This is what they say, this is what they retell in our area.
In the village of Caltanisetta lived a young shepherd named Martino. He always wore a patched jacket made of rough cloth, torn shoes, an old felt hat, and a canvas bag over his shoulder. “Eh,” you say, “why should we listen about such a poor man. We’ve seen a lot of them even without your stories, and we don’t often have coins in our pockets.” That’s right, but Martino was beautiful, like a clear sun in a blue sky. Maybe even more beautiful. Because it’s painful to look at the sun, but look at Martino as much as you want until you get tired of it. It should also be added that Martino also knew how to play the shepherd’s pipe better than anyone and sang songs louder than anyone else.
Martino hired himself out as a shepherd, now in one village, now in another. And everywhere girls died of love for him, boys were jealous, and old men smiled tenderly. So Martino got proud.
One day he was walking from one village to another and sat down to rest on a large stone in the middle of a clearing. I thought about it, took a pipe out of my bag and started playing a song.
The forest fairy heard this song and wanted to see who played so well. From daisy to clover, from clover to bell, from bell to carnation - after all, fairies flutter like moths - she ran to the clearing.
- Oh, how happy you are! - the fairy exclaimed when she saw Martino. “Everyone who hears you will listen, everyone who looks will admire you.”
- What are you talking about! I am the most unhappy person in the world! So that people can look at me, I have to wander like a stray dog from village to village. But I’m worth it for people to come running to marvel at me. With such beauty I would like to be a statue. Then I would be happy!
- Well, then I’ll make you happy. It's not difficult for me at all.
Then the fairy touched Martino with her magic wand. At that very moment the young man turned into a beautiful golden statue. And his felt hat became gold, and his patched jacket, and his alder pipe. Even the stone on which Martino sat turned golden.
The fairy clapped her little hands, laughed joyfully and ran away - from a carnation to a bell, from a bell to a clover, from a clover to a daisy, and then completely disappeared into the forest thicket.
And the golden shepherd remained sitting in the middle of the clearing on a golden stone.
Martino's wish came true. People came from near and far villages to admire him. In the evenings, boys and girls gathered in the clearing. Sometimes they sang, sometimes one of the guys started playing the violin, and everyone else danced.
Only Martino remained motionless. And how he wanted to sing and dance with everyone! He tried to bring the pipe to his lips, but the golden hand did not obey him. I tried to sing, but not a sound came out of my golden throat. He was about to dance with some beauty, but his golden legs did not leave the golden stone. . . He couldn’t even scream out of grief, he couldn’t even cry, because tears wouldn’t flow from under his heavy golden eyelids.
So they passed day after day, week after week, month after month.
Exactly three years later, a fairy came running into the clearing - from flower to flower, from blade of grass to blade of grass.
“Here sits a happy shepherd,” said the fairy. “He got everything he wanted.” Tell me, are you happy now? Yes?
The statue was silent.
“Oh,” exclaimed the fairy, “I forgot that you cannot answer!” Don't be angry, I'll make you a living person again for a minute.
The fairy touched the golden shepherd with her magic wand.
And as soon as she did this, Martino jumped off the stone and began to run along with his alder pipe and canvas bag.
- Wait! Wait! - shouted the surprised fairy.
But the louder she screamed, the faster poor Martino’s torn shoes flashed by.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru