Categories > Books > Classics > Tales from Near and Far
Bora Bardha
---
NOTE: This is my own take on the Snow White tale. This is more based off the Eastern European version rather than the Brother's Grimm version or the Italian version.
---
A long time ago, in Eastern Europe, a child was born. Her skin was as pale as snow, her hair as black as night and her lips are as red as blood. She was named Bora Bardha, meaning "as pale as snow". Her parents loved her so much. However, this made Bora Bardha's teacher very jealous. She wanted power to the throne. One tragic day, the wicked teacher poisoned Bora Barha's mother, killing her. She said it was a suicide. Almost everyone except the teacher mourned the queen's death, especially little Bora Bardha.
When the teacher became the queen, she would always pray to the sun and moon. They told her that she was the most prettiest woman in the land. She was indeed vain and very selfish. She has executed anyone who was against her. Bora Bardha started to think differently of her stepmother and tried to distance herself from her as much as she can.
However, a few years after, the queen prayed to the sun and moon. She was stunned to hear the news. They told her that Bora Bardha was more lovely than the queen. "Bora Bardha, come here....."
"What is it?" the young woman asked, knowing that this was not good news.
"You are hereby banished from my kingdom!" The queen shouted. "Guards, take her away! Kill her and remove her liver, lungs and eyes!"
"Oh no! How could you do this? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?" cried Bora Bardha. But the guards took her away from the kingdom and headed out into the dark forest. When the guards aimed their weapons at her, the girl started to burst into tears. "How could you? Haven't you killed enough people just to satisfy the queen?"
"What?" one guard thought.
"The queen is an evil person. I'm only sixteen years old. I'm too young to die. I still have a long life a head of me. Please don't kill me." With that heartbreaking statement, the guards threw their weapons onto the ground.
"Ah, it's true!" one guard cried out. "Why are we here to kill someone so young?"
The other guard had an idea. "Hey, why don't we kill an animal in her place?"
"But how?" the guard asked.
"Why don't we kill a boar in her place?" The other guard said. "I hope the queen won't notice."
Bora Bardha felt great relief. "Thank you for sparing me."
As the princess ran away, the guards started to think about her. 'There's no hope for that girl. The animals will get to her soon"
"Come on, let's deliver these entrails to the queen." As the guards delivered the eyes, lungs and liver to the queen, the wicked woman felt relief.
"Ah, so Bora Bardha is dead?"
"Yes your majesty." the guard replied.
"Good. Deliver these to the cook and I shall have my dinner." And so the cook baked up the entrails and the queen ate them, believing that these came from her stepdaughter.
Bora Bardha was now all alone in the forest. The sun was starting to set, soon leaving the girl in the dark. Her stomach started knotting up like a fist. She's never been outside the palace before.
"Hello...." Bora Bardha shouted. "......is anyone there?"
The fear inside her started to build up, and she started to dash through the woods. The thorn bushed looked dreary and twisted and the owls and nocturnal birds started to screech, driving the young woman mad. "STOP IT! STOP YOUR SCREECHING!"
She ran through thorns and sharp branches and she ran through rocky areas, the sharp rocks piecing her shoes. Then all of the sudden, a hungry bear spotted her and started to chase her. The bear caught up to her and started to scratch the poor girl. Bora Bardha thought she was going to die.
"Somebody, please SAVE ME!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. As the bear started to back off slightly, a large creature started to attack the bear. Bora Bardha was so wounded and so exhausted, that she started to faint, the world around her going black.
---
As Bora Bardha woke up, she found herself in a cave-like house. This place was tremendous, almost fit enough for a giant. As shegot up, she saw a group of dragons before her. She jumped in shock, but one dragon tried calming her down.
"Don't worry young lady, these is nothing to be afraid of." the dragon said to her.
"But you're all dragons!" Bora Bardha said nervously.
"We healed your wounds, gave you new clothes and saved your life." another dragon told her. "Besides, what is a girl like you doing wandering the forests at night?"
"Well....." Bora Bardha said."....my stepmother and former teacher banished me and wanted me dead. Why would she wish death upon innocent beings?"
"That's pretty unfortunate." The head dragon replied. "But there's nothing to worry about here. You are safe with us."
"You mean I can stay here for a while?" Bora Bardha asks.
The dragons nodded their heads. "Yes, you may make yourself at home here."
"Thank you." And with that, Bora Bardha kept the house in order and read up on various books the dragons kept in their home. As the dragons left their home one day, they gave her warnings about not letting anyone enter their home.
However, the queen believing that she ate Bora Bardha's eyes, liver and lungs, felt somewhat distracted. So she prays to the sun and moon, What she was about to hear will anger her,
"You maybe the loveliest one in the castle, but in the hills, where 40 dragons dwell, Bora Bardha lives there as well. She is the loveliest one of all......"
The queen was furious, for knowing that the sun and moon never lied to her. The guards have tricked her and Bora Bardha was still alive. So the queen had a wicked idea. She disguised herself as a peddler and put a curse on a pair of silk gloves. The queen then went to the hills were the dragons lived. She went to the entrance and shouted, "I'm selling lovely things for a fair price. They don't get cheaper than this!"
Bora Bardha looks outside. "Good afternoon, what do you have to sell today?"
"I'm selling a pair of fingerless gloves that are made purely from silk." And with that, Bora Bardha let the woman in and bought the gloves.
'I can always use a pair of these." Bora Bardha said cheerfully as she puts them on. All of the sudden, she felt light headed and passed out unconscious. She was not even breathing at all.
"Now I'm the most beautiful!" the queen cheered out as she left the place.
When the dragons came home, they were shocked to find Bora Bardha laying down as if she were dead. When one dragon took off her gloves, she slowly started to regain consciousness. "Wha.....What happened?"
"That peddler..." the dragon said. ".....She was your stepmother in disguise. Please take care and let no one in."
---
The wicked queen went back home and prayed to the sun and moon once more.
"Dear queen, Bora Bardha is still alive. The dragons destroyed the cursed gloves you made."
"Why.....I should put an end to this!" and with that, she created a poisoned comb and disguised herself as yet another old woman. She went back to the dragons' home once more. "Good things, good things sold at a reasonable price:
"Go away!" Bora Bardha shouted. "I'm not allowed to have any visitors coming over."
"Can you please at least take a look?" the old woman said as she held up the comb. And with thatm Bora Barha let the woman in and made a bargain with her. "Here, let me fix up your hair."
"Okay." the poor girl had no suspicion and let the woman fix her hair. As she ran the comb through her hair, the poison took its effect and Bora Bardha fell down in a death stance.
"You stupid girl." the evil woman laughed. "You are done for."
But fortunately, it was evening, and the dragons came back home from hunting their prey. When they saw Bora Bardha laying on the ground, they suspected the wicked queen came by again. One dragon pulled the comb out of her hair and she regained consciousness. The dragons told her about not letting anyone into their domain.
The queen prayed to the sun and moon once more and was sorely disappointed.
"Bora Bardha is alive and well. The dragons destroyed the comb."
When she heard the moon speak, the queen trembled in rage. "I'll kill that girl even if it costs me my own life!"
She went into her secret chamber and took out her wedding ring. It no longer fits her anymore, but it could fit Bora Bardha's pinky finger no problem. So she grabbed the ring and put a curse on it. The cursed ring was so powerful, for as anyone who wears it will be in a death throw. When the ring was ready, she disguised herself as yet another peddler and headed back to the dragons' home. "Hello? Is anyone home?"
Bora Bardha peeked out the entrance and said, "I'm sorry, but visitors are forbidden here."
"It's all the same for me. Can't you see how desperate I am?" the woman begged. Seeing that she was dirty and wore nothing by rags, Bora Bardha couldn't help but to feel sorry for her. "Please, I need money so I can feed my family."
"Well, okay." Bora Bardha sighed. The ring she saw was made of Lapis Lazuli, one of her favorite stones. How could she say no to that? But just as she puts on the ring, she fell down and was unconscious.
The queen looked at her stepdaughter and laughed. "Oh Bora Bardha, you make such a beautiful corpse. Lucky for me, the dragons won't spot something as tiny as this."
When she finally prayed to the sun and moon, she finally got to hear what she wanted for once.
"My dearest queen, you are the loveliest in the land."
Finally, the evil queen's heart was to rest, for that she felt jealousy no more.
---
When the dragons came home, the found Bora Bardha laying there as if she were dead. Unfortunately, they couldn't see the ring on her pinky finger, so they believed the girl was dead for sure. They didn't want to bury her nor cremate her, since she was too lovely to go to waste.
"What are we going to do with her?" one dragon asks in dismay.
"I have an idea." the lead dragon said. "Let's build a crystal coffin for her."
All the dragons agreed. So they flew around many different valleys and gathered as many crystals as they could and built from them, a coffin made entirely out of crystals, so they can lay the girl to rest. They all stood by her coffin and mourned her death. She lays there for many days and her body did not change. She still looked young and beautiful.
One day, a prince from another region came by. He saw a group of dragons guarding a beautiful crystal coffin. He was a little intimidated with their appearances, but he knew he couldn't take them down with two small daggers. So he tried to stay as calm as he could with them. "What are you guarding?"
As the prince looked inside the coffin, he saw Bora Bardha's body laying within it. "I'll give you some diamonds and rubies in return for having the maiden."
"But she's more precious to us than diamonds or rubies." The head dragon told him.
"Well, I see a ring here that looks precious." the prince replied. As he took the ring off her finger, she started to open her eyes.
"Who......who are you?" Bora Bardha asks.
"I am prince Asllan." he told her. As Bora Bardha fully awakens, all the dragons started to rejoice.
"Thanks for reviving her." one dragon said. "We wouldn't know what to do without you."
As Bora Bardha got on Asllan's horse, he shouted, "Thank you. Some day, we will meet each other again."
And so, Bora Bardha and Asllan got married. There marriage was quite lively and festive.
Now the queen got on her nicest clothes and and prayed to the sun and the moon. What she was to hear outraged her, as well as confused her.
"You maybe lovely here, but there is a young queen in another land far lovelier than you."
Now the queen did not know what to do. So she came to the palace to see this new queen. And to her surprise, it was Bora Bardha herself.
"Well well, if it isn't my old stepmother." Bora Bardha chided. "This time, you are not to get away with your sins you have gotten away with."
"Now what do you mean by that?" the queen asked nervously.
"See this book the dragons gave me as a wedding gift?" Bora Bardha said. "Well, let me read it to you."
"No....not the book....NOT THE BOOK!" the queen protested, but it was too late. Bora Bardha started to read passages from it.
"May your teeth fall out, may sores appear, may worms come out and may your skin rot....."
Knowing how she was hurting, the wicked queen looked at herself in the mirror. She screamed in horror at what she saw. She was decomposing while she's alive, and it only got worse. The worms inside her started to move around her, inside and out and her skin was turning colours, from gray to green to violet. It was a nasty and painful site indeed.
"No.....my beautiful body...." the wicked queen moaned. And before she knew it, she started feeling her innards explode, sending her into a series of death throws. Now only hunks of rotten flesh and bodily fluids lay where the wicked queen was.
"And may your body BURN!"
And so, the rotten remains were cremated and reduced to nothing more than ash and dust. Now Bora Bardha felt safe once more, and had nothing more to worry about. Now she was safe and lived a long, happy life.
---
NOTE: This is my own take on the Snow White tale. This is more based off the Eastern European version rather than the Brother's Grimm version or the Italian version.
---
A long time ago, in Eastern Europe, a child was born. Her skin was as pale as snow, her hair as black as night and her lips are as red as blood. She was named Bora Bardha, meaning "as pale as snow". Her parents loved her so much. However, this made Bora Bardha's teacher very jealous. She wanted power to the throne. One tragic day, the wicked teacher poisoned Bora Barha's mother, killing her. She said it was a suicide. Almost everyone except the teacher mourned the queen's death, especially little Bora Bardha.
When the teacher became the queen, she would always pray to the sun and moon. They told her that she was the most prettiest woman in the land. She was indeed vain and very selfish. She has executed anyone who was against her. Bora Bardha started to think differently of her stepmother and tried to distance herself from her as much as she can.
However, a few years after, the queen prayed to the sun and moon. She was stunned to hear the news. They told her that Bora Bardha was more lovely than the queen. "Bora Bardha, come here....."
"What is it?" the young woman asked, knowing that this was not good news.
"You are hereby banished from my kingdom!" The queen shouted. "Guards, take her away! Kill her and remove her liver, lungs and eyes!"
"Oh no! How could you do this? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?" cried Bora Bardha. But the guards took her away from the kingdom and headed out into the dark forest. When the guards aimed their weapons at her, the girl started to burst into tears. "How could you? Haven't you killed enough people just to satisfy the queen?"
"What?" one guard thought.
"The queen is an evil person. I'm only sixteen years old. I'm too young to die. I still have a long life a head of me. Please don't kill me." With that heartbreaking statement, the guards threw their weapons onto the ground.
"Ah, it's true!" one guard cried out. "Why are we here to kill someone so young?"
The other guard had an idea. "Hey, why don't we kill an animal in her place?"
"But how?" the guard asked.
"Why don't we kill a boar in her place?" The other guard said. "I hope the queen won't notice."
Bora Bardha felt great relief. "Thank you for sparing me."
As the princess ran away, the guards started to think about her. 'There's no hope for that girl. The animals will get to her soon"
"Come on, let's deliver these entrails to the queen." As the guards delivered the eyes, lungs and liver to the queen, the wicked woman felt relief.
"Ah, so Bora Bardha is dead?"
"Yes your majesty." the guard replied.
"Good. Deliver these to the cook and I shall have my dinner." And so the cook baked up the entrails and the queen ate them, believing that these came from her stepdaughter.
Bora Bardha was now all alone in the forest. The sun was starting to set, soon leaving the girl in the dark. Her stomach started knotting up like a fist. She's never been outside the palace before.
"Hello...." Bora Bardha shouted. "......is anyone there?"
The fear inside her started to build up, and she started to dash through the woods. The thorn bushed looked dreary and twisted and the owls and nocturnal birds started to screech, driving the young woman mad. "STOP IT! STOP YOUR SCREECHING!"
She ran through thorns and sharp branches and she ran through rocky areas, the sharp rocks piecing her shoes. Then all of the sudden, a hungry bear spotted her and started to chase her. The bear caught up to her and started to scratch the poor girl. Bora Bardha thought she was going to die.
"Somebody, please SAVE ME!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. As the bear started to back off slightly, a large creature started to attack the bear. Bora Bardha was so wounded and so exhausted, that she started to faint, the world around her going black.
---
As Bora Bardha woke up, she found herself in a cave-like house. This place was tremendous, almost fit enough for a giant. As shegot up, she saw a group of dragons before her. She jumped in shock, but one dragon tried calming her down.
"Don't worry young lady, these is nothing to be afraid of." the dragon said to her.
"But you're all dragons!" Bora Bardha said nervously.
"We healed your wounds, gave you new clothes and saved your life." another dragon told her. "Besides, what is a girl like you doing wandering the forests at night?"
"Well....." Bora Bardha said."....my stepmother and former teacher banished me and wanted me dead. Why would she wish death upon innocent beings?"
"That's pretty unfortunate." The head dragon replied. "But there's nothing to worry about here. You are safe with us."
"You mean I can stay here for a while?" Bora Bardha asks.
The dragons nodded their heads. "Yes, you may make yourself at home here."
"Thank you." And with that, Bora Bardha kept the house in order and read up on various books the dragons kept in their home. As the dragons left their home one day, they gave her warnings about not letting anyone enter their home.
However, the queen believing that she ate Bora Bardha's eyes, liver and lungs, felt somewhat distracted. So she prays to the sun and moon, What she was about to hear will anger her,
"You maybe the loveliest one in the castle, but in the hills, where 40 dragons dwell, Bora Bardha lives there as well. She is the loveliest one of all......"
The queen was furious, for knowing that the sun and moon never lied to her. The guards have tricked her and Bora Bardha was still alive. So the queen had a wicked idea. She disguised herself as a peddler and put a curse on a pair of silk gloves. The queen then went to the hills were the dragons lived. She went to the entrance and shouted, "I'm selling lovely things for a fair price. They don't get cheaper than this!"
Bora Bardha looks outside. "Good afternoon, what do you have to sell today?"
"I'm selling a pair of fingerless gloves that are made purely from silk." And with that, Bora Bardha let the woman in and bought the gloves.
'I can always use a pair of these." Bora Bardha said cheerfully as she puts them on. All of the sudden, she felt light headed and passed out unconscious. She was not even breathing at all.
"Now I'm the most beautiful!" the queen cheered out as she left the place.
When the dragons came home, they were shocked to find Bora Bardha laying down as if she were dead. When one dragon took off her gloves, she slowly started to regain consciousness. "Wha.....What happened?"
"That peddler..." the dragon said. ".....She was your stepmother in disguise. Please take care and let no one in."
---
The wicked queen went back home and prayed to the sun and moon once more.
"Dear queen, Bora Bardha is still alive. The dragons destroyed the cursed gloves you made."
"Why.....I should put an end to this!" and with that, she created a poisoned comb and disguised herself as yet another old woman. She went back to the dragons' home once more. "Good things, good things sold at a reasonable price:
"Go away!" Bora Bardha shouted. "I'm not allowed to have any visitors coming over."
"Can you please at least take a look?" the old woman said as she held up the comb. And with thatm Bora Barha let the woman in and made a bargain with her. "Here, let me fix up your hair."
"Okay." the poor girl had no suspicion and let the woman fix her hair. As she ran the comb through her hair, the poison took its effect and Bora Bardha fell down in a death stance.
"You stupid girl." the evil woman laughed. "You are done for."
But fortunately, it was evening, and the dragons came back home from hunting their prey. When they saw Bora Bardha laying on the ground, they suspected the wicked queen came by again. One dragon pulled the comb out of her hair and she regained consciousness. The dragons told her about not letting anyone into their domain.
The queen prayed to the sun and moon once more and was sorely disappointed.
"Bora Bardha is alive and well. The dragons destroyed the comb."
When she heard the moon speak, the queen trembled in rage. "I'll kill that girl even if it costs me my own life!"
She went into her secret chamber and took out her wedding ring. It no longer fits her anymore, but it could fit Bora Bardha's pinky finger no problem. So she grabbed the ring and put a curse on it. The cursed ring was so powerful, for as anyone who wears it will be in a death throw. When the ring was ready, she disguised herself as yet another peddler and headed back to the dragons' home. "Hello? Is anyone home?"
Bora Bardha peeked out the entrance and said, "I'm sorry, but visitors are forbidden here."
"It's all the same for me. Can't you see how desperate I am?" the woman begged. Seeing that she was dirty and wore nothing by rags, Bora Bardha couldn't help but to feel sorry for her. "Please, I need money so I can feed my family."
"Well, okay." Bora Bardha sighed. The ring she saw was made of Lapis Lazuli, one of her favorite stones. How could she say no to that? But just as she puts on the ring, she fell down and was unconscious.
The queen looked at her stepdaughter and laughed. "Oh Bora Bardha, you make such a beautiful corpse. Lucky for me, the dragons won't spot something as tiny as this."
When she finally prayed to the sun and moon, she finally got to hear what she wanted for once.
"My dearest queen, you are the loveliest in the land."
Finally, the evil queen's heart was to rest, for that she felt jealousy no more.
---
When the dragons came home, the found Bora Bardha laying there as if she were dead. Unfortunately, they couldn't see the ring on her pinky finger, so they believed the girl was dead for sure. They didn't want to bury her nor cremate her, since she was too lovely to go to waste.
"What are we going to do with her?" one dragon asks in dismay.
"I have an idea." the lead dragon said. "Let's build a crystal coffin for her."
All the dragons agreed. So they flew around many different valleys and gathered as many crystals as they could and built from them, a coffin made entirely out of crystals, so they can lay the girl to rest. They all stood by her coffin and mourned her death. She lays there for many days and her body did not change. She still looked young and beautiful.
One day, a prince from another region came by. He saw a group of dragons guarding a beautiful crystal coffin. He was a little intimidated with their appearances, but he knew he couldn't take them down with two small daggers. So he tried to stay as calm as he could with them. "What are you guarding?"
As the prince looked inside the coffin, he saw Bora Bardha's body laying within it. "I'll give you some diamonds and rubies in return for having the maiden."
"But she's more precious to us than diamonds or rubies." The head dragon told him.
"Well, I see a ring here that looks precious." the prince replied. As he took the ring off her finger, she started to open her eyes.
"Who......who are you?" Bora Bardha asks.
"I am prince Asllan." he told her. As Bora Bardha fully awakens, all the dragons started to rejoice.
"Thanks for reviving her." one dragon said. "We wouldn't know what to do without you."
As Bora Bardha got on Asllan's horse, he shouted, "Thank you. Some day, we will meet each other again."
And so, Bora Bardha and Asllan got married. There marriage was quite lively and festive.
Now the queen got on her nicest clothes and and prayed to the sun and the moon. What she was to hear outraged her, as well as confused her.
"You maybe lovely here, but there is a young queen in another land far lovelier than you."
Now the queen did not know what to do. So she came to the palace to see this new queen. And to her surprise, it was Bora Bardha herself.
"Well well, if it isn't my old stepmother." Bora Bardha chided. "This time, you are not to get away with your sins you have gotten away with."
"Now what do you mean by that?" the queen asked nervously.
"See this book the dragons gave me as a wedding gift?" Bora Bardha said. "Well, let me read it to you."
"No....not the book....NOT THE BOOK!" the queen protested, but it was too late. Bora Bardha started to read passages from it.
"May your teeth fall out, may sores appear, may worms come out and may your skin rot....."
Knowing how she was hurting, the wicked queen looked at herself in the mirror. She screamed in horror at what she saw. She was decomposing while she's alive, and it only got worse. The worms inside her started to move around her, inside and out and her skin was turning colours, from gray to green to violet. It was a nasty and painful site indeed.
"No.....my beautiful body...." the wicked queen moaned. And before she knew it, she started feeling her innards explode, sending her into a series of death throws. Now only hunks of rotten flesh and bodily fluids lay where the wicked queen was.
"And may your body BURN!"
And so, the rotten remains were cremated and reduced to nothing more than ash and dust. Now Bora Bardha felt safe once more, and had nothing more to worry about. Now she was safe and lived a long, happy life.
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