Here's Seven for You!
Once upon a time, there was a woman who had a very tall and gluttonous daughter. Whenever the mother gave her soup, the girl would eat bowl after bowl and ask for more and more. The mother kept pouring and pouring, muttering:"Three... four... five..."
And when it reached seven, the mother would give her daughter a firm slap on the back of the head and shout:
"Here's your seven!"
One day, a wealthy young man passed by their house. Through the window, he saw the mother beating her daughter while saying:
"Here's your seven, here's your seven!" He was struck by the tall beauty of the girl. He entered the house and asked:
"Seven? What's seven?"
The mother was too ashamed to admit that her daughter ate so much, so she replied:
"Seven? Seven spindles of yarn. She's so hardworking that soon there won't be enough sheep for her. Today she's already spun seven spindles, and it's still not enough for her! So I punished her. Let her at least rest."
"If that's the case," said the young man, "give her to me as my wife. But first, I'll test if she's truly as hardworking as you say."
He took the girl to his home and left her in a room filled with flax.
"I'm a captain," he said, "and I'm about to set sail on a long voyage. If, by the time I return, you've spun all this flax, we'll have a wedding."
Besides the flax, the captain left luxurious dresses and jewelry in the room. He was very wealthy.
"When we marry, all of this will be yours," he told the girl as he left.
All day long, the bride tried on dresses, adorned herself with jewelry, and gazed at herself in the mirror. Servants brought her food from morning till night, but the flax remained untouched.
Meanwhile, the final day arrived: the captain was expected back in the morning. The girl grew despondent, realizing she would never become the captain's wife, and began to cry bitterly. But suddenly, some rags flew in through the window, landed at her feet, and instantly turned into an old woman with long eyelashes.
"Don't be afraid of me," said the old woman. "I've come to help you: I'll spin, and you wind the thread onto the spindle."
No one in the world had ever seen a spinner as fast as this old woman! In less than a quarter of an hour, she had spun all the flax.
And her eyelashes had grown so long that they reached past her nose and even her chin...
When the work was done, the girl asked:
"How can I thank you, kind woman?"
"I don't need anything—just don't forget to invite me to your wedding when you marry the captain."
"But where can I find you?"
"Just call out: 'Columbina,' and I'll be there. But woe to you if you forget my name and don't invite me—all your yarn will turn back into flax."
The next day, the captain returned and saw that the yarn was ready.
"Excellent," he said. "It seems I've found the wife I was looking for. Look at the dresses and jewelry I've brought you. But now I'm setting sail again, and you have a new task. I'll leave you twice as much flax as before, and if, by the time I return, it's all spun into yarn, I'll marry you."
Just like the first time, the girl spent her days trying on dresses and jewelry, eating soup and pasta, while the flax remained untouched. She began to cry again.
But suddenly, there was a noise in the fireplace, and some rags flew into the room, turning into an old woman with sagging lips. Like the first old woman, she promised to help the girl and began spinning even faster than the one with the long eyelashes. And the faster she spun, the more her lips sagged. In less than half an hour, all the yarn was ready. The old woman didn't even listen to the girl's thanks, only asking to be invited to the wedding feast:
"Just say: 'Columbara!' But don't forget my name, or woe to you: my work will vanish..."
The next morning, the captain returned and immediately asked:
"Is the yarn ready?"
"Of course, it's been ready for a while!" replied the girl.
"Then here are more dresses and jewelry. If, by the time I return from my final voyage, you complete your last task—and there will be even more flax than before—I promise we'll celebrate our wedding."
As before, the girl only remembered the work on the very last day: she hadn't touched the spindle all those days. Then, some rags tumbled out of the drainpipe and turned into an old woman with protruding teeth. She furiously began to spin. And as she spun, her teeth grew longer and longer. When she finished, the old woman said:
"Don't forget to invite me to the wedding feast. Just say: 'Columbun!' and I'll come. But if you forget—we'd better not meet again."
The captain returned, saw that the yarn was ready, and was very pleased.
"Well then," he said, "now you'll be my wife." And he ordered preparations for the wedding and invited guests from all around.
But the bride had completely forgotten about the three old women—she was so caught up in the preparations.
On the morning of the wedding, the girl remembered the old women. But just as she was about to call them, she realized she had forgotten their names entirely. She thought and thought but couldn't recall a single name. Her cheerfulness vanished. The bride became so sad that the captain finally asked what was wrong. But she remained silent.
Failing to get an answer, the groom decided to postpone the wedding to the next day. But the next day, the bride was even sadder, and by the day after, she had become completely silent and gloomy. Her furrowed brow showed that something was troubling her. The groom tried to cheer her up, joked with her, told funny stories—but nothing worked. Seeing that comforting her was pointless, he decided to distract himself and went hunting in the morning. In the forest, a strong storm caught him, and the young man took shelter in an old abandoned hut. In the darkness, he heard voices:
"Oh, Columbina!"
"Oh, Columbara!"
"Oh, Columbun!"
"It's time to prepare the polenta (a dish made from cornmeal). Where's our pot? That cursed bride will never invite us to the feast!"
The captain looked closely and saw three old women: one with eyelashes reaching the floor, another with lips hanging down to her shoes, and the third with teeth stretching to her knees.
"Now I know how to make the bride laugh," thought the captain. "If this doesn't cheer her up, she'll never laugh again!" Returning home, he told the girl:
"Today in the forest, I took shelter from the rain in an abandoned hut. And what do I see? Three old women sitting there—one with eyelashes to the floor, another with lips to her shoes, and the third with teeth scratching her knees. They were shouting to each other: 'Oh, Columbina!' 'Oh, Columbara!' 'Oh, Columbun!'"
The bride's face immediately brightened, she laughed, and exclaimed:
"Let's have the wedding feast right away! And I ask you, please allow me to invite those old women to our celebration—they've made me laugh so much."
And so they did. A small round table was set up for the old women, so tiny that their eyelashes, lips, and teeth completely obscured the food.
After the feast, the groom asked Columbina:
"Tell me, kind woman, why are your eyelashes so long?"
"Because I strained my eyes spinning the finest thread."
"And you? Why are your lips so sagging?"
"Because I kept running my finger along my lips while twisting the thread," replied Columbara.
"And you? Why are your teeth so huge?"
"Because I had to bite through many knots on the threads," said Columbun.
"So that's how it is," exclaimed the captain, and turning to his wife, he said, "Bring me the spindle!" As soon as she brought it, he threw it into the blazing fireplace.
"I'll never make you spin again in your life."
And from then on, his tall wife lived a peaceful and happy life.
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