Olga Orekhovska

Left alone in that building, Bellindia began to wander around all the rooms, and when it was time for lunch, she went to the living room where she found the table set. While she was eating, there was a loud roar that put a great fear on the poor girl, and the Wizard appeared in front of her, who said: "Don't be afraid, Bellindia. I just want to know if you love me." And Bellindia replied, "Yes, I do." And the Wizard: "So would you marry me?" "Oh, no, that's not it," replied the girl, and then the Wizard disappeared...

Several months passed, when one morning, the merchant, returning from Livorno, came forward with the air more cheerful than usual. He says, "You know, daughters? I have some wonderful news for you: The bastion was not completely lost, but arrived at the port with half the cargo. The girls rejuvenated somewhat to hear those words, then, the merchant, continued: "Tomorrow I go back to Livorno to recover my assets. What do you want me to bring you, as a gift, daughters?" Assunta replied: "A beautiful silk dress in the color of the air...

And he took a silver cup, poured the dancing water into it, and put it on the table. Then Fluvius took the singing apple out of his pocket and placed it on the table, next to the dancing water; finally, Serena, who was carrying the Augel Belverde, soon showed it to everyone, putting it on the table next to the other two wonders. Then the apple began to entertain everyone with a majestic song, the water, to the sound of the song began to dance gracefully, and for this magnificent spectacle all those present were invaded by joy...

When the brothers returned, Serena went to meet them and begged them with all her heart to satisfy his desire to take possession of the magical bird, because Fluvio, just thinking of the dangerous beast he had to face, said that he did not feel like risking his life for the third time; but Acquirino, although he too had repeatedly refused to leave, in the end let himself be softened by his beloved sister's heartrending tears, convinced Fluvius to please her this time, and left together in search of Augel Belverde...

One day it happened that King Ancillot was walking with his courtiers, and he passed by chance in front of their house, and since the three brothers had not yet seen the king, they went down the stairs and met him, welcoming him with great reverence; and the king, who was a good observer, noticed the star on their foreheads, and immediately had a plunge into his heart, thinking that those three young men could be his three real children. So he stopped and asked them, "Who are you? Where are you from?" And they humbly replied, "We are poor strangers who have come to live in your city...

As chance would have it, when the queen gave birth, in the king's court there was also a bitch who gave birth to three botoli cubs, which by combination also had a star on their foreheads and a white mark on their necks. Then the envious sisters were taken by a diabolical instinct, and took away the puppies that were still attached to the mother's womb, and brought them to the king's mother; they bowed long and said, "Our Lady, we know that you dislike our sister, and rightly so, for marrying...

The invited king, the father of the bride, could not eat. Already when he arrived he could not take his eyes off the bride, and it seemed that the heart wanted to tell him something, but he did not want to believe his eyes. The food didn't go down. He wondered why all the other diners ate with so much appetite of the dishes that for him had no taste. He asked his neighbor who was sitting on his right how lunch looked to him, and he told him that he had never eaten such tasty food. The king tasted it from his neighbor's plate and realized that it was actually very good...

When she got there, she sat down in front of the castle door. The cellarman's wife saw her, went to her and asked her what she wanted: she replied that she was just a poor girl orphaned of both parents and that she wanted to go under the master, if only she found a place. Just in those days the girl who helped the cellarman's wife had left, and she was looking for another one. She looked at her very carefully and considered her suitable for the job, and asked her how much money she wanted; she replied that she only asked for board and lodging, and so they easily agreed...

The magic treasure chest of our beautiful folk fairy tales opens, and here comes witches, wizards, orcs, princes and princesses, fairies and wonderful creatures, but also merchants, farmers, craftsmen, poor people without a penny who go in search of their fortune. "La Gatta Cenerentola", "L'Augel Belverde", "Biancabella", "I sette colombelli", "Prezzemolina", "Tredicino", "Le Tre Melangole d'Amore", "Bellindia", "Bel Miele e Bel Sole"... These are just some of the many beautiful fairy tales that the Italian people have been handing down orally for centuries...

Over the centuries, in traditional folk culture, in addition to the products of material culture, a rich world of divine and demonic beings was formed, which provided the basis for the development of numerous myths, legends, folk tales and stories. Initially, the images of demonic beings were the personification of mysterious natural phenomena, which were incomprehensible to contemporary man: lightning, hailstorms, air whirlpools. Various demonic figures occurring in the Polish folk culture belong to the family of Slavic demonic ideas...