Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. Laval
Part 1 – Magnificent Stories, Stories of Animals, Anecdotes (Cuentos maravillosos, Cuentos de animales, Anécdotas)
Note from the author: In this story that follows, which is Spanish [in origin], but which I have not seen in print, the development is almost the same as that in 004. The Little Hummingbird. I publish it here as a comparative note.
005. The Little Rooster (El Gallito – A short story)
(Dictated in 1911 by 55-year old Mr. Victoriano de Castrol, a Spaniard. He heard it told in Belver de los Montes, the Province of Zaragoza, where the story was very popular, when he was a child.)
[Nguyen: Google search shows Belver de los Montes is located in the province of Zamora, different that what the author indicated in his note above.]
Once upon a time in a certain village there was a Rooster who received an invitation from another Rooster, a cousin of his, to attend the latter’s wedding. The Rooster got up very early in the morning, groomed himself, dressed up properly, and set out on his journey, [where he had even] forgotten to have breakfast.
He ran into a cow dung on the way, which was full of undigested grains of wheat; and here came the troubles of my good Rooster, who began to say to himself:
What shall I do? Shall I peck or not peck? If I peck, I will stain my beak, and if I do not, I will starve.
So he was thinking about it for some time and looked at the grains of wheat, then his temptation took over and he ate until full.
He continued on his way and soon ran into a shrub of Mallow and said:
Mallow, clean my beak, for I am going to the wedding of my cousin Juan Periquito.
The Mallow said:
I don’t want to.
Further down the road he ran into a Sheep and said:
Sheep, eat the Mallow, for the Mallow did not want to wipe my beak, for I am going to the wedding of my cousin Juan Periquito [and need a clean beak].
The Sheep said:
I don’t want to.
He continued on his way and further down the road he ran into a Wolf and said:
Wolf, eat the Sheep, for the Sheep did not want to eat the Mallow, for the Mallow did not want to wipe my beak, for I am going to the wedding of my cousin Juan Periquito [and need a clean beak].
The Wolf said:
I don’t want to.
The Rooster continued on his way and further down the road he ran into a Dog and said:
Dog, kill the Wolf, for the Wolf did not want to eat the Sheep, for the Sheep did not want to eat the Mallow, for the Mallow did not want to wipe my beak, for I am going to the wedding of my cousin Juan Periquito [and need a clean beak].
The Dog said:
I don’t want to.
Shortly after, the Rooster ran into a Stick and said:
Stick, beat up the Dog, for the Dog did not want to kill the Wolf, for the Wolf did not want to eat the Sheep, for the Sheep did not want to eat the Mallow, for the Mallow did not want to wipe my beak, for I am going to the wedding of my cousin Juan Periquito [and need a clean beak].
The Stick said:
I don’t want to.
The Rooster went on for a bit longer and ran into a Fire and said:
Fire, burn the Stick, for the Stick did not want to beat up the Dog, for the Dog did not want to kill the Wolf, for the Wolf did not want to eat the Sheep, for the Sheep did not want to eat the Mallow, for the Mallow did not want to wipe my beak, for I am going to the wedding of my cousin Juan Periquito [and need a clean beak].
The Fire said:
I don’t want to.
Further down the road the Rooster ran into Water and said:
Water, extinguish the Fire, for the Fire did not want to burn the Stick, for the Stick did not want to beat up the Dog, for the Dog did not want to kill the Wolf, for the Wolf did not want to eat the Sheep, for the Sheep did not want to eat the Mallow, for the Mallow did not want to wipe my beak, for I am going to the wedding of my cousin Juan Periquito [and need a clean beak].
The Water said:
I don’t want to.
The Rooster continued on his way and further down the road he ran into a Donkey and said:
Donkey, drink the Water, for the Water did not want to extinguish the Fire, for the Fire did not want to burn the Stick, for the Stick did not want to beat up the Dog, for the Dog did not want to kill the Wolf, for the Wolf did not want to eat the Sheep, for the Sheep did not want to eat the Mallow, for the Mallow did not want to wipe my beak, for I am going to the wedding of my cousin Juan Periquito [and need a clean beak].
(Here the story is paused and the storyteller talks about anything else. Then suddenly he would ask -“Where did the Rooster get to? The Stick? The Fire?”; and when someone replied: -“The Donkey (e.g. ass)”, he would say: -“Lift his tail and kiss his a…”)
[Nguyen: I don’t think I fully understand this story. Maybe there’s another meaning to this last Spanish text in the story…. (Aquí se suspende el cuento y se habla de cualquiera otra cosa. De pronto se dice:—«¿Dónde llegaba? ¿al Palo? ¿al Fuego?»; y cuando contesta alguno:—«Al Burro», se le dice:—«Alzale la cola y bésale el c…»). Perhaps it makes more sense and is a lot funnier in Spanish.]
—– VOCABULARY —–
Acicalar – (to prettify) to dress up; (to make smarter) to get dressed up [[arreglar o aderezar a alguien, poniéndole productos cosméticos, peinándolo; limpiar, alisar, bruñir, principalmente las armas blancas; afinar, aguzar el espíritu o las potencias]]
Convenientemente – (to somebody’s convenience) conveniently; (as it should be) properly
Boñiga – (animal excrement) dung; cow pie (of a cow); cowpat (of a cow); cow chip (of a cow)
Digerir – (to assimilate food) to digest; (to comprehend) to assimilate, to absorb, to take in; (to cope with) to digest, to take in [[convertir en el aparato digestivo los alimentos en sustancias asimilables por el organismo; sufrir o llevar con paciencia una desgracia o una ofensa; meditar cuidadosamente algo, para entenderlo o ejecutarlo]]
Apuro – (difficulty) predicament, difficult situation, tight spot, fix; (dearth) hardship; (shame) embarrassment; (hurry) (Latin America) rush
Picar – (to be hurt by an animal) to sting, to bite, to peck at (birds); (to snack on) to eat, to nibble on; (to divide into pieces) to chop, to mince, to grind, to cut, to crush (ice)
Tentación – (impulse) temptation; (something tempting) temptation
Hartazgo – (annoyance) one’s fill; (surplus) surfeit, overeating
Mata – (shrubbery) bush, shrub; (vegetation) (Latin America) plant; (cluster of plants or trees) tuft, thicket, clump, grove; (spray) sprig; (sprout) shoot
Malva – (color) mauve; (botany) mallow
Apalear – (to hit) to beat, to thrash; (to move with a shovel) to winnow; (to remove dust from) to beat [[dar golpes con palo u otra cosa semejante; sacudir ropas, alfombras, etc. con un palo o una vara]]
Alzar – (to move to a higher position) to lift, to raise, to elevate (religious), to hoist; (to put up) to erect