A Story By Sharon Creech
My Summary
We are introduced to Pia and Enzio, two peasant orphan siblings who live in a village near Castle Corona. They grew up with Mater Pagiani, that always tortured them with rude words.
Now they work for him, collecting the fruits he is supposed to sell.
One day, the siblings were by the river collecting fruits, when they discovered a leather pouch with the king`s seal in it. Little did they know that the king's men were searching for it.
The king's men approached them, and they barely had time to hide the pouch. The royal men ask them if they had found something important, and after hearing a negative answer, they told them that if they found it, they should deliver it to Signora Ferrelli, a mysterious woman that keeps secrets. They said that they would do it and the king's men departed.
After that, they decided to keep the pouch just to find out what were the things inside it, and their meaning. They saw that inside the pouch there were some Cornos, objects like talismans that helped with protection.
Pia decided to visit Signora Ferrelli after a few days, and during her visit, she noticed that Signora already knew what was going on. Signora Ferrelli decided to give Pia two Cornos that looked exactly like the ones in the pouch and then she left.
We are also introduced to the royal family that lives in Castle Corona: King Guido, Queen Gabriella, and their three kids: Prince Gianni, the heir to the throne, Prince Vito, the spare prince, and finally Princess Fabrizia, an arrogant girl that had been pampered her whole life.
Each one of them has different desires, going from becoming a poet to fighting duels all day long.
In the Kingdom, there was a huge problem informed by the Minister of the Daily Schedule...there was a thief in the kingdom! The Queen and King were astonished by the news and in a rush of rage, the king decided to call all the ministers of inventory and told them to make a list of all the things missing to find out what the thief had stolen. Turns out that the Ministers said that many things were missing, even cows! And the king didn't know what to do...
He also decided to hire a Hermit, a wise old man that told him wise stuff, and his mission was to help the King find the ways to capture the thief. Every time the King visited his Hermit, he felt lightweight and calm. Gabriella, seeing this, got jealous and decided to hire a hermit herself, but before that, the royal family had to pay attention to some guests that came, the Count and the Countess. Unfortunately, during their visit, the thief got inside the castle, and they were all scared to death. The day after the tragedy, they were so traumatized that they thought that the food was poisoned, so they convinced the King to hire a taster. The king's Hermit told the king to hire 2 tasters.
That same night, Pia, Enzio, and Signora Ferrelli were captured by the king's men.
Second Part: Long ago and far away (Chapters 31-41)
Turns out that Signora Ferrelli was going to be the Queen`s Hermit, and Pia and Enzio were going to be the tasters. In the beginning, Pia and Enzio thought that the King found out that they had the pouch, but after receiving the notice that they were going to be the King`s tasters, they felt relieved. They only had to eat before the King did, and they were thrilled with their job. Giovanna, one of the cooks, always tasted the food while cooking, so they were out of danger. They got to wear new clothes, have beds and eat tasty food all the time.
They also took the opportunity to hide the pouch in one tree of the immense garden the castle had.
The royal family was feeling a little bit off with the new members of the castle, mainly Princess Fabrizia and Prince Vito. It was the first time they were so close to peasants, and
they were curious but also offended by their behavior since no one ever told Pia and Enzio how to behave around the royals. Little did they know that they would end up linking them.
Prince Gianni fell in love with Pia, Princess Fabrizia with Enzio, and Prince Vito wanted to duel with Enzio all the time. They became best friends.
The Queen was feeling excited about her Hermit. Signora always taught her wise things, like: "The one who faces the wind, which means struggles, learns to become stronger." Talking with her, the Queen always felt lightweight and happier.
Third part: A Story Was Told
In the castle, there was also a Wordsmith, a man that created magic with his words. He could transport you to several kingdoms and make you feel like the characters he created.
Every time the royal family was bored, they would call the Wordsmith, who would ask them what they wanted the story to be about, and then he would start creating new lives.
One time the royal family invited the Hermits and the siblings to hear a story with them. This time the story was different, because it included orphans, peasants, and mercy to the thief of the story. This story inspired everyone: the siblings felt like they could become Queen and King someday, prince Vito dreamed of saving the kingdom with Enzio, Prince Gianni dreamed of becoming a Poet, Princess Fabrizia dreamed of doing something to prove her bravery and value, but the most touched heart was the Queen's heart.
The Queen decided to go to the village with lots of food, and give it to the hungry villagers. She thought that it was going to be a calm reception and that everyone would be happy that they were there, but it wasn't the way she imagined. Everyone got scared, and they ended up trying to get as much food as possible from the cars the Queen brought. While the Queen was between that mess, she got a notice that her husband had been poisoned. She rushed to the castle to find out that he actually had a food coma because he had eaten lots of food with no control.
The Queen, after such stressful moments, decided to go to her Hermit and talk about all the things that happened. After talking to her, she remembered when she was a peasant and all the feelings she encountered when the royals visited the village without telling in advance.
She remembered the embarrassment, the rage, and the jealousy she felt towards the royals and this experience helped her to understand her people better.
That same night, the Queen made a special petition to the Wordsmith. That night, the Wordsmith told the love story of the Queen and King. He talked about their 3 children, and about a thief that came up with a plan to help reunion 2 orphans and their grandad.
Turns out that the King`s hermit was Pia`s and Enzio`s grandad, who came up with a plan to meet them again. Since the beginning, the Wordsmith was the thief, and he purposely let fall the pouch near Pia and Enzio. Finally, the Hermit told the King to hire 2 tasters, and the
Signora made sure that they were going to be Pia and Enzio.
By Manuela Orozco E., Step 11.
