The Pecked-Out Heart
One evening during the carnival, a knight in love asked his lady:— My fair one, when will you love me?
— I will love you when you bring me the Golden Flower, the one that sings at sunrise.
— Farewell, my fair one! Wait for me on the evening of Saint Philip's Day at the doorstep of your house.
On the evening of Saint Philip's Day, the beauty waited for the knight at the doorstep of her house.
— Greetings, my fair one! Here I bring you the Golden Flower, the one that sings at sunrise. Tell me now, do you love me?
— Knight, I love you. But, heavens, how pale you are!
— Is it any wonder that I am pale? A hundred black wolves guarded the Golden Flower that sings at sunrise. They tore at me so fiercely that I lost half my blood. My fair one, tell me, when shall we be betrothed?
— Knight, we shall be betrothed when you bring me the Blue Bird, the talking bird that reasons like a human.
— Farewell, my fair one! Wait for me on the evening of Saint Roch's Day at the doorstep of your house.
On Saint Roch's Day, the beauty awaited the knight at the doorstep of her house.
— Greetings, my fair one! Here is the Blue Bird, the talking bird that reasons like any Christian. Tell me now, when shall we be wed?
— Knight, we shall be wed when you find the Eagle King and bring him to me as a captive in an iron cage. Heavens, knight, how sorrowful you look!
— Sorrowful? I am sorrowful not without reason. The Blue Bird, the talking bird that reasons like a human, said that you do not love me.
— Blue Bird, you lied! For that, I shall have you plucked and roasted alive.
— Farewell, my fair one! Wait for me on the evening of Saint Luke's Day at the doorstep of your house.
On the evening of Saint Luke's Day, the beauty waited at the doorstep of her house.
— Mother, mother, my knight has not returned!
— Sit at the table, my daughter. Your beloved will come during supper.
After supper, the beauty went out to the doorstep again.
— Mother, mother, my knight is not coming!
— Go to bed, my daughter. Your beloved will return tomorrow morning.
The beauty went to bed. But at midnight, she quietly rose and went to the doorstep to meet her knight.
— Greetings, my fair one! The Eagle King is stronger than I. Perhaps someone else will be able to bring him to you in an iron cage.
— Knight, what is this red hole gaping in your chest?
— My beauty, this is where my heart was. The Eagle King pecked it out. We shall never be husband and wife, never.
And the knight vanished into the darkness of the night. The next day, the beauty took the veil in the Carmelite convent and wore the black monastic veil until her death.
More fairy tales
- Three Clever Sons
- The Sharing
- Little Annette
- The Golden Dragoon
- The White Thrush, the Lame Mule, and the Beauty with Golden Hair
