El Rey de la Francia

From Morenika Izmirlia - Judeo-Spanish songs from Smyrna, 2020

This is one of the few hexasyllabic romances whose lines do not have 16 syllables (as is more common, divided into two hemistiches of 8) but 12 syllables (divided into two of 6). The theme is the daughter's dream (El sueño de la hija) and its explanation revealed by her mother. This romance originates from a Greek ballad, "To oneiron tes kores" (The Dream of the Girl) (Armistread and Silverman 1982b: 157-159). 

Text:
El rey de la Francia    tres hijas tenía,
la una labraba,     la otra cusía,
la más chica de ellas    bastidor hacía:
labrando y labrando,       sueño le vencía.
Su madre que la vía      aharvarla quería.
- No m’aharves, madre,       ni m’aharvarías,
sueño me soñana,       bien y alegría:
-El sueño vo lo soñabas,   yo vo lo soltaría.
- M’aparí a la puerta,      vide la luna entera,
m’aparí a la ventana,      vide la estrella Diana.
m’aparí al pozo,     vide un pilar de oro
con tres pajaricos    picando el oro.
-La luna entera     es la tu esfuegra,
la strella Diana,    es la tu cuñada,
los tres pajaricos,    son tus cuñadicos,
el pilar d’oro,    el hijo’l rey, tu novio.

Translation:
The king of France had three daughters,
one worked, the other sewed,
the youngest of them did embroidery:
working and working, sleep overcame her.
Her mother, who saw her, wanted to beat her.
- Do not beat me, mother, you would not beat me,
I dream sweet dreams, full of joy:
- You dream those dreams, I will interpret them.
- I looked out the door, I saw the full moon,
I looked out the window, I saw the star Diana.
I looked at the well, I saw a golden pillar
with three little birds pecking at the gold.
- The full moon is your mother-in-law,
the star Diana is your sister-in-law,
the three little birds are your brothers-in-law,
the golden pillar is the king's son, your groom.