011. The Two Hunchbacks (Los Dos Jorobados)
In a village there lived two hunchbacks whom everyone knew. One of them, [being] of a brave temperament, liked to go out in the summer nights to take in the fresh air at the threshing floors, because [there] he could be alone and safe from the occasional mockery, and [be able] to reflect on his personal matters. There, the man could lose himself in his thoughts without anyone bothering him.
He went to the threshing floors on one of those nights, as was his habit, and there he laid watching the time passing by. It struck ten at night, and [then] it struck eleven… and he was doing nothing, being so calm and at ease. And suddenly it occurred to him, seeing that it was approaching twelve [at night], which is the hour of the witches, that he might as well stay a little longer and see if it was true that they would gather at twelve to celebrate their ceremonies.
And between what is and is not, and between curiosity and fear, time went by and it struck twelve. And barely when this happened when he began to see strange things and hear even stranger music. The visions that he saw were of the witches who jumped, sang, danced, and contorted to the sound of music. And these witches, when they got tired from so much dancing, began to sing:
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, three;
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, three.
So over and over again. And the hunchback, seeing that they would never stop repeating, thought to himself: “Poor things! I’m going to complete the week for them”. And he sang, with the same sound as that of the witches:
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, six;
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, six.
And he was about to continue, singing: “and Sunday, with six, makes seven”, when he heard a witch said:
Aye, how nice! Finally we have finished the song!
and she began to look from one side to another, circling around the other witches, saying:
Who was it, who? Where is the one who completed the song?
And the hunchback said:
Here I am, seating on this rock.
So all the witches came to him and petted him and pampered him and finally they said to him:
Look how cute he is, the poor thing! Such a cute little hunchback! Tell us what you want for having [helped us] finished the song and whatever you want we will grant you.
Then the hunchback said:
What is it that I want most? Well, that you take away this hump that I have on me!
Ah, ah, yes! – said the witches -. Poor little hunchback, he has well deserved it.
And the witch who had spoken first ran her hand over the hump and the hunchback stood up straighter than a spindle. Then he gave them his thanks and they gave him theirs, and full of joy, he went home to sleep while the witches remained [behind] performing acrobatics and pirouettes in the air.
The hunchback was exhilarated and exhausted that he slept like a dormouse, but the next morning, when he got up and saw that he no longer had a hump, he was filled with joy and ran out into the street to show off his new form. Everyone was greatly amazed that the hump had disappeared and wanted to know how this was done; and the other hunchback in the village was the most interested to know how it had happened to him. He told everyone [the story], although many did not believe him. And the second hunchback thought:
Well, I am going to the threshing floors tonight, in case they have forgotten what you taught them. And if they have not forgotten, then I will sing to them: “And Sunday, with six, makes seven”; to see if they will also remove the hump [for me]. They will have to take it off as soon as they hear me!
[Note: Original Spanish text is “¡Pues no me la han de quitar en cuanto me oigan!”, which literally translates to “Well, they won’t take it off as soon as they hear me!”. This doesn’t sound right, so I changed it to the translated version above.]
And he gloated that, by the next morning, he too would be able to boast that he did not have a hump. And so he spent his time going about the village, telling this to various people; and some encouraged him on, while others laughed at him.
So the poor wretch went to the threshing floors at about mid-afternoon, because he could not resist the wait, and there he stayed [waited] without eating nor drinking in case the witches got ahead of him and he’d miss the opportunity.
In short, with so much anxiety, the quarter-, half-, and full hours passed by which seemed like an eternity, where sometimes he was in despair and sometimes he was in full confidence until, at last, he heard the clock struck twelve and in that moment the witches appeared. He could hardly believe what he was seeing, that these were the same sights that the other hunchback had related; and just as he had said, after the dances and acrobatics, the witches got together and began to sing:
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, three;
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, three;
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, six;
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, six.
The hunchback saw that they had learned well from what the other [hunchback] had taught them, and that they did not forget it, so he decided to finish the week and sang, with the same tune as that of the witches:
And Sunday, with six, makes seven.
The witches, who heard this song, were terribly infuriated and began to search everywhere, saying:
Who mocks us, who? Where is he who mocks us?
And the poor hunchback understood [thought] what they asked to be: “Who told us the last [day], who? Where is he who told us the last [day]?” and he called for them, saying:
I am sitting here on this rock. Remove my hump for me.
All the witches surrounded him, even more furious than before, and they began to shove and pinch him while saying to one another:
Look! He is a hunchback!
A hunchback! Who has come to laugh at us!
Away with the hunchback! See what we will do to him!
And they all said in chorus [unison]:
Well, let us give him another hump!
And they put another hump in the middle of his back, with which he now had two.
The poor hunchback went home crestfallen and thinking about what had happened to him; and he was so pensive and lost in thought that he could not sleep a wink all night, and the next morning he did not dare to go out in the street so that no one would see him with the two humps.
And his sadness increased so much that he stopped eating and sleeping. Until one fine day when they found him dead from grief in his room.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Acabar – to finish, to end
Acariciar – to pet, to caress, to stroke
Acaso – perhaps
Acercarse – to approach
Animar – to encourage; to liven up; to cheer on
Animoso – (lively) spirited, brave
Así una y otra vez – so over and over again
Atreverse – to dare
Aún más – even more
Burla – taunt, gibe; (leg-pulling) joke; trick
Burlar – (to dodge) to evade, (to deceive) to cheat; burlarse de – to mock, to tease; burlarse – to joke
Cabizbajo – downcast, crestfallen
Cansarse de – to get tired from
Canto – singing, song, hymn, chant
Casi – almost, nearly, hardly
Conceder – to give, to grant
Confiarse – to be too sure of oneself, to be overconfident; confiar – to confide, to entrust, to be confident
Coro – choir, chorus
Dejar de – to stop, to quit
De pena – (related to sorrow) of sorrow; terrible
Desasosiego – restlessness, unease, anxiety
Desesperar – to drive crazy, to exasperate, to make lose hope
Disponerse – to prepare, to get ready
Empellón – push, shove
Enfurecer – to infuriate; enfurecerse – to get furious, to fly into a rage
Ensimismado – engrossed, lost in thought, absorbed
Entender – to understand, to believe
Entretenerse – to amuse oneself
Era – threshing floor (grain); age, era
Espalda – back
Fresco – fresh air; fresh, cool
Gozo – joy, pleasure
Gracioso – funny, amusing; cute, attractive
Ha sido – has been
Huso – (sewing) spindle
Jueves – Thursday
Juntarse – to move closer together; to get together
Lirón – dormouse, sleepyhead
Lucir – (to give off light) to shine; to show; to look
Lunes – Monday
Martes – Tuesday
Merecerse – to deserve
Miércoles – Wednesday
Mimar – to pamper, to spoil
Ora – pray, prayer; now; sometimes; orar – to pray; to make a speech
Para sus adentros – inwardly, to himself, in his heart
Pegar ojo – to sleep
Pellizco – pinch
Pensativo – thoughful, pensive
Pirueta – pirouette (an act of spinning on one foot, typically with the raised foot touching the knee of the supporting leg)
Pobrecillo – poor thing
Ponerse a – to start, to begin
Presumir – to show off, to boast, to brag; to presume
Pues que – well, this
Quitar – to remove, to take away
Refocilar – to delight, to amuse hugely, to cheer up;
Refocilarse – to gloat over
Reírse – to laugh at; reírse de – to laugh at
Relatar – to relate, to tell about
Repeluco – ???
Reunir – to gather, to collect, to meet; reunirse – to meet
Rodear – to surround, to encircle
Sábado – Saturday
Salvar – (to rescue) to save, (to conquer) to overcome
Son – sound
Suceder – to happen, to follow
Tal como – (exactly as) just as, just like; (for example) such as
Tan a gusto – so comfortable
Temperamento – temperament, nature
Tipo – (physique) figure, build
Tristeza – sadness
Tumbar – (to topple) to knock down; tumbarse – (to recline) to lie down, to stretch out
Vaya – go; well (expressing surprise)
Verano – (season) summer
Viernes – Friday
Volatín – acrobatics