The Mother of the Waters: A Mãe d'Água

A Mãe d'Água

The Mother of the Waters

Foi uma vez havia uma princesa, que era filha de uma fada e do rei da Lua.

Once upon a time, there was a princess who was the daughter of a fairy and the King of the Moon.

A fada ordenou que a princesa fosse a rainha de todas as águas da terra, e governasse todos os mares e rios.

The fairy decreed that the princess should be the queen of all the waters of the earth, and rule over all the seas and rivers.

A Mãe d'Água, assim se ficou chamando a princesa, era muito bonita, e muitos príncipes se apaixonaram por ela.

The princess came to be called the Mother of the Waters. She was very beautiful, and many princes fell in love with her.

Mas foi o filho do Sol que veio a se casar com ela, ao depois de ter vencido todos os seus rivais em combate.

But it was the son of the Sun who eventually married her, after defeating all his rivals in combat.

Quando se deu o casamento houve muitas festas e danças e banquetes, que duraram sete dias e sete noites.

When the wedding took place, there were many celebrations, dances, and banquets, which lasted seven days and seven nights.

As festas foram na casa do rei da Lua; acabadas elas os noivos partiram para a casa do Sol.

The celebrations were held at the house of the King of the Moon; when they were over, the newlyweds departed for the house of the Sun.

Aí a princesa Mãe d'Água disse ao seu marido que desejava passar com ele todo o ano, exceto três meses que havia de passar com sua mãe.

There the princess, the Mother of the Waters, told her husband that she wished to spend the whole year with him, except for three months, which she would spend with her mother.

O príncipe consentiu, porque fazia em tudo a vontade de sua mulher.

The prince agreed, for he always did his wife's bidding in everything.

Todos os anos a Mãe d'Água ia passar com sua mãe debaixo do mar num rico palácio de ouro e de brilhantes os três meses do contrato.

Every year, the Mother of the Waters would spend the three months stipulated in their agreement with her mother beneath the sea, in a magnificent palace of gold and diamonds.

No cabo de muito tempo a nova rainha deu à luz um príncipe.

After a long time, the new queen gave birth to a prince.

Quando a princesa teve de ir de novo visitar a fada, sua mãe quis levar o principezinho, mas o rei não consentiu; e tanto rogou e pediu, que a rainha partiu sozinha, recomendando ao marido que tivesse muito cuidado no filho.

When the princess had to visit the fairy, her mother, once again, she wanted to take the little prince with her, but the king would not allow it. She pleaded and begged so much that the queen eventually departed alone, instructing her husband to take great care of their son.

Chegando no palácio da fada, a princesa a não encontrou porque ela estava mudada em flor.

When the princess arrived at the fairy's palace, she could not find her, because the fairy had been transformed into a flower.

A moça desesperada começou a correr mundo, procurando a sua mãe.

Desperate, the young woman began wandering the world in search of her mother.

Então ela perguntou aos peixes dos rios, às areias do mar, às conchas das praias por sua mãe, e ninguém lhe respondia.

She asked the fish in the rivers, the sands of the sea, and the shells on the beaches about her mother, but no one answered her.

Tanto sofreu e se lastimou que afinal o rei das Fadas teve pena dela e perdoou à sua mãe, que se desencantou.

She suffered and lamented so much that at last the King of the Fairies took pity on her and forgave her mother, who was thereby released from the enchantment.

Ambas, mãe e filha, se largaram a toda a pressa para a casa do rei filho do Sol.

Mother and daughter set off at once, in great haste, for the home of the king, the son of the Sun.

Mas tinha-se já passado tanto tempo que o rei, vendo que sua esposa não vinha mais, ficou muito desesperado.

But so much time had already passed that the king, seeing that his wife was no longer coming back, became utterly distraught.

Correu então o boato que a rainha tinha-se apaixonado por um príncipe estrangeiro e tinha por isso deixado de voltar.

A rumor then spread that the queen had fallen in love with a foreign prince and had therefore decided not to return.

O rei, visto isto, se casou com outra princesa, que começou logo a maltratar muito o principezinho, botando-o na cozinha.

The king, believing this, married another princess, who immediately began treating the little prince very cruelly, making him work in the kitchen.

Quando a rainha ia chegando a primeira pessoa que viu foi seu filho todo maltratado e sujo, e logo o conheceu e soube de tudo.

As the queen approached, the first person she saw was her son, looking battered and filthy. She recognized him at once and learned everything that had happened.

Ela fugiu então com ele para o fundo das águas, e por sua ordem elas começaram a subir, até cobrirem o palácio, o rei, a rainha e todos os embusteiros da corte.

She then fled with him to the depths of the waters, and at her command the waters began to rise until they covered the palace, the king, the queen, and all the deceivers of the court.

Nunca mais ninguém a viu, porque quem a vê fica logo encantado e cai n'água e se afoga.

No one ever saw her again, because anyone who catches sight of her is immediately enchanted, falls into the water, and drowns.