wants as a gift for shielding them from the scorching sun. But the boy didn’t dare ask for anything. They offered him a nice pouch, full of money, which never ran out of gold coins. Yet the boy didn’t care for it at all, for he didn’t even know what money was. He didn’t want it so he could play with it and watch it either, because it’s dead, while his cattle and sheep, which meant everything to him, are alive. When the fairies noticed this, they said: “When you’ll be taking the cattle and the sheep home in the evening, you’ll hear all kinds of bells ringing from the sea behind you, but don’t look back until you get home.” As soon as they said this, they disappeared. Only now did the boy realise that those weren’t ordinary girls like any other, but that they had to be fairies. With time, the sun sank further and further down toward the sea and the shepherd set on leading his herd back home. The closer he got to home the more ringing and clanging he heard behind him. But he forgot what the fairies had told him. Halfway home, he turned around to see who’s been herding so much cattle behind his back? What he saw was a great horde of sheep, cows and goats, following his herd from out of the sea. But the moment he looked back they stopped coming out of the sea. Only the ones that had already been on land accompanied him home. If the shepherd had not looked back, his herd would’ve been indescribably large; but even so, he got enough, as he gifted his poor neighbours with some of the cattle that the fairies have so strangely bestowed upon him.

Transcription help: • stressed vowels are bolded • e → ẹ=[e], e=[ɛ], ə=[ə] • o → ọ=[o], o=[ɔ] • a → a=[a̱], ạ=[ɐ] (the difference is marginal and may be ignored) • l → l=[l], ł=[w]

Pastirčək

Svoje dni je pasəł majhən dẹčək v Istri blizu mọrja nekọliko krav, ki jim je bilọ pridruženih tudi nẹkaj ovac in koz. Bilọ je popọłdne in pekọče sọnce je pripẹkalo na zemljo. Kạr dẹčək zaglẹda tri lẹpe dẹklice, ki so spale na mehki trati. Bile so vile. Neizrečeno so bile lẹpe, pa tudi zelọ podọbne so si bile; skoro enake so bile med sebọj. Mirno so ležale in vsaj na videz sladko spale. Dẹčək niti malo ni pomislił, da bi utegnile biti vile. Mislił je, da so navadne dẹklice, ki so se po sọncu utrudile, pa so lẹgle in zaspale. Tọda sọnce jih bo opeklo, misli dečək sam pri sebi. Škọda takọ lẹpih obrazov! Mọram jim pomagati. Splẹzał je na bližnjo lipo, nalọmił prạv košatih vej in jih zasadił okọli lẹpih dẹklic takọ, da jih sọnce ni moglo nič več ožgati. Nedọłgo natọ se vile zbudẹ in vstanejo. Pričnọ se čuditi in spraševati druga drugo, kdọ le je bił takọ usmiljen, da jih je ubranił pred sọnčno pripẹko. (Dobro pa so vẹdele, kaj se je bilọ zgodilo, kajti vile nikdar ne spẹ, temveč se le naredẹ, ko da bi spale. Spraševale so le zatọ, da vidijo, ali se bo dẹčək oglasił ali ne.) Pastirčək pa se ni oglasił, mạrveč je poskušał celọ zbežati, ker vil ni mogəł glẹdati; lasjẹ so se jim namreč preveč bleščali. Svetili so se kạkor suho, čisto zlatọ. — V tẹm trenutku so bilẹ že vse tri pri njem. Ni jim mọgəł uiti. Povprašale so ga, kaj họče v dar, ker jih je obvarovạł pred žgọčim sọncem. Dẹčək pa si ni upał nič prositi. Ponujale so mu čẹdno mošnjo denarjev, ki ni v njej nikdar zmanjkalo rumenih cekinov. Tọda pastirčək za vse tọ ni nič marał, ker denarjev še poznạł ni. Da bi se pa z denarjem samọ igrạł in ga ogledovạł, tudi ni hoteł, kajti denar je mrtəv, on pa je imẹł živa govẹda in ọvce, ki so mu bile nad vse. Ko so vile to opazile, so mu rekle: „Ko boš zvečẹr gnạł domọv, boš slišał za sebọj od mọrja səm zvončkljanje vsakovrstnih zvoncev, pa nikar se med potjọ ne oziraj, dokler ne prideš domọv.“ Rekle so in izginile. Zdạj je šele dẹčək spoznạł, da tọ niso bile navadne dẹklice kạkor druge, ampak bržkone vile. Počasi se je sọnce bolj in bolj nagibalo v mọrje in pastirčək žene svojo črẹdico domọv. Čimbolj se je bližał dọmu, tem vẹčje zvonjenje in bingljanje je slišał za hrbtom. Tọda pozabił je, kạr so mu bile vile naročile. Ko je bił že na pọł pọta, se radovẹdən obrne, da vidi, kdọ žene za njim tọliko blaga? Pa je zaglẹdal vẹliko trumo ovac, krav in koz, ki so šle iz mọrja za njegovim blagom. V trenutku pa, ko se je ozrł nazaj, je vse prenẹhalo hoditi na suho iz mọrja. Samọ tista truma ga je sprẹmila do dọma, ki je bilạ žẹ zunaj. Če bi pastirčək ne bił poglẹdał nazaj, bi imẹł neizrečeno veliko črẹdo; pa sạj mu je bilọ tudi tọ dovolj, ker je tudi rẹvne sosẹde obdarił z blagom, ki so mu ga bile vile prạv čudno podarile.

Text taken from: Brenk K. Babica pripoveduje : slovenske ljudske pripovedi. Ljubljana, Mladinska knjiga, 1979. Similar (if not identical) can be found in: Bohanec F. Ljudske pripovedi : izbrano delo. Ljubljana, Mladinska knjiga (“Naša beseda” collection), 1972.

#slovene folk and fairy tales #slavic fairy tales #slavic mythology

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