Sicilian Folklore
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I lay down in this bed
and Our Lady is in my heart
with a little Our Father,
my God-Father is the Lord.
He took me by the hand
and brought me to the fountain:
He said, I said
and myself I crossed.


There are four corners in this house
and four angels will come in.
Here will enter Luke, John, Matthew
and St. Bartholomew.
They told me to sleep and rest
and don't dream any distress.
I rested and I slept,
and of our Lady of the Rosary I dreamt .


On most Holy Friday the day dawned bright.
They placed a cross on the ground and Jesus on it,
And with a long rope Jesus they bound tight,
With three sharp spikes they nailed his hands and feet;
Mark the jew was there and struck him with his lance;
Pilate was there who sentenced him to death.
The blood shed washed clean the Cross.
Whoever repeats it three times a day, God's mercy will have
(Say an Our Father and an Hail Mary)


The Word I know and the word I must proclaim,
the Word left to us by our Lord,
when He went to the Cross to die
for us, all sinners, to save.
Oh you all ungrateful sinners,
come all, this Cross adore,
look how tall and beautiful it is,
its grace come to us on earth from heaven.
Jesus is for all of us, the young and the old,
and we all will be there on judgment day.
The Blessed Mother will come down and say to Him:
-My son, as you forgave the Jews
so now you must forgive my children.-
-Mother, I can't forgive them,
because they are ungrateful sinners,
they know the Word but they won't say it,
and of a true death they will die.-
If I know the Word and the Word won't teach,
I will suffer the anguish of hell.
Whoever says the Word three times a night,
will be spared an evil death,
Whoever says the Word three times in the fields,
will be spared of lightning and thunder,
Whoever says the Word three times on the way,
will be spared a long and painful death.
I lay me down to sleep,
I don't know if I will die,
I know when I lay down 
but not if I will rise.
With Jesus I lay,
with Jesus I rise,
in being with jesus,
I have no fear.

 

Riddles

Ten hold it,
one shits it
and of what it shits
the pope will eat
(ten fingers hold the (1) sifter from which the flour is sifted)

There are many brothers
imprisoned in a castle,
if you want to see them all,
you must open their hat.
(The pomegranate)

Glittering plate, glowing dinner,
a proud man and a loving woman.
( Sky, stars, sun and moon)

It is green and it isn't grass,
it is red and it isn't fire,
it is water and it isn't a fountain.
(The watermelon)

There is a herd of red sheep,
when they piss,
they all piss at once.
(The roof tiles)

The pendent, hanging was pending,
between the thighs of your Excellency.
(The Rosary)

It goes around
and in going they are three,
who takes this out of me,
good fortune for him I see.
(The horse, the coach and the driver)

Stove of water,
wooden pot,
the flesh inside talks a lot
(The sea, the boat and the fishermen)

I leave home with Pinta and Masa,
Pinta kills Masa,
Masa kills seven,
I take the smallest of the seven,
I shoot what I see and kill what I don't see.
I ate meat cooked with holy words,
I have seen the soft to bear the hard,
I have seen the dead carrying the live.

 

A king had a daughter to marry and put out an edict which said that he will give his daughter in matrimony to whoever brought him a riddle that he could not solve. But if he would solve the riddle, the life of the candidate will be his to do as he pleased ( in which case he will kill the candidate with the utmost atrocious tortures).

A young man heard of the edict and told his mother that he wanted to try his luck with the edict to marry the king's daughter. His mother knowing how smart was the king and capable of solving all the riddles, and unable to dissuade her son, made a poisoned loagh of bread (Pinta) for her son to eat on the way, preferring that her son died at her hands and not tortured by the king.

The young man departs and after half day of walking stopped to rest. He sat down and soon was asleep being so tired. While he is asleep his dog (Masa) ate the bread and died. Seven lost, hungry hunters happened by, they took the dead dog, cleaned it, cooked it, ate it and died too ( Masa kills seven).

The young men wakes up and he has nothing to eat. He takes the smallest gun of the seven dead hunters and shoots a bird (what I see) the bird gets away but he hits the nest (what I don't see), that he had not seen. He cooks the little birds with the pages of his book of prayers (holy words) and departs once again. He stops at a cave for curiosity and sees that a drop of water has made a hole on a rock (the soft bears the hard). On his way again he sees a dead mule with a vulture standing on it (the dead carrying the live).

The king can't solve the riddle this time and the young man marries his daughter.

 

Poems

In a convent of nuns a father Guardian goes there to give confession. One day the father Guardian hears that the nuns were going to kill a pig. He also knew that the nuns had a safe full of money. The day of the killing of the pig, after confession, father Guardian goes up the cupola of the church, and, when he saw that on the court was only sister Mary, he put down a rope and talked to her without being seen, and said:

 

Sister Mary, sister Mary,
here sent me St. Pasqual
of the pig he wants the liver.
Sister Mary, sister Mary,
Jesus wants you in Heaven,
but first comes up the liver
and then can climb you too.

 

The devoted sister Mary, scared, tied the liver to the rope, which was fast pulled up by father Guardian. Seeing how easy it had been, father Guardian puts down the rope again saying:

 

Sister Mary, sister Mary,
here sent me St. Vincent
and of the pig he wants half.
Sister Mary, sister Mary,
Jesus wants you in Heaven,
but first climbs the pig
and then you can climb too.

 

In the mean time mother Badess comes back and asks sister Mary what happened to the half of the pig. Sister Mary, very scared, told her that a voice from Heaven had demanded the pig. Mother Badess dismissed the sister and stayed in place waiting for new development. Soon after father Guardian puts down the rope and says:

 

Sister Mary, sister Mary,
Jesus want you in Heaven,
but first give me the safe
and then you climb too.

 

The Mother Badess answered:

 

Father Guardian, father Guardian,
you took me once
and will take me no more

Listen about Don Sabato
now that he got engaged,
he tried and found a scheme,
Hey, listen about Don Sabato
to go there very clean.
He asked a friend and borrowed
a coat and a bow tie,
a hat and clean shoes at mocassina
and stopped at Teresina.
Teresina amazed, started evaluating:
-For three days my heart burned
and now is real in love...-
While they smooched and smooched,
drowned in happiness,
from the top of the street appears
the ugly tower of her papa`.
He starts with violent pushes,
fists, slaps and even kicks...
please beat my face
that the clothes I have borrowed.

Cut me as meat in small pieces
and cut my head off with a saw,
of this coat take all you can,
and of my suit the first come will serve.
I had this ship running out of fuel,
and aground was running the belly,
and while you all couldn't decide the route,
I gave peace to my big mouth.

I was told in the will by doctor Rick,
that the tobacco sniffer's life is very rich.
I get full of it and sniff a bag a day
and my nose is stuffed more than I can say.
I keep many tobacco holders full to the brim,
I offer the best tobacco to my friends, and I don't skim;
to all I say with my heart:-Sniff and rest,
that with good tobacco you lose your thirst.-
(Here answers the drunkard):
How so, the tobacco your thirst quits?
what's in your head, dried olive pits?
I hope they die all your heirs,
I hope they die all under the stairs.
Drink just wine that makes you fly,
get very drunk, more than you may.
When man gets drunk and closes his eyes,
he doesn't know where wealth and poverty lies.

A little finch at Christmas we cooked
and we were of drivers a big bunch:
some had the the beak and some the wings
and some had half of the spleen.

On Monday and Tuesday don't leave,
on Wednesday and Thursday don't move,
On Friday and Saturday no use to go,
for the next day is Sunday.

We have a dear friend
who is truly a champion
of every good drunkard,
and he lives around here.
Truly, truly without wine he can't stay.
Water is his enemy
and he looks at it from afar,
and he washes his hands and face,
with lots of wine in a jar.
Who is he, who is he, he is known by all.
When he wants to shave,
water by him is not touched
an abundant soapy foam
he makes with wine.
Truly, truly without wine he won't stay.
And before is dark at night,
you can see him pretty and rich,
forms, shoes and work table
even them are unstable.
Bu, bu, bu,
like him they make no more

there was a nice boy and he was pretty dense,
and always said he wanted a girlfriend
and the meaning not knowing,
Said:- Pretty soon I'll get engaged.-
Then his master went to him and said:
-As it is possible I'm gonna let you wed,
and if my service you need,
I'll let you elope at dusk.-
His master dressed up as a pretty woman,
and asked him:- Tell me where to go.-
-Just on the other corner lives my aunt,
there we can lay down because she has a bed.-
-Open up aunt, I have my girlfriend.-
The master said:- hi.- and then went in.
He was smart and knew what to do:
and very slowly he started to get nude.
the master makes him dream
by showing him the back,
the boy got scared saying:- I am very sore,
next time with my master I elope no more.-
His aunt was crying:- Yes you are sore,
next time with a man, elope no more.