Pesarol

Pesarol

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In the Italian folklore, there are many elfs that cause sleep disorders: in Puglia you can find Gaguro, in Tuscany Fragòa,  in Trieste Cinciùt. You can hear of Ciappin in Lombardia, Manteillon in Val d’Aosta and Pesarol in Veneto…

Once, in the Veneto mountains, the shepherds used to sleep in very uncomfortable beds, in little huts, covered by furs. Often enough, in the middle of the night, a little being entered these huts, climbed the bed and sat on the stomach of the poor shepherd, making it difficult for him to sleep afterwards. That’s Pesarol, a little elf that wears a red cap and personifies nightmares. If Pesarol sits on you when you are sleeping, you feel like being oppressed by something very heavy and have the impression of falling down in the void. That’s why you are so anxious when you wake up.

One night a shepherd decided to stay awake and wait for Pesarol to come, in order to catch him. It was very quiet and dark, the wind was lightly blowing and the sheep were already sleeping. The man was sleepy and felt very alone, in the middle of the beautiful valley where the moon was reflected in the lakes and the stars were shining in the sky. He was about to close his eyes, when he heard a noise next to the bed and was able to see something with a tiny red cap that was climbing the bedsheets. He didn’t move though, as he wanted to wait for the little being to be close enough to him. Pesarol, thinking that he was sleeping, sat on his stomach as usual, but the shepherd slapped him with strength, so he violently fell down. The man jumped down and started looking for him, but Pesarol had somehow already disappeared.

Tags: elf; sleep; mountain; shepherd. 

Question: Before the arrival of Pesarol, how does the shepherd feel?

  1. Anxious
  2. Awake
  3. Sleepy 

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