[pnpgm] Repost of the Naming/Blessing

[Robert Maxwell]

>>> Robert Maxwell 1/31/2007 4:18 PM >>>


In Village:

This speech will be in Vassa, but afterwards, he will translate what he
said to the party.

" Cheron, you do us honor, and we gladly accept you hospitality." 
Strie'bog then turns to Khali and Josef, "the proud father who helped to
bring new life unto the world, and the child's aunt to stand for the
mother.  I will be honored to give the blessings of the Lord of Life." 
He reaches out, and gently takes the babe into his arms.  He then turns
to the gathered villagers.

"Once, in a village near the lands of the Zen'da, where nearly all the
inhabitants bred horses. It was in the early days of autumn when a big
livestock market was held yearly in the main town. Two brothers, one
rich and the other one poor, set off for market. The rich man rode a
stallion, and the poor brother a young mare.  At dusk, they stopped
beside an empty hut and tethered their horses outside, before going to
sleep themselves on two heaps of straw. Great was their surprise, when,
next morning they saw three horses outside, instead of two. Well, to be
exact the newcomer was not really a horse. It was a foal, to which the
mare had given birth during the night. Soon it had the strength to
struggle to its feet, and after a drink of its mother's milk, the foal
staggered its first few steps. The stallion greeted it with a cheerful
whinny, and when the two brothers set eyes on it for the first time, the
foal was standing beside the stallion.

"It belongs to me!" exclaimed Deinzer, the rich brother, the minute he
saw it. "It's my stallion's foal." Ion, the poor brother, began to
laugh.

"Whoever heard of a stallion having a foal? It was born to my mare!"

"No, that's not true! It was standing close to the stallion, so it's
the stallion's foal. And therefore it's mine!" The brothers started to
quarrel, then they decided to go to town and bring the matter before the
elders. Still arguing, they headed for the big square where stood the
elder of the village hearing similiar cases.

Of course, the elder knew perfectly well who was the owner of the foal.
He was on the point of proclaiming in favor of the poor brother, when
suddenly Ion developed an unfortunate twitch in his eye. The elder was
greatly annoyed by this, and decided to punish Ivan for his disrespect.
After listening to both sides of the story, he declared it was
difficult, indeed impossible, to say exactly who was the foal's rightful
owner. And being in the mood for a spot of fun, and since he loved
posing riddles and solving them as well, to the amusement of his
counselors, he exclaimed:

"I can't judge which of you should have the foal, so it will be awarded
to whichever of you solves the following four riddles: what is the
fastest thing in the world? What is the fattest? What's the softest and
what is the most precious? I command you to return to the palace in a
week's time with your answers!" Deinzer started to puzzle over the
answers as soon as he left the courtroom. When he reached home, however,
he realized he had nobody to help him.

"Well, I will just have to seek help, for if I can't solve these
riddles, I will lose the foal!" Then he remembered a woman, one of his
neighbors, to whom he had once lent a silver coin. That had been some
time ago, and with the interest, the neighbor now owed him three coins.
And since she had a reputation for being quick-witted, but also very
astute, he decided to ask her advice, in exchange for canceling part of
her debt. But the woman was not slow to show how clever she really was,
and promptly demanded that the whole debt be wiped out in exchange for
the answers.

"The fastest thing in the world is my husband's bay horse," she said.
"Nothing can beat it! The fattest is our pig! Such a huge beast has
never been seen! The softest is the quilt I made for the bed, using my
own goose's feathers. It's the envy of all my friends. The most precious
thing in the world is my three-month old nephew. There isn't a more
handsome child. I wouldn't exchange him for all the gold on earth, and
that makes him the most precious thing on earth!"

Deinzer was rather doubtful about the woman's answers being correct. On
the other hand, he had to take some kind of solution back to the elder.


In the meantime, Ion, who was a widower, had gone back to the humble
cottage where he lived with his small daughter. Only seven years old,
the little girl was often left alone, and as a result, was thoughtful
and very clever for her age. The poor man took the little girl into his
confidence, for like his brother, he knew he would never be able to find
the answers by himself. The child sat in silence for a moment, then
firmly said:

"Tell the elder that the fastest thing in the world is the cold north
wind in winter. The fattest is the soil in our fields whose crops give
life to men and animals alike, the softest thing is a child's caress and
the most precious is honesty."

The day came when the two brothers were to return before the elder, who
was curious to hear what they had to say.  He roared with laughter at
Deinzer's foolish answers. However, when it was Ion's turn to speak, a
frown spread over the elder's face. The poor brother's wise replies made
him squirm, especially the last one, about honesty, the most precious
thing of all. The elder knew perfectly well that he had been dishonest
in his dealings with the poor brother, for he had denied him justice. He
angrily demanded:

"Who gave you these answers?" Ion told the elder that it was his small
daughter. Still annoyed, the elder said:

"You shall be rewarded for having such a wise and clever daughter. You
shall be awarded the foal that your brother claimed, together with a two
horses of my own. But...but..." said the elder, "You will come before me
in seven days' time, bringing your daughter. And since she's so clever,
she must appear before me neither naked nor dressed, neither on foot nor
on horseback, neither bearing gifts nor empty-handed. And if she does
this, you will have your reward. If not, you'll have your head chopped
off for your impudence!"

The onlookers began to laugh, knowing that the poor man would never to
able to fulfill the elders's conditions. Ion went home in despair, his
eyes brimming with tears. But when he had told his daughter what had
happened, she calmly said:

"Tomorrow, go and catch a hare and a partridge. Both must be alive!
You'll have the foal and the hundred silver ducats! Leave it to me!" Ion
did as his daughter said. He had no idea what the two creatures were
for, but he trusted in his daughter's wisdom.

On the day of the audience with the elder, the village square was
thronged with bystanders, waiting for Ion and his small daughter to
arrive. At last, the little girl appeared, draped in a fishing net,
riding the hare and holding the partridge in her hand. She was neither
naked nor dressed, on foot or on horseback. Scowling, the elder told
her:

"I said neither bearing gifts nor empty-handed!" At these words, the
little girl held out the partridge. The Emperor stretched out his hand
to grasp it, but the bird fluttered into the air. The third condition
had been fulfilled. In spite of himself, the elder could not help
admiring the little girl who had so cleverly passed such a test, and in
a gentler voice, he said: 

"Is your father terribly poor, and does he desperately need the foal?"


"Oh, yes!" replied the little girl. "We live on the hares he catches in
the rivers and the fish he picks from the trees!"

"Aha!" cried the elder triumphantly. "So you're not as clever as you
seem to be! Whoever heard of hares in the river and fish in the trees!"
To which the little girl swiftly replied:

"And whoever heard of a stallion having a foal?" At that, both elder
and the villagers burst into peals of laughter. Ion was immediately
given the foal and two of the elder's horses, and the elder proclaimed:


"Only in this village could such a wise little girl be born!" 

After the story is over, Strie'bog lifts the baby up to the sky (I am
assuming that it is a girl child), and speaks in the Tounge of the
Woods, "Great Cernunnos, hear my plea that this little life be blessed
by your court with all the graces life can bestow".  (Cast bless at EL 3
just for good measure).

In Vassa, Strie'bog continues, "Greetings Sonya.  May your wisdom be as
radiant as your beauty."

He then hands the babe back to Khali and Josef.




Afterwards, Strie'bog turns to Xian.  "The Druids are the true priests
among the Vassa.  I am a bard, and as such support the work of the
Druids and act as a celebrant when needed."

Looking to Arawn, "the elder recognized you as Druid, but I have not
met you in these woods.  I take it you have travelled far from home.  As
you have heard, the Court of Life is honored here.  As Figol is twin to
Cernunnos, we know and honor those who walk the path of the sidh.  Let
us sit and talk Arawn, for I would like to know more about you."