April 20 - "The Little Shepherd"

“The Little Shepherd”
by Italo Calvino
Italian Folktales (1980)

* * (Okay) Folktale

A mean little shepherd is cursed to stay small until the day he finds the lovely Bargaglina.

I think I’m going to enjoy detecting patterns and similarities among folktales as I continue to ready more and more. This idea of a character meeting individuals that provide him with the gifts to help him later in his quest has become a recurring trait in these Italian folktales. Only here, they don’t fit as seamlessly into the overall story, or into the action at the moment their purpose becomes clear. Instead, they feel needlessly tossed into the story as a quick cheat to advance the character’s progress. These gifts were earned, and they should have value. Overall, the story feels cobbled together – some individual parts and moments stand out, but together things just blandly, and occasionally erratically, move from point A to point B.