| Chapter 4: | Sicilian Folklore and American Comics |
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L’Amata
O Figghia, chi sai bedda, chi sai brauna!Sa reina fecc taua nun mura mei;
Cam l’auliva nun mura la frauna,
Tu manch tramuri si bidozzi chi hiei
U mar d’agn aura batt dauna;
Chiù chiempi o crosci, chiù bedda ti fei.
O quant è la taua grazia ch’ abauna!
Cau chi pussier a tu, ni muoir mei 15
The Loved One
O daughter, you are beautiful with your golden hair!That unique face never changes;
Like the olive doesn’t change the branch,
Your beauty does not change.
The sea every hour creates waves;
The more you live and grow,
The more beautiful you become.
O how abundant is your grace!
Who possesses you does not die.
Grandpa told me Sicilian fables with important moral lessons. Here is a fable he told me one day as we were riding the subway on our way to Coney Island. He told me the fable in the dialect spoken by the San Fratellesi. I have translated it here into English: