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Near the city of Shkodra there is a castle named Rozafa's castle. There is a legend about its creation. Both the castle and the legend are pre-Christian. It goes like this:
The castle was built by 3 brothers. But the walls they built during the day fell during the night. One day, as they were sitting desperate about the walls that wouldn't stand, an old man passes by. After greeting, the old man asked why they were upset and the brothers told the thing about castle's walls.
The old man said he new the solution but it would be a painful one and the brother wouldn't want to apply it. The brothers said they had to build the castle at any cost and begged the old man to tell the solution.
- Very well - said the old man - The castle needs a sacrifice. The wife that will bring the food next day should be buried in the walls of the castle.
Brothers promised to not tell their wives and let the chance decide who's wife would be, but the older brothers explained the situation their wives that night at home.
The next day the mother asked one by one the wives of older brothers to send the food but they found some justification to not go. Then she asked the wife of the youngest brother, Rozafa.
She said - I'll go, but I have a little son in breast that I need to feed.
The sisters in law volunteered to feed him.
The brothers were anxiously waiting who'd bring the food. It was Rozafa. Unlike other days the brothers weren't touching the food. They were staying silent and upset. She asked - why you my husband and my brothers are upset and don't eat the food? - The brothers told the thing with castle's walls and what the old man had proposed as solution.
Rozafa basically said - If my life needs to end for castle's life to begin, then so be it. But I have a little son in breast, so leave me outside one breast to feed him, leave me outside one hand to caress him and leave me outside one leg to rock his cradle when he cries.
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It is a legend about keeping the word. What you notice in this legend (as in all Albanian legends) is that there is no punishing God for not doing so. Nothing bad happens to older brothers and their wives. There is nor rewarding God either. Nothing earns the young brother, he just looses his wife.
These details are very important to understand the moral of the story.
Can you tell why the legend was created this way?
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