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Today's Story of the Day from the book that my Aunt Maria Teresa gave me for Father's Day 1990 and that my father read to me whenever we were together reminded me of the multicultural story I wrote during my European experience in Romania. In this story the other volunteers and I decided that the protagonists would be Marina, the mermaid of Palermo from the fable critiqued by Gianni Rodari, and Samodiva, the protagonist of a Bulgarian myth. These two female figures are different: while the former loves to help and brighten the day of others with the talent she was gifted at birth, a beautiful voice, Samodiva desires more than anything else to marry the man she loves and to help and support him forever, finding a way to stand by his side even during her unjust imprisonment. This story was considered by Simone Fissolo and Giada Martin as not deserving of any sponsorship, to be thrown into 'oblivion and clipped the wings of a young volunteer who sacrificed seven months of her life, during a not easy period of her existence, because she firmly believed that 'Europe could help her to use her experience as a volunteer to help other young people learn about the opportunities provided by being European, which implies a human consciousness based on real knowledge free from false dogmas abused by emerging populisms that end up with simplification and consequent discrimination of certain categories of people-LGBTQIA+, Gypsies, . ...). Hoping that there are people more competent than me in the writing and concrete realization of these projects, I continue my personal education trying to transfer my knowledge to my daughters, in the hope that they will succeed in realizing their dreams better than their mother succeeded.

The drawing accompanying this story of the day is by Rosa Iannello,aka CinnaMom, whom I had the honor of having as illustrator of the first Cosmopolitan Family book. I hope one day not very far away to have the financial possibilities to continue on my own the project of this family passionate about stories, to be told and heard.

La Storia del giorno di oggi del libro che mia zia Maria Teresa mi regalo' per la Festa del Papa' 1990 e che mio padre mi lesse ogni volta che eravamo insieme mi ha fatto venire alla mente la storia multiculturale che scrissi durante l'esperienza europea in Romania. In questa storia io e le altre volontarie decidemmo che le protagoniste sarebbero state Marina, la sirena di Palermo della favola critta da Gianni Rodari, e Samodiva, protagonista di un mito bulgaro. Queste due figure femminili sono diverse: mentre la prima ama aiutare e allietare la giornata degli altri con il talento che ha avuto in dono alla nascita, una bella voce, Samodiva desidera piu' di ogni altra cosa sposare l'uomo che ama e aiutarlo e supportarlo per sempre, trovando il modo di stare al suo fianco anche durante l'ingiusta prigionia. Questa storia e' stata considerata da Simone Fissolo e Giada Martin come non meritevole di alcuna sponsorizzazione, da gettare nell' oblio e tarpare le ali di una giovane volontaria che ha sacrificato sette mesi della sua vita, in un periodo non facile della sua esistenza, perche' credeva fermamente che l' Europa potesse aiutarla a sfruttare l'esperienza da volontaria per aiutare altri giovani a conoscere le opportunit' fornite dall'essere europei, che implica una coscienza umana basata sula conoscenza reale scevra da falsi dogmi abusati dai populismi emergenti che finiscono con la semplificazione e la conseguente discriminazione di alcune categorie di persone -LGBTQIA+, Zingari, ....). Augurandomi che ci siano persone piu' competenti di me nella scrittura e realizzazione concreta di questi progetti, continuo la mia personale formazione cercando di trasferire le mie conoscenze alle mie figlie, nella speranza che riescano a realizzare i loro sogni meglio di quanto sia riuscita laloro madre.

Il disegno che accompagna questa storia del giorno e' stato realizzato da Rosa Iannello,in arte CinnaMom, che ho avuto l'onore di avere come illustratrice del primo libro della Famiglia Cosmopolita. Spero un giorno non molto lontano di avere le possibilita' finanziarie di continuare da sola il progetto di questa famiglia appassionata di storie, da raccontare e da ascoltare.

The princess on a pea

Once upon a time, there was a king who lived in a beautiful castle with his wife and son. One day he called the prince and said, "Son, after my death you will become king in my place. I am sure you will reign wisely, but I would be happy if, before you die, I knew you were married to a good princess." The young man then decided that he would follow his father's advice. The prince wanted to marry a princess, a real princess. Surely in some secluded corner of the world, he would find a princess who fulfilled his wishes! But the search for a real princess turned out to be more difficult than he had imagined. He therefore decided to return to the castle. One evening, as a frightening storm had broken out, there was a knock on the castle. The king himself went to open it and saw a young woman, wet as a chick, seeking asylum. The king immediately let her in and called the housekeeper to give her a hot bath. As the servants undressed her and then bathed her in a steaming tub, they said among themselves, "How pretty she is, what an aristocratic little face, she looks like a princess!" "Of course I am!" interjected the young woman. When the Prince saw her at dinner, he was fascinated; now he was looking at a beautiful girl with whom he was falling more and more in love. The disheveled and drenched girl from head to toe who had knocked at the door that afternoon had literally been transformed: her blond hair fell in soft ringlets over her shoulders, and her clothes, cleaned and pressed, shone with new light. Throughout the evening the prince stood by her side, hoping strongly that the girl would be a true princess. Now smitten, he turned to his mother to find a way to discover the true identity of the beautiful maiden. Mother smiled at him: he didn't have to worry. And in fact the Queen had already had, in the middle of the bed intended for the young girl, a pea, and had then had everything covered with a pile of very soft mattresses. The girl soon retired, for she was very tired. The next morning, coming down the stairs, she met the Queen who asked her how she had slept. "Very badly, unfortunately; there was something in the bed that caused me excruciating suffering and I could not close one eye!" The Queen smiled and embraced her: only a genuine Princess could have suffered from the little pea stuffed in her bed! With great jubilation the wedding between the Prince and the beautiful Princess was celebrated, while the famous pea was placed in a crystal shrine, on a beautiful red pillow, and can still be admired today at the Royal Treasury!