Anana
Anana
Be how it may, a long time ago, there was a prince who had two rows in his vegetable garden. one was full of onions and the other full of dill.
The prince tended his plants with so much care that he would not even come to breakfast before he had watered his plants and sat for a while beside them.
One day, while the prince was strolling by his plants, he noticed a small piece of paper on the ground. He picked it up and took a close look at it: sure enough,
there was something written on it but he could not make any sense out of it. The prince threw away the note when suddenly, it turned into a young girl. The maiden was so beautiful that nothing in the world could compare to her.
The prince was infatuated by the maiden and he wanted to marry her right that minute!
- Please tell me, fair maiden, which is your family and what is your name? he pleaded.
- An onion by my father, a dill by my mother, the girl answered, - and indeed quite plain otherwise, too, my name is Anana.
- Well, you certainly are no nobility!, said the prince, left the maiden and married someone else.
Anana was broken with sorrow. After all, she had loved the prince for a long time.
One day Anana led down a herd of deer down the mountains, milked it, put the milk into a large cooking pot and sat herself right into it. The milk boiled
and began to froth -- and anana bathed in it.
Seeing the maiden bathe in the boiling milk, the prince said to his wife:
- Do you know what Anana has done? She led a herd of deer down the mountains, milked it and put the milk into a pot. The milk boils and froths -- and anana bathes in it.
The princess answered:
- Do you think I cannot do the same?
The princess led down a herd of cows down the mountains, milked them, and put the milk into a kettle. She then sat in the kettle -- and boiled to death. So the prince was widowed.
The prince went to see Anana and asked:
- Tell me, which is your family and what is your name?
The maiden answered:
- An onion by my father, a dill by my mother and indeed I am quite plain otherwise, too.
- Indeed you are no nobility, said the prince, left the maiden and married someone else.
Anana climbed up a tower and sat there to spin silk. Soon the spindle slipped from her fingers and fell down. Anana cut off her nose, threw it down and said:
- Nose, fetch my spindle!
The nose brought the spindle up in the tower and then settled back in its old place.
The prince happened to see this and said to his wife:
- Anana amazes me greatly. She climbed up a tower and sat down to spin silk. Soon her spindle fell down. Then she cut off her nose, threw it down and said: Nose, fetch my spindle!
Down flew the nose and then settled back to its own place again.
- How is that amazing?, said the princess - Do you think I cannot do the same?
The princess climbed up to a house roof and began to spin. Soon her spindle fell down to the ground. So the princess cut off her nose, threw it down and said: - Nose, fetch my spindle!
But the nose did not fetch the spindle nor did it come back on its own. The princess died from loss of blood.
So the prince was widowed again. The prince returned to Anana and asked:
- Tell me, which is your family?
The maiden answered:
- An onion by my father, a dill by my mother and indeed I am quite plain otherwise, too.
The prince left her and went up to the mountains. He found a pig herder, bought a pig and said:
- Butcher this pig! You can keep the meat as long as you pour the blood on me so I look as if I had been killed. Then take me to Anana's chamber in the royal palace.
The pig herder did as the prince had ordered.
Seeing the bloody prince Anana shrieked:
Mother sun, father moon
my dear sister stars
lower down my bed,
or my heart will be dead
She had hardly spoken these words when the sky opened and down came a golden bed.
Anana was almost setting off to the sky when the prince jumped up, embraced and kissed her.
After their wedding, they lived for a long time, happy and loving each other.
The End.
I don't usually like translating things because I'm not too good at it but I translated this Georgian story from Finnish because it was nice and worth sharing :) I hope to colour the picture when I manage to get a new tablet.
posted by nionio. at 22:24
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