Η Κβάγια κ' η Γάτα στη θάλασσα πήγαν σε μπιζελί πράσινη βάρκα πήραν λίγο μέλι και πολλά λεφτά τυλιγμένα σε πεντόλιρο νόμισμα. Η Κβάγια τα αστέρια κοιτούσε με μικρή κιθάρα τραγουδούσε: "Αγαπημένη μου Ψίνα, Πουσίνα αγάπη μου τί όμορφη Πσίνα είσαι σύ, 'σαι σύ, τί όμορφη Πσίνα είσαι σύ!"
Η Ψίνα είπε τότε στην Κβάγια "βρε, κομψό πουλί!" "Πόσο γοητευτικά γλυκά τραγουδείς!" "Αχ, ας παντρευτούμε, καιρό το βραδύναμε Μα δαχτυλίδι πού να βρούμε;" Σαλπάρανε μακριά για ένα χρόνο και μια μέρα στη χώρα που καμπανόδεντρα φυτρώνουν, εκεί σε ένα δάσος Γρουνάκι στάθηκε με κρίκο στην άκρη της μύτης, της μύτης, με κρίκο στην άκρη της μύτης.
Καλέ Γρουνάκι, θέλεις να πουλήσεις για ένα σελίνι τον κρίκο σου; και το Γρούνι είπε: Θέλω. Έτσι το πήραν και την επόμενη μέρα τους πάντρεψε η Γλούπα που ζει στη μαγούλα Δειπνούσαν με κιμά και φέτες κυδώνια που τά τρωγαν με ρούκουνο κουτάλι και χέρι με χέρι στης αμμουδιάς την άκρη χόρευαν στο φεγγαρόφωτο, ρόφωτο, χόρευαν στο φεγγαρόφωτο
(Latin: facit calorem/caldorem) (Italian: fa caldo) (French: Il fait chaud) (Catalan: fa cald/calor) (Romanian: se face cald) (Portuguese: faz quente) (Sicilian: facàvuru)
Του βασιλιά της Θούλης/ πεθαίνοντας χρυσό/ του χάρισε η καλή του/ ποτήρι έναν καιρό. Όλα για κείνο δίνει/ του κόσμου τα καλά/ όταν με κείνο πίνει/ το δάκρυ του κυλά. Σαν είταν να πεθάνει/ τις χώρες του μετρά/ και χάρισμα τις κάνει/ και μόνο αυτό κρατά. Και τους ιππότες κράζει/ στη σάλα την ψηλή/ στο πατρικό παλάτι/ στο ακροθαλάσσι εκεί. Και μπρος στο παραθύρι/ φλόγα στερνή ρουφά/ και το άγιο το ποτήρι/ στο πέλαγο πετά. Τα κύματα το αρπούνε/ το βλέπει να βυθά/ τα μάτια του σφαλούνε/ και δεν ξανάπιε πια. (Μετάφραση. Κώστας Χατζόπουλος)
Il ne boira plus désormais. P.S. το πρόδρομο ποίημα στο Βασιλιά της Θούλης Geistesgruß, 1774, Lahn river Πνεύματος Χαιρετισμός
Hoch auf dem alten Turme steht Ψηλά στον παλιό πύργο στέκει Des Helden edler Geist, του ήρωα πνεύμα ευγενικό, Der, wie das Schiff vorüber geht, Αυτός, όπως το πλοίο περνά, Es wohl zu fahren heisst. καλό ταξίδι λέει. Sieh, diese Senne war so stark, Δες, αυτός ο τένοντας ήταν τόσο δυνατός, Dies Herz so fest und wild, Αυτή η καρδιά τόσο σκληρή και άγρια, Die Knochen voll von Rittermark, Τα οστά μεστά ιπποσύνης Der Becher angefüllt; το ποτήρι γεμάτο Mein halbes Leben stürmt’ ich fort, Tη μισή μου ζωή στη θύελλα πέρασα Verdehnt’ die Hälft’ in Ruh, τέντωσα την άλλη μισή στη γαλήνη Und du, du Menschenschifflein dort, και συ ανθρώπων καραβάκι εκεί Fahr’ immer, immer zu! ταξίδευε, πάντα, πάντα μπροστά!
I know this city, there I was born and remember a Christmas day when the Kalikantzari came and turned everything upside down. So what are these Kalikantzari? Oh! they are coming! hide yourselves to listen!
A thousand times my grandpa had told us the tale and their queer fate of chopping, for centuries now, the Tree that supports the Upper World so as to bring it down, plaf!, like an empty balloon. Ho,ho,ho, my grandpa laughed. Ho,ho,ho, we laughed as well as we imagined them down there in the bowels of the earth, the poor ones, jagging and singing with their donkeyish voices.
The bad people fear and detest them because the ugliness of the goblins reminds them of their own ugliness. The elves are aware of it and always choose notably those people to set their nerves on fire ... certainly...their only pleasure is to go up on earth every Christmas and set up...unsettling conditions.
Well, all that sort of things they do...but on Epiphany day... "Run away! 'cause tourlopapas (fat priest) comes with his aspergil, the priest with holy water (ayasmos) and villagers with torch." So having been kicked out, they return into the underworld. But there, oh! plight on them!..The Earthtree has nourished its wounds and then they restart their big saw task..over again the crummy ones...
And so the story goes, so the story will forevermore
However that year, a couple of months before they go up on earth, they sat down and maturely pondered. As you see, they were fed up so many centuries with the same old story. They discussed for days, discussed but could not make head or tail of it... until a kalikantzaraki (little goblin) gοt up and said: "I opine that we should put them to do the follies and then we could watch them and laugh! But whom shall we catch and poke fun at? ".. well, well, they didn't try hard at all. They found all them together in the Smileless Town. So on Christmas eve, they dropped their saws, rode their white geese and set out for the upper world ... at night ... The Green Valley all white by the snow, the Smileless Town all white too. Up on a slope, at a forest glade, a huge fire was burning ... Over the fire there was a round blacky pot! and inside the pot it was slowly boiling...the magic wort. The gnomes were preparing something, coming and going, cleaning, fetching branches, making strange movements and singing lazily ...
Double the guards everywhere as there's not enough time for us!
As time passed the glade filled of goblins. Whole army of goblins! New ones were constantly coming, popping out behind the snowy hills, astride their geese. Whole army of goblins dancing like crazy around the cauldron. Mandrakoulos, drunk, riding backwards a donkey, conducted the hootenanny. "Do this! do that! do the other also stuff!" Everybody brushed him off normally. "Forward!" He ordered the donkey. "Hey, where do you go, you dumbass?" as the donkey instead of forward went backward...they had fallen into a trance. Rave-party!
Rum paparoum, paparoum, paparouna (poppy)
we squeeze it and make a remedy potion
we keep it boiling
eighteen days and nights over a low heat.
That night I could not sleep. I stood in front of the window and thought wondering what gift had they got for me? and all of a sudden I see a goose landing in our yard wearing a necklace of rubies. "Oh," I said, "So beautiful you are! - Come inside. She replied:" No, you come out! "- And she nodded at me to ride on her back; I mounted, she opened her wings and flew high above the city...Ah! so nice it was ... Up there were also other geese with my friends on their backs doing circles over the deeply sleeping town. Suddenly a goose, probably the leader, turned around and began flying toward the hills. But ... where did they head? I soon realized as I saw the goblins at the glade around the fire dancing and singing. And as the geese landed, one to one, on the snow, a fat old kalikantzaros flashed through the fire, the leader of the goblins, Mandra-koulos with his meaningful name ( archi-mandrite :-) and gave the signal for dancing:
Go, let the dance start, let the lunacies start off!
We played, danced, sang until the sunrise. Then Mandrakoulos said: "It's time! Return the kids to their homes". The geese took my friends and flew to the city. But me, longing to watch the follow-up, I went and hid myself behind a bush, there lying down, tentlike, on the snow, which was not cold but warm and soft like cotton, I watched them departing until they vanished high, in the heart the sky.
The pot was boiling murmuringly - boiling and around of it the goblins, clasping each other's shoulder, danced a strange, slow dance. In a moment the fire gained strength and the glade flashed like gold, "there through the flash a girl popped out in a red dress."Ah! behold! voila! she came! " the kalikantzari yelled. Mandrakoulos whispered: "the Poppy Spirit came" and the little girl sang:
Through the blood of Jesus and his secret tear
Upon the Calvary hills I was born,
I come with the spring, Love my name is,
I come out of myths and deep past.
Through the blood of Jesus and his secret tear
and out of innocent's dreams am I created.
Through the lips of the cauldron, a thin smoke had started to grow, to grow until it became a pinky cloud like the fairy floss that is sold at festivities ...then the gnomes together blew "phew! phew!".. and ... the cloud moved and stood over the city. The air was scented by the cherry blossom. Yes, upon the snow cherries had grown. After a few hours just before dawn ...a hot wind blew across the valley ... The cloud got melted and turned into rain ... In a little while, Christmas day arose ... Many Happy Returns!
The spells are secret, but in secret they don't remain,
and strange things started to happen ...
The spring came like an express train with thousands of swallows
and sent two kisses and melted the snow.
Christmas has dawned and the hills greened
and straight to the heart of winter the lilacs bloomed.
Suddenly, smileless people became cheerful, indeed very cheerful - and talkative, indeed very talkative: 'Hello, how are you? Happy Years be with you! ... Smouch, smooch! " "I promise", the mayor kept saying, "Oh, mayor, well done!" shouted the acolytes and slowly - slowly, one to one, the unsmiling men began to dance! Yes! Dancing!...said and done by the gnomes. Upside down! while all this was going on, the Time's Door opened wide and the official guests of the goblins began to arrive: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the Steadfast Tin Soldier with his ballerina, Tom Sawyer, Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten, the Happy Prince, the aged Aesop with company, Karagiozis with his family ... "Hi family ... oh, oh, oh, oh opa ...», "I promise that ...». Carlos Castaneda, Jerry Garcia, Jimmy Hendrix ... The elves being stained with paint like Indians rolled on the ground, did somersaults, did whatever came into their head and enjoyed a crazy funtime ... Bustle upon the flatland!!...
They danced, danced ... till the nightfall ... and a sweet sleepiness weighed down their eyelids ... they all tilted then and fell asleep ... and the barrel wine was still flowing through the spigots. The elves rode on their geese and decamped. Along with them the holidays left ...
The next day it snowed. Snow above the silent world. Snowing in the hearts of the lonely people.
The next morning the residents of the Smileless Town woke up, worn-down, unsmiling as before. The news leaked out immediately throughout the country. Two - three foreigners who happened to be passers-by the day of the feast spread it everywhere: "The Smileless Town was painted red!». No bother though. The Unsmiling People did not believe anyone or anything.
The time slowly rolled like the watermill that never stops and the strange dream got forgotten. Nobody spoke about it in the Smileless Town ... However, every so often, the mornings when the sun shone warm and the children played in the schoolyard, the old teacher was taken aback hearing them sing and dance a strange song. "Weird! What is this? "He had never taught them songs because the man simply did not know. He noticed also that whenever they clasped hands in circles and sing, the sky aloft filled with all-white geese and the kids greeted them with their hankies, as they saw them flying in the air like swift sailboats. They danced and sang and the whole green valley resounded with voices and the Smileless Town resounded also with their amusement.
