The Legend of the Black River: the embrace of Neuquén and Limay

The legend says that Neuquén and Limay, sons of two chiefs who had
their tribes one to the north and the other to the south, were great and loyal friends, until
that one day, while they were hunting together, they heard a sweet voice singing
among the myrtles.
Heading towards the place, they found a beautiful woman by the shore of a lake.
young Mapuche with long braids, black eyes, and a slender and fragile figure,
called Raihué (flower bud). On the return trip, the two young men
they noticed that Raihué had entered their souls, which interposed
in their full and ancient friendship. After the moons have passed and the 'Machi' consulted.
(guess) for both families, they understood what the cause was of the
the distancing from those young people who were once like brothers,
what they decided was to subject them to a test so that fate would decide.
They asked Raihué what he wished for the most in the world.
he responded "to have a seashell to know what the sound of the sea is". The
young people would then have to reach the sea and bring a seashell, the
whoever arrives first would win the young woman's love as a prize.
Consulting the gods, they agreed that the fastest way to reach the sea
they would turn young people into rivers. That's what they did and they left their
respective tribes. The Spirit of the wind, feeling displaced and jealous,
began to intrigue Raihué, whispering in his ear at night that
Neuquén and Limay would never return again, for the stars that fall.
the sea becomes beautiful and enchanted women who trap the
men and they chain them at the bottom of the sea.

Raihué, distressed, began to wither from sorrow and pain, while the
young people continued their race overcoming numerous obstacles and the wind that
he urged them to return. Four times four moons have passed since they
the Mapuches left and the sea was still far away. Raihué, anguished and
wilted, making an effort, she crawled to the lake where she had known
love and raising his arms to Nguenechén (God) he offered his life to
change of the salvation of the youth. As he prayed, his feet...
they turned into roots that slowly penetrated the earth, their waist
it ended in green stem, its bust spread into tender branches and its mouth
it was blooming, becoming the michay (calafate). The wind,
wanting to enjoy the pain of the young, he/she launched into giving them the news
blowing with such fury that it diverted the course of both until they united. At
to find out that Raihué had died of love for them, they could only manage to
to embrace each other fraternally and thus, united in a hug that will never end,
they continued their way to the sea, weeping for Raihué and dressed in mourning.
Thus it was born, by merging both its banks, the Black River.

The ogre with feathers

By Italo Calvino
Once upon a time, in a very distant kingdom, there was a king who fell seriously ill.
The court magician warned him that he could only be healed with a feather from the
mountain ogre. It was something very difficult to obtain, since the ogre
he devoured everyone who came near him.
But a young soldier, brave and loyal, felt pity for the monarch. He put on
on the way, and when night fell, he entered an inn.
The ogre lives in one of the seven caves at the top,
If you dare, ask him about my daughter, who disappeared many
Years. And wouldn't you bring me one of its feathers too?
You will have what you ask for,
In the morning, the young man set off and arrived at the bank of a swift river.
the ferryman crossed him in his boat.

The ogre lives in the seventh cave. Bring me a feather for me and
ask him why this strange enchantment prevents me from getting off this boat...
You will have what you ask for - promised the soldier.

Then he rested by a fountain that was dry. Its owner said to him:
At noon, the ogre is not there and the girl who serves him will be able to help you.
Find out why my spring, which used to provide water like gold, is now
dry.
You will have what you ask for, the young man assured her.

The determined boy reached the summit, searched for the seventh cave and discovered
the ogre's door. A beautiful girl welcomed him.
I will help you, but you must promise me that you will take me with you. Hide.
under the bed and make no noise, because it will eat you in a
bite if it discovers you.
The young woman prepared a delicious dinner and added fragrant spices to it.
season it. In this way, the ogre could not discover it with his sense of smell.
intruder.
After dinner, he fell asleep on his large bed and the young woman lay down on the
floor. At midnight, he tore a feather from him. He protested.

I had a bad dream, the young woman said. I dreamed of a fountain that
Once there was water of gold and now it is dry... What could have happened to it?

Your dream is real. Inside the fountain, there is a golden snake coiled up;
If they kill her, the water will flow again –the ogre explained in dreams.
A little while later, the young woman snatched another pen from him. He complained.

I had another dream! There was a ferryman who couldn't get off his boat...
-Another true dream. It's because it is enchanted: when someone goes up to
On his boat, he will have to come down to earth first and the other will be trapped.

The ogre started snoring again and the girl pulled out the third feather.

What a night of nightmares! Now I dreamed of an innkeeper who doesn't know

At dawn, the young people escaped. They ran to the fountain and
they explained the mystery to its owner. They crossed the river in the boat, they revealed
the poor man how could he escape from her and they gave him a feather. To
upon arriving at the inn, the young woman's father received the second feather and cried from
joy at seeing her daughter. She wanted her to marry the brave one immediately.
soldier. He gladly accepted. However, he first went to see the king.
the third feather healed him of his illness. The monarch gave him a
a hefty reward and the soldier ran off to his wedding.
And the ogre? Apparently, he had chased them to devour them, but then after
crossing the river, the ferryman had jumped ashore before him. The ogre never
more could be lowered, because everyone knew the trick and didn't go back up
the boat.

FLORI, ATAÚLFO AND THE DRAGON

Not all princesses are pretty, as some may think. No, sir.

Princess Floripéndula, not to mention, had little eyes, and ears, and a big mouth...
How good, good...! Every day Floripéndula asked her magic mirror:

Is there any lady in the kingdom more beautiful than I?

And the mirror replied to him:

Yes. Two million three hundred thousand.

Or well:

Mirror, mirror... who is the fairest lady in this kingdom?

The mirror responded:

My aunt Romualda.

Just to say something...

When Floripéndula reached the age of having a boyfriend, her father, King Tadeo, began to
to worry. And he would tell these things to his wife, Queen Inés:
I wonder who is going to want to marry our beloved daughter. She is not what you would call a...
beauty.

Queen Inés was unable to provide an answer. Floripéndula was a very good princess, but
Time passed and no one hurried to ask for her hand.

King Tadeo then consulted the court astrologer, as is customary in these

The astrologer took some time to ponder the matter. Not every day is he
they presented problems like this.

Finally, he gave his opinion:

If they want Flori to get married,

And King Tadeo and Queen Inés listened to the following:

We need to get a dragon that causes quite a bit of havoc in the region. After that,
to summon the noblest knights of this kingdom and other kingdoms to fight against him
dragon. The brave one who takes it out of combat will be rewarded with the hand of the
princess. How are you?

King Tadeo recognized that the astrologer had found a solution. Surely that way,
Flori would meet interesting guys.

Without wasting a minute, the king called his assistants and ordered:

Send my six best knights to capture an adult dragon. It doesn't matter.

The six bravest men of the kingdom set off the next day to fulfill the mission.

For several weeks they showed no signs of life. The dragons were not abundant for
those areas and they had to travel far.

As the days went by, five knights returned defeated and without a dragon. That not
they managed to get them, that they were very cheap, or very expensive, or second-hand... excuses, bah!

At last, the sixth knight, the young Ataúlfo of Aquitaine, appeared with a splendid dragon.
tied with a rope. I had captured him in a fair fight and not rented him, as they said.
the gossips.

-Where do I let it go? -he asked.

Around there, in the vicinity of the region -said the king.

And so he did.

When the people of the village saw the dragon appear, they wisely stayed inside their homes.
doors with four key turns and dedicated himself to spying on him through the windows.

The fearsome beast could only feed on corn, spinach, and an unsuspecting chicken.
that ventured outside the pen.
The next day, a royal decree appeared in the village square. The announcement promised the hand
from Princess Floripéndula to the knight who would free the region from the terrible dragon.

When the news reached the ears of all the singles in the kingdom, the response was not long in coming.
wait.

Some excused themselves by saying that marrying a princess was too high an honor.
for them and thank you anyway.

Others offered to evict the dragon but without marrying the princess.

Others were willing to slay a hundred dragons rather than marry the princess.

One said he preferred to marry the dragon.

The knight Ataúlfo of Aquitaine was scratching his head while looking at the royal banner.

-But isn't this the dragon they had me bring last week? -he said.

Although none of that mattered to Ataúlfo, because - let it be known to all at once! - he was
in love to the core with Princess Floripéndula.

She had always seemed to him the most beautiful of all the princesses in the land. And he saw her like this.
because I loved her. I really loved her.

Until then, Ataúlfo had done nothing but sigh for her like a fan. Now
he had the opportunity to turn her into his wife.

But the best part is that Flori also loved Ataúlfo! And if not, why did she let it fall
handkerchiefs from her balcony every time he passed below?

Daring as he was, Ataúlfo of Aquitaine marched against the dragon. It was the second time that
they faced off. The dragon had an outrageous annoyance with him.

"Here I am, you inflated lizard!" Ataúlfo shouted at him. And he threw three or four sword strikes at him with good
luck.

The dragon replied with a breath of fire that singed the brave one's eyelashes.

A tough battle was established between the two. The fight lasted for hours and hours.

Ataulfo's sword was already almost melted when he delivered one final mighty blow to the
dragon. The beast fled with its tail between its legs and its spirits down.

He got lost in a little grove and was never seen again.

Yes. The horrible beast had fled forever. And the great Ataúlfo of Aquitaine marched
triumphant towards the palace with a handful of dragon scales in hand.

The king received him at the staircase with all his court. The trumpets sounded.

Princess Floripéndula offered her timid hand to the knight. And Ataúlfo kissed it.
tenderly like the beloved heroes do.
A week later, Floripéndula and Ataúlfo got married. They had seven children. Seven
little princes! They were all the same. The same as their father and mother, who -just between us-
they seemed quite a lot. They all had the same little eyes, the same ears, the same mouth...
they were very happy, believe me.

End