Il
Gatto addormentato
(The
Sleeping Cat)
Nursery
tales by Elisabetta Mancini Camporeale
13
Published online: 17 April 2008
Linda e la bambola Rattoppina
English version ↓
La
piccola Linda era una vivace bimbetta nata in una famiglia di
umili ma onesti contadini.
I genitori vivevano dei prodotti
forniti loro dal lavoro nei campi.
Non si pativa la fame, ma
nemmeno si nuotava nell’oro e la vita della famiglia era
piuttosto frugale.
Nulla si sprecava, nemmeno la più
piccola briciola di pane e gli abiti sdruciti, anche se ridotti a
brandelli, venivano accuratamente messi da parte, perché
quei pezzettini di stoffa un giorno potevano tornare utili.
All’avvicinarsi
del suo compleanno, compiva sette anni quel tredici dicembre,
Linda espresse il desiderio di ricevere in dono una bambola.
La
mamma, nonostante la mole di lavoro che doveva sbrigare
quotidianamente, non ebbe il coraggio di scontentarla.
A sera
tarda, quando tutti i mestieri erano terminati e i bambini erano
andati a letto, tornò in cucina.
Alla
luce del lume scelse i pezzettini di stoffa più belli e
meno rovinati, poi raccolse un po’ di paglia dal fienile e
cominciò.
Pian piano, dalle sue mani prese vita una
figuretta con due braccia, due gambette e una buffa testolina.
Per
occhi vi applicò due bottoni neri e per capelli dei
trucioli di legno, che erano rimasti nella cassetta degli attrezzi
del babbo.
La
mamma lavorò alacremente e per il giorno del compleanno la
bambolina era pronta.
Al mattino la piccola Linda si svegliò
di buon’ora.
Dalla finestra appena socchiusa un tenue
raggio di sole baciava le rosee guance della bambina e quelle
rattoppate di una bambola di stoffa che, nonostante tutto,
appariva buffa e ispirava tenerezza.
Quando
Linda ne avvertì la presenza la strinse forte a sé e
sentì il cuore scoppiare di gioia.
Finalmente anche
lei come le sue amiche aveva una bambola di cui prendersi
cura.
Già, ma come l’avrebbe chiamata?
La
scelta non le portò via molto tempo, le bastò
un’occhiata d’insieme e da quel giorno la sua compagna
di giochi si chiamò Rattoppina.
Con il passare del tempo Rattoppina si arricchì di ulteriori rammendi, ma Linda non l’avrebbe mai ceduta, nemmeno in cambio di una di quelle bambole delle bambine dell’alta società, tutte fronzoli e merletti, ma senza una storia da raccontare.
Published online: 17 April 2008
Linda and the Patchie doll
Italian version ↑
Linda
was a lively little girl, she was born by a couple of humble but
honest farmers.
Her parents lived
on the product of their work in the fields.
They didn’t
starve, but they neither were rolling in money and the family life
was frugal.
They didn’t waste anything, neither the
smallest crumb of bread and torn clothes, even if badly ripped and
tattered, were carefully kept away, because all those little
pieces of fabric might be useful in future.
When
her birthday was to come, she was to be seven the thirteenth of
December, Linda wished to receive a doll as
present.
Notwithstanding her daily
hard job, her mother didn’t feel up to deceive her
daughter.
At night, when she finished her duties and the
children were sleeping, she returned in the kitchen.
By
candlelight she chose the most beautiful and less ripped pieces of
fabric, then she gathered some straw from the barn and started
sewing.
Little by little, a little figure, with two arms, two
legs and a funny head, was born from her hands.
The doll had
two dark buttons as eyes and its hair were made of wood-shavings,
left over in the father’s tool box.
The
mother worked briskly and the little doll was ready for her
daughter’s birthday.
That morning Linda woke up
soon.
From the ajar window, a pale ray of sunlight kissed the
girl’s pink cheeks and the patched ones of a fabric doll
that, anyway, seemed funny and tender.
When
Linda felt the presence of the doll, she hugged it and felt her
heart filled with joy.
At last, she had a doll to take care
of just as her friends …but…what was the right name
for her doll?
She soon made her choice, a short look and
since that day on her playmate was named Patchie.
As time passed, Patchie was further patched up, but Linda wouldn’t ever exchanged Patchie with any other doll, neither those of uptown child, rich in frills and laces, but without a story to tell.
(English translation by Silvia Mancini)
Terms of use: This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author, translator and source are credited.
When not otherwise specified, the English translation was made by the author.