The Dreams of Gualtiero

Once upon a time in Florence, there lived a young nobleman named Gualtiero. He was healthy, handsome, and not poor, so, as they say, his friends had no worries for him, while his enemies envied him. However, if Gualtiero had shared more about himself, his friends would have been saddened, and his enemies would have rejoiced.

The reason was that the unfortunate Gualtiero was plagued by terrifying nightmares every night. It got to the point where he was afraid to go to sleep. After a tiring horseback ride, he would stagger to a ball, and after the ball, he would go out for another walk... But a person cannot live without sleep. In the end, Gualtiero, as if struck down, would collapse onto his bed.

And then the nightmares would torment him. Gualtiero would scream in his sleep, drenched in cold sweat, wake up with a groan, and be unable to fall back asleep.

One day, an old friend of his father’s, Signor Riccardo, came to visit the young man. Signor Riccardo lived in a country house, far from the noisy Florence, and rarely came to the city. He spoke so kindly to Gualtiero that the young man confided in him about his troubles. After listening carefully, Signor Riccardo said:

"You see, in my solitude, I often read ancient manuscripts, and I have uncovered secrets unknown to others. Some might call me a magician, but that’s not the case—I never use what I’ve learned. But I loved your father like a brother, and I love you like a son. So, I will try to help you. Listen: wait for the night when the new moon appears, and pluck three fern fronds in the forest. Throw one into flowing water, the second into blazing fire, and place the third under your pillow before you sleep. Whatever you see, do not be afraid. Be as brave in your dreams as you are in waking life. And one more thing. You know—in the most terrible dreams, something beautiful sometimes appears. Touch it and say:

'What I see, I see in a dream,
But come to me in waking life!'

That’s all I can advise you. And then we’ll see what happens..."

With these words, Signor Riccardo bid farewell to his young friend and left.

Gualtiero followed Riccardo’s instructions exactly. And that very night, he had a dream. He found himself at a ball in a grand, lavishly decorated hall. Many elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen were gathered there. They sang, danced, and laughed, but as soon as Gualtiero approached them, they recoiled as if he were a mangy dog. The ladies lifted their skirts in disgust, and the men seemed ready to kick him. Oh, how miserable and humiliated Gualtiero felt!

Suddenly, the ladies and gentlemen parted, and Gualtiero found himself facing a tall lord. The hall was brightly lit, but no matter how hard he tried, Gualtiero could not make out the man’s face. This was so terrifying that the young man broke out in a cold sweat. The man said in a hollow voice:

"It’s time to put an end to this creature!"

He drew a sword with a hilt adorned with precious stones from a gilded scabbard. Gualtiero, as if spellbound, could not tear his eyes away from the sword, which slowly and inevitably rose above his head. One more moment—and the deadly blow would fall. Then Gualtiero summoned all his courage. He lunged forward, touched the gleaming blade, and said:

"What I see, I see in a dream,
But come to me in waking life!"

At once, everything vanished. The lights in the hall went out, as if the ladies and gentlemen had melted away, and the sword flashed and disappeared.

Gualtiero slept peacefully until morning.

When he woke up, Gualtiero could not believe his eyes. The sword with the jeweled hilt hung at his bedside.

The next night, Gualtiero dreamed that he was running across an endless field like a hunted hare. Behind him, a rider on a black steed, clad in a flowing cloak and holding a lance, was gaining on him. The young man’s legs gave way, and his heart pounded against his ribs. The rider was closing in. "This is the end!" thought Gualtiero, and he fell to his knees, resigned to his fate. Then he suddenly remembered Signor Riccardo’s advice. Gualtiero jumped to his feet and turned to face his pursuer. The rider’s face was hidden beneath his cloak, but the horse... Holy Madonna, what a magnificent horse! Black, without a single blemish, slender-legged, with a flowing mane! Gualtiero touched it and quickly recited his spell. Again, everything vanished.

Gualtiero woke up in the morning. He looked around the room—nothing had changed. But when he glanced out the window, he saw a black, flawless horse with a flowing mane pawing the ground by the porch.

"Why do I need a horse? Why do I need a sword?" exclaimed Gualtiero. "I don’t dream of military glory. My heart only desires peace, yet the dreams torment me as before."

Still, he decided to follow Signor Riccardo’s advice one more time. When it was time to sleep, he placed a fern frond under his pillow again.

That night, he dreamed he was wandering in a dark cave. Gualtiero wanted to escape but couldn’t find a way out. He walked in one direction and hit a solid stone wall. He walked in another—and again found himself in a dead end. It felt like he had spent an eternity under those low vaults. In despair, he struck the wall with his fist. The stones parted, and a flood of dazzling jewels—gold coins, rubies, and emeralds—poured over Gualtiero. They knocked him off his feet and kept pouring down. Gasping under their weight, the young man mustered his last strength and shouted the spell.

As soon as Gualtiero opened his eyes in the morning, he immediately shut them again: the sunlight was so bright, reflecting off a pile of gemstones. A heap of them, like wheat after threshing, lay in the middle of his room.

Gualtiero, propped up on his elbow, gazed at the red, green, and blue shimmering lights. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Before Gualtiero could call out, "Come in!" the door slowly opened, and a small, pompous man entered. His beard was so long that its tip swept the floor like a broom, his nose resembled a pinecone, and his eyes were like two drills. He was dressed so extravagantly that even the most fashionable courtier would envy him.

Though astonished, Gualtiero couldn’t help but laugh.

Meanwhile, the little man nimbly climbed up the bedpost like a squirrel and perched on Gualtiero’s knee. From this lofty position, he bowed and spoke in a shrill voice:

"Signor Gualtiero! My master, His Majesty the King of the Land of Dreams, is deeply concerned about what is happening in his kingdom. You have taken a sword of such beauty as can only be seen in dreams! You have stolen a steed that runs faster than thought. And last night, you emptied the royal treasury, leaving it as bare as the dreams of a newborn who cannot yet dream. This cannot continue. My king has sent me to negotiate with you."

"Is that so?" Gualtiero shouted in fury. "And how does your king treat the unfortunate people who are dragged into his kingdom against their will? Finally, I can settle the score with him! For years, I was afraid to close my eyes at night, but now let him tremble when I go to sleep. He who dances must pay the piper; he who cuts the melon must buy it; he who milks the cow must feed it. No dog has ever bitten me without getting a kick in return. And your king has tormented, tortured, and drained the blood from my heart and the tears from my eyes. Your kingdom is a wasp’s nest, and your rivers flow not with the sweet water of oblivion but with onion juice!"

Here, Gualtiero paused to catch his breath. The little man, stunned by this storm of words, quickly said:

"But my king promises to send you no more bad dreams."

"He wants to get rid of me cheaply!" Gualtiero retorted.

"Well, then we can agree otherwise," said the envoy. "You will return everything you have taken from my king and swear never to take anything from him again. In return, the king will send you the finest of his creations, the ones he himself loves to watch."

"Deal!" Gualtiero replied, cheered up.

"In that case, pleasant dreams!" squeaked the little man, and he vanished in an instant.

With him, the jewels disappeared, the sword was gone, and the stable was empty.

From that day on, Gualtiero lived peacefully. He spent his days merrily and looked forward to his dreams at night. The dreams were indeed the most delightful. Sometimes they were so funny that Gualtiero would burst into laughter remembering them during the day; other times, they were so wondrous that he regretted waking up.

Three years passed. Then one night, Gualtiero dreamed he was on a blooming meadow. A young woman walked beside him. Never had Gualtiero been so happy. He listened to her gentle voice, gazed into her radiant eyes, and felt his heart warmed by a fiery love. Suddenly, he remembered that this was only a dream and grew sad. He said:

"Let’s walk slower! I’m afraid that when we reach the edge of the meadow, you’ll disappear. I’ve always welcomed the dawn, but today I wish the sun would never rise and the night would never end. In short, I love you."

"But it’s in your power to ensure we never part!" the girl exclaimed. "Why hesitate? Quickly, touch me and say your magic words."

"But I swore to your king never to take anything from his land again."

"Am I a thing?" the beauty asked, surprised. "I’m a wisp of cloud melting in the sky, a dream fading at dawn. And if you touch me, I won’t become a thing. I’ll be a living girl who loves you."

"You love me!" Gualtiero cried. Forgetting everything, he embraced his beloved tightly and said:

"What I see, I see in a dream,
But come to me in waking life!"

The melting cloud, the fading dream, became reality. Gualtiero married the girl, and they lived happily ever after.

But here’s the strange thing—from that day on, Gualtiero no longer had dreams, neither bad nor good. Perhaps the King of the Land of Dreams had ordered his guards not to let Gualtiero into his kingdom. Yet Gualtiero did not grieve. After all, he had the one he met in his dreams and loved in waking life. Fairy girl