Page:The Pentamerone, or The Story of Stories.djvu/30

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6
THE PENTAMERONE.

chestnut; but cautioning her at the same time as before.

After travelling on for some time, Zoza came to the castle of the fairy, who showered on her a thousand caresses. The next morning, at her departure, the fairy gave her a filbert, cautioning her in like manner never to open it, unless the greatest necessity obliged her. Then Zoza set out upon her journey, and travelled so far, and passed so many forests and rivers, that at the end of seven years, just at the time of day when the Sun, awakened by the crowing of the cocks, has saddled his steeds to run his accustomed stages, she arrived almost lame at Roundfield.

There, at the entrance to the city, she saw a marble tomb, at the foot of a fountain, which was weeping tears of crystal at seeing itself shut up in a porphyry prison. And lifting up the pitcher, which hung over it, she placed it in her lap, and began to weep into it, and imitating the fountain to make two little fountains of her eyes. And thus she continued without ever raising her head from the mouth of the pitcher; until, at the end of two days, it was full within two inches of the top. But being wearied with so much weeping, she was unawares overtaken by sleep, and was obliged to rest for an hour or two under the canopy of her eyelids.

Meanwhile a certain Slave, with the legs of a grass-