Dilitufan

* Once upon a time there was an emperor, half snake, half man. This emperor had a daughter. She was locked in a room, so as not even the sun could touch her, until she was twenty-two. At that time, a Gypsy came to the pond to catch fish. He caught two fish, the kings of fish. The girl was looking out of the window, saw the fish and said to herself: "My father, who's an emperor, has never caught such beautiful fish." Then, to the Gypsy: "Hey there, Gypsy boy, let me see this fish, for my father, who's an emperor, has never caught such beautiful fish." The Gypsy: "The madam wants to take my fish, what if I secretly made her my wife?" The girl became pregnant. The emperor brought her food and then told his wife: "Empress, our girl has put on weight!" The woman went to see the girl. "Well, my girl, have you put on weight or are you pregnant?" "I don't know, mother!" The empress brought in the midwife. The latter saw the girl, examined her, and found her pregnant. Meanwhile, the emperor took the Gypsy to his court, to chop wood. "Well, my girl, did you take this Gypsy boy to be your man? Now I know what I have to do. I'll make a hogshead." The emperor put the girl and the Gypsy in the hogshead and set it down the river. The Gypsy let the two fish loose in the water. While the hogshead was floating on the water, the girl was eating. The Gypsy asked for some food. "Give me some food, too!" "I won't, because it's all your fault that I am here, in this hogshead." "Well, little fish, do you remember what favor I did to you?" The fish brought him food. They reached a forest. An old man came to take water from the river. He heard two people arguing. "My God, I have never seen in my life a hogshead on water!" "We're honest people," the girl shouted. "If you're old, be my father; if you're young, be my man. I am an emperor's daughter, do me a favor and get me out of here." The old man jumped into the river and took the hogshead out. "Now, tell me, whose girl are you?" "I am the daughter of the emperor who is half snake and half man." The old man got her out of the hogshead and took her home with him. (The Gypsy left through the woods, alone). There, the girl gave birth to a boy. The old man took the boy to the river and baptized him. He named him Dilitufan. Then, the old man came home. The boy grew up and became really robust. "Father, you should give me your broadsword, now." "Well, my son, you're thinking like a child, but I am old and know that in the forest there are twelve dragons and I'm afraid to go there. When they get you, they drink your blood." In the forest, there was a big tree whose age not even the old man knew. And…what did the boy think? "I will pull out this tree. Do you mind?" "I don't." Then, the boy pulled out the tree. He put his hand beneath it and held it like that, in one hand. "Dear me! My son is very vigorous. Put it back, in its place." The boy put the tree back and the old man gave him the broadsword. "Well, my son, this here is our forest. Don't go over there, for there are dragons."
The boy did not listen to him. He went to that part of the forest. The dragons were having lunch. The dogs barked. Their captain, the dragons' captain, said: "One of you, go out and see why the dogs are barking!" When the dragon got out, the boy cut his head. Their chief was waiting for him to come. He didn't. "Someone go out and see what happened to him!" The boy killed that one, too. Eventually, he killed all dragons. Only their captain was left. The former secreted himself in a hiding place. The boy came home. "Well, father, now we have all the forest to ourselves!" The old man gathered his people, brought them there, spread them throughout the entire forest, then he died. The boy and his mother were left. A week passed, two weeks passed and the dragon came to her. She started to shout: "Oh, dear, where did you bring me, my son?" "Don't shout woman, because I want to marry you!" She lived with him, two or three months, then the dragon said: "Let's kill the boy!" "But how shall we kill him?" "You'll pretend to be sick, and the boy will ask you: 'What's wrong with you, mother?'" "I feel sick, but I dreamt that I was eating pork liver, to get better." Then the dragon said: "There, deep in the woods, there are no domestic pigs, there are only wild ones. Who goes there cannot make it alive, those pigs will eat him, he doesn't come back alive." The boy went to the dragon's horse. "Well, my lad, I'm waiting for you to give me food and you come here crying. Why are you crying?" "My mother dreamt that she had to eat pork liver, to get better, for she is sick." "Give me something to eat, give me a bucket of water, then mount on me! If you can kill the pig, you come with me, if you can't, stay home, for your mother wants you dead." The lad: "Even if the pig ate my head, I would still go." He left. When he went there, a bulky pig appeared in front of him. The lad got scared. He got off, went to the horse and said: "Hey there, my horse, what shall I do? The pig is huge and I cannot lift him." "Here, take this glass of wine and this piece of bread, then go there, to the pig, throw him down to the ground and cut his throat." The lad went there at once: "Hey there, pig, come to me, your time has come!" The pig came to him and they started fighting. Then, the lad lifted him and threw him down to the ground. He cut him open. He took half of the pig, so that his mother could see it was a pig. He went home. "Come mother, you can eat!" The lad went about his business in the woods, and the dragon came home, to the lad's mother. "What did your son do?" "Look here, dragon, he brought half of a pig." "Take a rope, some tresses of hair, and wrap the pig." She made a roll and put it in the peg. "When your son comes, tell him that your father, when he was alive, would divide this roll, in three pieces." The lad came. "What's wrong, mother?" "I'm sick. Can you see this roll? My father, when he was alive, would divide it in three pieces." The lad took the roll and placed it on his hands. When he did this, she cut out his arms. "Hey dragon, come out, cut him to pieces, then give him to the dogs, to eat him!" "Dragon, I didn't kill you, why do you want to kill me?" "I won't kill you. Your mother will." What did she do? She took the knife, plucked out his eyes and then threw him on the street. I was there too, and I came here, to tell you all about it. Rromane Paramica / Povesti tiganesti (Gypsy Stories) by Petre COPOIUKriterion, Bucharest 1996
* a story collected from the Gypsy tinsmiths in Giurgiu. Name probably formed: deli (Turk.: member of light cavalry -> Rom.: insanely bold person) + tufan (Turk.: torrential rain; Rom.: a species of oak).


by Anonymous