This is post #19 of my penance after I have been blacklisted by Hivewatchers for plagiarizing.
No need to upvote this post, as the payout has been declined.
But comments are welcome. I will continue to upvote all meaningful comments.
THE TURKEY SITTER
The notary had secretly received money from the two eldest daughters, and he did not mark on his paper what the king had reserved for himself.
“Master,” said the valet, “God grant that what is done be done well. Now, I will take your youngest daughter into a wood, to remove her from the number of the living, and bring you back her tongue."
"Leave, valet. When you come back, I will reward you."
The valet fetched a chain and put it around the poor girl's neck. This done, he took his saber and whistled at his female dog.
"Come on, you insolent girl! Come on, unhappy girl! You don't have long to live. Commend your soul to the Good Lord, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to the saints."
Thus cried the valet, as long as he could be heard by the king. But in the woods, it was something else.
“Lady, don’t be afraid. I did all this to save you from the executioner. Your shirts and your finest clothes are in my bag. I also put some peasant clothes there which you will put on straight away. Before being hired as a valet to your father, I served in the castle of another king. His wife won't refuse me to take you on as a turkey sitter. There you will be well hidden."
Indeed, the valet brought the king's daughter to another castle. The queen took her into her service, as a turkey sitter, and gave her lodgings in a small room, under a staircase. This done, the valet returned to his master. While crossing the wood, he drew his saber, killed his dog, and tore out her tongue.
“Master, I killed your daughter, and I bring you her tongue."
"Valet, I am happy with you. Here is a hundred gold coins for your trouble."
"A hundred gold coins, master! This is not enough for such work."
"Well, valet, here are a hundred more."
"And you, ladies, will you give me nothing for having killed your sister, and for having brought you her tongue?"
"Valet, we will each give you as much as our father."
"Thank you, master. Thank you, ladies."
The next day, the two eldest daughters each called their husbands and went to find the king.
“Father, you are no longer at home here. The right part of this castle belongs to your eldest daughter and the left to the youngest. Go away."
"Bad girls, you pay me poorly for all the good I have done you. I don't want to go away. The notary's paper gives me the right, throughout my life, to live for six months with my eldest daughter, and six months with the youngest."
“Speak paper. Shut up tongue. — The notary did not mark this on his paper."
"The notary is as scoundrel as you."
"Come on, quickly! Outside, or beware of the dogs."
The poor king left the castle. On the doorstep, he met the valet.
“Where are you going, master?”
"I am going according to the will of God. This castle is no longer mine. My daughters and sons-in-law kicked me out. Valet, why did you advise me so badly when I wanted to share my land between my daughters?"
"Master, I told you: “Test them." You believed in female words, while deeds are male, and you acted as you did. But what's done is done, and regret is of no use. Wait for me there. I will be back. We will leave together. I still want to be your valet."
"Valet, stay here, for your own good. I no longer have enough to pay you, nor enough to feed you."
"Master, I will serve you for nothing, and I have enough to live on for both of us."
"Valet, as you wish."
The valet entered the castle, and returned a moment later, with a full bag on his back.
Source: La Gardeuse de dindons, from the French book Contes populaires de la Gascogne, tome 1, published in 1886.
Hello, my name is Vincent Celier.
I am writing translations of folk tales that I found in public domain French books, so that people who do not understand French may enjoy them too.
As expected, the valet did not kill the youngest daughter and gave her a job so she would not starve to death.
Also, as expected, the two eldest daughters kicked the king from his castle, because they were wretchs.
And, not surprisingly the valet is a very good guy and stays with his master the king. He has four hundred gold coins, so they both can survive for a long time.
At the Abbey, we have half a hectare of land. Of this, at least 3,500 m2 need to be mowed. Several years ago, I bought an excellent lawn-mowing tractor. I used it yesterday and today for a total of one hour and a half.
Two years ago, my brother Philippe had noticed a ceramic plaque on Kati's vineyard house that indicated the address with the image of a bunch of grapes. So, last year, he asked me to order from the same artist a ceramic plaque for the Abbey that had just been given an address: 546 Route du Grand Saint-Denis. He wanted only the number 546 and, as he is a fan of trains, an image of an American steam locomotive.
I thought that we needed a plaque with an image of an Abbey, so I ordered two plaques: one with a locomotive and one with an Abbey.
The first one was put on the right of the house entrance.
The other one was put on the left on the road access.
On the right of the road access, we have the official number.
-- Vincent Celier