Dear Readers,
May is the month we celebrate Mother's Day, so for the benefit of teachers who want to do a little classroom program in honor of Mother's Day or for readers who want to read a story in either English or Italian to the “bambini” in their lives, I am printing this, a bit early so you will have time to polish your act before Sunday, May 13th:THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD
Once upon a time, all the people of a small town were outworking in the fields when they heard someone crying.
They looked to find where the crying was coming from. Finally, one of them found a little boy at the edge of the field.
“Don't cry,” the man said. “Where is your mother?”
“I don't know,” said the tearful boy.
“You don't know where your mother is?” the man asked. “You're lost? Don't you worry. I will find mother for you. What does she look like?”
The little boy stopped crying. “My mother is the most beautiful woman in the world!”
“Well, she should not be too hard to find, then!” said the man. He held the boy's hand and led him back to town. “Here you are,” said the man. “This is the most beautiful woman in our town. Is she your mother?”
“Oh, no!” the little boy said.
“My mother is much more beautiful. My mother is the most beautiful woman in the world!”
“Hmm” said the man. “This is going to be harder than I thought. If the most beautiful woman in our town isn't the boy's mother, then we will try the nearby towns.”He sent people to all the small towns nearby, and in each one, they chose the most beautiful woman and brought her back to the little boy. The boy took one look, started to cry again, and said, “Oh no! That's not my mother. My mother is much more beautiful. My mother is the most beautiful woman in the world.”
Finally all the beautiful women in the land had been found and brought to the boy, and none of them was his mother.
“I don't know what to do,” said the man. “Where can this boy's beautiful mother be? I don't know where else to look.”
Just then, an old woman came pushing through the crowd. Her hands were rough and worn.Her shoulders were bent from working many years in the fields. Her clothes were not much more than rags.
Her eyes had circles under them, and were red from crying.
The little boy looked at the old woman. “Mother!” he called out, and ran to her and hugged her.“Son? Is it really you? I've been looking for you. I've been so worried!”
“Is this woman your mother?” asked the man.
“Oh, yes!” said the little boy.
“But you told me that your mother was the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“She is!” the little boy answered proudly. “My mother is the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“Hmm,” the man said to himself. “I wouldn't call her beautiful, but what I think doesn't matter. If the boy believes his mother is the most beautiful woman in the world, that's what is most important.”
“Mille Grazie” to Tony Ghezzo for translating the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, an old folktale, into Italian:LA PIU' BELLA DONNA AL MONDO
C'era una volta un piccolo paese nel quale tutti i suoi abitanti erano nei campi a lavorare quando udirono il pianto di un bambino.
Scrutarono con gli occhi per vedere da dove venisse quel suono e finalmente uno di essi vide un bambino verso la fine del campo.“Non piangere” - gli disse l'uomo - “Dov'e tua mamma?" “Non lo so" rispose il bambino con gli occhi pieni di lacrime. “Non sai dov'e' tua mamma? Ti sei perduto? Non ti preoccupare, trovero' io tua mamma. Puoi descrivermela?”
Il bambino smise di piangere e disse: “Mia mamma e' la piu' bella donna al mondo”.
“Beh, in questo caso penso che sia facile trovarla” disse l'uomo, poi prese il bambino per la mano e lo condusse al paese.
Raduno' tutte le donne del paese, scelse la piu' bella e la condusse dal bambino. “Ecco” - disse l'uomo - “Questa e' la piu' bella donna del paese, e' questa tua mamma?”
“No” - disse il bambino - “Mia mamma e' molto piu' bella. Mia mamma e' la piu' bella donna al mondo”.
“Hmm,” - fece l'uomo - “Credo che sara' piu' difficile di quel che avessi pensato. Se la piu' bella donna del paese non e' la madre del bambino, dovro' cercarla nei paesi vicini.”
Pertanto invio' delle persone in tutti i paesi del circondario affinche' cercassero la piu' bella donna della zona e la conducessero dal bambino.Ma il bambino le diede un'occhiata e si mise a piangere di nuovo, dicendo “No! Questa non e' mia mamma. Mia mamma e' molto piu' bella. Mia mamma e' la piu' bella donna al mondo!”
Finalmente, tutte le piu' belle donne del mondo furono condotte davanti al bambino, ma nessuna era sua madre.“Non so piu' che fare” - disse l'uomo - “Dove mai sara' la bellissima madre del bambino? Non so piu' dove cercarla.”
Proprio in quel momento una vecchia donna si fece posta tra la folla. Le sue mani erano ruvide e callose.Le sue spalle erano curve per aver lavorato tanti anni nei campi. Il suo vestito era logoro e strappato. I suoi occhi erano incavati e rossi per aver pianto per tanti giorni.
II bambino si giro' verso la vecchia. “Mamma!” grido', correndo verso di lei e buttandole le braccia al collo.
“Figlio? Sei veramente tu? Ti ho cercato dappertutto! Ero cosi' preoccupata!”
“Questa e' tua mamma?” - chiese l'uomo incredulo. “Oh, si” disse il bambino. “Ma tu avevi detto che tua mamma era la piu' bella donna del mondo.”
“Si, infatti lo e'” rispose il bambino con orgoglio. “Mia mamma e' la piu' bella donna al mondo!”
“Hmm,” mormoro' l'uomo tra se' e se'. “Io non la chiamerei bella, tu non la chiameresti bella, ma cio' che noi pensiamo non ha alcun valore. La cosa piu' importante e' che lui creda che sua mamma e' la piu' bella donna al mondo!”...
“Mamma” can be celebrated in song or story:
MAMMA
Mamma son tanto felice
Perche' ritorno da te…
La mia canzone ti dice
Che e' il piu' bel giorno per me!
Mamma son tanto felice;
Viver lontano…perche'?
Mamma
Solo per te la mia canzone vola…
Mamma,
Sarai con me, tu non sarai piu' sola,
Quanto ti voglio bene!
Queste parole d'amore
Che ti sospira il mio cuore
Forse non s'usano piu'…Happy Mother's Day to all the most beautiful women in the world.
“Mamma”
10631 Vinedale Street, Sun Valley, CA 91352 - Phone (818) 767-3413 - Fax: (818) 767-1410
