Story 16, isn't time flying...just like Phileaus on his hot air balloon!

Phileaus has been posting stories for 16 days now and how the time is flying! The completion challenge of posting 80 before the Fairlop Fair is looming ever nearer. 

SO, Phileaus has been in Brindisi for a few days now and he has been having a brilliant time. On his travels, he heard about many other cities and towns in Italy.  Can you name some other cities in Italy? What is the capital of Italy? Post your answers and stories below.

While Phileaus was in Brindisi, he heard a religious tale about a young Saint in Venice. Now, Venice is a long way from Brindisi but we all know stories travel and Venice is such a famous city, due to it being situated on the water.  The story varies from source to source but it was heard by Phileaus whilst in Brindisi and his version is below:

Story Number 16

The Little Countess

There is a religious tale in Italy, that once upon a time there lived a Little Countess, who was loved by all who knew her. She was beautiful, the most beautiful girl in the town but not because of her looks but because of her kind, generous heart.  All the townspeople who greeted her treated her with respect and she reciprocated of course, she was friendly and loved by all.

Her mother and father could not have wished for a better daughter, they had only have one child but they were the happiest parents in the World.  Every Sunday, her mother took her to the Church which was across the water. She enjoyed the services and the faith that she learnt at Church and as she grew older, she began to attend the Church more and more frequently until eventually she attended every day.

Now, as the Church was across the water, the boats-men knew the girl so well.  They began to think of her as a Saint, due to her kind heart and dedication.  Every morning, they would rush to greet her, hoping that she would choose them to ride across the water with. The girl's father started to notice that she was being seen as a Saint.  Although he was happy for her, he wanted her to marry a rich Lord and feared that the people would think of her only as a Saint rather than a loving wife.  He approached his daughter and told her that she must no longer attend the Church.  He then went down to the boats-men and gave them money telling them that under no circumstances must they let his daughter ride on the boat.

The next morning, when the girl walked down to the river, the boats-men all refused to let her aboard their boats. She approached boat after boat but unlike ever before, no one would let her pass.  

Suddenly, the girl threw her cardigan into the river and to the boats-men's alarm, it started to float.  Without a care in the World, the girl stepped onto the cardigan and it began to float her across the river towards the Church.  The people started to cheer and gaze in awe, no one could believe that this little girl had managed to pass, it was as though she had been helped by God.

From that day forward, the people of Venice have referred to this girl as The Little Countess.  This girl was seen as a Saint and is now spoken to by parents in Venice to protect their children from the perils of Water, just as this little girl had been helped on that very day.  

So if you ever go to Venice, you too might be told the story of The Little Countess.