The Wedding Banquet
SOME TIME AGO, in a region of Italy known as the Abruzzi, a very handsome man named Enrico lived in a very handsome house with a very handsome black and white dog called Caesar. The three of them -- the house, the dog, and the man -- all fit together so perfectly that it was hard to imagine one without the others. The house looked like it belonged to the man and the man looked like he lived in the house, and of course the man and the dog looked like each other. Enrico was a tall and watchful man who seemed to be curious about everything. He had wavy black hair on the sides of his regal head, a straight nose, and sharp dark eyes that took in everything and sparkled when he was listening to someone speak. Like the man, the black and white dog called Caesar was lean and alert. The house was made of stone; it was very large and had many windows of different shapes and sizes; it stood on a hill overlooking the small town of Terrina and it was surrounded by a high stone wall that had taken many men many years to build. There was something castle-like about the house and something lordly about the man who lived in it. The man had traveled and studied all over the world and had collected many strange and wonderful things. The stone house was filled with treasures such as a tiger skin from India, a samurai warrior�s sword from Japan, and a shrunken head from the depths of Africa. There were large wooden chests brimming with glittering jewels and precious stones and old coins made from gold and silver. There were glass cabinets filled with crystal goblets and the thinnest bone china dishes, some so thin you could almost see through them. There were vases small enough to hold a single tear and scene-painted urns large enough for a man to hide in. There were drinking vessels made from huge shells and trimmed with gold that even the strongest man could not lift with one hand. From the land of the Egyptians, came delicate eating utensils carved from ivory. From the Netherlands, there were richly embroidered tapestries so huge they covered an entire wall and carpets as thick as summer grass from the land of the Persians. Every object the man had fallen in love with in his travels all over the world were with him now in his magnificent house. And that wasn�t all. The man also loved animals, and he had created a special park for the animals he had brought home with him. The park was not a zoo with cages but a lovely place where the animals could move freely, for the man did not believe in keeping a living thing in a cage. However, he trained the animals to obey him and behave with dignity for his guests -- this was the price they had to pay for their safe and comfortable lives. At least once a day, the man would exercise and play with his animals. With his lions, he would get down on all fours and roar and sometimes he would wrestle with them like a brother. Then he would climb a tree or play tag with his monkeys. The man had many things, but he was very unhappy. He had no friends. He had no children. He lived alone in his house on the hill with his animals and his many treasures, and he was very lonely. There was one thing the man didn�t have and wanted very much -- someone to love him. So one day the man decided to hold a banquet and he asked his business associates to invite all the eligible maidens and widows from the nearby cities who might be appropriate for the man to marry. The accounts of Enrico�s wealth were well known and exaggerated in the surrounding cities, as were the tales of his unusual behavior, but people were curious to see the stone house and its splendid treasures up close. The news of the banquet spread quickly and soon there was a long list of widows and maidens who wished to attend. Many of these women were considered to be the most eligible women in the entire region of Abruzzi. When at last the day arrived and Enrico beheld such a dazzling array of feminine beauty assembled in his house, he was very pleased. He was proud of his magnificent home and all the wonderful things it held and he rejoiced in the great wealth that could provide the kinds of delicacies that were spread out on the tables for the enjoyment of his guests. When the banquet had gone on for quite some time, and Enrico had had a chance to speak with all of the women who had caught his eye, he selected the three he found most interesting and invited each of them to take a walk with him, one at a time, to the park where his animals were kept. The first woman was tall, like him, and very graceful, with coral blue eyes and hair the color of fire. Strong-limbed and spirited, she too had the courage and agility to wrestle with lions. Enrico was very pleased to see that she knew how to enjoy his menagerie. As they were walking back to the house, he asked her, �What is it you love the most?� �I love the animals more than anything else,� she replied. The next woman was blonde-haired, slender, and as exquisitely made as one of his most precious objects. When she saw the lions she flinched with fear and her delicate limbs froze stiff with fright. Finally, after much coaxing, she was able to move and speak again and she begged Enrico to return her to the house. On the way he asked her the same question he had put to the first woman. �Why, I don�t know,� she faltered. �I guess I love the treasure chests filled with jewels.� Enrico only frowned. This was not the answer he had hoped for. The third woman was as unlike the others as she could be. She was small and pretty, with short glistening dark hair and eyes like drops of ink; her skin was smooth and her voice was like music. She was quick and alert, just like the man. Her whole body was brimming with vitality, and when she laughed her face came alive with joy. On the way to the park to see the animals, she tried to catch the butterflies and stopped to admire the flowers that grew along the path. The man watched her running about like a child and his heart filled with happiness. �What is it you love?� he asked her. �I love God,� she replied without pausing to think. �I love God for creating this wonderful world and all the creatures in it.� Enrico smiled. He knew that she was the woman he wanted to marry. She belonged in his house of many treasures because she could enjoy them as much as he did. And so he proposed to her immediately, before they had reached the park, beside a flowering narcissus bush. The young woman, whose name was Clarissa, looked sadly at the man. Then, smiling kindly, she said, �Oh no. I am sorry. I cannot be your wife. I came today to tell you what a bad man you are. Don�t you realize how selfishly you�ve lived your life so far? Think of all the poor people of Terrina, and of all the poor children of the town below who go hungry at night while you entertain with sumptuous feasts and live in splendor. Why, your animals eat better food and live more comfortably than the children of Terrina! I am sorry to have to speak this way. I can see you�re upset. But I came to your banquet not because I want to marry you but because I love you and want to help you. I want you to change your selfish ways before it is too late. I cannot be your wife. I cannot be any man�s wife . . .� And as she finished speaking, a pair of iridescent wings sprouted out from behind her and spread open, and she rose up in the air towards heaven. The man stood for a long time in amazement as he watched her ascending. Then he was suddenly overcome with a terrible sadness. He walked back alone to his house, passed by his staring guests without uttering a single word, and went into one of his private rooms accompanied only by his dog Caesar. The guests shrugged off his eccentric behavior and continued their banqueting without him until well past midnight, when the entire feast had been consumed. The next morning, the man looked even more handsome than ever. He rose early and called for his steward. The steward, a direct, practical man, sat in stony silence at the long table where Enrico had just finished his breakfast, listening in bewilderment as the man instructed him to sell all of his possessions and give the money to the poor people of the town below. The man was radiant with joy. His only regret was that he would have to dismiss his staff and thus take away their jobs. �Make sure you give them all a generous amount of money to hold them over until they can find other work.� �And what about me. Sir?� asked the steward in trepidation. �And give yourself something too,� Enrico replied. �Don�t look so glum, my friend. God will provide.� �And your animals?� �Set them free, of course. Or find good homes for them.� �If I may say so, Sir, I am rather shocked by all this.� �You may well be,� said the man. �But when you have talked with an angel of God you must do as she tells you. Ah, I can see by the look on your face that you haven�t a clue what I�m talking about. It doesn�t matter. Just please do as I�ve instructed you and all will be well.� �With all due respect, Sir, you are of an age when most men settle down to raise a family.� �That may be true, my friend, but I have never been like most men. Please inform my attorney and have him draw up the necessary documents.� The next morning, the very handsome man set off on another journey with nothing but a stick, a satchel, and his very handsome black and white dog named Caesar. He hopped and twirled and danced down the road. His face was alive with joy, and frolicking along beside him was a small woman with eyes like drops of ink and iridescent wings. -- Copyright 2001 by Anthony S. Maulucci
Copyright © 2001 Anthony S Maulucci |