Part I: Persinette

“Persinette” by Mlle de La Force

Translated by Laura Christensen

Two young lovers were married after a long courtship. Nothing could equal their ardor. Their life together was already happy and content, when, to the young wife’s utter delight, she discovered she was pregnant. This was a great joy to the little household: they had been longing for a child, and now their desire was fulfilled.

Close by there lived a Fairy who was, above all else, a great collector of plants. She kept a beautiful garden where an abundance of fruits, plants, and flowers could be seen.

In those days, parsley was extremely rare in these lands; the Fairy had imported some from India, and it could be found nowhere else in the country but in her garden.

The new wife greatly desired to eat some, and since she well knew how difficult it would be to satisfy her desire because no one could enter the garden, she fell into a melancholy that rendered her unrecognizable even to her husband’s eyes. He pestered her to know the cause of this preternatural change which appeared in her soul as well as her body, and after evading him too long, his wife at last admitted she would dearly like to eat some parsley. The husband sighed and agonized over such a difficult desire to satisfy. Nevertheless, as nothing seems insurmountable to one in love, he went day and night around the walls to scale them, but their height made it impossible.

Finally, one evening he discovered one of the garden gates ajar. He quietly slipped inside and was so pleased with his good fortune that he quickly took a fistful of parsley, left the way he had entered, and carried his plunder to his wife, who ate it eagerly, and who two days later found herself more distressed than ever by the desire to eat still more.

Parsley must have tasted excellent in those days.

The poor husband then returned several times in vain, but at last his perseverance paid off. Once more he found the garden gate ajar, entered, and was startled to see the Fairy herself who harshly rebuked him for having the audacity to come thus to a place whose entry was not permitted to just anyone. The poor, distraught fellow dropped to his knees, begged forgiveness, and told her that his wife would die if she did not eat a little parsley, that she was with child, and that surely this desire was indeed forgivable. “Well then,” said the Fairy, “I will give you as much parsley as you like, if you will give me the child your wife will bear.”

The husband, after a short deliberation, promised to do so, and he took as much parsley as he wanted.

When it was time for the baby to be delivered, the Fairy came to stand by the mother’s side as she brought forth a daughter to whom the Fairy gave the name Persinette, after the parsley her mother had craved. The Fairy received the baby swaddled in cloth of gold and sprinkled her face with precious water from a crystal vessel that instantly rendered her the most beautiful creature in the world.

After these beauty rituals, the Fairy took little Persinette, brought her home, and raised her with all the care imaginable. So it was surprising when the Fairy, who knew Persinette’s fate, resolved to strip her of her destiny before she had even reached her twelfth year.

For this purpose, she conjured a silver Tower in the middle of the forest. The mysterious Tower had no door to enter. Within were grand and beautiful apartments brightly lit with garnets that shone like sunlight. Every curiosity was collected in this place. Persinette had but to open her cabinet drawers and she would find them filled with the most beautiful jewelry. Her wardrobes were as magnificent as those of the Queens of Asia, and there was no fashion that she wasn’t the first to have. She was alone in this beautiful abode where she had nothing to desire but companionship. Apart from that, nearly all her desires were anticipated and satisfied.

It goes without saying that the finest food comprised all her meals, but I will say to reassure you that, though she was acquainted with no one but the Fairy, she was never bored in her solitude. She read. She painted. She played instruments and amused herself with all the pastimes befitting a girl of perfect breeding.

The Fairy ordered her to sleep at the top of the Tower where there was a single window, and after establishing her in her enchanting solitude, the Fairy descended by way of the window and returned to her home.

Persinette amused herself with a hundred different things as soon as she was alone. Even sorting through her trunks was a rather large chore. How many people would love to have one similar!

The view from the Tower window was the most beautiful in the world, with the sea on one side and the vast forest on the other. These two features were peerless and enchanting. Persinette had a divine voice; she greatly enjoyed singing, and it was often her distraction, especially in those hours she waited for the Fairy. The Fairy came to see Persinette quite often, and when the Fairy was at the base of the Tower, she was accustomed to saying, “Persinette, let down your hair, so I may climb to you, my dear.”

One of Persinette’s great beauties was her hair, which was thirty-eight yards long without inconveniencing her, blonde like fine gold, and braided with ribbons of all colors. When she heard the Fairy’s voice, she unpinned her hair and let it down, then the Fairy climbed it.

One day Persinette stood alone at the window, singing the prettiest song in the world with all her heart.

At the same time, a young Prince was hunting. He had lost his way while pursuing a stag, and hearing so sweet a song, he drew near and saw the young Persinette. Her beauty touched him. Her voice entranced him. Twenty times he circled the fateful Tower, but seeing no point of entry, he thought he would die from agony. He had love. He had courage. He should have been able to scale the Tower.

Meanwhile, Persinette became speechless when she saw such a handsome man. She considered him for a long time, entirely astonished. Then abruptly she withdrew from her window, believing that this was some sort of monster, remembering she had heard it said that there were monsters which killed with a glance; she had found this one’s gaze dangerous indeed.

The Prince despaired to see her go. He strove to find answers, asking in the nearest settlements if anyone knew about the Tower and who lived inside. He was told that a Fairy had built the Tower and had locked away a young maiden therein. Every day he skulked nearby. At last he was present to see the Fairy arrive and hear her say, “Persinette, let down your hair, so I may climb to you, my dear.” That very instant he beheld the beautiful figure unbind the long tresses of her hair and the Fairy ascend with their aid. He was greatly astonished by a manner of visiting so out of the ordinary.

The next day when he believed the hour the Fairy customarily entered the Tower had passed, he waited for nightfall with great impatience. Then, approaching the Tower under her window, he imitated the Fairy’s voice admirably and said, “Persinette, let down your hair, so I may climb to you, my dear.”

The poor Persinette, deceived by the sound of his voice, hurried to let down her beautiful hair. The Prince scaled it, and when he had reached the top and appeared at the window, he thought he might fall when he beheld her preternatural beauty up close. Nevertheless, recalling all his natural courage, he hopped into the chamber, and kneeling at Persinette’s feet, he clasped her knees with persuasive ardor. She was frightened at first, and shrieked. A moment later she was trembling and nothing could reassure her except for when she sensed in his heart as much love as she felt for him. He told her the most beautiful things in the world, to which she responded only with a flustered shyness that gave the Prince reason to hope. Then, his courage gathered at last, he proposed to marry her then and there. She consented without much knowing what she did and in that same manner completed the entire ceremony.

Here we see the happy Prince. Persinette also became accustomed to loving him. They saw each other every day, and a little while later her belly began to swell. This unfamiliar circumstance worried her very much. The Prince suspected he knew what it might be, but he did not wish to tell her for fear of afflicting her. But the Fairy, having been to see her, only had to take one look to recognize her malady at once. “Oh, wretched girl!” the Fairy said. “You have fallen into grave error. You will be punished for it. Destiny cannot be avoided. My clairvoyance has all been in vain.” After saying this, she commanded Persinette in an imperious tone to confess her whole misadventure, which poor Persinette did, her eyes wet with tears.

When she had finished, the Fairy did not appear at all moved by the love with which Persinette recounted the touching moments of her tale. Instead, taking her by the hair, the Fairy cut off her precious braids. After that the Fairy made her descend out the window and then followed her down. When they both reached the bottom, the Fairy enveloped herself and Persinette in a cloud that carried them to a solitary but rather idyllic spot along the seashore. There were woods nearby, a little freshwater brook, and a small hut made from evergreen boughs, inside which lay a bed of sea thrift and a wicker box at its side filled with assorted delicious biscuits that never ran out. It was to this place that the Fairy led Persinette then left her after having rebuked her, which chastisement seemed a hundred times crueler to her than her own despair.

It was here that Persinette gave birth to a little Prince and a little Princess. It was here that she nurtured them and had all the time in the world to weep for her misfortune.

But the Fairy’s vengeance was not yet complete. She had to have the Prince in her power and punish him as well. Upon leaving the unhappy Persinette, she returned to the Tower and endeavored to sing in Persinette’s manner. Deceived by this voice, the Prince, who had come once more to see his love, asked to climb up her hair as he was wont to do. To this end the deceitful Fairy had cut beautiful Persinette’s hair. She secured the braided rope and dropped it down to him. The poor Prince appeared at the window where he was not merely astonished but agonized to discover his mistress was not there. His gaze searched for her, but the Fairy, regarding him with fury, said, “Reckless young man. Your crime is infinite; its punishment will be as great.”

But he, ignoring the threats that concerned only him, said, “Where is Persinette?”

“She is yours no longer,” the Fairy replied.

Then the Prince, moved more by the furor in his heart than constrained by the power of the Fairy’s arts, cast himself from the height of the Tower. His body should have broken a thousand times over. Instead, he fell with no other harm than losing his sight.

He was greatly astonished to discover he could no longer see. He dwelt for a while at the base of the Tower, groaning and crying Persinette’s name a hundred times.

He walked as best he could by groping his way forward, then his steps grew more assured. He went on like this for some time without meeting anyone who could assist him or guide him. He took nourishment from herbs and roots that he found when hunger drove him to it.

One day at the end of several years, he found himself more haunted by the memory of his love and his loss than usual. He lay down beneath a tree and turned his thoughts over entirely to his sorrowful reflections. This pastime is cruel to those who think they deserve a better fate, but suddenly the sound of an enchanting voice startled him from his reverie. The first notes went straight to his heart, pierced it and made it tremble in a way he had not felt in a long time. “Oh gods!” he cried. “That is Persinette’s voice!”

He was not deceiving himself. He had stumbled blindly into her woods. She was seated at the door of her hut, singing the sad tale of her love. Her two children, more beautiful than daylight, were playing a few feet away from her, and, wandering a little, they drew near the tree under which the Prince lay. They had no sooner seen him than they were throwing their arms about his neck and kissing him a thousand times, saying over and over, “It’s my Papa!” They called their mother and shrieked and shouted so much that she came running, not knowing what it could be. Never until this moment had their solitude been disturbed by any chance encounter.

What was her surprise and her joy when she recognized her dear husband? The answer is impossible to describe: she gave a piercing cry, and throwing herself down next to him, she was so overwhelmed with shock that she quite naturally burst into tears. But—oh, wondrous miracle—the moment her precious tears fell into the Prince’s eyes, his blindness was washed away. He saw as clearly as he ever had. He received this token of Persinette’s tender love and took her in his arms and caressed her a thousand times more than he had ever done.

It was a truly touching sight to see. The handsome Prince, the enchanting Princess, and their delightful children enveloped in a joy and a love that transported them to another world.

The rest of the day passed delightfully, but when evening came, the little family had need of some nourishment. The Prince thought he might have a biscuit, but it transformed into stone. Shocked by this marvel, he gasped with pain, the poor children wept, and the afflicted mother tried to at least give them some water, but it changed into crystal.

What a night! It went rather badly. A hundred times they believed it would last forever.

As soon as the day dawned they arose and resolved to pick some herbs, but alas! the herbs transformed into toads and venomous creatures. The most harmless of birds became dragons and harpies that flew about them, terrifying to see.

“So this is it then,” the Prince cried. “My dear Persinette, I found you only to lose you to a more terrible fate.”

“Let us die, my dear Prince,” she replied, embracing him tenderly, “and make our enemies envy even the sweetness of our death.”

Their poor little children, held in their arms, were weak and two fingers from death. Who wouldn’t have been moved by the sight of this family heartbroken and dying like this? Then a miracle occurred: the Fairy was touched and, remembering in that instant all the affection she had once felt for the kind-hearted Persinette, she arrived resplendently at Persinette’s hut in a chariot gleaming with gold and precious stones. She had them mount up, placing herself between the fortunate lovers and arranging their lovely children at their feet on the magnificent tiles. She drove them in this fashion to the palace of the King, father of the Prince. There the joy was overflowing. The people welcomed the handsome Prince, whom they had believed lost this long time, as if he were a god. He was so relieved to find respite after having been so battered by the storm that nothing in the world could compare to the happiness with which he lived with his perfect wife.

Affectionate lovers, learn from their example.

It is advantageous to always be faithful.

Every pain, every effort, even the sharpest worry,

Can all find sweet relief

When passion is mutual:

Fortune is braved, a Fairy’s spell overcome,

When two lovers are as one.