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CACALÈCENE, TRUBBÈLLE AND PALOMME
CACALÈCENE, TRUBBÈLLE E PALOMME
   
A woman owned three beautiful goats that produced a lot of milk. They were called Cacalècene, Trubbèlle e Palomme.
Na femmene tineve tre belle crape chi i faceve tanta latte. Zonne chiamave Cacalecene, Trubbelle e Palomme.
   
She took good care of them: more than once she had been asked if she wanted to sell them and she was offered a lot of money for them, but the woman was fond of them and she never wanted to give them away.
Li tineve bbuone: chiù di na volte ionne era ditte si zi li vuleve venne e ionne vuleva dà tanta solde p'accattàrizele, ma la femmene i z'era affizziunate e nin l'aveve mai vulute venne.
   
One day the woman got sick, and since she had no one, she asked a friend if she could take care of the goats. The friend, who was apparently a well mannered and a kind woman, but unreliable, quickly agreed, and the next morning she took them to pasture. Nu iuorre la femmene z'ammalette e siccome nin tineve nisciune, circhette a na cummare si i cuvirnave li crape. La cummare, chi era na falbaquine, subbite i dicette ca scine e la matine appriesse li purtette a pasce.
   
In the evening she came back to her friend all upset: La sere z'ariprisintette a la cummare tutta ncustidijete:
   
- My friend, something awful happened and I don't know how to tell you this. - - Cummà, è succiesse nu uaie e i nin sacce come ti l'eia dice. -
   
- What happened to you? - Asked her friend. - Chi t'è succiesse? - Addummannette la cummare.
   
- Nothing happened to me, but while I was crossing the swamp, Cacalècene, the goat, sank in the marsh, I was unable to get her out and the river took her away. - - A me niente, ma mentre passave la lamature Cacalecene, la crape, z'è affunnate, i nin sò rrisciute a cacciaricele e lu flume zi l'ha purtate. -
   
- Cacalècene, oh poor me! - - Cacalecene! Iu povere a mme! -
   
Said the woman and she began to cry and to pull her hair. The friend consoled her and the next day she even came back to check how she was: she was wearing a beautiful suit that the woman had never seen before. Dicette la femmene e cuminzette a plagne e a sciupparize li capille. La cummare la cunzulette e lu iuorre appriesse arijette pure a vidè gnà stave: tineve nu bielle vistite chi la femmene nin gnera mai viste.
   
- Where did you buy this beautiful suit? - She asked. - Addò li si ccattate su bielle vistite? - Addummannette.
   
- Eh! It was given to me as a gift, but now, my friend, I can't tell you who gave it to me. - - Eh! Mi l'onne arigalate, ma mò cummà nin ti pozze dice chi. -
   
- It doesn't matter, my friend, it is good enough that you came to see me. I feel a little better, but I am still unable to take the goats to pasture, if tomorrow you could do this for me I would be grateful to you. - - Gni fa niente cummare me, baste chi si minute a truvareme. Stienghe chiù meglie, ma ancore nin pozze i a pasce, si dumane ci vulisse i tu, mi facisse nu piacere. -
   
- Yes, my friend, I will be here in the morning. - And so the friend, the following morning took the goats to pasture, but in the evening she came back with another goat missing. This time it was Trubbèlle who had fallen into a hole. Even this time the owner of the goats began to cry and scratched her face, but she had to accept her loss. - Scine cummà, dumane matine vienghe. - E cuscì la cummare, la matine appriesse, iette a pasce ma la sere ariette nchi n'antra crape di mene. Stavolte ere Trubbelle chi era iute a finì dentre a nu fuosse. Pure stavolte la patrone di li crape zi mittette a plagne e zi rascchette la facce, ma z'avette arissignè.
   
When the following day the friend came to take the last goat to pasture, the woman noticed that she had a beautiful diamond ring on her finger, and she became suspicious. When her friend left to go to the pasture, the woman followed her and saw that she was taking the goat to the fair to sell it. Quanne lu iuorre appriesse la cummare zi prisintette pi i a pasce la crape chi ere arimaste, la femmene, vidette ca purtave a lu dite nu biell'anielle nchi nu brillocche e z'insuspittette. Quanne la cummare scette pi i a pasce, i iette appriesse e vidette ca purtava la crape a la fiere pi vennezele.
   
The evening when she came home she insisted that Palomme had ran away and that she had been unable to catch it. The woman made believe she felt bad, and while her friend was also feigning to console her, she said to her: La sere, quanne arijette a la case, i dicette ca Palomme zi n'era scappate e nin era chiù arrisciute a ricchappalle. La femmene facette a vvidè ca zi dispiacette e, mentre la cummare faceve a vvidè pur'esse ca la cunsuluave, i dicette:
   
- My friend, now you must do me another favor: since I am left without goats, tomorrow you should accompany me to the market to buy goats to replace those I lost. - - Cummà, tu mò ma dà fa nuantre piacere: siccome sò rimaste senza crape, dumane m'avisse accumpagniè a la fiere p'ariccattalle. -
   
The friend agreed, and the next morning they left to go to the fair. At a certain spot the woman took a road that her friend had never taken: La cummare dicette ca scine e la matine appriesse onne scette pi i a la fiere. A nu cierte punte la femmene pigliette na vie chi la cummare nin era mai fatte:
   
- My friend, this is not the road to the fair! - - Cummà, cheste nin è la vie chi va a la fiere! -
   
- Don't worry, my friend, this is a short cut that only I know. Follow me. - And she began to run. The friend followed her for a while, but in a spot lost sight of her, and suddenly she found herself in a swamp. She tried to wade to the other side, but the more she moved the more she sank: - Nin ti preoccupà cummà, cheste è n'accurciatore chi canosce sol'ì. Viè appriesse a me. - E cuminzette a scappà. La cummare i iette appriesse pi na nzegne, ma a nu cierte punte nin la vidette chiù e zi truvette miezze a la lamature. Circhette di passà all'altra vie, ma chiù zi muveve e chiù z'affunnave:
   
- My friend, I am sinking! - - Cummare ca mò m'affonne! -
   
Cried the woman in the middle of the swamp. Diceve la cummare mmiezze a la lamature.
   
- Cacalècene, Trubbèlle and Palomme! - - Cacalecine, Trubbelle e Palomme! -
   
Replied the woman from the other side of the river. Arispunneve la femmene all'altra vie di lu flume.
   
- My friend, I am sinking! - - Cummare ca mò m'affonne! -
   
- Cacalècene, Trubbèlle and Palomme! - - Cacalecine Trubbelle e Palomme! -
   
The story doesn't tell what happened to the dishonest friend. The last phrase (Cacalècene, Trubbèlle and Palomme) is, in any case, usually cited when someone, having behaved dishonestly and finding himself in difficulties, asks for help exactly from the person he had cheated.  
 
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