by Italo Calvino
Italian Folktales (1980)
* * * * * (Excellent) Folktale
A boy tricked into servitude by a mangy man sets off on a quest to find the King of England’s missing daughter. Sailing a ship with three decks, the youth finds the missing princess, but must first complete three trials.
Sometimes the fun arrives not from knowing how the story will end, but in how the story gets there. A ship with three decks, each deck loaded with different cargos, each cargo delivered to a thankful island, and each island pledging future aid: we know the formula. The enjoyment comes in learning of the challenges facing the youth searching out the King’s kidnapped daughter. That the characters are no more than cookie-cutter copies of the inhabitants of any other folktale makes no difference to the story, and my enjoyment the tale.
A successful folktale can transport you back to your childhood, when times were magical, and stories – especially those folk and fairy tales – filled you with wonder. I still find that magic and fascination in the stories I read, but these folktales and fables I’ve been reading remind me of childhood, as I imagine they do for most – it is when we were first introduced. Sometimes a bit of nostalgia can brighten a day.
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