The most beautiful in the barrel
If I had wings, I’d fly away
And I’d go to my godmother’s
The most beautiful, the most beautiful.
Once upon a time there was a lady who had two daughters: Térébentine
and Cécène. Cécène had a habit of playing in the ashes and that’s why
she was called Cécène. She was the one who made the food, washed
the dishes and did all the gardening. The more she worked, the more
beautiful she became. However, her mother didn’t love her and told
everyone that a she-devil appeared when Cécène was born. E krik! E
krak!
When Cécène was baptized, a beautiful lady arrived at the party. The
lady asked for some water so that she could wash her feet. She was
brought a large clay bowl. The lady put her feet in the bowl and she
broke it!
After having washed her feet and taken off all of her golden jewelry, she
began to dance. She danced until dawn. Before leaving, she warmed
herself by the fire and started to leave. When she was very close to
Cécène’s godmother’s wooden house, she lifted her skirt up. It was at
that very moment that they realized that the lady was actually a shedevil: she had a horse’s hoof instead of a left foot. She left a hoof print in
the bowl. E krik! E krak!
One day, Cécène went to the countryside to cut sugar cane.
She sang in the sun. To give herself some courage, she sang:
If I had wings, I’d go away from here,
But I don’t have wings,
I can’t leave to go to my godmother’s.
Cécène was loading her donkey when a man riding a horse came by.
The man got off his horse and moved towards Cécène. The man had
beautiful eyes and beautiful hair and watched Cécène for a long time. He
picked a banch of Hibiscus flowers fastened to his saddle and gave them
to Cécène.
Then he asked:
“Most beautiful girl, what’s your name?”
My name’s Cécène.
And where do you live?
Sir, I live at the crossroads, where there is an enormous paradise
flower.
- I will come tomorrow to visit your mother.”
-
Cécène thought she was dreaming, but no, she had the hibiscus flowers
in her hand.
If I had wings, I’d fly away
And I would go to my godmother’s
When Cécène arrived at her mother’s house, she told her that a
gentleman would visit her the next day. Cécène’s mother dresse her in
dirty rags and hid her under a barrel. She gave Térébentine her most
beautiful clothes, all of her jewelry and bought her some new shoes.
When the gentleman arrived, he found the mother and Térébentine sat
on the door step of the small wooden house.
The gentleman greeted them and asked to see Cécène. The mother
replied:
- “Cécène, Cécène has left for her godmother’s.
- Oh really? I told Cécène that I was going to come this morning and
she has gone to her godmother’s?
- Cécène? Cécène has gone, sir, she is a bad girl, a savage, a
tramp! Luckily, I still have Térébentine.”
Térébentine took the gentleman’s hand and gave him a tour of the room.
The man was very angry and only thought about Cécène’s eyes.
Térébentine talked to him, but he wasn’t listening. Suddenly, he saw a
parrot perched on a devil tree. The parrot flew and followed them from
branch to branch and he sang:
The most beautiful, the most beautiful, the most beautiful in the barrel.
The most beautiful, the most beautiful, the most beautiful in the barrel.
The man asked:
- “What’s that parrot saying?
- Oh, nonsense, nothing but nonsense. Go away Polly!”
Then Térébentine threw a rock at the parrot. However, the man saw the
barrel, lifted it up and found Cécéne. They hugged each other.
The most beautiful, the most beautiful, the most beautiful in the barrel.
The most beautiful, the most beautiful, the most beautiful in the barrel.
The gentleman put Cécène on his horse and they went away together.
The parrot followed them singing:
The most beautiful, the most beautiful, the most beautiful in the barrel.
The most beautiful, the most beautiful, the most beautiful in the barrel.
A mother must never prefer one child over another.
And it is said that: “you can’t wash away your destiny.”