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伯爵的胡子（第5页）

Thethirdquestiongoestoyou，ropemaker.Howmuchropedidyousellthismonth?"

Theropemakerreplied:"

RopegaloreofeverysortIsold:Hemprope，braided，wicker，cord，Needle-thintoarm-thick，Lard-softtoiron-strongThismonthIcouldntgowrong."

"

Verywell，"

saidMasino，stretchingoutbythefire."

Imnowgoingtosleepforafewhours，Imverytired.WakemeupatmidnightandIllgoafterthewitch."

Heputhishatoverhisfaceandfellasleep.Thefarmerskeptperfectlyquietuntilmidnight，notevendaringtobreathe，forfearofawakinghim.AtmidnightMasinoshookhimself，yawned，drankacupofmulledwine，spatthreetimesintothefire，gotupwithoutlookingatasoul，andheadedforthewoods.Thefarmersstayedbehindwatchingthefireburndownandthelastembersturntoashes.Then，whomshouldMasinodraginbythebeardbutthecount!Acountthatwept，kicked，andpleadedformercy."

Heresthewitch!"

criedMasino，andasked，"

Wheredidyouputthemulledwine?"

Beneaththefarmersamazedstares，thecounttriedtomakehimselfassmallaspossible，sittingonthegroundandshrinkinguplikeacold-bittenfly."

Thethiefcouldhavebeennoneofyou，"

explainedMasino，"

sinceyouhadallgonetothebarberandhadnohairtoloseinthebushes.Thentherewerethosetracksmadebybigheavyshoes，butallofyougobarefoot.Norcouldthethiefhavebeenaghost，sincehewouldnthaveneededtobuyallthatcordtotieuptheanimalsandcarrythemaway.Butwhereismymulledwine?"

Shakingallover，thecounttriedtohideinthatbeardofhiswhichMasinohadtousledandtorninpullinghimoutofthebushes."

Howdidheevermakeusfaintbyjustlookingatus?"

askedonefarmer."

Hewouldsmiteyouontheheadwithapaddedclub.Thatwayyouwouldhearonlyawhir.Hedleavenomarkonyou，youdsimplywakeupwithaheadache."

"

Andthosehairpinshelost?"

askedanother."

Theywereusedtoholdhisbearduponhisheadandmakeitlooklikeawomanshair."

Untilthenthefarmershadlistenedinsilence，butwhenMasinosaid，"

Andnow，whatshallwedowithhim?"

astormofshoutsarose:"

Burnhim!Skinhimalive!Stringhimupforascarecrow!Sealhiminacaskandrollhimdownthecliff!Sewhimupinasackwithsixcatsandsixdogs!"

"

Havemercy!"

saidthecountinavoicejustaboveawhisper."

Sparehim，"

saidMasino，"

andhewillbringbackyourcattleandcleanyourbarns.Andsinceheenjoyedgoingintothewoodsatnight，makehimgothereeverynightandgatherbundlesoffirewoodforeachofyou.Tellthechildrennevertopickupthehairpinstheyfindontheground，fortheybelongtoMicillinatheWitch，whosehairandbeardwillbedisheveledfromnowon."

Thefarmersfollowedthesuggestion，andsoonMasinoleftPocapagliatotravelabouttheworld.Inthecourseofhistravels，hefoundhimselffightinginfirstonewarandanother，andtheyalllastedsolongthathissayingsprangup:Soldierfighter，whatahardlot!Wretchedfood，thegroundforacot.Youfeedthecannonpowder:Boom-BOOM!Boom-BOOM!Boomlouder!（Bra）NOTES:"

TheCountsBeard"

（LabarbadelConte）.Publishedhereforthefirsttime，collectedbyGiovanniArpinoinJuly1956，incertainvillagesofsouthernPiedmont:Bra（toldbyCaterinaAsteggiano，inmateofahomeforoldpeople，andLuigiBerzia），inGuarene（toldbyDoroPalladino，farmer），inNarzole（toldbyAnnettaTaricco，servantwoman），andinPocapaglia.Thislongnarrative，whichwriterGiovanniArpinohastranscribedandunifiedfromdifferentversionswithvariantsandadditionsfromBraandsurroundings，cannotinmyviewbeclassifiedasafolktale.Itisalocallegendofrecentorigininpart（Iamthinking，forinstance，ofthegeographicalparticularsgiven），thatis，notpriortothenineteenthcentury，andcontainingdisparateelements:explanationofalocalsuperstition（thehairpinsofWitchMicillina），antifeudalcountrylegendsuchasonefindsinmanynortherncountries，curiousdetective-storystructureàlaSherlockHolmes，manydigressionsnonessentialtothestory（suchasthetripfromAfricabacktotown——whichArpinotellsmealsoexistsasaseparatestory——andalltheallusionstoMasinospastandfutureadventureswhichleadtotheconclusionglobetrotterfromacountrywhoseinhabitantsarereputedtobecontrastinglyslowandbackward），verse（ofwhichArpinoandIhavepresentedonlyasmuchaswecouldeffectivetranslate），andgrotesqueimageswhichseemrootedintradition，suchasthesacksunderthehenstails，theoxensothinthattheywerecurriedwiththerake，thecountwhosebeardwascombedbyfoursoldiers，etcCopyright:ItalianFolktalesSelectedandRetoldbyItaloCalvino，translatedbyGeorgeMartin，PantheonBooks，NewYork1980