(The Gypsy Queen)
(The Gypsy Queen)
| Había un rey que tenía un hijo, y cuando éste llegó a la edad casadera, dijo a sus padres: - Quiero casarme con la mujer más hermosa del mundo. Así es que voy a recorrer el mundo entero hasta encontrarla.
Salío del palacio y caminó hasta que llegó a una fuente en donde se detuva a tomar a gua. Al inclinarse a beber el agua, vió que ahí se reflejaban tres naranjas, alzó la vista y notó que de un frondoso naranjo pendían tres grandes y hermosas naranjas. - Que sabrosas se ven, dijo el príncipe, y diciendo y haciendo, subío al árbol y cortó las tres preciosas naranjas. Partió la primera, y como por encanto, salió del corazón de aquella naranja una joven muy hermosa, quien al ver al príncipe le dijo: - Dame pan. - No puedo, contesto él, -porque no tengo. - Entonces a mi naranja me vuelvo, dijo la joven, y desapareciéndose, la naranja quedó intacta. Partió el príncipe otra naranja y de la fruta salió otra joven mucho más hermosa que la primera. - Dame pan, le dijo al príncipe. - No puedo, porque no tengo, le contestó. - Entonces a mi naranja me vuelvo. La naranja se cerró y quedó como antes. Se quendó pensativo el príncipe y decidiose ir a conseguir pan por se de la última naranja otra joven aun más hermosa, pidiéndole pan. Así pensaba el joven, cuando acertó pasar por allí un gitano en su coche. - Amigo, le gritó el príncipe, - te doy una moneda de oro se me das un pedazo de pan. Apresurosa a bajar del coche el gitano y corriendo le llevó el pan al príncipe. El príncipe ya contento y satisfecho, partió la tercer naranja y tal como lo había pensado, del corazón de la fruta saltó una joven muchísimo más hermosa que las dos anteriores. - Dame pan, le dijo ésta. El príncipe gustoso le dió pan a la joven quien luego le dijo: - Ahora, te pertenezco, puedes hacer de mi lo que quieras. - Contigo me caso, le dijo el príncipe. Como la joven no tenía vestido, el príncipe quería vestirla para poder llevársela a su palacio. Dió un vistazo a la ropa del gitano que aun permanecía allí, pero notó que aquellas prendas estaban muy sucias. El príncipe entonces le dijo a la joven: - Quédate aqui con este gitano mientras voy a traerte ropa. El gitano tenía una hija que viajaba con él en el coche, pero que habiéndose quedado dormida no se dió cuenta de lo que cuando llegaron al lugar sucedió con el príncipe, ni que había pasado. Despertose en el momento en que el príncipe se alejaba en su caballo, y al verlo se enamoró de él. Bajó luego del coche la gitana y fué a reguntar a su padre que ocurría. Este le contó lo sucedido. La gitana viendo a la joven le dijo: - Déjame peinarte para que estes más bonita cuando regrese el príncipe. Consintió la joven, y mientras la gitana peinaba su hermosa cabellera sintió que esta le clavaba un alfiler en la cabeza. Al momento la dama de la naranja se volvió paloma. La gitana entonces se quitó la ropa y se colocó en el sitio donde había estado la joven. Regresó el príncipe y cuando vió a la gitana le dijo: - Señora, ¡cómo te has puesto negra! La gitana le contestó: - Es que me ha quemado mucho el sol. El príncipe creyendo que era la misma joven de la naranja, se llevó a la gitana a su palacio y se casó con ella. Un día llegó una palomita al jardín del rey y le dijo al jardinero: - Jardinerito del rey ¿cómo esta el príncipe con su mujer? - Unas veces canta, pero más veces llora, - contestó el jardinero. Todos los días llegaba la palomita al jardín y le hacía la misma pregunta al jardinero, hasta que éste contó lo sucedido al príncipe. El príncipe dió orden al jardinero para que atrapara la palomita cuando regresara. El jardinero untó de goma el árbol donde diariamente se posaba la palomita y cuando ésta hizo su visita diaria, al querer emprender el vuelo quedó pegada al árbol pudiéndola coger el jardinero fácilmente y llevársela al príncipe. El príncipe se enamoró de la palomita. La cogió con cariño y al estarle acariciando la cabecita encontró el alfiler que tenía clavado y se lo sacó al momento. Inmediatamente la palomita se convirtió en la bella dama de la naranja. La hermosa joven le contó su aventura al príncipe, y entrando los dos al palacio le comunicaron lo sucedido al rey. El rey indignado dió órdenes para que inmediatamente quemaran a la gitana, y el príncipe y la dama de la naranja se cassaron y vivieron muy felieces. |
There was a king who had one son. When the prince reached a marriageable age, he told his parents, "I want to marry the most beautiful woman in the whole world. Therefore, I am going to journey all over the world until I find her."
The prince left the palace and traveled until he came to a fountain where he stopped to take a drink. As the youth bent over to drink, he saw reflected in the water three oranges. Looking up, he saw three large and beautiful fruits on the branch of an orange tree. "How tasty they look," said the prince. Climbing the tree, he removed the oranges from the branch. The prince cut the first orange in half and from its interior a beautiful maiden appeared. "Give me bread," said the maiden to the prince. "I can't," answered he, "because I don't have any." "Then to my orange I will return," said the maiden, and the orange became whole again. The prince cut the second orange, and from this ruit also sprang a maiden, much more beautiful than the first. "Give me bread," the second maiden told the youth. "I can't," said the prince, "because I don't have any." "Then to my orange I will return," said the maden, and the orange became whole again. The prince thoughtfully considered the situation. He decided to get some bread in case another maiden should appear asking for it. As the prince was making his plans, a gypsy went by in a cart. "Amigo," cried the prince, "I will give you a golden coin for a piece of bread." Hurriedly the gypsy left his cart, hastening to give the prince some bread. The prince, now happy and satisfied, cut the third orange. And from the orange sprang a maiden, much more beautiful than the other two. "Give me bread," the third maiden said. The prince, joyously, gave her bread. The lady of the orange then exclaimed, "I am now yours. You can do as you please with me." "I will marry you," answered the prince. The maiden was utterly naked, and since the prince wanted to take her back to the palace he could not let her go as she was. He examined the gypsy's clothes but they were dirty. The prince then told the maiden, "Remain here with this gypsy while I go and bring some garments for you." The gypsy had a daughter who had been asleep in the cart and who had not witnessed what had taken place. The daughter awoke when the prince was riding away, and at sight of him, she fell in love. The gypsy's daughter jumped from the cart and asked her father what had taken place. He told her all that had happened. The gypsy girl saw the beautiful maiden and said to her, "Let me comb your hair so that you will be much more beautiful when the prince returns." The maiden agreed. As the gypsy girl began combing, she suddenly stuck a pin in the lady's head. Immediately the maiden turned into a dove. The gypsy girl then took her clothes off and sat where the maiden had been. Soon the prince returned and, seeing the gypsy witch, exclaimed, "Señora, how dark you have become!" "The sun has burnt my skin," the witch answered. The prince, believing the witch was the maiden from the orange, took the gypsy woman to his palace and there married her. One day a dove arrived at the garden of the king and asked the gardener, "Gardener to the king, how are the princess and his wife?" "Sometimes he sings, but more often does he cry," answered the gardener. From then on the little dove would come to the garden and ask the same question again and again. Finally, the gardener told the prince about the dove. The prince then ordered him to capture the bird next time it came to the garden. The gardener limed the tree where the dove always rested. The next day, when it tried to fly away, it could not and the gardener captured it and took it to the prince. The prince fell in love with the little dove. He took the bird in his hands and began stroking its head. Feeling the pin in the dove's head, he jerked it out. Immediately the dove changed back into the maiden of the orange. The beautiful maid told the prince all that had happened and the prince told the king the maiden's story. The king became greatly angered and ordered that the gpsy witch be burned at the stake. And the prince and the maiden married and lived happily ever after. |
NOTES FOR LA REINA MORA
"La Reina Mora" is a special type of "The Pursued Maiden" theme. In its entirety this type of tale contains three fundamental motifs:
1. The finding of the heroine in the last of three oranges.
2. The enchantment of the heroine by the sticking of a pin in her head.
3. The substitution of an evil person for the promised bride.
Cosquin has made an extensive study of the above motives, and has concluded that the tale is of Oriental provenience, a fact further brought out in Somadeva's collection. The Oriental type is as follows: from a jambu flower bedewed with the heroine's tears, a fruit is produced. A hermit goes in search of fruits when the magic one falls to the ground and the heavenly maiden appears. Other variants of this tale are given in The Ocean of Story, Vol. VI, pp. 15, 16.
In Italy and Spain the particular type of incidents found in "La Reina Mora" are extremely popular and many tales have been recorded. A.M. Espinosa refers to seventy-four versions of the "Reina Mora" type, he himself recording two (Tales 120, 121) which are akin to this story.
A few of the most importand references are as follows:
1. Basile, Il Pentamerone, the "Supplanted Bride" morif found in the Frame Story and in Day III, Tale 10; "The Three Citrons," Day V, tale 9. Other references given by Norman Pener in his translation of the Pentamerone are found in Vol. III, P. 257.
2. Boggs, R.S., has edited a small collection of Spanish tales in the book Three Golden Oranges. Tale I is a variation of "La Reina Mora." Boggs, in his Index of Spanish Folktales, also refers to other variants on pp. 54, 55, 57, and 58.
Relationship of "La Reina Mora" to tales of the same general type.
Similarities:
1. The hero sets out in search of a wife or beautiful princess.
2. The hero finds three oranges.
3. He succeeds in rescuing the third maiden from her orange.
4. A gypsy, a servant maide, or a witch, take the place of the maiden.
5. The witch enchants the maid of the orange into a dove, a bird, or a fish.
6. The enchanted maiden is captured by a servant or gardener of the hero's father and the maid is restored to her rightful place.
7. The false bride is punished.
Differences:
1. No outside influence directs the hero to the enchanted oranges. He finds them by chance.
2. Each maiden on coming forth from the orange asks the hero for bread.
3. The hero satisfies the wishes of the third maiden.
4. The witch is a very dark gypsy.
Comparative Classification:
Aarne-Thompson: Type 408
Basile: III, 10; V, 9.
Boggs: Three Golden Oranges, tale I.
Narrator:
Srita. Angela Ruíz
Age 51
El Paso, Texas
