Little Joys
Fairy tales in Romanian.
A Solitary Life
Little joys. Once upon a time, in a small village in France, there lived a woman, Miss Aurelie. She lived alone on her farm and was quite content. You see, she was the practical type of person who didn't care for elegance and such things.
— Aurelie, lift your dress, it's getting in your way! — But, miss, it's so pretty, I just had to show it off. — Oh!
Yes, Miss Aurelie only wore tall boots and a long coat, and a hat to protect her from the sun. The miss also didn't believe in love. She had never thought of marriage. And at 20, she refused a proposal that she didn't regret even now, at 50 years old.
— You truly are alone in the world. — Not exactly. The birds, a few cows, and a couple of mules keep me company. — Oh, hush! You're a naughty girl!
An Unexpected Visit
One day, the miss found herself in a very strange situation. Her neighbor, a young woman named Odile, came to her, surrounded by her four little children.
— Dear miss, I must go to my mother. She is very ill, and I cannot take the children with me, and my husband is not in town either. Could you look after them for about two weeks? — Absolutely not! Why would I want children in my house? — Oh, Miss Aurelie, please! Please, take care of them until I return! If I had a choice, I wouldn't bother you. Please, please, please!
Poor Odile pleaded until she drove Aurelie mad, who, in a hurry, decided to take care of the children.
— Oh, fine! — Miss Aurelie, thank you so much!
And she left in a cart pulled by a mule. The miss looked at the children and wondered:
— Hmm, how difficult can children be? And anyway, it's only for a few days.
The Challenges of Raising Children
But here the miss was mistaken. She thought that if she fed the children well, they would go to sleep, and that would be that. But it wasn't so.
— Miss, miss, I want strawberry jam! — Well, I don't have any. Eat what's there. Stop the nonsense and eat! — I don't want to! — Uh-uh-uh, miss, you should know that if Elodie doesn't eat jam, she won't sleep! — And if she doesn't sleep, she'll start crying! — Crying? For some jam? — Waaah! — Oh, oh, dear!
Miss Aurelie found it very difficult to take care of the children. After all, how was she to know that Marcelet always cried when someone spoke to him loudly and in an imposing tone.
— Uh-uh-uh! — Oh, dear!
The next day, it seemed Miss Aurelie was enjoying Tinon's passion for flowers, until he plucked her most beautiful lilies and carnations from the garden and destroyed it.
— Yes, he's the naughtiest one! — Oh, oh, dear!
The poor miss felt helpless and complained to Ruby.
— Listen, Ruby, this job doesn't suit me! — Oh, miss, don't be so harsh! You know, you have to know some things when you raise and care for children. One of them is to love them as if they were your own.
The miss flinched when she heard that. Love? She hadn't loved anything in her life. Perhaps only the farm where she lived. But that was all.
Unexpected Little Joys
For days she thought in amazement about Ruby's words, when, suddenly, Elodie came to her.
— Miss, miss, this is for you! — What? For me? What, what am I supposed to do with it? — Ha-ha! You put it on your head! — Hmm. And now? — Wow! Miss Aurelie is very beautiful!
The miss flinched when she heard what little Elodie said. She began to feel something warm tickle her heart.
— Hmm. This is something new!
Thus, the days passed, and the miss began to learn that it wasn't so difficult to raise children. Eventually, she learned their habits and tricks.
— Miss, I don't think I can eat the vegetables. I'm, I'm full. — Oh, well, I guess you won't be able to eat the giant chocolate cake I made for you either, will you? — What? Ha-ha! Ho-ho-ho!
Things changed completely in the house. The miss wore snow-white aprons in the kitchen, something she had never done before.
— Good, little Elodie. Now your dirty little hands won't get my dress dirty anymore. — Ha-ha!
But that evening, the miss surprised herself.
— Good night, miss! — Good night, dear!
Looking at the sleeping children, she passed by Elodie's bed.
— Elodie, dear, are you asleep?
Elodie responded with a soft breath. Suddenly, Miss Aurelie was so overcome with feelings that she kissed Elodie on the head and quickly left the room.
A New Perspective
The next day, the children all came to the table yawning. Only Elodie seemed happier than ever.
— Oh, Elodie, did you sleep well? — Very well! And before I fell asleep, the miss came and kissed me! — What? But I thought you were asleep! — Oh, my, my! Miss, did you really give her a kiss? — Thank you, miss!
Everyone was pleasantly surprised. But the miss was too embarrassed to say anything. However, although she seemed serious, she was very happy. And so, after two weeks, Miss Aurelie had begun to like the children and no longer complained.
One afternoon she was outside, looking into the distance. When suddenly she saw a cart pulled by a mule.
— Hmm, who could that be? Looks familiar. Oh, my, it's Odile! — Yoo-hoo! Miss, I'm back! Where are my naughty children? — Oh, where could they be? Tinon is in the pantry, Marcelet and Marlin are in the stable, and Elodie, where is Elodie? Oh! Hmm? — You're here!
Aurelie called the children, and they came and happily hugged their mother. They said goodbye to the miss and left for their home.
— Ah! Has it always been this quiet in the house?
The miss looked through the empty house. She had gotten used to hearing children stomping, hearing laughter and squabbles, and now, with only silence, she was very surprised.
— How strange it is! I'm going to make myself some tea.
She went into the kitchen, confused. She put the pot on the fire, trembling, and suddenly, she began to cry. And how she cried! She cried in sobs, with all her heart.
— Miss, what happened? — The children are gone! — Oh, miss, do you miss them already? Well, rest assured, the children surely had a very good time here.
Ruby comforted the miss, then gave her a cup of tea that made her feel much better.
— I know you miss the children, but Tinon was very naughty too. — Ha-ha! But he has a good heart, Ruby. I saw that when he went to take care of the chicks. — Hmm? And the twins are very sweet. I still have a poem they wrote. — Well, I won't ask about Micaelu. Did he steal your heart? — Ah, that's right. You know, Ruby, love means more than I thought. Those children were little joys.
The Moral
And it wasn't just the old miss. The children loved her too much to leave her, so they came to her almost daily. In turn, she also went to Odile and realized over time that, although they were different, they had many common interests.
— I think I never gave love a chance, but it's wonderful to love.
And so, Aurelie lived a happy life, for she had changed and was no longer the cold person she had been before. She learned that only by accepting love and the little joys of life can you truly be happy.
