THE SHIP WALKING ON LAND
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An hour later, his companion woke him up.
“Enough sleep, young man. Look."
The ship, the Ship walking on land was there, painted in all colors, with silver masts, gold ropes, and red silk sails.
“Young man, order. The ship, the Ship walking on earth will obey you."
What was said was done.
“Ship, move forward."
The ship, the Ship walking on land moved forward.
“Ship, move back."
The ship, the Ship walking on land, moved backward.
“Ship, turn."
The ship, the Ship walking on land turned.
“Young man, listen. I am the Good Lord. You gave me charity. I give you this ship, this Ship walking on earth. Get in and go. Above all, don’t forget to take everyone you meet with you."
The young man saluted the Good Lord and boarded the ship, which departed as quickly as the wind.
After a hundred leagues, he saw a man gnawing on a vine.
“Ship, stop."
The ship, the Ship walking on land stopped.
“My friend, what are you doing here?"
"Young man, you see it. This year, wine is expensive. I am poor. For lack of anything better, I am gnawing on this vine. It reminds me of the taste of wine."
"My friend, come with me."
The man obeyed and boarded the ship, which departed as quickly as the wind.
A hundred leagues later, they both saw a man gnawing on a snow-white cow bone.
“Ship, stop."
The ship, the Ship walking on land stopped.
“My friend, what are you doing here?"
"Young man, you see it. This year meat is expensive. I am poor. For lack of anything better, I gnaw this cow bone. It reminds me of the taste of meat."
"My friend, come with me."
The man obeyed and got into the ship which left as quickly as the wind.
After a hundred leagues, all three saw a woodcutter carrying half of the cut of a forest on his back.
“Ship, stop."
The ship, the Ship walking on land stopped.
“My friend, what are you doing here?"
"Young man, you see it. My stepmother always shouts to me: “You never bring me enough wood." So, I loaded half of the cut of a forest on my back."
—"My friend, come with us."
The woodcutter obeyed and boarded the ship, which sailed away as quickly as the wind.
A hundred leagues further on, all four saw a man holding a bellows the size of a church, and blowing firmly towards the clouds.
“Ship, stop."
The ship, the Ship walking on land stopped.
“My friend, what are you doing here?"
"Young man, you see it. I blow, to chase away the bad weather and the hail, which would carry away our harvests."
"My friend, come with me."
The man obeyed and boarded the ship, which departed as quickly as the wind.
A hundred leagues further, all five landed at the king's castle.
“Hello, King. Here is the ship, the Ship walking on land. And now I need your daughter in marriage, with seven hundred farms as a dowry."
Source: Le Navire Marchant sur Terre, from the French book Contes populaires de la Gascogne, tome 2, published in 1886
Hello, my name is Vincent Celier.
I am writing translations of folk tales that I found in public domain French books, so that people who do not understand French may enjoy them too.
The poor man was not a fairy, but the God Lord himself. So, no wonder he could make miracles and provide the boy with the Ship walking on Land.
On his journey to the King's castle with the Ship walking on Land, the boy collects four men with curious abilities. They must be there for a purpose, but which one?
Yesterday, we did not do anything special.
So, what am I doing during the day? I have been fully retired for more than five years, so I don't need to work.
Yes, I create these daily posts, but I do not spend more than an hour per day on them.
For the last several years, I have been volunteering as a proofreader and validator on Wikisource, The Free Library, La bibliothèque libre, La biblioteca libre, Die freie Quellensammlung, La biblioteca libera.
Wikipedia: Wikisource is an online digital library of free-content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation.
[The Wikimedia Foundation is the organization that publishes Wikipedia and other free resources.]
All the documents that are in Wikisource are out of Copyright (that is what "free-content" means).
I have mostly worked on French books, but I have also corrected or validated English books.
The French book from which the Folk Tales from Gascony comes is the book that I am currently working on.
I can spend 3 to 4 hours every day to work on Wikisource.
-- Vincent Celier