The Whistle And The Purse
Once upon a time in a little village of Sicily, two peasants and their wives were having a christening party for their newborn baby sons. They were to be given the names of Franco and Geraldo. It was the custom at that time always to leave two empty places at the table, for the simple peasants believed that two fairies might appear and give their blessings on the celebrations, and on the babies for their future. It was a happy little party with good soup, followed by chestnuts and wine. For a long time, the two seats at the table remained empty, but as the feast was coming to an end, two women suddenly appeared. One was old, with a happy smiling face. She sat herself down beside the mother of little Franco. The other was sterner looking and she sat down beside the mother of Geraldo. The two strangers ate a little food and drank a sip of wine. They got up from the table and asked to see the two infant boys. The older, smiling fairy, touched Franco and said in a trembling voice, "I am the fairy Lubina, and the only gift I can give to this child is happiness in his heart. To make sure that he will always be happy, I will give him this magic whistle. When he blows it, he will never be sad."
The other woman then touched the forehead of little Geraldo and said: "I am the fairy Laurita, and it is in my power to give this child a special gift. Geraldo will never be poor. If he ever has the need for money, he must hold this leather purse and say the magic words "Copper, silver, gold" and he will find inside three golden coins. But, remember, this will only happen once a day." The two fairies vanished suddenly as they came. The parents of Geraldo were very pleased with their son's gift. Their child had been given the wish of the riches forever. The parents of Franco were not so pleased, because all their son had been given was the gift of happiness, and happiness could not be eaten or used as money. The two children grew up and their mothers made them use the gifts that had been given them. Franco was always happy and gay because of his magic whistle, but Geraldo always seemed better off, because all he had to do was hold the leather bag every day and say the words: "Copper, silver, gold," and out dropped three shining gold coins. Little by little the two families became jealous of one another because the parents of Geraldo always had plenty of money and looked down on the poorer parents of Franco. When the two boys had grown into men they became soldiers of the Duke of Aquitania and were sent to fight against the Moors. Alas, one day, they were both captured by the Moors and sent to work in the gardens of the Emir. Thanks to his magic whistle, Franco never felt sad or unhappy and was often heard to be singing as he went about his tasks. But Geraldo was different, he was not happy at all. He went to the Emir one day and asked how much it would cost to buy his freedom. "Sixty gold coins," laughed the Emir, who thought that such a sum was far more than a peasant would have in a lifetime.
"I will give it to you in twenty days," said Geraldo. The Emir was surprised and suspicious of Geraldo's answer and sent soldiers to spy on him. They soon discovered the secret of Geraldo's magic purse and the Emir, being both rich and greedy, wanted the purse for himself. "Even if you give me sixty times sixty gold coins," the Emir told Geraldo, "I will not let you go. I command that you place three gold coins upon my table every day or you will be punished." Every day, poor Geraldo had to say the three magic words and give the gold coins to the Emir.