A woman was pregnant, and she wanted parsley. Near her stood a witch, a
famous witch that had a garden all of parsley. The garden door was always open because there was so much parsley, that those who wanted could also take it. The woman who wanted the
parsley came in, she began to eat parsley leaf to leaf, and ate and ate, she ended up making
clean square of half vegetable garden. When the witch returned and saw the half-bald vegetable garden that not even a green thread was left, she said: “Ieh! … Everything wants to eat it … Tomorrow I will watch who comes.”
The woman returned the next day, and started to eat the rest of the parsley. She had just finished
the last seedling, when the witch jumped out and said: “Ieh! … You have eaten all of mine
parsley?”
The woman was frightened: “For heaven’s sake, let me go, I’m waiting for a baby …”
“Yes, I’ll let you go,” said the witch, “as long as the boy or the girl who will be born, when
will be seven years old, will be half mine and half yours.”
And the woman, frightened, told her yes, so that she could ran away.
A son was born to her. He grew, turned six, and one day, passing by the road of the witch, this one saw him and told him:”Say, remind your mother that one year is missing.”
The child went home and said: “Mother, an old woman told me that one year is missing.”
“And you,” she said to him, “if you say it again, tell her she’s crazy.”
The boy was three months away from the age of seven and the witch told him, “Tell your mother that
three months are missing.”
And he: “Dear, she’s crazy!”
And the old woman:” Yes, yes, we’ll see if I’m crazy!”
After three months the old woman took the child on the street and took him home. She laid him on a table,
and with a knife she cut him into two halves for the long, half-head and half-body.
To one of these halves she said: “You go home,” and said to the other half, “You stay with me.”
One half remained and the other half went home. He went home and told his mother:” You saw Mum, what that woman did to me? And you said she was crazy!” And mum had to open her arms and shut up.
This half boy grew and did not know what to do: so he decided to be a fisherman. A
day he went fishing eels and took an eel as long as he was. She pulled her up and the eel told him:”
Let me go, you will come back to fish me.” He threw her into the water, throws the net again and pulls it up full of eels. He returned with the boat, overflowing with eels on all sides, and earned a lot of
money.
The next day, he fished that big eel again, which told him:” Let me go, that for love
of the eel, whatever you want it will be done,” and he immediately left it.
One day, going as usual to fish, passed in front of the palace of the King. There was the daughter of the King al
balcony with the bridesmaids. The king’s daughter saw this man with a half head, half body and a leg
alone and bursts out laughing. He looked up at her and said: “Ah, you laugh … So, for love
of the eel, the daughter of the King has a son to me.”
After a while the King’s daughter began to wait for a child and the parents noticed it. “ How
is this story?” they asked her.
“Well, I do not know anything about it,” says the girl.
“ How? Do you not know anything? Who is the father?”
“Really, I do not know, I know nothing,” and in spite of all the requests of the parents, who told her that
she could speak, because they forgave her, she kept saying she did not know anything. Then they started to
mistreating her, screwing her up, and she could not rest.
The child was born, a beautiful male child, but the parents cried for the dishonour of having at home a child without a father and called a magician to guess him. The Magician said:” We are waiting for the child to have a year. ”
When he was a year old, “It is necessary,” said the Magician, “to make a court of all the lords of the city, and
when the gentlemen will be in the hall, the kid must be brought around with a golden apple and
a silver apple. He will give the golden apple to his father and the silver apple to his grandfather.
The king sent out the posters and had a large hall prepared with plenty of high chairs around. When
all the lords of the city were seated on high chairs, the King called the nurse with the baby in his arms and he put the two apples in his hand. “This is for your father, and this is for your grandfather.”
The nurse went around the room, returned before the King and the child gave him the silver apple.
“I know I am your grandfather, unfortunately,” said the King, “but I want to know who your father is.”
But the child turned, turned, and didn’t give the apple to anyone.
The Wizard was recalled. “Now,” said the Magician, “make a court of all the poor of the city,” and
the King sent out the poster.
When the Middle heard that in the palace there was a court of all the poor, he said to his mother:” Prepare my half-shirt, my half-jacket, my trousers, my shoe and mine half cap because I’m invited by the King.”
The whole hall was full of poor people, fishermen, beggars. The king had some benches put around. The nurse with the baby began to turn around and the child had the golden apple in his hand. “ come on dear” nice, “the nurse told him,” give it to your dad, “and he went around. As soon as the child saw the Middle, he put started smiling, he threw his arms around his neck, and said: “Dad, take this apple!”
And from the benches around all the poor broke out laughing: “ Iiieeeh! Who has the daughter of the king fallen in love with!”
In the midst of all, only the King remained calm. “So,” he said, “let him be my daughter’s spouse!”
And the wedding was soon celebrated. The spouses went out of church and believed that there were, waiting for them, a carriage. There was a barrel instead, a large empty barrel: the Halved Man, his bride and the child there were put in and locked in, and then the cask was thrown into the sea.
The sea was stormy, and the cask disappeared and reappeared in the waves until it was no longer visible, and everyone from the king’s palace said it had gone to the bottom.
It floated instead. And inside that barrel the Halved Man, feeling that the king’s daughter was dying of fear, he said to her: “Bride, do you want me to land the barrel on a beach?”
And the bride in a whisper: “If you are capable, yes.”
Having said that, for the love of eel, the cask found itself on a beach. The Halved Man broke the
bottom and all three came out. It was time to dine, and for the love of the eel a table appeared
set for three, full of dishes and drinks. After they had eaten well and drunk, the
Halved said, “Are you happy with me, bride?
“I would be happier even more,” she said, “if instead of half, you were whole.”
Then he said to himself: “For the love of eel, that I come whole and more beautiful than before”, and right on the moment he became a beautiful young man, whole, and dressed like a great man. “ Are you happy?”
“Yes, happy I’m happy, but I would be even more if instead of a deserted beach, we were in
a beautiful building.”
And him, to himself: “For the love of eel, we can find ourselves in a beautiful palace with two
apple trees, one on each side, one who makes the golden apples and one the silver apples, and there are waiters, butlers, bridesmaids and all that is needed in a building “.
He had just thought about everything and there were already the palace, the apples and the butlers.
After a few days, the Halved Man, which was no longer half but whole, made a court of all the Kings and theirs Queens of the surroundings, and also came the father of the bride. The Halved, receiving them on the door, said to them: “ I recommend only one thing, not to touch those golden apples and those silver apples: woe to those who touch them.”
“Do not worry, do not worry,” the guests said “We’ll keep our hands straight.”
They started to eat and drink, and meanwhile the Halved said to himself: “For the love of blood, that one
golden apple and a silver apple go into the pockets of my father-in-law. ”
After lunch, he leads the guests out for walks in the garden and sees two apples missing. “Who did it?”
asked.
All those Kings say:” Not me. I have not touched anything.”
The Halved said: “I warned you before, those apples weren’t to be touched by anyone. Now
it is time to check their Majesties.”
And he began to rummage, King for King and Queen for Queen. Nobody had apples on them. Finally he reached his father-in-law, and he found the two apples. One per pocket. “See! Among all, nobody has had the courage to touch nothing and you are the only one who stole two of them! Now you will have to answer fo that!”
“But I do not know anything …” he was trying to say the King. “I do not know how it is … I did not take it, I can swear!”
And the Halved Man: “ So, with all the evidence against, you are saying you are innocent?”
And the King: “Yes.”
“So, how innocent you are, your daughter also was innocent, so what you did to your daughter i’ll do to you”
At that moment the bride showed up. “Never to be told,” he said, “that because of me my father has to suffer; even if he has used me cruelty, he is still my father and I ask grace for him.”
And the Halved Man, moved to compassion, gave him grace. The King, happy to have found his daughter again he believed dead, and having learned that he was innocent, he led them all to his palace and lived there always together in peace and charity, and if they are not dead they will still be there.
The Halved Man
