The Three Oranges of Love

This is the story of the three love oranges.

Contents

Once upon a time there was a prince who never laughed. But one day a woman said:

I will make this prince laugh, laugh and cry.

And the woman put on rags sewn with string, spread her hair over her shoulders and, to the sound of a tambourine, went and danced before the prince who was leaning on the balcony of his palace.

She danced so much and so fiercely that suddenly the string holding her clothes broke and she found herself naked in the middle of the street. Seeing her, the prince burst out laughing.

The woman hadn't thought she might lose her costume. When she saw that the prince was laughing at her, she said to him:

Please God you never laugh again until you find the three love oranges.

From that moment, the prince felt very sad. One day he decided:

I want to have fun and laugh. I'll go get the three love oranges wherever they are.

And he went looking for them, walking from village to village. One morning he met the woman who had placed the curse on him, but he did not recognize her.

Where are you going ? she asked him.
I'm looking for the three love oranges.
They are very far from here; three dogs guard them deep in a cave. Go north and you will find it nestled in the hollow of a pile of rocks.

The prince bought three loaves and set off again. In the end, he came to the rocks that housed the cave. As he was about to enter, a growling dog appeared at the entrance. The prince threw him a loaf and continued on his way.

A few steps away, he saw, planted in front of him, another dog; he threw the second loaf at her and was able to move on.

Farther still stood the third dog. The prince regaled him too, with the third loaf, and continued his exploration. While the dogs were eating the loaves, he emerged into a room where there was a golden table set with three boxes. He grabs them and runs away. Each of them contained a love orange.

After walking for several hours, he sat down under an ash tree and said:

I will open a box.

He opened it, and the orange began to speak:

Some water ! some water ! otherwise I will die. Water, I'm dying!

But the prince had no water and the orange died.

He resumed his journey and arrived at an inn; he ordered something to eat there, a jar of wine and another of water.

He opened the second box, and the orange began to speak:

Some water ! some water ! otherwise I will die. Water, I'm dying!

But the prince instead of taking the jar of water took the one filled with wine, poured it into the box, and the orange died.

His path led him to a mountain where a river flowed; he stopped there and opened the third box. The orange began to speak:

Some water ! some water ! otherwise I will die. Water, I'm dying!
This time, said the prince, you won't be able to die for lack of water.

And he threw the box into the river.

Immediately, a cloud of foam formed on the water and a princess more beautiful than the sun came out.

The prince took her with him and married her in the first village they came across.

A year later, the birth of a son further increased their happiness.

But one day, the prince announced to his wife:

We have to go back to see my family; I have given no news to the king my father since I left the palace.

So they set off and at the entrance to the town where his father lived, the prince said to his princess:

Remain seated at the foot of this tree, near the fountain, while I go to announce our arrival to the king my father. I'll be back to pick you up very soon.

The princess sat down at the foot of the tree, her son sleeping in the crook of her arms.

Then passed the woman who had cast the curse on the prince. She approached the fountain to drink and saw in the water the reflection of a face of immeasurable beauty. She straightened up, stepping back and said:

I am very beautiful !

She approached the fountain little by little and the water still reflected the same face, more resplendent than ever. She stepped back again, repeating:

I am very beautiful !

It was then that, approaching the fountain for the third time, she saw that the face reflected by the water was in fact that of the princess. She asked him:

What are you doing here ?
I'm waiting for the prince, my husband.
What a beautiful child you have! Give it to me a while, I'll hold it while you rest.

Reluctantly, the princess handed her child to the woman. So she said to him:

What beautiful hair you have, princess! Surely finer than silk. But you're all messed up.

At the same time as she was pretending to arrange her chignon, she stuck a pin in her head, and the princess was transformed into a dove.

The woman, who was a witch, took on the appearance of the princess, put the child on her lap and sat at the foot of the tree waiting for the prince. On his return, he said to the one he believed to be his wife:

Looks like your face has changed.
It's because of the sun that browned my skin; it will disappear as soon as I am rested from the fatigues of the journey. Let's go.

They headed for the royal palace. Shortly after the king died, his son inherited the throne and so the witch became queen.

During this time, every morning, the dove came to fly in the king's orchard; she would sit on a tree, eat a fruit and say

Gardener to the King!
Mrs ?
What does the Moorish king and queen do?
They eat, drink and rest in the shade.
And the child? What is he doing ?
At times he sings, at times he cries.
Poor love of his mother, who wanders alone in the mountains!

One day the gardener repeated to the king the conversation he had every morning with the dove. The king then ordered him to catch the bird to give it to the child. As soon as it was in their possession, the queen wanted to kill the bird.

The child spent long hours playing with the dove. One day, he noticed that she constantly scratched her head with her paw. He found the pin that had been stuck in it. He tore it up, and immediately the dove was transformed into a queen.

The child burst into tears and the queen said to him:

Don't cry my son, because I am your mother.

She seized the child, covered him with kisses. At that moment, the king arrived and fell into the arms of the queen. She told him how she had been bewitched by the witch at the edge of the fountain.

The witch was burned in the public square, and the king and queen lived happily ever after.