4 ELEMENTS

Project logo
Improve the foreign language learning and intercultural competences of adults through e-learning

The project

FOUR ELEMENTS is an initiative called to raise awareness and appreciation of the importance of culture and heritage as well as to train educators working with adult learners who want to improve their skills and competences necessary in today’s EU labour market.

The project will take advantage of the potential of the common European cultural values associated to the 4 elements earth, water, air and fire) to empower adults to improve their digital, foreign language and intercultural competences.

The partnership expects to develop and deliver innovative teaching materials presented in a culturally accessible E-book consisting of European legends and stories – giving visibility to the underlying common EU values and principles, especially adapted to learners with special needs.

To achieved such objectives, partners will develop:

An interactive map: a collection of legends and stories related to earth, water, air and fire, in different EU countries.

Digital Books with national legends and stories related to the four elements.

Methodological recommendations for adult educators.

To find more information, access the Four Elements platform here.

Digital books

The nations of Europe all have rich cultures of myth and folklore which give the different regions their particular individual flavour. Here we have grouped traditional stories from Belgium, Estonia, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia and Spain according to the four elements: earth, air, wind and fire.

They are specially adapted to adult learners and can be used to develop language or ICT skills among your students while enhancing intercultural understanding.

Alongside the stories, this digital book contains interactive exercises and is in Easy Read format. All the material in it can be downloaded and printed. Teachers and trainers will find tips and suggestions for how to use it on the Recommendations section of this site.

European partnership

Four Elements is an Erasmus+ KA204 project designed to highlight the importance of culture and heritage at European Union level. It aims to train educators working with adult learners to enable them to acquire the skills and competences, including linguistic and digital skills and competences, required in the European labour market.

The project is coordinated by : CVO EduKempen (Belgium). The partnership also includes DomSpain Consulting (Spain), The Central Library of Võru County (Estonia), Les Apprimeurs (France), Istituto dei Sordi di Torino (Italy), Slovenian Third Age University (Slovenia), MyArtist (Greece).

Erasmus+ project

Erasmus logo The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Piumadoro and Piombofino

FAIRY TALE

Main element: Air

Language of the original: Italian

Date of origin: Between 1909 and 1913

Author: Guido Gozzano was born in 1883 and died in 1914 in Turin, though most of his life he spent near this city in the mountains and on the coast. His health was fragile. He was active in cultural life of Turin, he became a poet and wrote many stories following the style of the Grimm Brothers and Andersen. The majority of his stories, including this one, was written between 1909 and 1913.
What’s particular in this fairy tale? The future queen saves the future king: she had to overcome many difficulties to live up their mission.

To find more information about the legend, access the Four Elements platform here.

Piumadoro was an orphan girl who lived with her grandfather in the woods. She was blonde, beautiful and nice. Everybody loved her.

One spring day, Piumadoro caught a butterfly which had landed on the clover nearby. The butterfly begged her to let it go, saying that it was going to give birth to its caterpillars in a faraway land. Piumadoro let it free. The happy butterfly told her that one day she might be rewarded for her good deed.

Another day Piumadoro took a dandelion and wanted to blow it in the wind, but the dandelion asked her to let it go, because it wanted to deposit its seeds in a faraway land. Piumadoro let it go, and the happy dandelion told her that it might return the favour.

Yet another day Piumadoro grabbed a beetle that was hiding behind some roses. The beetle begged her to let it go because it wanted to look for other roses in a faraway land. Piumadoro opened her hand and the happy beetle thanked her, saying that one day it might repay the favour.

At the age of fourteen, Piumadoro began losing weight. She was still very beautiful, but each day she grew thinner and lighter. At first, nobody was worried about her losing weight and she was happy climbing among the branches of the tall trees, singing: "There is no one I love as much as Piumadoro. Oh! Piumadoro, beautiful little girl, you'll be the queen!" Soon she was so light that her grandpa had to hook some stones on her skirt to stop her from blowing away, but even the stones weren't enough and Piumadoro had to be locked up in her home. Nevertheless, she kept singing "There is no one I love as much as Piumadoro. Oh! Piumadoro, beautiful little girl, you'll be the queen!"

One morning Piumadoro woke up lighter and less joyful than usual. She called her grandpa, but he didn’t reply. So, she approached his bed and saw that he was dead. Piumadoro cried for three days and three nights, then she decided to go out to search for help, but as soon as she opened the door the wind blew her up, so high, as she were a soap bubble. Piumadoro was dizzy and scared, she closed her eyes and she got entangled in her beautiful hair. Then she felt that someone was trying to encourage her and was promising her help: there were the butterfly, the dandelion and the beetle.

The wind brought Piumadoro, the butterfly, the dandelion and the beetle to a castle, which belonged to the Fairy of Adolescence. The fairy showed Piumadoro a mirror through which she could see a wonderful garden, where was a beautiful young boy dressed as a king, lying on a golden wagon drawn by five hundred pair of oxen. That boy was Piombofino, the king of the Islands Fortunate, and he was singing "There is no one I love as much as Piumadoro. Oh! Piumadoro, beautiful little girl, you’ll be the queen!" It was his voice that Piumadoro had heard singing in her ears!

The fairy explained that Piombofino was victim of a magic opposite to that affecting Piumadoro: every day Piombofino became more and more heavy. The spell would be broken if they kissed each other. To reach the Islands Fortunate, Piumadoro and her friends would have to pass three castles: each castle was inhabited by a malignant fairy who would try to trap her. The fairy gave three seeds and told her to drop one at each castle.

That evening they reached the first castle. Piumadoro felt attracted by the things she was seeing - the grandpa, her little house, the wood - but the beetle reminded her to drop the first seed. That was the castle of Falsehood and the seed she dropped was the grain of Prudence.

Two days later they reached to the second castle, a very ugly place, threatening, with dark and cadaverous people. Piumadoro dropped the second seed, that of Kindness: the whole castle was transformed and the people became kind and smiling.

The third castle appeared two days later: it was wonderful, with music, dances, tables set, carousels and theatre. Piumadoro was about to join in with the festivities, but again the beetle reminded her about the seed. When Piumadoro dropped it, all the beautiful things turned horrible: it was the castle of Desires and the seed was the grain of Wisdom.

Piumadoro kept going, transported by the wind and followed by the butterfly, the dandelion and the beetle. They called all their friends and soon Piumadoro was surrounded by a cortège!

For seven more days Piumadoro travelled and for seven days Piombofino waited for her while becoming heavier and heavier.

Finally Piumadoro arrived by Piombofino’s side! She was beautiful: all the butterflies, dandelions and beetles had prepared for her a precious dress.

Piumadoro kissed Piombofino and, as in a dream, the spell disappeared and everyone started celebrating.

Piumadoro e Piombofino

FIABA

Elemento: Aira

Lingua originale: Italiano

Data di origine: Tra il 1909 e il 1913

Autore: Guido Gozzano was born in 1883 and died in 1914 in Turin, though most of his life he spent near this city in the mountains and on the coast. His health was fragile. He was active in cultural life of Turin, he became a poet and wrote many stories following the style of the Grimm Brothers and Andersen. The majority of his stories, including this one, was written between 1909 and 1913.
What’s particular in this fairy tale? The future queen saves the future king: she had to overcome many difficulties to live up their mission.

Per avere ulteriori informazioni sulla leggenda, accedi alla piattaforma 4elements da qui.

Piumadoro era una bambina orfana che viveva con il nonno nel bosco. Era bionda, bella e buona, amata da tutti.

Un giorno di primavera Piumadoro prese nelle sue mani una farfalla che si era posata tra i garofani. La farfalla la pregò di lasciarla andare, le disse che stava andando a far nascere i suoi bruchi in una terra lontana. Piumadoro la lasciò libera e la farfalla contenta le disse che forse un giorno le avrebbe reso il favore.

Un altro giorno Piumadoro prese un soffione e voleva spargerlo nel vento, ma il soffione le chiese di lasciarlo andare, lui voleva depositare i suoi semi in una terra lontana. Piumadoro lo lasciò libero e il soffione felice le disse che forse un giorno le avrebbe reso il favore.

Un altro giorno ancora Piumadoro afferrò uno scarabeo che si nascondeva dentro una rosa. Lo scarabeo la pregò di liberarlo perché voleva cercare altre rose in una terra lontana. Piumadorò aprì le dita e lo scarabeo soddisfatto la ringraziò e le disse che forse un giorno le avrebbe reso il favore.

Verso i quattordici anni, Piumadoro iniziò a perdere peso. Era sempre bellissima, ma ogni giorno era sempre più leggera. All’inizio nessuno si preoccupò e lei si divertiva a salire tra i rami altissimi degli alberi e sempre cantava. “Non altre adoro che Piumadoro. Oh! Piumadoro, bella bambina, sarai Regina”. Diventò così leggera che il nonno dovette appenderle delle pietre alla gonna per non farla volare via, poi neppure le pietre furono più sufficienti e Piumadoro dovette essere rinchiusa in casa, ma sempre cantava “Non altre adoro che Piumadoro. Oh! Piumadoro, bella bambina, sarai Regina”.

Una mattina Piumadoro si svegliò più leggera e annoiata del solito. Chiamò il nonno, ma lui non rispose. Allora lei si avvicinò al letto e vide che il nonno era morto. Piumadoro pianse per tre giorni e tre notti, dopodiché si decise a uscire per cercare qualcuno, ma appena aprì la porta il vento se la portò via, in alto come una bolla di sapone. Piumadoro era ad un’altezza vertiginosa e, spaventata, chiuse gli occhi e si avvolse nei suoi bei capelli. Ad un certo punto sentì qualcuno che le infondeva coraggio e le prometteva aiuto: erano la farfalla, il soffione e lo scarabeo.

Il vento portò Piumadoro, la farfalla, il soffione e lo scarabeo in un castello, dalla Fata dell’Adolescenza. La Fata mostro a Piumadoro uno specchio attraverso cui si vedeva un giardino meraviglioso, al centro un giovane vestito come un re e bellissimo era sdraiato su un carro d’oro trainato a fatica da cinquecento coppie di buoi. Questo ragazzo era Piombofino, il re delle Isole Fortunate e cantava “Oh! Piumadoro, bella bambina, sarai Regina”. Era la sua voce che Piumadoro sentiva cantare nelle orecchie!

La Fata spiegò che Piombofino era vittima di una magia opposta a quella di Piumadoro: ogni giorno diventava sempre più pesante. Il maleficio si sarebbe rotto quando si fossero dati un bacio. Per arrivare alle Isole Fortunate, Piumadoro e i suoi amici sarebbero dovuti passare sopra tre castelli: ogni castello era abitato da una fata maligna che avrebbe cercato di attirarla, ma Piumadoro avrebbe lasciato cadere ogni volta un seme.

Così fu, verso sera incontrarono il primo castello, Piumadoro si sentì attirare dalle cose che vedeva, il nonno, la sua casetta, il bosco, ma lo scarabeo le ricordò di gettare il primo seme. Quello era il castello della Menzogna e il seme era il grano della Prudenza.

Dopo due giorni giunsero al secondo castello, un posto bruttissimo, minaccioso, con persone cupe e cadaveriche. Piumadoro fece cadere il secondo seme, quello della Bontà: tutto il castello si trasformò e le persone diventarono buone e sorridenti.

Il terzo castello apparve dopo altri due giorni: era meraviglioso, con la musica, i balli, le tavole apparecchiate, le giostre e il teatro. Piumadoro stava per scendere, ma di nuovo lo scarabeo le ricordò il seme. Appena gettato, tutto si trasformò in cose orribili: era il castello dei Desideri e il seme era il grano della Saggezza.

Piumadoro proseguì il viaggio trasportata dal vento e seguita dalla farfalla, il soffione e lo scarabeo. Presto essi chiamarono i loro amici e Piumadoro ebbe un corteo!

Per sette giorni ancora Piumadoro viaggiò e per sette giorni Piombofino la aspettò mentre diventava sempre più pesante.

Finalmente Piumadoro giunge da Piombofino! Era bellissima: le farfalle, i soffioni e gli scarabei le avevano preparato un abito prezioso.

Piumadoro baciò Piombofino e, come in un sogno, il maleficio svanì e tutti fecero festa.

Gozzano G. (1995), La danza degli gnomi e altre fiabe, La biblioteca ideale tascabile Junior, Milano.