Tellus Tales

C’era na vota na vecchia coppia ca priàva pì aviri nfigghiu. E à fini c’ha fìciru ad avìllu. Però stu picciriddu nascìu troppu nicu e nun criscìu chiù. Accussì so macci e so pacci u chiamarunu “Pulicìnu”.

There was once an old couple that prayed and prayed for a child. Finally, their wish was granted. However, the child was born only one inch tall, and never grew any taller. So his mother and father lovingly named him “Issun-Bōshi”, the One-Inch Boy.

Criscennu, u carusu sognava d’addivintari nguerrieru.

Growing up, the boy dreamed of becoming a great warrior.

Ma tutti i voti ca Pulicinu u cuntava all’autri carusi, chisti arrirèvunu…

Each time the children in the sea-side village saw Issun-Bōshi, they would ask:

Pulicinu però…ci crireva sempri!

“Tiny boy. Tiny boy. What can you do?”

N’iornu, na carusa ro paisi, fu fatta prigioniera da n’orcu, ca sa puttau nda so casa ndi n’isola…

“I can fight!” would be Issun-Bōshi’s reply – to which the children would simply laugh.

I chistiani ro paisi nun s’arrisicavunu a spiarici quacchi cosa a st’orcu…picchi si spagnavunu…

Issun-Bōshi, however, was never discouraged, and trained each and every day.

Pulicinu però, c’addumannàu a so macci, na ciotola, na bacchetta e n’ago. E usannu a ciotola come bacca, partìu pi st’isola. Arruvatu ndi sta isola, trasìu ndi na rotta, Unni attruvàu sta carusa…sutta u controllu di l’orco rossu. U carusiddu s’avvicinau a l’orco e ci rissi:” Su ti scassu, tu ha ràpiri sta gabbia!”.

One day a girl from the village was kidnapped by an ogre and taken to the ogre’s island home. The village-folk feared the ogre and dared not go after the girl. Issun-Bōshi, however, asked his mother for a bowl, a chopstick, and a needle. Using the bowl as a boat, and the chopstick as a paddle, he made his way to the Island. In a dark cave, Issun-Bōshi found the girl in a cage, guarded by the giant red ogre. The boy approached the ogre and said “Ogre! I challenge you to a fight! If I win, you must open this cage!”.

Ma l’orco c’arrispunnìu:”Beddu, chi vò fari?!?”

But the ogre simply laughed and said “Tiny boy. Tiny boy. What can you do?”

U pigghiàu, e su calau sanu sanu…

The ogre then picked up the boy and swallowed him whole. The boy, however, was not discouraged.

Nda panza ri l’orcu però…Pulicinu accuminciau cu l’ago ad asciuppiàllu, fin quando nun ci vinni di ittàri…Nisciùtu ra so panza, Pulicinu s’addifinniu da l’orcu, scappannu re so manu, e na vota ca arriniscìu ad acchianàri supra a so testa ci tagghiàu l’occhi! L’Orcu, a stu puntu, si ni scappàu.

From inside the ogre’s stomach, he used the needle his mother had given him as a sword and slashed at the ogre. This caused the ogre so much pain that he coughed out the boy. Angry, the ogre tried to squash the boy with his hand, but at the last moment, Issun-Bōshi raised his sword and the ogre stabbed himself instead. Whilst the ogre fell back in pain, the one-inch boy ran up the ogre’s red hand. He ran past the ogre’s elbow, past the shoulder, past the sharp tusks, and onto the ogre’s nose. In one fell swoop slashed both the ogre’s giant red eyes, blinding the ogre. The ogre, now fearing the boy, clumsily ran out of the cave.

Tuttu cuntentu, Pulicinu, ìu pi ràpiri a gabbia cà carusa, ma nun c’ha fici…

Victorious, Issun-Bōshi then approached the girl’s cage, but try as he might, he could not open it.

“Ou!” Ci rissi da carusa, e ci fici avvìriri nmazzuolo ca l’orcu avda lassatu docu nterra. – “Prova chistu!”

“Oh!” said the girl, pointing at a colorful mallet the ogre had clumsily dropped. “Try that!”

“Chi è stu cosu?” Addumannau Policinu.

“What is that?” asked the boy.

“E’ nmagghiu ca pò esaudire i desideri.”

“It’s a magical mallet that can grant wishes.”

“Come u usu?”

“How do I use it?”

“Su u ntappi nterra bellu fotti, U to desiderio nesci fora!”

“If you can strike it on the ground, your wish will come out!”

A stu puntu, Policino, usannu tutti I so fozzi, u ntappau nterra fotti fotti e dissi:”Vogghiu aviri quacchi cosa pi rapiri sta gabbia”.

So the one-inch boy, using all his might, lifted the mallet above his head, and said “I wish I had something to open this cage”.

Pulicinu criscìu lestu lestu e addivintau quantu nchistianu ranni!

As soon as the mallet hit the ground, Issun-Bōshi started growing in size. Soon he was one foot tall, then two, then three… eventually he grew to six feet tall.

Pulicinu raccussì, potti rapiri a gabbia pi pigghiàri a carusa, na vota ca tunnanu o paisi tutti pari ièrunu cuntenti e fìciru festa.

Issun-Bōshi, no longer the one inch boy, opened the cage with ease. He and the girl returned to the village where he was celebrated for defeating the ogre. The magical mallet brought great fortune to the boy, and he and his family lived happily ever after.

Tradotto in siciliano da William Sinatra.

This story is based on “Issun-Bōshi”, a Japanese Folktale from the 12th Century.

(sta storia è basata su “Issun-Bōshi”, na fiaba giappunisi del XII secolo)