Albanian fairy tale

Besa of Constantine

Besa of Constantine

Six and twelve,

Doruntina thirteen! ...

Once upon a time a very good mother had twelve beautiful sons. On the thirteenth he had a beautiful daughter above all his friends, who called him Doruntina.

The girl grew up and got married. But from the generous of that place no one enjoyed it. Everyone wanted her, no one dared to marry her, because she did not feel like a master to take her as a friend. Then comes a distant brave man; good, handsome, tribal, and starts sending the swallow to get it

ask Doruntina the bride. His mother and eleven older brothers did not want to give it to him, because the brave man, although good and kind, was from a very distant place. Only the little one, Constantine wanted.

"Give it to the mother," he said, "that the brave man is good." It has entered my heart.

- Costandin my son, what are you saying like that? - returned his mother. Will you take my Doruntina so far? That in dacha for joy, for joy I will not have it; that if I drank it for poison, I would not have it for poison.

- I promise you, mother lady, that when you love Doruntina, whether for gas or poison, I myself

to bring it !.

The mother and the eleven brothers obeyed: they boiled and married Doruntina to the distant brave. They had a wedding for nine days. On the tenth the brave took the bride and went to his distant land. My mother and daughter cried with tears when they separated ...

... Many wars were fought that time on our land, because a foreigner had come to trample and conquer it. of

the twelve brothers went out to fight for their country and were killed one by one all.

When his first son was killed, the mother sighed and said:

- My son, I have no poison and I will not cry for you, because you are new to your land and I have eleven other sons left for war.

When six were killed, all six brave and beloved, she shed only one tear for each and made only one wail. But when they began to kill him and the others, the mother was heartbroken and let out a sigh that the whole country roared:

- Woe is me, what a great poison not to have Doruntina near me in this mourning that covered my house !.

When the last son, Constantine, was killed, the mother pulled out her white hair and called out:

- Bobo, what a death, a dead death! You took me twelve sons and now who can know if you do not have me

even my only daughter, my beloved daughter!

When the Sabbath of the dead dawned, the mother went to the graves of her sons. He had twelve sons,

there were twelve tombs now ... On every tomb he lit a candle and made a wailing, but on the tomb of Constantine he lit two candles and made two wails, he wept with tears and cried three times:

- Oh my! Oh my! O biri im! ...

Three more times:

- O Costandin! O Costandin! O Constantine!

Then he collapsed to the ground, conquered the tombstone and landed:

- Kostandin, my son, where is the trust you gave me, that you will bring me Doruntina, your sister? Your Besa died with you and rots in the black grave!

So he said and washed the stone with tears in his eyes.

At midnight Constantine rose from the grave. The tombstone became a black horse like night. Even the black earth became black saddle like night. The pulley holding the stone became silver bridle. The brave man mounted his horse, leaned forward, lowered his head, and fell on the stove. It captured mountains and fields as a breath, threw rivers and streams, left behind villages, hills, forests ...

Constantine arrived at his sister's house at sunrise. It happened the day of the feast. In the square, in front of the house, he found his sons and sister, his grandchildren, playing and running after the swallows, he asked them:

- Sons of the heart, where is the lady, your mother?

"Costandin, oh Mr. Lalë," they said, "our mother is dancing in the village, where a wedding takes place."

Constantine quickly went to the first dance, saw a handful of beautiful girls singing and dancing and said to himself: "You are beautiful, my girls, but for me you are not, because I am not of this world ...". And he approached to ask:

- Rejoice, white girls! Is Doruntina with me, my sister?

- Go forward brave, because you will find him dancing happily dressed in bright velvet clothes.

Constantine went to the second dance and dared to ask again, but Doruntina saw it for herself and called to her:

- Costandin, my brother!

And he approached and embraced her.

Costandini said:

- Doruntina, my sister! Come to go. I love you mom at home !.

Tell me brother, how do I get there? If he loves me for gas, I will take the best ornaments myself, but if he loves me (if not for poison), I will dress in black.

- Come sister, as you are !.

Took it to the horse's buttocks. The horse fled like a whirlwind. They cross mountains and fields, forests and hills, rivers and streams as if in a dream. The moon and stars are staring up and looking shy.

Along the way, the sister asks the brother:

- Costandin, my brother, why are your broad shoulders full of mold?

- Doruntina, my sister, my shoulders have been covered by the smoke of the rags in war. That in our country great wars were fought, enemies came to trample us and we all went out to fight.

- Costandin, my brother, why do you have all your powdered hair?

- My sister Doruntina, there was a lot of dust along the way and she dusted my hair.

-Costandin my brother, why did my brothers, beautiful as light, not come forward to wait for us?

- Doruntina, my sister, maybe they are in the toy and do not expect to see us tonight.

- Costandin my brother, why are the windows of the house completely closed today?

- My sister Doruntina, we have closed because a strong winter wind blows from the sea.

When they arrived at the church, Constantine said to his sister:

- You go before I want to go in and kneel!

Constantine went and entered the black tomb again. The horse became stone again, the saddle became earth, and the silver bridle became scroll. And again the silence of death reigned around the circle.

Meanwhile Doruntina climbed the stairs and knocked merrily on the door.

- Mom, I opened the door!

- Who are you knocking on the door?

- Open the door, mother - I am your daughter Doruntina.

- Run away from where you came, O desolate death. You took my twelve sons and now you have come to me

take me too to never see my Doruntina again!

- What are you saying, madam? You do not know my voice? Besa lady mother, it's me, your Doruntina.

- Stick your finger in the hole of the ankle to see it and recognize it.

Doruntina stuck her little finger into the hole in her ankle - that thin, white finger. Mom recognized him immediately and opened the door.

- Who brought you here, my heart?

- Brought to me by Constantine, my brother.

- Which Kostandin, my daughter? My Constantine has died along with his eleven other brothers. They were killed in the war ...

And as youth both,

one at the door and the other at the door,

burst like glass with wine ...

(Besa means- The word given with certainty that it will be kept, the word of honor for a vow.)