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Vitangelo was a man from Fallo who was having a relationship with a woman from Montelapiano, whom he went to visit once a week. |
Vitangele ere n'ome di lu Falle chi stave nchi na femmene di lu Monte e, na volte a la sittimane, la ive a truvà.
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He always came back to Fallo late at night and usually half drunk. |
Ariminive a lu Falle sempre la sera tarde e quase sempre stave miezze mbrijeche. |
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| Once, near the brook of Montelapiano, he met a small boy. It was about midnight, and to Vitangelo it seemed strange that the little boy was there at that hour. The little boy kept looking at him without saying anything, then Vitangelo, curious, asked him: |
Na volte vicine a lu vallone di lu Monte, ncuntrette nu vaglione. Era verse mezzanotte e a Vitangele i parette strane ca a chell'ore lu vaglione stave aloche. Lu citre lu guarduave e nin parlave, allore Vitangele, criuse, i'addummannette: |
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- Who are you? What are you doing here? - The little boy continued to look at him for a little longer, then rudely answered him:
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- Chi si tu? Chi ci fiè aecche? - Lu vaglione lu guardette ancore tante bene e doppe, sgarbatamente, i'arispunnette:
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| - What do you care? - |
- Chi ti ninmporte a te? |
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| - I care that you are too little to be here at this hour. - |
- A me mi ninmporte picchè tu sì troppe cirille pi stà aechhe a sctore - |
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- I am small but I have teeth! -
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-I so cirille, ma tienghe li diente! -
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| Answered the boy opening his mouth wide. Then Vitangelo saw that the little boy had many big and sharp teeth. |
I'arispunnette lu vaglione spalijenne la vocche. Allore Vitangele vidette ca lu citre tineve tanta diente gruosse e tagliente. |
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| The man was frightened and covered his eyes not to see, but when he uncovered his eyes, the little boy had disappeared. |
L'ome zi mittette pause e z'apparette l'uocchie pi nin guarduà, ma quanna luvette la miene, lu vaglione nin ci stave chiù. |
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| Vitangelo then, even more frightened, began to run in the direction of Fallo and, as soon as he got back home, he locked himself in. During the night he could not sleep because he was so frightened. The next day he told everybody that near the brook of Montelapiano a ghost had appeared to him, a ghost, which still today, is remembered as "Vitangelo's Ghost". |
Vitangele allore, ancora chiù mpaurite, zi mittette a scappà verse lu Falle e, appene arijute a la case, zi chiudette dentre. La notte n'arriscette a durmì pi la paure. Lu iuorre appriesse ariccuntette a tutti chiente ca, vicine a lu vallone di lu Monte, jere arrisciute l'ombre e, ancora mò, l'onne chiemme l'ombre di Vitangele. |
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| The fervent imagination of the peasants contributed much to this anecdote, however, the hypothesis of the ghost's appearance (in dialect the term "ombra" indicates an evil spirit) has been always considered rather remote by most locals. It is more probable that Vitangelo, with his mind blurred by wine, may have had a hallucination. In spite of this, when the sentence "I am small but I have teeth" (Sò cirille ma tienghe li diente!) is cited, it is to warn someone from underestimating a person who, behind a gentle appearance, could hide a character not so gentle. |
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