Ἡ Περιστερὰ
Κρίστοφ φον Σμιτ, 1827
A robber band, a letter carried on a pigeon's wing, and a girl who won't let anyone harm a bird — an old story that still tightens like a cord. 29 words.
Κρίστοφ φον Σμιτ
Schmid wrote this story for children in 1826–27; it was translated across Europe within a decade. Its name survives in Greece thanks to Koromilas's 19th-century rendering.
Feels like tenderness, family and love.
A child holds a frightened bird and decides, out loud, what kind of person she is.
— Νὰ τὸ ψήσῃς! ἐφώναξεν ἡ Ἑλένη μετ’ ἐκπλήξεως ἅμα καὶ λύπης λαμβάνουσα τὴν περιστερὰν ὡς διὰ νὰ τὴν λυτρώσῃ ἀπὸ τὸν θάνατον, ἆ, ὄχι φιλτάτη μου μῆτερ, ἀστειεύεσαι. Τὸ πτωχὸν τοῦτο ζῶον κατέφυγεν εἰς ἐμὲ, πῶς ἠμπορῶ νὰ τὸ σκοτώσω; Παρατήρησε πῶς εἶναι ὡραῖον! εἶναι κάτασπρον ὡς τὸ χιόνι καὶ τὰ ποδάριά του εἶναι κόκκινα ὡς τὸ κοράλι. Ἆ! πῶς κτυπᾷ ἡ καρδιά του! Καϋμένο περιστεράκι! μὲ κυττάζει ἱκετευτικῶς καὶ τὸ ἀθωότατον βλέμμα του φαίνεται ὅτι θέλει νὰ μοῦ εἴπῃ: «Μὴ μοῦ κάμῃς κακόν.» Ὄχι, καλό μου πουλάκι, δὲν θὰ σοῦ κάμω κακὸν, δὲν κατέφυγες ματαίως εἰς ἐμέ· θέλω νὰ ἦσαι εὐχαριστημένο μαζύ μου. Books by Κρίστοφ φον Σμιτ
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