从前有一对母女，女儿又高又胖，吃得又多。妈妈端上的肉汁菜汤，她吃了一盘、两盘、三盘，还不停地要。而妈妈边为她盛，边说：“三！……四！……五！……”当女儿要第七盘汤的时候，妈妈没有盛，而是用棍子敲了一下女儿的头，大喊：“七！”
一个穿着体面的小伙子从这里路过，从窗外看见妈妈打着女儿喊：“七！”
看见这个高大丰满的姑娘挺漂亮，小伙子一下子就喜欢上了，他走进姑娘的家，问道：“七个什么？”
妈妈因为自己有这么个贪吃的女儿而羞愧，就说：“七个线槌啊！我的女儿是个工作狂，她甚至能到羊身上去纺毛线！这不，今天早上她已经纺了七槌线了，可是还没完没了地干！为了让她停手，我才打了她一下！”
小伙子说：“要是这样，您把她交给我吧，我试试她，看她是不是真的这么能干，如果是真的，我就娶她为妻。”
小伙子把她领回家，关进一间屋子，里面堆满了要纺的麻，他说：“我是一个船长，马上要出海。如果我出海回来你已经纺好这些线，我就娶你。”
房间里还有很多漂亮的衣服和珠宝，因为船长非常有钱。“如果你成为我的妻子，这些东西就是你的了。”说完，他就走了。
姑娘每天对着镜子试那些衣服和珠宝，让家里的仆人为她做吃的。而麻还在那里没有纺。剩下最后一天了，明天船长就回来了，姑娘想到永远不会成为船长的新娘了，就失望地哭了起来。正当她失望哭泣的时候，一个破布口袋从窗口飞落进房间。破布口袋站立起来，原来是一个长着长眉毛的老妇人。老妇人说：“你别怕，我是来帮你的。你把线分成缕，我来替你纺。”
从没见过比这老妇人更快的纺织女了，她只用了一刻钟，所有的麻都被纺好了。但是，越纺，她的眉毛长得越长，长过了鼻子，长过了下巴，最后长得超过了一掌长，而且她的眼皮也跟着变长了。
当活干完了，姑娘说：“好心的夫人，我怎么才能报答您呢？”
“我不想要报答，你跟船长结婚的时候，能邀请我参加结婚宴会，我就很满足了。”
“那我怎么邀请你呢？”
“你只要念：‘哥隆比娜！’我就会来。不过，我可提醒你，千万别忘记我的名字。如果忘了，我就不会再帮助你了。你也就完了。”
第二天船长回来了，看到所有的麻都纺好了，就说：“你真能干，我相信你就是我想娶的新娘。这是我为你买回来的珠宝和衣服。但我还必须再出去一次。我们来试第二次。这里的麻有上次的两倍，当我回来的时候，你能把它纺完，我就会跟你结婚。”
像上次一样，姑娘每天试着不同的珠宝和衣服，吃着汤和面包，这样打发着时间。又到了最后一天，一根线也没纺。她又哭了起来，这时她听到从烟囱上掉下来一个东西，一看是一个破布包滚到屋子里来了。破布包站了起来，原来是一个耷拉着嘴唇的老妇人。这个老妇人也愿意帮助她，开始帮她纺线，纺得比上次那个老妇人还快，但是越纺，她的嘴唇长得越长，她只用了半小时就把所有的麻纺完了。老妇人同样不要回报，只要求姑娘邀请她参加婚宴。“你只要念：‘哥隆巴拉’我就会出现。你千万别忘记我的名字。不然我给你的帮助就会失效，你小心记着！”
船长回来了，还没进门就问：“你全都纺完了吗？”
姑娘说：“咳，早就完了！”
“这是给你带回来的珠宝和衣服。这一次，如果我第三次出海回来的时候，你能纺完比上两次都多的麻，我向你保证马上举行婚礼。”
这一次也跟以前一样，姑娘一根线也没纺，当只剩最后一天的时候，从屋檐下掉下来一个破布包，一个露着牙齿的老妇人从破布包里面走了出来。她开始替姑娘纺线，她纺得很快，而且越纺越快，并且她的牙齿就长得越长。
老妇人说：“你想邀请我参加你的婚宴，就必须喊：‘哥隆布恩！’不过你要是忘了我的名字，你会后悔今天遇见了我。”
船长回来的时候，看到所有的麻又都纺好了，非常满意。他说：“好了，现在你就是我的妻子了。”他马上让人开始准备婚礼，并邀请当地所有的大人物。
新娘正在全身心地筹备婚礼，一直就没有想到那三个老妇人。婚礼那天的早晨，她想起应该邀请她们。但当她试图写出她们的名字的时候，才发现她把三人的名字忘得一干二净，她绞尽脑汁地回忆，但连一个名字也想不起来。
新娘从喜悦中一下子掉进了无底的悲哀中，船长也发现了新娘的情绪低落，就去问她，而她沉默不语。新郎找不到新娘情绪忧伤的起因，就想：也许今天不宜结婚。他吩咐把婚礼推迟到第二天。到了第二天，情况更糟。第三天的情况就更别提了。总之，日子一天天过去，新娘越来越忧伤、越来越沉默，她紧皱眉头，好像要集中注意力，思考什么。新郎想方设法让她高兴，用笑话逗她开心，给她讲故事，但是一点用也没有。
新郎看到自己无法宽慰新娘，便试图宽慰自己，一天早上，他出去打猎。在树林中，突然遇上了暴风雨，他急忙躲进了一间小茅屋。小茅屋里一片漆黑，他听到有人在说话：
“噢，哥隆比娜！”
“噢，哥隆巴拉！”
“噢，哥隆布恩！”
“把锅架上，熬玉米粥吧！这个该死的新娘不会邀请我们赴宴了。”
船长转过身，看见三个老妇人：一个眉毛拖到地上，另一个嘴唇耷拉到脚背，第三个牙齿可以蹭到膝盖。
新郎想：“看吧，我可找到逗新娘高兴的事了，如果我这次看到的事还不能逗她笑，那就不会再有别的事能逗她笑了！”
他回到家，对新娘说：“我告诉你，今天我在树林里，为了避雨我进了一间茅屋，你猜我看见了什么？三个老妇人！一个眉毛拖到地上，另一个嘴唇耷拉到脚背，第三个牙齿可以蹭到膝盖。她们互相叫着名字：‘噢，哥隆比娜！’‘噢，哥隆巴拉！’‘噢，哥隆布恩！’”
新娘脸上的愁容顿时消失了，笑个不停，说：“马上举行婚礼吧，不过我有个请求。既然是你看见的那三个老妇人让我开心，那就让她们也被请来参加婚宴吧。”
船长派人去了。他们为这三个老妇人专门安排了一张圆桌子，但在三个妇人长长的眉毛、嘴唇和牙齿之间，这张桌子就显得太小了，人们不理解她们是如何吃饭的。
婚宴结束以后，新郎问哥隆比娜：“好心的夫人，请告诉我，您怎么会有这么长的眉毛呢？”
“是因为纺线的时候要盯着细细的线看才会这样。”哥隆比娜说。
“那您呢，您的嘴唇怎么会这么长呢？”
“是因为捻线的时候要不停地在嘴唇上沾湿手指。”哥隆巴拉说。
“那您呢，您怎么会有这么长的牙齿呢？”
“因为老是要用牙齿咬线结。”哥隆布恩说。
“我懂了，”新郎说道，他转向妻子，“你去把那些线槌拿来。”新娘把线槌拿了出来交给新郎，新郎把它们扔进壁炉的火里，说：“你这一生中再也不要纺线了！”
从那以后，这位又高又胖的姑娘就这样幸福美满地生活着。
And Seven!
A woman had a daughter who was big and fat and so gluttonous that when her mother brought the soup to the table she would eat one bowl, then a second, then a third, and keep on calling for more. Her mother filled her bowl, saying, "That makes three! And four! And five!" When the daughter asked for a seventh bowl of soup, her mother, instead of filling the bowl, whacked her over the head, shouting, "And seven!"
A well-dressed young man was passing by just then and saw the mother through the window hitting the girl and crying, "And seven!"
As the big fat young lady captured his fancy immediately, he went in and asked, "Seven of what?"
Ashamed of her daughters gluttony, the mother replied, "Seven spindles of hemp! I have a daughter so crazy about work that shed even spin the wool on the sheeps back! Can you imagine that shes already spun seven spindles of hemp this morning and still wants to spin? To make her stop, I have to beat her."
"If shes that hard-working, give her to me," said the young man. "Ill try her out to see if youre telling the truth and then Ill marry her."
He took her to his house and shut her up in a room full of hemp waiting to be spun. "Im a sea captain, and Im leaving on a voyage," he said. "If youve spun all this hemp by the time I return, Ill marry you."
The room also contained exquisite clothes and jewels, for the captain happened to be very rich. "When you become my wife," he explained, "these things will all be yours." Then he left her.
The girl spent her days trying on dresses and jewels and admiring herself in the mirror. She also devoted much time to planning meals, which the household servants prepared for her. None of the hemp was spun yet, and in one more day the captain would be back. The girl gave up all hope of ever marrying him and burst into tears. She was still crying when through the window flew a bundle of rags and came to rest on its feet: it was an old woman with long eyelashes. "Dont be afraid," she told the girl. "Ive come to help you. Ill spin while you make the skein."
You never saw anyone spin with the speed of that old woman. In just a quarter of an hour she had spun every bit of hemp. And the more she spun, the longer her lashes became; longer than her nose, longer than her chin, they came down more than a foot; and her eyelids also grew much longer.
When the work was finished, the girl said, "How can I repay you, my good lady?"
"I dont want to be repaid. Just invite me to your wedding banquet when you marry the captain."
"How do I go about inviting you?"
"Just call Columbina and Ill come. But heaven help you if you forget my name. It would be as though Id never helped you, and youd be undone."
The next day the captain arrived and found the hemp all spun. "Excellent!" he said. "I believe youre just the bride I was seeking. Here are the clothes and jewels I bought for you. But now I have to go on another voyage. Lets have a second test. Heres twice the amount of hemp I gave you before. If you spin it all by the time I return, Ill marry you."
As she had done before, the girl spent her time trying on gowns and jewels, eating soup and lasagna, and got to the last day with all the hemp still waiting to be spun. She was weeping over it when, lo and behold, something dropped down the chimney, and into the room rolled a bundle of rags. It came to rest on its feet, and there stood an old woman with sagging lips. This one too promised to help, began spinning, and worked even faster than the other old woman. The more she spun, the more her lips sagged. When the hemp was all spun in a half-hour, the old woman asked only to be invited to the wedding banquet. "Just call Columbara. But dont forget my name, or my help will have been in vain and you will suffer."
The captain returned and asked before he even got into the house, "Did you spin it all?"
"I just now finished!"
"Take these clothes and jewels. Now, if I come back from my third voyage and find youve spun this third load of hemp, which is much bigger than the other two, I promise well get married at once."
As usual, the girl waited until the last day without touching the hemp. Down from the roofs gutter fell a bundle of rags, and out came an old woman with buckteeth. She began spinning, spinning even faster, and the more she spun, the longer grew her teeth.
"To invite me to your wedding banquet," said the old woman, "you must call Columbun. But if you forget my name, it would be better if youd never seen me."
When the captain came home and found the hemp all spun, he was completely satisfied. "Fine," he said, "now you will be my wife." He ordered preparations made for the wedding, to which he invited all the nobility in town.
Caught up in the preparations, the bride thought no more of the old women. On the morning of the wedding she remembered that she was supposed to invite them, but when she went to pronounce their names, she found they had slipped her mind. She cudgeled her brains but, for the life of her, couldnt recall a single name.
From the cheerful girl she was, she sank into a state of bottomless gloom. The captain noticed it and asked her what the matter was, but she would say nothing. Unable to account for her sadness, the bridegroom thought, This is perhaps not the right day. He therefore postponed the wedding until the day after. But the next day was still worse, and the day following we wont even mention. With every day that passed, the bride became gloomier and quieter, with her brows knit in concentration. He told her jokes and stories in an effort to make her laugh, but nothing he said or did affected her.
Since he couldnt cheer her up, he decided to go hunting and cheer himself up. Right in the heart of the woods he was caught in a storm and took refuge in a hovel. He was in there in the dark, when he heard voices:
"O Columbina!"
"O Columbara!"
"O Columbun!"
"Put on the pot to make polenta! That confounded bride wont be inviting us to her banquet after all!"
The captain wheeled around and saw three crones. One had eyelashes that dragged on the ground, another lips that hung down to her feet, and the third teeth that grazed her knees.
Well, well, he thought to himself. Now I can tell her something that will make her laugh. If she doesnt laugh over what Ive just seen, shell never laugh at anything!
He went home and said to his bride, "Just listen to this. Today I was in the woods and went into a hovel to get out of the rain. I go in and what should I see but three crones: one with eyelashes that dragged on the ground, another with lips that hung down to her feet, and the third with teeth that grazed her knees. And they called each other: O Columbina, O Columbara, O Columbun!"
The brides face brightened instantly, and she burst out laughing, and laughed and laughed. "Order the wedding banquet right away. But Im asking one favor of you: since those three crones made me laugh so hard, let me invite them to the banquet."
Invite them she did. For the three old women a separate round table was set up, but so small that what with the eyelashes of one, the lips of the other, and the teeth of the third, you no longer knew what was what.
When dinner was over, the bridegroom asked Columbina, "Tell me, good lady, why are your lashes so long?"
"Thats from straining my eyes to spin fine thread!" said Columbina.
"And you, why are your lips so thick?"
"That comes from always rubbing my finger on them to wet the thread!" said Columbara.
"And you, how on earth did your teeth get so long?"
"Thats from biting the knot of the thread!" said Columbun.
"I see," said the bridegroom, and he turned to his wife. "Go get the spindle." When she brought it to him, he threw it into the fire. "Youll spin no more for the rest of your life!"
So the big, fat bride lived happily ever after.
(Riviera ligure di ponente)
NOTES:
"And Seven!" (E sette!) from Andrews, 4, 23, 47. (The first two were collected in Menton, the third near Ventimiglia.)
Marriage anecdotes and fairy-tale initiation motifs (the secret name to remember) are blended in this old story widespread in Europe (of English, Swedish, or German origin, according to scholars), subjected to literary treatment in the seventeenth century in Naples (Basile, IV, 4) and well known throughout Italy.
Copyright: Italian Folktales Selected and Retold by Italo Calvino,
translated by George Martin,
Pantheon Books, New York 1980