This complex story clearly reveals many of the moral principles and beliefs Mediterranean women of all faiths profess, if not live by: faith in God's miracles, aversion for illicit sexual relationships, begging or stealing, the stigma of childless marriages, the preference for boy children, men's inepitute, and women's superiority in practical matters.
Once there was a famous hajan known far and wide for his prayers to help women conceive. Every day, his house was filled with women begging for help. "Pray for me," they would cry, "My husband makes my life miserable because I have no children. Surely, your prayers will reach the ears of God, and He will grant me a child."
Although he helped other women, he did nothing for his own wife who badly wanted a child. When people left, she complained to her husband, "How come you recite prayers for them, but never for us? When we die we will have no heirs, and no grandchildren to comfort us in our old age." "Listen, old woman," he said trying to calm her down, "don't get into deep water. If God wants us to have a child, we will have one, and if he doesn't, we won't, but I'll do my best."
Every day and night the wise man prayed and prayed, but nothing happened. One night, however, he had a strange dream. A strange voice spoke to him, and said, "If you want a boy you can have one, but you will have to pay a price -- perform a criminal act. If you want a girl, you can have one, but, I warn you, she will cause you trouble." The husband pleaded, "Let it be a daughter, we will put her on the right path.
The very next week, the wife of the wise man became pregnant. Her happiness knew no bounds, she counted every month, and then every days until her time arrived. The child, a girl, was perfectly formed, but she was born with three stars on her forehead. The first indicated that she would be a thief, the second that she would be a beggar, and
the third, a loose woman. The mother was so shocked by these signs of misfortune that she died a few days later. The father, left with his disgrace, brought up the child as best he could, sometimes with a nursing bottle, and sometimes with bread soups.
The child grew and grew until she was almost a young lady. The wise man's friends kept on urging him to marry a second time. "You can't live like this forever", they said, "you need a woman in the house." They insisted so much that he finally married someone from a distant town However, he never told his new wife about the daughter whom he kept hidden in the attic.
Soon the new wife observed that every day her husband carried a tray of food upstairs. "Who lives in the attic?" she asked herself. Then one day, unable to restrain her curiosity any longer, she stole her husband's keys, and when he left the house, opened the attic door. To her surprise, she saw the girl with the three marks on her forehead "My child," she cried, "why are you living here all by yourself?" "My father locked me up in this room," said the girl, "to protect me from a curse. "When I was born it was foretold that I would commit criminal acts. As long as I stay here nothing can happen." "You can't remain here any longer." said the kind stepmother. "From now on, you will live with us like a proper daughter." and she brought her down from the attic.
Soon afterward, a neighbor returning from a fiesta removed the jewels she was wearing, put them on a table, and then left to pay a short visit to the stepmother. While they were talking, the girl slipped out, went to the neighbor's house, and stole the jewels. Immediately, the first star disappeared from her forehead. She brought the jewels to her stepmother who returned them to the neighbor.
The next day, unobserved by her stepmother, the girl went to another neighbor's house, and begged for bread. "Please," she said, "give me some bread; it will bring you luck and good health." Feeling sorry for the girl, the neighbor gave her a generous slice.
Immediately, the second star disappeared. As before, the stepmother returned the bread to her neighbor explaining that her daughter was well fed, and didn't need the bread -- but sometimes did foolish things.
"Now," thought the clever stepmother, "how are we going to erase the third curse? Fortunately, she had a brother of marriageable age who visited her every week, and she enlisted his help. Before he arrived, she bathed and perfumed the girl, and put on her prettiest dress. When the brother saw her, he was struck by her beauty. "Here is my stepdaughter," said his sister, "let me assure you that she is as good as she is beautiful. Spend the night with her, and afterwards you can marry her." The young man was more than happy to obey his sister. When the night was over, the third mark had disappeared from her forehead.
On the father's return from a business trip, he thanked his wife for saving his daughter from a cursed life. A few days later, the young couple were married, and everyone was happy and contented.
|
