Summary Green Bird
Carlo Gozzi The
Green Bird
Since the well-known events that accompanied the marriage of Tartaglia to the daughter of the King of the Antipodes, Ninetta, who appeared from the oranges, many years have passed. A lot of things happened in Monterotondo over the years. Smuraldine and Brighella, once burned, resurrected from the ashes: he is a poet and a soothsayer, she is white with soul and body. Smeraldine married Truffaldino, who stole so much in the royal kitchen that he could leave the service and open a sausage shop.
King Tartaglia has been out of the capital for almost nineteen years, fighting with the rebels somewhere on the outskirts of the kingdom. In his absence, his mother, the elderly queen of Tartalion, was in charge of everything. The old woman disliked Ninetta and, when she gave birth Tartalier lovely twins, a boy and a girl, ordered to kill them, and the king wrote that, supposedly, his wife brought a pair of puppies. In the hearts of Tartaglia, Tartaglione
Fortunately, Pantalone did not obey the orders of the Tartalons: he did not kill the babies, but, having safely wrapped in oilcloth, threw them into the river. From the river of twins she pulled Smeraldin. She gave them the names of Renzo and Barbarin and raised them as their own children.
The superfluous eaters in the house aroused the eyes of the greedy and grumpy Truffaldino, and one fine day he decides to expel the foundlings.
The news that they are not native children and should now be taken away, Renzo and Barbarina perceive in cold blood, for their spirit is strengthened by reading modern philosophers, love, human attachments and good deeds explaining low self-love. Free, they believe, from self-love, the twins go to the wilderness, where they will not be annoyed by stupid and bothersome people.
On a deserted shore, a talking ancient statue appears to the brother and sister. This is the king of sculptures Kalmon, once a philosopher and turned
Young people do not heed the words of a wise statue. Kalmon, however, tells them to go into the city and throw a stone near the palace walls – this will instantly make them rich. He promises to help the twins in the future and also reports that the mystery of their birth will be revealed thanks to the Green Bird, in love with Barbarina.
This bird has been flying to the crypt for Ninetta for eighteen years, feeding and watering it. Arriving this time, she predicts the imminent end of the suffering of the queen, says that her children are alive, and the bird itself is not a bird at all, but an enchanted prince.
Finally, King Tartaglia returns from the war. But nothing is not nice to him without the innocently ruined Ninetta. Her death, he can not forgive himself or her mother. Between the old queen and Tartaglia there is a noisy quarrel.
Tartaglione is inspired not only by her self-righteousness and resentment of the ungrateful son, but by the prophesies and flattering speeches of Brighella. Brighella uses any case for outpourings about them – himself and the Tartalons – a brilliant future on the Monterotond throne; while the cunning to the sky extols the long-faded beauty of the old woman, who ostensibly owns the heart of the poor poet. Tartaglione is ready for everything: to connect fate with Brighella, and get rid of his son, only this will be considered inappropriate for a sucheno, since she has many more years to blossom and shine.
Renzo and Barbarina, following Kalimon’s advice, come to the royal palace, but at the last moment they are doubted: does philosophers have wealth? Having conferred, they still throw a stone, and before them a magnificent palace grows before their eyes.
Renzo and Barbarina live rich in a wonderful palace, and now they are occupied not by philosophical reflections. Barbara is sure that she is the finest of all in the world, and that her beauty shines even brighter, without the expense of spending money on the finest outfits and decorations. Renzo is in love; but not in love with any woman, but in a statue. The statue is not the creation of a sculptor, but a girl named Pompey, who many years ago turned his own unlimited vanity into stone. Beyond himself from passion, he swears to spare nothing, just to make Pompey come to life.
Moved by love to his adopted daughter, Smeraldina appears in the twin palace. Barbara, for whom love is an empty sound, first chases it, then tries to buy off a purse of gold, but in the end allows you to remain a maid at your person. Truffaldino also wants to live in the palace of the foundlings, but love has nothing to do with it: he wants to eat deliciously, drink and sleep softly, the things in the sausage shop go bad badly. Not immediately, but Renzo agrees to take the former father to his service.
The inhabitants of the royal palace are surprised by the new neighborhood. Brighella – and he is, after all, a soothsayer – sees in Renzo with Barbarina a threat to his ambitious plans and therefore teaches Tartaglon how to ruin the twins. The king, going out onto the balcony and seeing in the window opposite the beautiful Barbarin, madly falls in love with her. He is already ready to forget the unhappy Ninetta and marry again, but, alas, Barbarin is not touched by signs of the highest attention. Then Tartaglona gets the moment and tells her that the most beautiful in the world of Barbara will be, only when she has a singing Apple and Golden Water, which sounds and dances. As you know, both of these miracles are stored in the Serpentina Fairy’s garden, where many brave fellows put their heads together.
Barbara, who quickly got used to all her wishes to be instantly performed, first demands, and then tearfully pleads to bring her Apple and Water. Renzo listens to her pleas and, accompanied by Truffaldino, sets out on her journey.
In the Serpentine garden, the heroes nearly die, but Renzo remembers Kalmon in time and calls him to help. Kalmon, in turn, causes a statue with suckings that emit water, and several sturdy statues. From its nipples, the statue is pouring wild animal-crazed thirsty animals, and they let Renzo break the Apple. Heavy statues, piled on the gate leading to the source of Serpentine, do not let them slam shut; Truffaldino is not without trembling and is gaining a bottle of sounding and dancing Water.
When the work is done, Kalmon informs Renzo that the mystery of reviving his beloved statue, like the secret of the origin of the twins, is in the hands of the Green Bird. Finally, the king of the statues asks Renzo to order him to fix his once-pricked nose.
Returning home, Renzo learns that the king asked Barbarina to become his wife, and she agreed, but then at the instigation of Brighella and Tartaglia demanded a green bird in the dowry. Renzo would like to see his sister queen, and besides, he is overcome by a passionate desire to revive Pompeii and reveal the secret of his origin. So he takes Truffaldino and goes to a new, more dangerous journey – to the Ogre hill behind the Green Bird.
On the way to the brave travelers, the familiar devil with furs is blowing in the back, so that they get to the place very soon. But there they are in some confusion: how to overcome the spell of the Ogre, it is not known, and the only one who could help – Kalmon – Renzo can not call, since he did not fulfill the petty request of the king of statues: he did not correct his nose. Having decided, the gentleman and the servant approach the tree on which the bird is sitting, and then both are petrified. Meanwhile, Barbara, in whose hardened heart the anxiety for her brother was awakened, Smeraldina also goes to the possession of the Ogre and finds Renzo and Truffaldino turned into statues. Sad this spectacle makes her in tears repent of excessive arrogance and slavish indulgence to her own desires. Hardly uttered penitential words, As before Barbarina and Smeraldina Kalmon appears. He reveals the way to take possession of the Green Bird, warning at the same time that the slightest mistake will lead to imminent death. Barbara, moved by love for her brother, overcomes fear and, having done everything as Kalmon said, takes Bird. Then, taking a feather from her tail, she touches them to the petrified Renzo and Truffaldino, and they come to life.
Tartaglia is burning with impatience, wanting to call Barbara his wife. This, it would seem, now does not interfere. After all, Renzo does not stop him from combining with the animated bird feather of Pompeii, even the fact that she was a statue in the recent past. However, first of all, Barbarin insists, you should listen to what Water, Apple and Green Bird have to say.
Magic objects and Bird tells the whole story of the atrocities of Tartaglia and her henchman Brighella. The king, who had children and miraculously escaped incestuous marriage, is literally beside himself with joy. When, in the light of God, Ninette is from the fetid crypt, he is completely deprived of his senses.
The green bird pronounces the spell, and Tartaglione and Brighella, in front of everyone, in general joy, turn into wordless creatures: the old woman into a turtle, and her pretender beloved into an ass. Then the bird drops its feathers and becomes a boy, the king of Terradombra. He calls Barbarin his wife, and calls all those present on stage and in the hall to be true philosophers, that is, realizing their own mistakes, to become better.
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