Page 9 - Il Gatto Mammone

the harassments of those shrews, and instead of
becoming ugly after all their vexations, day after
day she became more and more beautiful.
One morning the mother said to her ugly
daughter, "I had a good idea: let us send Caterina
to the fairies to ask them for the sieve, so that
they will scratch her face and make her ugly; then
nobody will even look at her. The ugly sister
exclaimed: "Oh, yes, indeed!" and, gloating with
evil joy, she said: "The fairies are wicked, and
they would fix her good." The mother called
Caterina: "Come in, come in you coarse brat!
This morning we must make bread and we have
no sieve at home to sift the flour. Hurry up! Go
to the fairies in the forest and ask them to lend
you the sieve. Hurry up, you slacker!“
Hearing this order Caterina turned white from
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