A Rich Dowry

Blizzard-Borea wanted to get married. She flew to Sirocco, the southern wind, and said: "Don Sirocco, would you like to marry me?"

But Sirocco hadn't even thought about marriage. He loved his free life. He would fly to Africa one day, then soar over the sea the next—why would he need a wife? So he replied: "Eh, Donna Borea, when two poor people marry, they don't become richer. I have nothing, and you're not wealthy with a dowry either."

"How can you say I'm not wealthy!" Borea took offense. "The richest king doesn't have as much gold as I have silver."

And with that, Borea began to blow with all her might, so hard that she herself was out of breath. Everyone knows what happens when Blizzard-Borea blows. She blew for three days and three nights. She covered the hills and valleys with snow, dusted the roofs of houses and the trees. The snowflakes glittered in the sun, and the frost sparkled like pure silver.

"Well, Don Sirocco, is my dowry poor? Don't I have plenty of silver?"

Sirocco didn't answer; he just smirked and began to blow as well. He blew for only one day and one night. And he melted all the snow, down to the last snowflake. Then he asked:

"So, Donna Borea, will you marry me now?"

"What are you saying! What are you saying! I need a husband who's thrifty. But you squandered all my dowry in a single day. I won't marry you."

Since then, Borea only scatters her silver when Sirocco is far away, soaring somewhere else.

More fairy tales

• The Shepherd Boy - A Tiny Sprout
• The Brick and the Wax
• The Body Without a Soul
• The Royal Falcon
• Six Brothers