The Fairy Oriana

I – Good fairies and Evil Fairies

There are two kinds of fairies: good fairies and evil fairies. Good fairies do good things and evil
fairies do evil things.
Good fairies water the flowers with morning dew, light the fires of old people, hold back the
children about to fall in the river, enchant the gardens, dance in the air, make up dreams and, at
night, place golden coins in the shoes of the poor. Evil fairies dry up the wells, extinguish the
fires of the shepherds, tear up the clothes drying in the sun, disenchant the gardens, bother the
children, torment the animals and steal from the poor.
When a good fairy sees a dead tree with dry branches and no leaves, she touches it with her
magic wand and in that same instant the tree is filled with leaves, flowers, fruits and singing
birds.
When an evil fairy sees a tree filled with leaves, flowers, fruits and singing birds, she touches it
with her cursed magic wand and in that same instant an icy wind rips out the leaves, makes the
fruits rot, the flowers wither and the birds drop dead.
II – Oriana
Once upon a time there was a fairy called Oriana. She was a good fairy and she was very
pretty. She was free; joyfully and happily dancing on the fields, on the hills, in the woods and on
the beaches.
One day, the Fairy Queen called her and said:
"Oriana, come with me."
And together they soared across plains, lakes and mountains until they arrived at a country with
a very big forest.
"Oriana," said the Fairy Queen, "I give you this forest. Every man, animal and plant that lives
here is, from now on, under your care. You are the fairy of this forest.
You must promise me you will never leave it."
To which Oriana replied,
"I promise."
From that day on, Oriana lived in the forest. At night, she slept in an oak trunk.
In the morning, she would wake up very early, way before the flowers and the birds. Her clock
was the very first ray of sunshine because she had a lot to do. Everyone needed her in the
forest. She would warn the rabbits and the deer that the huntsmen were coming. She would
water the plants with morning dew. She would watch over the miller's eleven children. She
would rescue the birds that were stuck in the rat traps.
At night, when everyone was asleep, Oriana would go to the prairies to dance with the other
fairies. Or she would fly above the forest and, spreading her wings, she would stay still, hanging
in the air between the earth and the sky. All around the forest there were sleeping fields and
mountains, full of silence. Far away you could see lights of a city looking on to its river. During
the day and up close, the city was dark, ugly and sad. But at night the city would shine bright,
full of lights: green, purple, yellow, blue, red and lilac, as if there was a big party. It seemed
made of opals, of rubies, of glitter, of emeralds and sapphires.
A summer passed, then an autumn, then a winter and then spring came. One morning in April,
Oriana rose even earlier than usual. As soon as the first ray of sunshine entered the forest, she
left the oak trunk where she slept. She took a deep breath, breathing in the scent of the dawn
and danced a bit. Then she combed her hair with her fingers and washed her face with morning
dew.
"What a beautiful morning!" she said. "I have never seen a morning this blue, this green, so
fresh and golden."
And she danced through the forest, greeting everything. The trees woke up first, then the
roosters, then the birds, then the flowers, then the rabbits, then the deer and the foxes. After
that, the men started waking up, and Oriana went to visit the old woman.
She was a very old woman who lived in an even older house. And inside the house there were
only rags, broken furniture and cracked crockery. Oriana peeked through the unglazed window.
The old woman was doing housework whilst talking to herself, saying:
"What a dark life, what a dark life! I am as old as time and I still need to work. I have no children
to help me. If it wasn't for the fairies, where would I be?... When I was young I would play in the
forest, and the animals, leaves and flowers would play with me. My mother would comb my hair
and place a dancing ribbon in my dress. Now, if it wasn't for the fairies, where would I be?...
... When I was young I would laugh all day, and at the balls I would dance all night;
I had over a hundred friends. Now that I am old, I have none. If it wasn't for the fairies,
where would I be?... When I was young I had gentlemen telling me I was beautiful and throwing
carnations at my feet. Now the boys run after me, calling me ‘old crone, old crone!’ and
throw rocks at me. If it wasn't for the fairies, where would I be?...
... When I was young I had a palace, silk dresses, maids and lackeys. Now I am
old, and I have nothing. If it wasn't for the fairies, where would I be?”
Oriana heard this lament every morning, and every morning she would be sad, feeling sorry for
the old woman, so curved, so wrinkly and so alone, who spent her whole days grumbling and
sighing.
Fairies would only show themselves to children, animals, trees and flowers, so the old woman
never saw Oriana. But even though she couldn't see her, she knew she was there, ready to
help.
After she swept her house, the old woman lit the stove and boiled some water.
She opened the coffee canister and said:
"I am out of coffee."
Oriana touched the canister with her magic wand and filled it with coffee.
The old woman made the coffee, then she held her milk mug and said:
"I am out of milk."
Oriana touched the mug with her magic wand and filled it with milk.
The old woman grabbed the sugar bowl and said:
"I am out of sugar."
Oriana touched the sugar bowl with her magic wand and filled it with sugar.
The old woman opened the bread drawer and said:
"I am out of bread."
Oriana touched the drawer with her magic wand and inside the drawer was a
loaf of bread and some butter.
The old woman grabbed the bread and said:
"If it wasn't for the fairies, where would I be?"
Oriana heard her and smiled.
The old woman ate and drank and then sighed.
"Now I have to go to work."
Her job was to collect dry branches to sell in the city afterwards.
Every morning, Oriana would help her gather wood, and every morning she
would guide her into the city, because the old woman’s sight was very poor and the path
to the city was too close to the abyss and she could fall in if the fairy did not guide her.
And so, in that April morning, Oriana and the old woman walked along the road,
the old woman bent over, leaning against a stick, and Oriana fluttering in the air like a
butterfly. And, without the old woman noticing, the fairy held the bundle of wood, so it
would be lighter on her crooked back.
When they got to the city, the old woman went to sell the wood door to door,
and Oriana flew to a rooftop where she sat watching the city, waiting for her friend.
While she waited, she started talking to the swallows.
"The faraway countries are beautiful," said the swallows.
"Could you tell me all about them?" asked Oriana.
"The king of Siam has a palace with golden roofs and in China there are porcelain
towers," said a swallow.
"In Oceania there are islands made of coral covered in grass and palm trees. And
in those islands, people dress themselves with flowers and they're all beautiful, good
and happy," said another swallow.
"Kangaroos have a pouch in which they keep their children and the king of Tibet
can read the thoughts of every man," said another swallow.
"At the top of the Andes mountain range there are abandoned cities where only
eagles and serpents live," said another swallow.
"That is wonderful! Could you tell me more?" asked Oriana.
"Some things can’t be told, they must be shown," replied the swallows. "The
wonders of the world are so, so many! But come with us, Oriana. We leave when autumn
comes. You too have two wings. Come with us."
But Oriana stared at the vast round and transparent sky, sighed and replied:
"I can’t go. The men, animals and plants of the forest need me."
"But you have two wings, Oriana. You can fly above the oceans and the
mountains. You can go to the other side of the world. There is always more and more
space. Imagine how good it would be if you came. You could fly high above the clouds,
or you could fly close to the blue sea, dipping the tip of your toes in the cold waves. You
could fly above virgin forests and breathe in the scent of unknown fruits and flowers.
You would see the cities, hills, rivers, deserts and oases. In the middle of the big Ocean
there are tiny islands with beaches of white, thin sand. Over there, in the moonlight,
everything is blue, still and silver. Imagine all these things, Oriana."
But Oriana, looking at the sky and at the wandering clouds, sighed and said:
"I imagine what would become of the old woman without me when she woke up
on a cold winter morning and could not find the bread or milk."
"Come with us, Oriana," the swallows invited again.
"I promised I would take care of the forest," replied the fairy. "And a promise is
something very important."
The swallows stared at her with their shiny hardened black eyes, and harshly
said:
"Oriana, you don't deserve your wings. You don't love the wide open spaces and
don’t care about freedom."
Oriana lowered her head and replied:
"I made a promise."
The swallows turned their backs on her and ignored her.
As soon as the old woman finished selling her wood she left the city, the fairy
right behind her, and together they returned to the forest.
When they arrived, it was almost noon. Oriana left the old woman and went to
the woodcutter's house.
The woodcutter was very poor. At his house, there was only a bed, a fireplace, a
table and three stools.
The door was open because there was nothing worth stealing.
Before coming in, Oriana picked up three little pebbles from the ground.
The house was very tidy because the woodcutter's wife enjoyed doing everything
to perfection. Besides, there was very little to tidy up.
Oriana looked around the house to see what was missing.
She opened the bread drawer and saw there was still bread, so she closed it
again.
Then she opened the clothes drawer. The clothes were few and poor, but clean
and sewn up. But there was a shirt so old and with so many holes that even after sewing
it was torn. Oriana placed a little white pebble inside the drawer, touched it with her
magic wand and the little pebble turned into a new shirt.
Afterwards, Oriana opened the money drawer and saw it was empty. She placed
a little pebble inside and turned it into a new round coin.
And under the table was the woodcutter's son's ball. Oriana picked it up and saw
it was ruined. So, she placed the last little pebble under the table and turned it into a
new ball.
Almost every day, Oriana would go to the woodcutter's house. She would always
take three little white pebbles with her and turn them into whatever they needed the
most. And the woodcutter's wife would tell her husband:
"I wonder who this good person is that comes into our home when I go out and
brings me what I need?"
Oriana left the woodcutter's house and she thought:
"Today is festival day; the miller went to the city to sell flour and his wife went
with him with their eleven children. I am going to their place to see what they need."
And she went to the miller's house.
The door was locked, but Oriana touched the lock with her magic wand and
opened it.
The house was a mess. Everything was upside down and covered in flour.
Everything was out of place. Because the miller's wife had eleven children and was very
messy and absent-minded, and never had time for anything. Without Oriana their house
would be impossible to live in.
Oriana came in and looked around. She sighed at that much disarray. Then she
went to pick up a broom and a duster and cleaned the whole house. She fixed the broken
things with her magic wand. She washed the dishes and placed them in the cupboards.
She brushed the clothes and hung them up. She stitched all the clothes inside the
clothes' basket and fixed the broken toys.
When she finished all this, she looked around her. The house was beautiful, full
of order and cleanliness. Oriana smiled and left.
And almost every day Oriana would clean the miller's house. But the miller's wife
would never realize a fairy had been there, because she was always late and left home
in a hurry, and since she was always distracted she would not notice she had left her
house all topsy-turvy. So, when she would come back home she would not be surprised
everything was in order, because she didn't remember leaving any untidiness.
Oriana left the miller's house and went to the Very Rich Man's house.
III – The Very Rich Man
The Very Rich Man had no wife, no children and no friends. He only had servants.
His house was in the middle of a very well-kept garden, with grass, bushes, and
sand paths.
Oriana circled the house, so she could spot where to come in. All the doors were
locked, and Oriana could not open them. Because in the Very Rich Man's house, the
locks were so expensive not even a magic wand could unlock them. But there was an
open window. It was the window to the living room. Oriana peeked and saw no one
there. There were only the things. But there lingered a very bad atmosphere. The sofas
and the chairs would elbow each other, the dressers would kick the walls, the flower
vases would ask the boxes and the ashtrays to stop squeezing them, and the flowers
said:
"I can't stay here, can't stay here, I can't breathe!"
The room was filled to the brim.
Oriana went in and the things begun talking over each other.
"Oriana, get us out of here," screamed the flowers.
"Oriana, can you tell the flower vase to stop pushing me?" asked the box.
"Oriana, can you tell the table to stop stepping on me so hard?" asked the carpet.
"Oriana, can you tell the sofa to stop elbowing me?" asked the chair.
"Oriana, can you tell the folding screen to move?" asked the wall.
"Oriana," said the mirror, "can you get me out of here. I am always watching. I
see all. This room full of things, this room with no space, no emptiness, no width, it tires
and hurts my glass eyes."
"Settle down, calm down, don't speak all at once," said the fairy.
And so, the things went quiet and the table said:
"Oriana, we can’t be here. We do not fit this room. There are too many things
here. We are much too tight. And we are all things with different shapes and we don't
get along well. I am a very antique table; I am from a convent dining room. I am long,
but the room was big, and I fit there well, as besides me, only stools were there. I feel
awful here. The things are always shoving me. Me and the golden sofa do not get along.
I am all plain, and he is all woven. We can’t get along. I am a convent table, I made a
poverty vow, I can’t live in this room. Oriana, touch me with your wand and make me fly
away to my convent.”
Then the dresser said:
"I’m a very beautiful and antique dresser. For two centuries, I lived in a manor in
a farm. I was in a very big room and whoever walked in would see how beautiful I was
right away. During the day, I would hear the children laughing in the garden and I would
hear them chase each other through the halls. At night, I would only hear the wind
singing, the frogs and the running fountain in the garden. Many lights would be lit during
parties. People would walk by me and they would say:
... 'What a beautiful dresser!'...
... And the house owner would reply: ...
... 'My father had it made.' ...
... And in a couple of decades another house owner would say: ...
... 'My grandfather had it made.' ...
... Another couple of decades would pass and another house owner would say:
...
... 'My great–grandfather had it made.'...
... Yet another couple of decades would pass, and another house owner then
would say: ...
... 'My great–great–grandfather had it made.'...
... Because I would pass on generation to generation. And I met the fathers, the
sons, the grandsons and their grandsons...
... I was part of the family. When I was sold, everyone cried. Tears would fall from
the trees onto the ground and their leaves waved goodbye. Here it's different. Here no
one is my friend, neither men or things. When someone mentions how beautiful I am,
the house owner says, ‘I bought her for 100 gold coins’2 Oriana, take me away from here.
Take me back to the room in the farm manor."
Then the mirror spoke and said:
"I was in a palace and in front of me there was space, space and more space. The
floor was plain shiny marble. And I was at the end of a lonesome and quiet gallery. And
would contemplate how the hours would change. I saw kings and queens, polished for
coronation day, with their sparkling heavy crowns. I saw ministers, advisers and the
important men, with their long noses, their serious faces and somber auras. And I saw
damsels in white dresses running to the lone gallery for a moment. They would glide
light and fast denying everyone’s flowers. And I saw rebellious crowds pass me by, in
despair, destroying everything, seeking justice. I saw, I saw, I saw...
... I am a mirror; I have spent my whole life watching. The images all entered me...
... I saw, I saw, I saw. And now I am in this room without somewhere to rest my
glass eyes. Oriana, get me out of here and place me in front of a white wall, plain and
naked."
And one by one all the things asked her to take them somewhere else.
"My dear things," said Oriana, "I can’t do as you ask. If I made you disappear, the
house owner would be very upset. And I can’t come into a house to upset their owners."

"So, what can you do?" asked the things.

"Nothing," said Oriana. "This room looks hopeless. When I go into other houses,
I make missing things appear. But there is nothing missing here. There are too many
things. I would have to remove some. But I can’t come into a house and take away what
is already there."
"If you can’t take us out of here make the room bigger so we fit."
"I am really sorry," said Oriana, "but that is impossible. When the owner of this
house had it made, he told the architect: 'I want a small house because of jealous eyes.'"
The things went silent for a minute, thought and said:
"Oriana, make the house owner gift us to someone that has no furniture."
"That," said Oriana, "is a great idea. I know what to do."
On top of the table were a notepad and a pen.
Oriana grabbed the pen and wrote:
"Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord. Give the poor half your furniture."
"Great," said the things.
"Oriana," said the mirror, "I beg you to remove that ballerina from my line of
sight. I am tired of looking at her all day with a foot in the air in a state of imbalance. My
glass eyes have no eyelids. Only the nights are my eyelids. But during the day I can never
close my eyes. And I am too tired of spending my days watching a ballerina with a foot
up in the air."
The ballerina was in a shelf in front of the mirror.
Oriana picked her up and moved her to the top of the dresser, so the mirror could
not see her.
"Thank you," said the mirror.
Then they heard footsteps in the corridor and Oriana hid behind the folding
screen.
The door opened, and the Very Rich Man came in.

As soon as he entered he saw the notepad on the table. He was furious at the
miserly note he read and exclaimed:
"Who dares this?!"
Then he noticed the ballerina had been moved, was angry again and exclaimed:
"Oh!"
He rang the bell and the butler appeared.
"Call all the servants immediately!" said the Very Rich Man.
They all came in the very next moment. They queued in front of the door. The
Very Rich Man turned to them, turning his back on the table with the notepad and on
the dresser with the ballerina and said:
"Two outrageous things have happened in this house. Woe betide those who
have done them! I want the guilty person to come clean. I want to know who wrote
these judgements on the paper and who moved the ballerina."
The servants were terrified. Hearing this speech upset Oriana. In a blink, she
touched the notepad with her magic wand, making the notes disappear and touched the
ballerina, making her fly back to the shelf.
The Very Rich Man grabbed the notepad, turned it to the servants and said:
"Who wrote this?"
The servants saw a white piece of paper and replied:
"There is nothing there."
The Very Rich Man thought he was dreaming.
He didn't know what to do or say. He coughed and said in a very stern tone:
"Who moved the ballerina from the shelf?"
But he looked at the shelf and noticed the ballerina was back there again. He
thought he had gone mad. He got furious again and very embarrassed with the way he
was acting. He had no idea what to tell the servants. He coughed again and said:
"It was an experiment. You can leave now."
The servants left, and the Very Rich Man sat in a chair talking to himself:
"This was a joke. But it was so well done I didn't get it. Surely it was the living
room maid. By now they are all in the kitchen laughing at me. I should fire her."
Oriana was stunned.
"What a horrible house," she thought, "everything goes wrong here. I couldn't
help anyone."
While thinking, she peeked above the folding screen. The Very Rich Man had his
back turned to her and she noticed he was bald as a coot. She was filled with pity. She
decided to give him some hair. She touched with his head with her magic wand and
immediately filled it with thousands of tiny little hairs. The Very Rich Man felt an itch in
his head. He went to the mirror to check it out. And saw he had his head full of new hair
growths.
At first, he didn't believe what he was seeing. He had his mouth agape for a
moment, unable to talk.
Then he shouted:
"HAIR!...
...HAIR!...
...HAIR!!?"
When he was done shouting he said:
"How come I am growing hair? I have been bald for so long and tried so many
medicines that have never worked, up until today!"
He was quiet for a second and suddenly facepalmed, exclaiming:
"I know, I know what did it. It was that widow asking for a job for her son. She
started talking about how poor she was, and I started talking about how bald I was. She
said: ...
...'I don't have any money!'...
... And I said: ...
... 'I don't have any hair!'...
... So, she told me she would send me a medicine that would make my hair
grow back. And the next day she sent me a bottle with some medicine inside. I used the
medicine and my hair grew! I must thank her! I must get her son a job! Right now!"
And the Very Rich Man, very excited, grabbed the phone and dialed a number.
The widow picked up.
They greeted each other and then the Very Rich Man said:
"Madam, I am insanely grateful! I kneel at your feet and kiss your hands. I have
hair! I might even grow curls! And I think the new hair will be blond! I have always
wanted to be rich and blond. So far, I had only been rich. Now, thanks to you, I'll be
blond! Blond! Blond! I want to thank you. I want to talk to your son."
The widow's son came to the phone and the Very Rich Man told him:
"I have a job for you! A magnificent place, perfect, ideal. You only need go there
twice a week and you’ll make 30 gold3 a month. There is nothing to do. It is a very
important place. They gave it to me, it was for me, but now it's for you!"
Hearing this, Oriana thought, "Finally! I could do something in this house. I can
leave now. Phew!"
And she left through the window.
IV – The Fish
There was a wonderful fresh afternoon outside. The breeze danced with the
grass in the fields. You could hear the birds singing. There seemed to be golden dust in
the air.
Oriana ran, danced and flew through the forest until she reached the river.
It was a tiny and transparent river, almost a creek, and there were clovers,
poppies and daisies growing in the riverbank. Oriana sat watching the stream amongst
the grass and the flowers. And she heard a voice calling her:

"Oriana, Oriana."
The fairy turned and saw a fish flopping in the sand.
"Save me, Oriana," screamed the fish. "I jumped after a fly and I landed too far
from the river."
Oriana grabbed the fish and placed him back in the water.
"Thank you, thank you!" said the fish, bowing at her. "You saved my life and the
life of a fish is a delicious life. Thank you very much, Oriana. If you ever need something
from me, I am at your disposal."
"Thank you," said Oriana, "I don't need anything right now."
"Remember my promise. I will never forget that I owe you my life. You can ask
me anything you want. Without you I would have choked to death in the middle of the
clovers and the daisies. My gratitude is eternal."
"Thank you," said the fairy.
"Good afternoon, Oriana. I must leave now, but when you want to just come to
the river and call for me." And with many salutes the fish said goodbye to the fairy.
Oriana stared at the fish amusedly, because he was such a tiny fish, but very
important looking.
And when she was looking at the fish she saw her face reflected in the water. The
reflection came up from the bottom of the creek and met her with a smile on her red
lips. And Oriana saw her blue eyes like sapphires, her blonde hair like cornfields, her
white skin like lilies and her glittering air-like wings.
"Look how beautiful I am" she said. "I am beautiful. I had never thought of this. I
had never thought of looking at myself. Look how big my eyes are, how thin my nose is,
how golden are my hairs! My eyes shine like blue stars; my neck is tall and thin like a
tower. How odd life is! If it wasn't for this fish jumping out of water to catch the fly, I
would have never seen myself. The trees, animals and flowers have seen me and know
how beautiful I am. But I had never seen it!"
Oriana was amazed with her discovery. Leaning over the water, she would not
get tired of looking at herself. The hours went by and she kept talking to her reflection.
The sun went down; the night came, and the river went dark. Oriana could not
see herself anymore. She got up and stood brooding for some time. Then she looked
around and said:
"The night is here! Time went by so fast!"
And she remembered it was time to visit her friend, the Poet. Because the Poet
was the only grown-up Oriana could show herself to. He was different from the other
grown-ups.
The Poet lived at the end of the forest, in a very old and tall tower, covered with
ivy, wisteria and rose trees. Oriana flew above the trees in the first blue of the night. The
tower door was opened, but Oriana came in through the window with the breeze. The
climbing plant's roses shivered and danced when she arrived.
"You are late today" said the Poet.
"I was leaning over the river seeing my reflection" said Oriana. "I was late
because I was enchanted with my beauty."
"Oriana," said the Poet, "enchant the night."
So, Oriana touched the night with her magic wand and enchanted it.
And the Poet told her:
"You bring me so much more than beauty. There are many beautiful girls in the
world. But only you can enchant the night because you are a fairy."
So, Oriana sat at on the edge of the window and started telling him the wonderful
stories of the horses of the wind, of the cave with two dragons and of the rings of Saturn.
The Poet told her his verses, clear and bright like stars. Then they both watched quietly
the Moon going up in the sky. Until a far-away bell brought them the sound of the twelve
strokes of midnight and Oriana and the Poet said their goodbyes.
The next morning Oriana took the old woman to the city. But as soon as she got
back, she quickly flew to the river. She knelt in the riverbank and leaned over the water.
Her sun-touched reflection appeared on the surface of the water.
"Look how beautiful I am!" said Oriana. "I look even more beautiful than
yesterday. Do I really look as beautiful as I see myself in the water?"
Oriana looked intently at the other reflections in the river. And it seemed to her
that the reflected trees in the river were much better looking than the trees themselves.
"Maybe," she thought, "my reflection looks better than I do! How will I know the
truth?"
She remembered the fish and called him:
"Fish, fish, fish, my friend!"
The fish appeared and said:
"Good morning, Oriana. Here I am."
"Fish," said the fairy, "I need you. I want to know if my reflection in the river is
prettier than me."
"Nothing in the world is as beautiful as you," said the fish. "You are so much
more than your reflection. Your eyes are brighter, your hair more golden, your lips are
redder."
"You think so?" asked Oriana.
She was brooding.
Suddenly she had an idea as she remembered the mirror. She thought, "I'll see
what the mirror has to say."
She said, "See you later, fish."
And, fast as an arrow, she went to the Very Rich Man's house.
The window was open and the room was empty.
Oriana came in, greeted the things and placed herself in front of the mirror:
"Mirror," she said, "take a good look at me and show me as I am: I saw my
reflection in the river and I think I am beautiful. But I am scared the river embellished
and flattered me just as it flatters the landscape. Show me as I am so I can know if the
fish told the truth and I really am more beautiful than my reflection in the river."
"Oriana," said the mirror, " I am, as you know, a very antique mirror. Pretty girls
have placed themselves in front of me to see what they look like and all of them want
to know if there is anyone fairer than them in the world. Take a good look at yourself.
You are very pretty, but there is something prettier than you."
"What is it?" asked Oriana expectantly.
"A naked white wall."
"Don't talk about that wall again," said Oriana, upset.
But she took a good look at herself and said:
"I think I am beautiful."
"That is good," said the mirror. "But you can’t imagine the sheer number of girls
that looked themselves in my eyes throughout the centuries and said, ‘I think I am
beautiful!’"
"Goodbye, then," said the fairy, rather annoyed.
"Don't leave yet. I want to ask something of you."
"What is it?"
"Take away the Very Rich Man's hair again."
"Why would I do something so wicked?"
"Because he spends the whole day in front of me, seeing himself in me and
saying, 'What beautiful hair.' And I can’t look at him anymore."
"In this house," said Oriana, "everything goes wrong."
And she left.
Once outside she thought:
"I am never coming back to this house: the mirror just mocked me. They have
everything, and everything is hopeless."
And she went back to the river.
She sat at the edge of the water and the fish appeared:
"Fish," said Oriana, "I saw myself in the mirror of the Very Rich Man, and I
thought I was very pretty, as pretty as this reflection in the river. But the mirror told me
a white wall was more beautiful than me!"
"The mirrors are dreamers, always imagining what they do not see. You are so
much more beautiful than a wall. I have never seen anyone as beautiful as you. But I
think it is a shame your hair is always such a mess."
"Ah?!" said Oriana, restless.
"You have to change your hairstyle," said the fish. "I'll teach you!"
And the fish started teaching her:
"Part your hair sideways, pull your curls backwards, pull the right wave forward,
put the left wave backward and curl up the hair in your nape."
Oriana did everything the fish told her to, but he was not satisfied. He had her
undo everything she had done and restart again. Oriana did and redid waves and curls.
Until it started getting dark.
"Now it is better," said the fish. "But tomorrow we will try out another hairstyle."
"See you tomorrow, then," said Oriana.
And she walked slowly through the forest, brooding.
It was almost night when she arrived at the Poet's tower. She sat on the edge of
the window and asked:
"Do you think I am different?"
"No," said the Poet. "I think you are the same."
"But I changed my hair."
"I hadn't noticed."
Oriana went quiet, upset with the answer.
The Poet asked her:
"Oriana, can you fill the air with music?"
Oriana touched the air with her magic wand and the air was filled with music.
It was a full moon and the moonlight flooded the night. It smelled like
honeysuckle and roses.
"Oriana," said the Poet, “dance tonight's dance."
And Oriana started dancing in the air, tiptoeing, the Spring Night Moon Dance.
She danced like the flowers dance in the wind, and her arms were like running rivers.
The Poet sat on the edge of the window watching her, and from the depths of
the forest came the deer, the rabbits, the birds and the butterflies to watch the fairy
dance.
Until the far-away wind brought the sound of the twelve strokes of midnight.
Oriana said goodbye to the Poet and vanished.
The next day, in the morning, after taking the old woman to town, Oriana ran to
kneel in front of the river. The fish was already waiting. They started trying new
hairstyles right away. The fish had her make a flower crown, for her head. Oriana spent
the morning and the afternoon picking flowers, looking at herself in the river and hearing
the fish's compliments. She forgot to go to the miller's house and to the woodcutter's
house. She forgot to take care of the animals. She forgot to water the flowers. But at
night she went to visit the Poet.
And, from then on, Oriana abandoned, one by one, every man, animal and plant
that lived in the forest. One day she abandoned the Poet as well. Because one afternoon
the fish told her:
“You are beautiful in the sunlight, but you must look even better by candlelight.”
And that night, instead of visiting the Poet, Oriana filled the riverbank with
fireflies and will-o'-the-wisps and spent the night looking at herself in the water.
It was a wonderful night. It seemed like an extraordinary and fantastic night in
the middle of the silence and darkness of the forest.
The will-o'-the-wisps and the fireflies were like tiny stars and Oriana would see
herself in the water surrounded by lights, flames and shadows, with her bright eyes, her
luminous hair, her lily crown and her transparent wings.
And from that day onward she never visited the Poet again. She forgot all her
friends. The only person she still visited was the old woman, because she felt an
immense sorrow when she heard her say how beautiful and young she had been and
now she was old, wrinkly and ugly. So, every morning she would lit her fire, place milk
in her cup, coffee in the canister, sugar in the sugar bowl, bread and butter in the drawer
and then guided her along the way to the city, so she would not fall in the abyss.
But as soon as she got back from the city with the old woman she would go
straight to the river, to stare at her beauty and hear the compliments of her fish admirer.
And, during spring, Oriana adorned herself with crowns and collars made of
honeysuckle, daisies, daffodils, orange blossoms and poppies.
Afterwards, during the summer, Oriana adorned herself with carnations, roses
and lilies. And in the autumn with red vine leaves, dahlias and chrysanthemums.
But when winter came there were only violets.
And after a while the fish said:
"I think the purple of the violets really goes with the white of your skin and the
blonde of your hair. In any case, you haven't changed your adornments in days. I think
you should vary them.”
"How can I do that?" replied Oriana. "It's winter and there are no other flowers
in the forest."
The fish thought for a bit and said:
"You could use pearls."
"How will I get pearls?"
"Could you wait a second," asked the fish.
After a while he came back with a ring for the fairy.
"Take this ring."
Oriana took the ring and he told her:
"Put it on your finger and fly to the sea.”
And when you get to the seashore call for the fish Solomon, show him the ring
and ask him to bring you a thousand pearls from the eastern sea.
Oriana did just that.
She flew above forests, hills, cities and fields until she reached a very big and
deserted beach, where foamy sea waves would crash.
And she went to the seashore and called:
"Fish, fish, fish Solomon."
And a black and blue fish with red eyes appeared and asked:
"Who calls for me?"
"It is me, Oriana, the fairy. I brought you this ring."
"Tell me what you want."
"I want you to bring me a thousand pearls from the eastern sea."
"Sit on that rock," replied Solomon the fish "and wait for my return."
Oriana sat on the rock and waited seven days and seven nights.
Occasionally she would remember the old woman, but she would think, "I'm sure
the fish won't take long. She won't even notice I am gone. She knows the way so well
she surely won't fall off the cliff and into the abyss."
After the seventh night, the fish came at the break of dawn. He brought with him
a big turtle shell with the thousand pearls inside.
"Thank you, fish Solomon," said the fairy.
And, grabbing the turtle shell, she went back to the forest.
V – The Fairy Queen
As soon as she got to the riverbank she called, "Fish, my friend, here are the
pearls."
And the fish brought forth ten silver necklaces and Oriana threaded the pearls
and made ten necklaces.
She wrapped one around her neck, one around each arm and braided the
remaining into her hair.
Then she leaned over the water. It was a bright and clear Winter's day. And
Oriana saw her reflection clearer than ever. She had never thought herself so beautiful.
The glowing pearls surrounded her neck, reflected in her skin, lit up her hair.
"Never have I seen something so beautiful!" she exclaimed.
"You look like the queen of the sea, the princess of the moon, the goddess of the
pearls," said the fish.
"I will never leave the riverbank," said Oriana. "I want to spend the rest of my life
looking at myself."
But suddenly Oriana went quiet. There was a silence in the air. And from that
silence rose a voice, a loud, straightforward and rigorous voice that called:
"Oriana!"
Oriana shuddered and turned around. By her side, in the air, was the Fairy
Queen.
And the loud, straightforward and rigorous voice spoke again: "Oriana, what are
you doing?"
Oriana went pale and replied:
"I was looking at myself."
"What about your promise?"
Oriana lowered her head and did not reply. "Oriana," said the voice, "you broke
your promise and abandoned the forest. You abandoned the men, animals and plants.
The children were afraid, and you did not comfort them, the poor were hungry, and you
did not feed them, the little birds fell of the nest and you did not pick them up, the Poet
waited for you until the twelve strokes of midnight and you did not appear. You left the
woodcutter, the miller, the Poet. In the end, you even abandoned the old woman. You
did not keep your promise. For one spring, one summer and one winter you spent day
and night leaning over a river, hearing a fish complimenting you, in love with yourself.
For that, Oriana, you will no longer have wings and will lose your magic wand."
And with these words the Fairy Queen gestured in the air. And in that same
moment, like leaves falling from tree branches in autumn, Oriana saw her wings falling
off her shoulders, drying up and dying like two old papers. The wind blew past and took
them with him. Oriana ran after them, but she could no longer fly, and the wings
vanished. And she saw her magic wand break apart and break apart into dust, falling to
the ground.
And Oriana tried to gather the dust, kneeling in the ground. But the dust was
already mixed with the soil and that was all her hands could grab.
And the loud, straightforward and rigorous voice called again:
"Oriana!"
Oriana got up, face covered in tears and hands covered in dirt, and begged the
Fairy Queen,
"Please, give me my wings back! Give me my magic wand back, please! Forgive
my vanity. I know I broke my promise, I know I abandoned the men, animals and plants
of the forest. The fish filled me with vanity with his compliments. I looked at myself so
much I forgot everything. But give me my wings back. I want it to be like before. I want
to help the men, the animals and the plants again. Without a magic wand and wings I
can’t be a fairy. I need the wings to fly to those who call me, I need the magic wand to
help those who need me.
But the loud, straightforward and rigorous voice of the Fairy Queen replied,
"Walk through the forest and see the wrong you have done. See what happened
to the men, animals and plants you abandoned. You forgot everyone else by looking at
yourself. You will only have your wings back when you undo all the wrong you have
done. You will only have your wings back when you forget about yourself while thinking
of the others."
And with these words, the Fairy Queen was gone.
And Oriana was left by herself at the riverbank, with a face full of tears and hands
full of dirt.
She kneeled next to the river to wash her hands. But when she saw her wingless
image in the water she started sobbing and saying:
"Wings, wings, oh my wings! How ugly is a wingless fairy! How ridiculous is a
wingless fairy! No one will believe I am a fairy. They will think I am just a beautiful girl.
But I do not want to be a beautiful girl. I want to be a fairy."
Oriana felt very sad and very lonely.
She remembered the fish and thought,
"I will ask the fish for help. It is his fault after all."
And she started calling,
"Fish, fish, fish, my friend!"
But the fish did not appear.
Oriana called again,
"Fish, fish, come comfort me! Come see how sad I am, look what happened to
me!"
But the fish did not appear.
"He must have run off," thought Oriana. "I will wait for him to come back."
And she waited and waited, sat by the riverbank.
But many hours went by and the fish did not appear.
"What a terrible friend" thought Oriana, "I am so sad, and he will not come up to
comfort me."
Oriana remembered all the old friends she had abandoned.
And she remembered what the Fairy Queen had told her,
"See what happened to the men, animals and plants you abandoned."
And, getting up, she wiped her tears and started walking through the forest.
VIII - The Tree and the Animals
The day was breaking when she got there. The dawn was white with mist. It was
when the birds should start waking up to sing. But the birds were gone to the hills and
no animal sang.
“Such silence! Such silence!” muttered Oriana. “You can tell that my bird friends
flew away. Oh, how lonely I am! Oh, how tired I am! I don’t know where to go and I can’t
walk a step more.”
Having said this, Oriana leaned her head against a tree trunk and started crying.
It was a strong trunk, rugged and black. Oriana encircled her hands around it and
pressed her face against the rough bark. The tree leaned down and, with its branches,
picked her up, then it covered her with its foliage and put two leaves over her eyes.
Oriana fell asleep.
It was high morning when she woke up. A thousand sunrays passed through the
forest. Oriana saw the blue sky through the green leaves. She stretched and took a deep
breath, taking in the scents of the earth. She felt full of joy at the beauty of everything.
She said:
“What a beautiful morning!”
But suddenly she remembered the previous day. She remembered the
woodcutter, the miller’s wife and the Poet.
She thought:
“I must find a way to fix everything. Surely there is a way. There must be one. But
what shall I do?”
She placed her elbow on her knee, so she could hold her chin and started
thinking. Suddenly, she exclaimed:
“I will look for the miller’s son. The animals that have gone to the hills must know
where he is. I will ask them to help me find him. And I will ask them to come to the city
to help me release the woodcutter. And then maybe the fox, who is so cunning, can
convince the Poet that I am a fairy.
And, delighted with her idea, Oriana danced.
Then she turned to the tree and said:
“Thank you, tree. Even though I no longer have wings you saw I was a fairy. When
I came to you I was sad and tired, but you gave me peace and covered me with your
leaves. Now I am going to search for the miller’s son. Yesterday I cried and thought there
was no way to save my friends and no cure for my sadness. But you covered my eyes
with your leaves and while I slept my sadness went away. This morning is so green and
so blue! And I am so happy because I am sure there is a way!”
Oriana said goodbye to the tree and headed for the hills.
The hills were far away and were all blue.
Oriana walked on and on.
And she thought:
“How hard are men’s lives, because they have no wings!”
And she walked, walked and walked.
At sunset the hills went dark against the red sky.
The night came, and moonlight fell over the fields.
Oriana looked for a tree to sleep on, because fairies can only sleep on trees.
And she found a pine.
During the night the pine kept repeating:
“When the wind blows I imagine I’m a mast.”
As soon as dawn came Oriana went on her way.
She got to the top of the hills and called all the animals.
She told them:
“I am Oriana, the fairy.”
They said:
“But where are your wings and your magic wand?”
Oriana told them her story and asked:
“Do you know where the miller’s son is?”
“He is here,” replied the deer, coming out from behind a rock with the miller’s
son on his back.
“Please, give him to me,” said Oriana. “I want to take him back to his mother.”
“A fairy with no wings,” said the deer, “is a very strange thing. I can’t give you a
child, because a child is a sacred thing. I can’t give a child to someone who claims to be
a fairy but has no wings to show.”
“I am a fairy,” said Oriana, “but I can’t prove I am one.”
“Present witnesses!” said the rabbit.
“Anyway,” said the fox, “we can’t trust her. On the one hand, she has no wings
and doesn’t seem to be a fairy. On the other hand, even if she is the fairy Oriana, we
can’t trust her. Because that fairy left us, broke her promise and betrayed her word.”
“I did break my promise, but I regret it terribly,” said Oriana. “I have been crying
for three days.”
“Present a witness!” said the deer.
“The fish!” said the fairy. “He has seen everything. He was the reason I forgot the
men, animals and plants that live in the forest. He saw the Fairy Queen raise her hand
and say I would lose my wings. He saw the wind take away my wings!”
“If the fish says he saw your wings vanish, taken by the wind, and that it was the
Fairy Queen that punished you and that you are the fairy Oriana, then we will believe
you,” said the porcupine.
“And if everyone believes you,” said the deer, “I will give you the miller’s son, so
you can take him to his mother.”
“I will look for the fish,” said Oriana. “Meet me at the riverbank tomorrow, at
midday.”
“Tomorrow,” said all the animals, “we’ll meet you at the riverbank.”
“See you tomorrow,” said Oriana.
And she went on her way again.
She walked, walked, walked.
The next day, as soon as dawn rose, Oriana was leaning over the river, calling:
“Fish, fish, fish, my friend!”
The fish appeared.
“Good morning, Oriana” he said grumpily. “Your hair looks terrible.”
“I don’t have any time to fix it” said Oriana. “There are more important things
than having my hair done. I must save all men, animals and plants that live in the forest.
I must undo all the wrong I have done. I saw the miller woman’s sadness, the
woodcutter’s misery, and the Poet’s loneliness. I want to be good again. I want to help
others. Tell the animals that you know I am a fairy.”
“Oriana,” replied the fish, “you are a dear friend, but in all fairness, I can’t
disrespect the Fairy Queen. She is very angry with your behaviour.”
“It was your fault,” said Oriana.
“Excuse me!” said the fish. “It was not my fault! I didn’t know you had made a
promise to take care of the men, animals and plants that live in the forest. I had nothing
to do with it.”
“There’s no point in arguing,” said Oriana. “I only have this to ask of you: the
animals don’t believe I am a fairy because I have no wings. They say fairies always have
wings. I want you to tell them you saw the Fairy Queen take my wings away and that
you know I am the fairy Oriana.”
“Of course I know who you are.” said the fish, “But that animal business has
nothing to do with me.”
“Fish,” said Oriana, “the day I saved you, you told me: ‘You can come to the river
and call for me whenever you want. You can ask me anything you want.’ And that is why
I now ask you: please tell the animals I am a fairy.”
“You know,” said the fish, “you can’t expect me to be thankful for something you
have done if you are going to throw it in my face.”
Oriana blushed, speechless. She felt like spitting on that cowardly entitled fish.
But then she remembered the woodcutter rotting in jail, the miller’s wife that had lost
her son and the Poet who no longer believed in fairies. She collected herself and said,
“Fish, you must tell the animals I am the fairy Oriana.”
“Fine,” said the fish. “I don’t want to be ungrateful. When the animals arrive, call
for me.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” said Oriana.
“I shall see you soon,” said the fish in a polite and ceremonial tone. Then, he
vanished.
Oriana was waiting for the animals. The sun rose up in the sky until midday, when
they appeared.
They walked in a line with serious faces. First came the wolf and at the end of
the line came the deer, with the miller’s son on his back.
“Good day,” said Oriana.
“Good day,” replied the animals. “Where is your witness?”
“He will be here,” said the fairy. “He is just waiting for me to call for him.”
Oriana kneeled next to the river and called,
“Fish, fish, fish, my friend!”
The fish did not appear.
Oriana called again,
“Fish, fish, fish, my friend!”
And the fish did not appear.
“Where is the fish?” asked the animals.
“He hasn’t had time to arrive yet,” replied the fairy.
And she called again,
“Fish, fish, fish, my friend!”
But the fish did not appear.
“He’s late,” said Oriana.
“Very late,” said the very punctual pig. “It’s already past midday.”
“We’ll wait,” said the deer.
And they waited.
Occasionally, Oriana called out,
“Fish, fish, fish my friend!”
But he would not show up.
The sun was setting on the other side of the river.
The animals were getting angry. Oriana was distressed and embarrassed.
“The fish is not coming then?” asked a rabbit.
“He’s not coming,” the animals agreed.
“Maybe something happened to him,” said Oriana, “he promised he would be
my witness.”
“But he didn’t come,” said the fox.
Oriana started crying and said,
“Maybe someone fished him.”
Some animals started laughing, others got angry.
“You said the fish would be your witness and there was no fish,” yelled the wolf.
“You said you were a fairy, yet you have no wings,” grumbled the pig.
“You don’t have a magic wand either,” added the fox.
“She has no witness and she’s no fairy,” the animals yelled. “Let’s go.”
“I am a fairy,” said Oriana.
“You’re lying,” they yelled again.
“I don’t lie,” said Oriana.
And, turning to the deer with tears rolling down her face, Oriana asked,
“Would you please give me the miller’s son? Believe me. I am a fairy.”
“No,” replied the deer. “I don’t believe you.”
“Let’s leave.” Said the wolf.
And Oriana was alone.
In tears, she said,
“Fish, fish, cowardly fish! You spent days saying I was beautiful and now I call for
you and you don’t show up. You ungrateful, lying, cowardly fish! I saved your life and
you won’t help me. I am so alone! No one will help me!”
Oriana heard a noise behind her. She went quiet and listened. A sweet, gentle
and wavy voice called:
“Oriana.”
Oriana turned around and saw a very beautiful fairy looking at her, smiling. Her
eyes were glittering black, her hairs were like dark blue serpents, her wings had a
thousand colours, like butterfly wings. And she held another pair of wings in her left
hand.
“Oriana,” she said, “do you want to have wings again?”
“I do, I do,” said Oriana.
“These wings I hold in my left hand are for you.”
“For me?” repeated Oriana, in disbelief.
“Yes.”
“Please give them to me fast, hurry!” Oriana begged, shaking.
“But first you must promise something.”
“Promise what?” Oriana asked.
The dark–haired fairy smiled and said:
“I am the Queen of the Evil Fairies. If you want me to give you these wings, you
must promise that from this day onwards you will follow my orders.”
“And what are your orders?” Oriana asked.
“My orders,” said the Queen of the Evil Fairies, “are as follows: ...
... Dirty the fountain’s water...
... Cover the flowers in cobwebs...
... Dry out the seeds that are germinating in the earth...
... Steal the nightingale’s voice...
... Sour the wine...
... Steal from the poor...
... Push the children...
... Put out old people’s fires...
... Steal the scent of the roses...
... Torment animals...
... Disenchant the world...”
“No! No! No!” said Oriana, recoiling in horror. “I don’t want to do any of those
things!”
“If you don’t promise to do these things, I won’t give you these wings” said the
dark–haired fairy.
“I would rather have no wings.”
“Without wings you can’t be a fairy.”
“I would rather not be a fairy.”
“Choose carefully, Oriana: these wings have a thousand colors, like butterfly
wings, and with them you can fly, instead of walking so laboriously, step by step, over
the earth, tearing your feet on the pathway.”
“I would rather be good!” said Oriana. “I want to be good, even if that means I
can’t have wings.”

“How sorry I feel for you,Oriana!” the evil fairy said, laughing. “You do everything
upside down: first you lost your wings because a fish was complimenting you. Now I
bring you a pair of wings like those of a butterfly and you don’t want them. You fill me
with pity, Oriana: you are a silly fool and you chose wrong.”
The dark–haired fairy vanished cackling.
Oriana found herself alone, thinking:
“I will never ever have wings again. Because I did wrong, I lost my blue wings.
And now, because I did not want to do more wrong, I have lost the butterfly-like wings.
It’s as if I am not a fairy. No one will ever believe that I am a fairy again. Maybe I’ll forget
I am a fairy myself. I will have to live like a regular girl. I will never be able to fly over the
rocky paths. I will have to walk step by step along the rocky paths like the other girls. But
at least I can be good. I can go to the city and help others. I must go to the city; men’s
lives are harder there.”
And Oriana started walking towards the city.
VII - The City
The streets were full of people and Oriana felt very lost and very dizzy in the
middle ofso many houses, noise and commotion. She looked everywhere,searching for
someone who could help her. But all she saw was unknown faces that walked right past
her. She decided to ask the signalman,
"Could you please tell me, mister signalman, if you know a miller that came from
the forest and has eleven children?"
"There must be a million people in this city and I don't know any millers. Move
along now, you're holding up traffic!" And Oriana went on, pushed by the crowd.
Then she asked a newspaper salesman,
“Excuse me, please. Do you know where a miller that came from the forest with
many children might live?"
"There are so many persons living in this city! How should I know where the
miller lives? Let me through!"
So, Oriana walked into a hat shop and the shop owner came running.
Oriana asked,
"Do you know a miller from the forest with eleven children?"
"No, I do not. But I have a beautiful hat there that seems to have been made
especially for you! Sit in front of the mirror and see how pretty you'll look."
But Oriana remembered the fish and ran from the shop. Then she saw a man
sitting in a terrace, drinking beer, and asked him:
"Do you know a miller from the forest with many children?"
"I don't know any miller, but I would like to know you, I have never seen such a
pretty girl in this city before." Oriana remembered the fish's compliments again and ran,
terrified.
She kept asking around for the miller, but no one would give her a straight
answer. After walking through many streets filled with shops, cars and men, she arrived
at a very poor neighborhood, on the otherside of the city. The streets were dark, narrow
and dirty. So dark, so narrow and so dirty that when the sun finally got there, it was
already pale.
"What a sad place!" thought Oriana. A cat walked by.
"Hello, cat," said Oriana. "Do you know where a miller from the forest with
eleven children lives?
"I do," said the cat. "Come with me" They walked two streets and went into the
building number 9537. They went up the fourth floor and knocked on the door.
The miller's wife was at the door.
"Good morning," said Oriana. "I am the fairy Oriana, and I came from the forest
looking for you."
"What an odd thing," said the miller's wife. "Where are your wings?"
Oriana told her story and asked her to come back to the forest.
"From this day onwards," she said "I will take care of your children and clean your
house again."
But the miller's wife would not believe a word she said.
"I don't believe in fairies I will only believe your words and I will only go back to
the forest if you bring me my lost child first."
And with this, she closed the door.
Oriana turned to the cat sadly and said:
"No one believes me. I am so, so tired! Tell me: do you know where the
woodcutter from the forest lives? Maybe he'll believe me."
"No, I do not," said the cat. And they said their goodbyes.
Oriana walked the streets by herself again, asking questions no one would give
an answer to.
Until she found a stray dog.
“Tell me, dog, do you know where the woodcutter from the forest lives with his
wife and child?”
“I do,” said the dog. “Come with me.”
Oriana followed the dog until they arrived at a very poor neighborhood. The
houses were made of tin, the women were pale and disheveled, the men had torn
clothes and unshaven faces. The children played in the mud.
“It’s there,” said the dog, pointing to a hut falling apart.
Oriana peeked inside the hut.
The woodcutter’s wife was sitting on the floor with her son asleep on her lap.
They were both so pale and so thin that Oriana hardly recognized them. There was no
bed, no mattress, no stool, no furniture at all. There was only a pile of rags on a corner.
Oriana could feel her eyes starting to fill with tears. She felt a knot in her throat
and a huge weight on her back. Like she had lead wings. Crying, she told the
woodcutter’s wife:
“I am the fairy Oriana, and I abandoned you. It’s my fault you have fallen in
disgrace. Forgive me for the wrong I have done you and help me undo it.”
“What wrong have you done me?” asked the wife. “I’ve never seen you before.”
Oriana told her everything. The wife replied:
“I had always thought there had to be a fairy in the forest. Oh! Why did you
abandon us? Listen to our story,
When we got to the city my husband got a job in the docks. But he earned very
little. We rented a room, but after a while we could no longer afford rent and the
landlord kicked us out and kept our furniture. So, we came to this hut, and with our rags
we made a bed on the floor. Then winter came, and the wind and the rain wouldn’t let
us sleep. We would put our son between our bodies, so the rain wouldn’t make him wet
and the wind wouldn’t freeze him. And winter kept going. One day our son got sick and
wouldn’t stop coughing. During the night, our bodies weren’t enough to keep him warm.
The doctor came, gave him a medicine and said: ‘He needs two very warm blankets.’
The next day, after work, my husband went around the city begging door to door. He
only got six coins and he needed fifty to buy the blankets. The next day he walked past
a shop that was selling blankets. My husband was a good and honorable man, but our
son was freezing to death. So, he stole two blankets and ran. The shop owner called the
Police and they went after him. And they were shouting,
‘Grab the thief!!! Thief! Thief!’
They arrested him and threw him in jail. I went to the jail to ask for him, with my
son in my arms. But they sent me away and told me the father of my son was a thief.
Now I am just sitting here, and there is nothing I can do. Nothing. You are a fairy, help
us.”
“How awful is the wrong I have done!” said Oriana. “When I was leaning over the
river and I would see my hair, my face, my neck like a tall white tower, the wrong I was
doing seemed good and beautiful. But now I see the wrong I have done is empty houses,
unlit fires, hunger, cold, tears, jails.”
“Will you help me?” asked the woodcutter’s wife.
“Come back to the forest with me,” said Oriana. “I promise that from this day
onward I will never abandon you.”
“I will only go back with you if you go to the jail to get my husband. I can’t go
back without him.”
“Wait for me then,” said Oriana. “I will get your husband.”
Oriana walked along the city again. Walked and walked until she arrived at the
jail door. It was a sad door, dark and stained by humidity.
“Good morning” she greeted the guard. “Have you arrested a woodcutter that
stole two wool blankets?”
“I have,” said the guard.
“I ask you to release him. He’s my friend and he’s not a thief. I know he’s not a
thief.”
“He stole,” said the guard. “So, he’s a thief.”
“He stole because his son was freezing to death, so he’s not a thief.”
“Law says he’s a thief,” replied the guard.
“I don’t want you calling him a thief,” said Oriana.
“You are insulting authority. I’ll have you arrested too,” said the guard.
And he called out,
“Need two guards to arrest this girl.”
Having heard this, Oriana ran off. No one could catch her, because even though
she didn’t have her wings anymore she was still a fairy, and she could run a lot faster
than men.
And Oriana went along the city. She was so upset that she was speaking to herself
out loud. People laughed at her, saying,
“She’s crazy, talking to herself.”
Oriana would run, embarrassed.
But other people would say,
“What a beautiful girl! This city had never seen such a beautiful girl. Like a May
lily, like a star.”
When she heard this, she would run even faster, as she remembered the fish’s
compliments.
Until it got dark. The sun went down, and the city lights went up. There lights
were blue, green, white, yellow, purple and red. The ground was glittering black.
Oriana was looking for the Poet.
She looked for him in the streets, in the public squares and gardens. She looked
for him in cafés, in pastry shops, in terraces, in taverns. She looked for him in viewpoints,
in tramway stops and at the cinemas. Until the city lights went out one by one. When
the first rooster sang, at dawn, there was only one house still lit.
“He is there,” said Oriana.
She walked towards the light and arrived at a wide street with tall houses. Oriana
had been there before in the afternoon, but the street was full of shouts, people,
movement, noise and cars. Now everything was still and quiet. The doors and the
windows were closed. There was only one door open, where the light she had seen came
from.
Oriana peeked and saw a large room with many small tables with white and cold
marble tops. It was a café that had been full of people during the day. Now it barely had
anyone. There was a tired servant, leaning against the counter, four dark men sitting
around a table to the right of the entrance and, at the end of the bar, alone, sitting in
front of an empty glass, was the Poet. Oriana walked across the room in silence and sat
in front of him. The Poet was so lost in his thoughts he did not see her arrive. His eyes
stared into the distance and saw nothing. The fairy touched his hand softly, saying:
“It’s me. Oriana. I am back!”
“Oriana,” he said, laughing.
He stood quiet for a moment. Then his smile came undone and his face turned
sad and rough. He asked:
“Where are your wings?”
“I don’t have wings anymore” she replied, lowering her head.
“Where is your magic wand?”
“I lost it” said Oriana.
“If you are Oriana, enchant the night.”
“I can’t.”
About to scream, the Poet told her,
“You are not Oriana. Your face is like hers, but you lie because you have no wings
and you can’t enchant the night. You are not Oriana. The world is disenchanted. Oriana
lives in the forest with the trees, wind and flowers. There is no Oriana here. Leave.
Hurry.”
He kept speaking louder. People were starting to stare. Oriana covered her face
with her hands and the Poet shouted:
“Begone!”
Oriana got up and, hiding her face, ran off the café. She heard the servants and
the f our men laughing as she went by. She ran through the street and the laughs and
mockery ran after her.
Oriana went back to the forest.
IX - The Abyss
Halfway through a lot of walking, she saw a shadow coming from the city, walking
towards her. It was a dark shadow, bent over itself, walking slowly with the help of a
stick. Oriana realized it was the old woman. She thought:
“The poor old woman! I never came back to help, she is almost blind and keeps
walking this dangerous path next to the cliff. After today I will guide her every day like I
used to.”
She hurried her pace to reach her friend faster.
Suddenly Oriana screamed. She saw the old woman take a wrong turn and start walking
towards the abyss.
“Oh!” said the fairy “She’s going to fall in the abyss!”
She shouted: “Stop! Stop!”
And she started running.
Oriana was really far from the old woman and the old woman was really close to
the abyss. But she walked slowly, and Oriana ran fast. She ran and ran.
And she would shout:
“Stop! Stop!”
But the old woman was deaf and poor sighted and, without seeing nor hearing,
she would walk slowly.
“If I had wings I would be there already!” thought Oriana. And she ran and ran.
The old woman stopped to rest. She was one step from falling in the abyss.
Oriana, ten steps away from her, thought:
“I’ll get there in time!”
But just as she held her hand out to grab her, the old woman took one step forward and fell in
the abyss.
Oriana forgot she had no wings and jumped into the abyss to save the old woman.
She grabbed her by the legs and tried to fly, but she could not. That is when she remembered
she had no wings.
“Oh no!” she said.
She could see the depths of the abyss underneath her like a mouth agape and ready to devour
her.
“Oh my, oh my!” shouted the old woman.
They kept on falling.
But suddenly, like a lightning bolt, there was the Fairy Queen. She reached out and touched
Oriana with her magic wand.
In that same moment Oriana stopped falling and stood still, suspended in
nothingness, holding the old woman.
And the loud, straightforward and rigorous voice said:
“Oriana, you have been true to your promise today. To save the old woman, you forgot about
yourself and jumped in the abyss. You felt so strongly for your friend you forgot to be afraid.
Because you are Oriana, the fairy whom I gave the plants, animals and men of the forest to.
You are the one who watches over them, so they can live in peace. When you abandoned them,
the animals ran for the hills, the flowers dried up and the men left to the city, where they got lost
in the crossroads. But today you have been true to your promise. For that, I order that two wings
sprout out of your shoulders once again.” As she said this, the Fairy Queen waved her right
hand in the air. And new wings sprouted from Oriana’s shoulders.
“Wings, wings, oh, my wings!” shouted Oriana, trembling with joy.
And as she gave her a magic wand, the Fairy Queen told her:
“Take this magic wand and don’t forget your promise ever again!”
As soon as the Fairy Queen finished talking, she was gone like a lightning bolt. Oriana and the
old woman flew back up to the path, then Oriana set her down and guided her into the forest.
Out of her mind with fright, the old woman looked around her and said:
“Oh, it seems like the fairies are back!”
But Oriana was already gone, flying as fast as an arrow, straight to the hills. When she got
there, she called for the deer, the wolf, the fox, the porcupine and the rabbits and asked them
for the miller’s son.
The animals saw how she was a fairy with wings and a magic wand and gave her the child.
Oriana took him in her arms and flew very high, above the clouds, until she reached the city.
When she saw the street where the miller lived, she came down and knocked on the door. The
door opened to show the miller’s wife, who screamed when she saw a fairy holding her son.
“Here is the son you lost,” said Oriana.
“Now,” said the miller’s wife, “I see you’re a fairy. Tomorrow we’ll all go back to the forest.”
And Oriana went to the prison. She made the guards fall asleep with her magic wand, opened
the cell and freed the woodcutter.
The woodcutter, his wife and his son returned to the forest that same day.
When the night came, Oriana walked into the café. The waiter was asleep, leaning against the
bar; the four men talked with their backs to the room. In a table at the end of the café, pale and
alone, was the Poet.
Oriana walked across the café unseen. She stopped in front of the Poet and touched his hand
softly.
He looked up and saw her. He saw her wings and her magic wand. He saw she was floating,
not letting her feet touch the ground.
“It’s me,” she said.
“Now I see you. Now I see you are a fairy. Thank you, Oriana. For coming back.”
Oriana held his hand and they left the café without anyone seeing them. They walked through
the city and its flashy crossroads, they walked through the squares, avenues and piers. And
they left the city.
They took the long path by the abyss to the forest. The full moon lit the hills and the fields.
When they got to the forest, the Poet asked:
“Oriana, can you enchant everything?”
And Oriana rose her magic wand, and everything was enchanted.