026. Whiteflower (Blancaflor)
There was a married couple who wanted to have children, but the woman was unable to conceive. So many years went by until the husband, after coming back from hunting one day, said to his wife:
I would like to have a son even if the devil takes him away!
for that was how strong his desire [for a child] was.
And the devil, who was passing close by the house that day, heard him.
Still more years went by and, when they were getting desperate, they finally had a son. The child grew up beautiful and full of health that it seemed that God had wanted to compensate the parents for all those years of waiting; and soon he was as good a [horse] rider and hunter as his father [was].
However, it turned out that when he was young he became interested in card games, but instead of being the best and the strongest as he was in everything else, he always lost at cards. One day the devil appeared before him and asked him if he wanted a deck [of cards] with which he’d never lose again. The young man accepted [the offer] and since then he [indeed] never lost again. Until one day when the devil again appeared before him and suggested that they play a game. The young man agreed and took out his deck, but the devil, who knew it well, managed to beat him over and over again. At last, the young man lost everything that he had, with the devil then suggested to him to bet his soul, to which he accepted. The devil then beat him again and the young man lost his soul.
Then the devil said to him:
If you want to get your soul back, I will wait for you at the Castle of Go But Won’t Return (e.g. Castle of Irás y No Volverás) in a year time.
The young man [then] stopped playing and the months passed by until the full year was coming up. And when that day came, he said to his parents:
You should know, my dear parents, that I have to go to the Castle of Go But Won’t Return.
The parents were greatly saddened and they remembered the phrase that the father once said to the mother when he returned from hunting, but the young man explained to them that he had to go there to recover his soul and that they should not fear for him, for he would manage to come back from the castle. The parents begged him again and again to not leave, but finally they had to [relent and] give in.
So the young man left and undertook the long journey that seemed to have no end. When he had been walking for many days, an eagle appeared and the young man asked it for the way to the Castle of Go But Won’t Return, and the eagle said to him:
I do not know. [However,] There in the distance flies another eagle who is much older than me, and it came from that castle.
The young man waited patiently until the other eagle arrived and it said to him:
I will take you to the castle, but first you’ll need to [help] cut off some slices (pieces) from a dead horse that I have seen close to here so that I will have something to eat along the way, for I am already very old.
The young man did so, [then he] stood on its wings and, each time that the eagle opened its beak, he gave it a piece of meat. And so they came to a small hill where the bird landed and, thankful for the food, it said to him:
Look down there and you’ll see a river. In the river there are three young women bathing: they are the devil’s daughters and live in the Castle of Go And Won’t Return. Go to them without being seen and hide the clothes of the youngest, whose name is Blancaflor. As she is a good person, she will be able to do something for you.
The young man went down to the river, took the clothes of the youngest, put them away and hid himself behind some bushes. When the three young women came out of the water, they put on their clothes and left the youngest behind, for she could not find her clothes. And when he saw that she was by herself, the young man came out from his hiding and said to her:
Do not be afraid of me. Take your clothes here and dress yourself.
Since she was not afraid of him, they got together, then spoke afterward and he told her what had happened to him. And she said:
As my father is the devil, I don’t know how you will be able to take your soul back from him. I have to help you to save us both or we will die together. Don’t say anything of what we have done and let me go first. And [then] tomorrow [in the] morning you will go to the castle and ask to speak to my father.
The young man slept by the river through the night and in the morning he went to the castle and asked to speak with the devil. When he was in his presence, the devil said to him:
I was doubting whether you’d come but, although you are late, here you are. Now come with me.
He took him to a window in the castle and said:
Tell me what you see there in front of you.
And the young man answered him:
I see a dark, dense forest.
Good -said the devil-. Now go there and clear it, level [till] it, sow it with wheat, harvest it and bake me a loaf of bread from it before the day is over.
The young man picked up the tools and went to the forest, but on seeing how dark and thick it was, he felt disconsolate for the task seemed impossible to him. And it was while he was inconsolable that Blancaflor arrived and asked him what was the task that her father had assigned to him.
Well, to clear this forest, level it, sow it with wheat and bake a loaf of bread with this wheat before nightfall.
Oh that’s nothing -she said-, eat your snack and take a nap and when you wake up you’ll have everything done for you. But don’t tell my father that I helped you.
When he woke up, the young man had the freshly baked loaf of bread at his feet. He picked it up and returned to the castle with it.
The devil scowled upon seeing him arriving with the bread, but he said:
Very well, this is what I made you to do. Now go to bed and rest, and return to see me in the morning tomorrow.
Barely awake the next morning, he took him to another window of the castle and said to him:
Tell me what is it that you see in front of you.
And the young man answered him:
I only see a large rocky area.
Very well -said the devil-. Now you have to go there, remove the rocks, take out [till] the soil, start [planting] a vineyard, gather the fruits and bring me a bottle of wine made from those grapes before the end of the day.
The young man got himself the [needed] tools and went to the rocky area; but on arriving he saw that it was impossible to do what the devil had asked him, and he wondered if this time Blancaflor would also come to assist him.
At last the girl appeared and she asked him what task her father had given him this time, and he told her that he must clear all the rocks from the area, till the soil, plant a vineyard, gather the grapes and make wine out of them and bring back a bottle of this wine to him.
That’s nothing -she said again-, eat your snack then take a nap, and when you wake up, you will have everything ready for you. But don’t tell my father that I helped you.
When he woke up, the young man found by his side a bottle of wine, he picked it up and returned to the castle with it.
When the devil saw that he had again completed the task he assigned him, he couldn’t believe it and said:
It is impossible that you did this.
Well, yes, I did it!
replied the young man.
I find it very hard to believe -said the devil-, but, in any case, go have dinner and go to bed and tomorrow in the morning come back here to see me.
The next morning the young man went to see the devil and this time he took him to another window of the castle and said to him:
Tell me what is it that you see in front of you.
A river with a very strong current -replied the young man.
Well -said the devil-, my grandmother’s grandmother lost a ring in that river when she was little and I want you to find it and bring it to me before the end of the day.
So the young man marched off to the river but he did not know what to do, for he was afraid of drowning in that strong current. And with the water up to his knees, he was looking here and there without daring to advance any further when Blancaflor arrived soon afterward and again asked him what task her father had given him that morning.
He sent me to search for a ring which was lost in this river by his grandmother’s grandmother when she was a little girl.
Then Blancaflor told him:
Well, this is what you have to do: you are going to cut me into very small pieces and put me in this bottle that I’m giving you, but you have to be careful to not spill even a single drop of blood out of it.
The young man was greatly distressed [upon hearing this] and he told her that he wouldn’t do that to her for anything in the world, for she had been so good to him thus far.
Don’t worry, chop me well into little pieces and put me in the bottle.
Aye, Blancaflor, I cannot kill you! – said the poor young man.
But she insisted so much and with such determination that the young man took his knife and cut her up in many small pieces, then put her in the bottle, covered it up and threw it into the river. And time went by and he did not see her appear anywhere, so he began to lament for his weakness for having killed her, but then Blancaflor finally came out of the river all dressed up and with a ring in her hand, and she said to him:
Here is the ring, but know that you did not put back into the bottle a small piece of my little finger together with a drop of blood; as this is my little finger, my father will not notice it, for it is very easy to hide this. Now go to the castle, but don’t tell my father that I helped you.
The young man returned to the castle for the third time and handed the ring to the devil; and this time he said:
Well, it turns out that you are even more of a devil than I am! Eeaa, I cannot believe that you have found the ring by yourself.
Yes, yes, but I found it -said the young man.
Well, now go have dinner, then head to bed, and tomorrow come see me once more in the morning -the devil said to him.
The next day, as usual, he brought him to another window and said:
Tell me what is it that you see in front of you.
I see a very large poplar grove.
Well, go to the poplar grove and cut me some branches [then bring them back to me].
The delighted young man went to the grove and was cutting down branches when Blancaflor appeared and asked him what her father had made him do this time. And the young man told her:
It’s very simple this time, for I only need to bring back some branches from this grove.
Well, I know what these branches are for -said Blancaflor-, and it is that he would ask you to break in a very wild horse, for that horse becomes all of us when someone rides it. So you should know that the head is my father, the body is my mother, and the haunches are my sisters and me. I am the one on the right side, so don’t hit it there; you will hit it in the head until you have tamed it. And don’t tell anyone that I am with you.
So the young man went to see the devil and the latter showed him a pen in which there were two horses, one of which snorted a lot, and he said to him:
This horse that snorts, you must tame him for me today.
The young man went down to the pen and only with great effort could he mount the horse, who constantly tossed and turned and kicked in all directions. Barely had he mounted it when the horse began to run all over the field without stopping, and the young man started to beat it on the head until he finally tired it out and left it half dead with fatigue, and they both returned to the castle.
And the devil said:
I cannot believe that you can tame him with your own hands.
And the young man said to him:
Well, it is now in the pen, tamed and all, and half dead with fatigue [as well].
And then, noticing that the devil was bandaged all over, he said:
What had happened to you, as if you were beaten over your entire body?
And the devil answered him:
It’s nothing, for I fell into the ditch when leaning out the window to watch you, truly it’s nothing at all. Now listen: if I have to give back your soul to you, you will have to marry one of my daughters, but it has to be on one condition, and that is you’ll have to be blindfolded and I’ll put my daughters in a room where you will take [feel] out the hand from each of them. And you will marry the one whose hand you choose and say aloud.
[He did this] Because the devil suspected that the young man had an affair with Blancaflor. So he put the three daughters in a room and when they took out their hands, the young man searched for the hand which was missing a tiny piece in the little finger, and when he found it, he said that he wanted to marry that person, and of course, that was Blancaflor. And the father and the sisters became even more suspicious after this, but [they said nothing and] celebrated the wedding.
When night came, they retired to bed. And Blancaflor said to the young man:
My father had decided to kill us, so you must do as I tell you: spit in a plate and put an air-filled hide on your bed and I will do the same with mine. The saliva we put in the plates will speak for us when we are gone. Then go to the stable, where you will see two horses. One is stout and strong and the other very thin; go and take the thin one, for this is Thought (e.g. the horse’s name is Thought); the other is Wind, but Thought is always faster than Wind [so that’s why you should choose the thin one].
The young man stealthily went to the stable, but when he got there and saw the thin horse, he thought it was so skinny that it would not be able to carry them both, and so he chose the stout one. And when he arrived with it to where Blancaflor was waiting for him, she said to him:
Why did you not take Thought?
Because I thought it wouldn’t be able to carry both of us.
Very well, there’s nothing that we can do now -and [so] they left in hurry.
Shortly after the left, the devil went to the door of the alcove and called out:
Blancaflor, are you asleep?
No, señor.
And you, young man, are you asleep?
No, señor.
This happened because the saliva they had left on the plates made the replies for them.
After a while, the devil returned [and asked]:
Blancaflor, are you asleep?
Now I’m going to bed.
And you, young man, are you asleep?
Now I’m going to bed.
And some more time passed [before] he returned to call on them:
Blancaflor, are you asleep?
And she did not answer him.
Young man, are you asleep?
And he, too, did not answer him, because the saliva had dried up.
The devil thought that they were already asleep, so he took out a knife, entered the alcove and stabbed each of them in the heart, for the air-filled hides were in bed in place of them; then he closed the door and left running to his room to tell his wife. And she said to him:
Did you kill them for sure?
Yes, for I had heard how the air escaping from them.
The next morning, they got up and went to see the couple’s alcove. They found two plates and two empty hides, but the couple were not there. And his wife said to him:
If you had returned last night to confirm, they wouldn’t have escaped from you afterwards. And besides, they probably would have taken Thought with them.
One of the daughters went to check on the stable and saw that they had taken Wind, so the wife brightened up and told the devil:
This is good, soon we’ll catch them and this time we’ll kill them.
The devil mounted Thought and went after them. As Thought always travel faster than Wind, after a while he caught up with them. When Blancaflor saw that her father was catching up to them, she tossed behind her a comb that she was carrying on her and said:
May my comb turn into a forest so dark and dense that my father cannot pass through it and will have to turn back.
So this happened and the devil had to turn back. And when he reached the castle, his wife said to him:
Did you not find them?
No -he replied-. After much riding, the way was then blocked by a very dark and dense forest and I was unable to pass through.
Useless! -said the wife-. There they were and they had you fooled. Go back and look for them [again].
[Nguyen: I like the devil’s wife! She had the courage to call him “useless” and spoke to him in such a manner! =D]
The devil mounted the horse again and, as he was riding Thought, he soon had them within his reach; seeing him coming, Blancaflor threw back her handkerchief and said:
May my handkerchief turn into a rocky ground through which my father cannot pass.
So the devil had to turn back once more. And on seeing him returning, his wife said to him:
Did you not see them?
No -he replied-, for I only saw a rocky ground which was impossible to cross on horseback.
Well, that was them! -shouted his wife-. Take the horse and this time don’t come back without them.
Once more the devil caught up to them and on seeing him at their backs, Blancaflor threw behind her one of her garters and said:
May my garter turn into a river with a current so strong that my father cannot pass through it.
This happened and the devil returned to the castle for the third time and his wife said to him:
Well they had fooled you again, for that was them.
Then the devil said to her:
Well, you go and search for them.
And she said:
No, I’m not going [to go]. But I can put a curse on them so that they will forget each other and it’s going to be like this: when he enters town, the first woman who kisses him will make him forget about Blancaflor.
Then Blancaflor and the young man were already close to his village, for he was wanting to visit his parents so that they could see that he had returned from the Castle of Go And Not Return. And Blancaflor, who was saintly and knew everything, knew of her mother’s curse and told him:
Be careful when you enter the village and don’t let any woman kiss you, because if you allow this, you will forget about me.
The young man left Blancaflor by a fountain at the entrance to the village and went to search for his parents to announce to them that he returned [as] a married man and [also] with his soul. And as soon as he arrived, his mother wanted to kiss him, but he told her:
Please don’t kiss me, mother, for I come [home] a married man and if you kiss me I won’t remember my wife again because they had put a curse on us.
And as he was saying this, his grandmother came up behind him and kissed him and the young man forgot about Blancaflor. And then his mother said to him:
Son, when are you going to bring your wife to [introduce to] us?
And the young man answered her:
What are you saying, mother, for I don’t have a wife.
And the mother was surprised [to hear this], but he had completely forgotten about Blancaflor.
Well, didn’t you tell me to not kiss you because, if not, you will forget your wife?
And he looked at her with surprise and said:
What are you saying, mother?
So the mother thought that she had misunderstood him, and moreover [as] she was full of joy on seeing him again, that she, too, forgot about the matter.
Blancaflor suspected what had happened and got to the village and went to live near the young man[‘s home]. As she lived close by, soon they became friends. And she stayed in the village and set up a store there, and told everyone that she was from the mountains, and that she had come to [the village to] set up [and work in] that store.
Over time, the young man got a girlfriend and decided to get married. The young man’s friends told him that he would have to invite the graceful alpine woman to the wedding, and he said yes, that he would invite her, because he liked her wits and because he felt great pleasure in her company.
And his friends said:
Well, before you invite her, we are going to see if we can sleep with her.
So the first one arrived at Blancaflor’s house and it seemed to him that she was urging him on with nice words [e.g. flirting with him], but when it was time to go to bed, she said to him:
Do me the favor and throw away that water which I have in the washbowl [over there].
and it took him all night to pour the water out of the washbowl because, each time that he threw it out, the water returned to the washbowl.
And this happened all night, and in the next morning Blancaflor left her room and said to him:
Are you still here? Go on, go away now, otherwise what will the people say?
The same thing happened to the second one, who as she went to bed, said to him:
Go and [help me] remove the coffee pot that I have on the fire.
And it happened that he had his hand stuck to the pot and that was how he spent the night.
And she said to him the next morning when she saw him:
You are still here? Please leave now, otherwise what will the people say?
As neither of them said anything to their friends about what had happened to them, a third one came and she, when retiring to bed, asked him to close the door to the kitchen and his hand was stuck to the door all night.
The next day the three friends met up with the young man and he asked them:
How did you spend the night with the alpine woman?
And each one of them said:
Well, she had me pouring water out of the washbowl throughout the night.
Well, she had me holding the coffee pot in my hand throughout the night.
Well, she had me holding the door throughout the night.
And the young man found her to be most discreet and hilarious, so he invited her to the wedding.
On the day of the wedding, at the end of the celebratory feast, everyone began to tell stories and, at this time, they asked the alpine woman to relate something, for she was a very good storyteller. And she said that she wouldn’t tell anything, but she had some puppets that would do this for her. Then they asked her to bring them out, because everyone wanted to hear them [tell stories], and so she put them on the table. And the female puppet spoke as Blancaflor, and the male puppet as the young man, and the female puppet began:
Do you remember when you lost your soul to the devil in a cards game, and you had to go to the Castle of Go And Won’t Return to get it back?
No, I don’t remember – said the male puppet.
Do you remember when my father would have you by the window and sent you to do things that were impossible, and I did them all for you?
No, I don’t remember – said the male puppet.
Do you remember that you ran away from the castle with me on the same day that we married and my father was chasing after us to kill us?
Some, I remember some of that -said the male puppet.
Do you remember when you left me by the fountain and I warned you from the curse that my mother put on us?
Yes, yes that I remember.
said the male puppet. And the young man’s mother, on hearing this last thing that the female puppet had said, remembered that day in which her son returned to the village.
Then the young man got up and said:
This is spoken by these two puppets, but it had personally happened to me.
And he said to all who were present at the banquet:
Today I have married this woman, but my wife is the alpine woman. Which of the two should I stay with? Well, I had been married to the alpine woman for a long time now, and with this woman I have only married her just now.
And everyone was in agreement that he should stay married to the first one, because the first is what counts. And this was how Blancaflor got her husband back.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Acabar – to finish, to end
Acostar – to put to bed, to lay down; acostarse – to go to bed
Además – besides, also, furthermore
Afligirse – (to be distressed) to get upset
águila – eagle
Ahí – there
Ahogarse – to drown
Alameda – tree-lined avenue, boulevard; (small wood) poplar grove
Alcance – grasp, reach
Alcanzar – to reach, to catch, to catch up with
Alcoba – bedroom
Allanar – to flatten, to level
Altozano – small hill, hillock
Ancas – behind, haunch; rump
Apalear – to beat, to thrash
Apenar – (to grieve) to sadden; apenarse – to be sorry, to be upset, to be distressed
Aprisa – quickly, hurriedly
Arbusto – bush, shrub
Arrebatar – to snatch
Asomarse – to lean out
Asombro – amazement, surprise
Asustar – to frighten, to scare; to alarm, to startle
Atrás – behind, in the back of
Atravesar – to cross, to go through
Atreverse – (to have the courage) to dare
Aunque – (in spite of) even though, although, even if
Avanzar – to move forward, to advance
Baraja – deck of cards
Besar – to kiss
Bufar – (to blow through the nose) to snort
Caza – hunting, shooting; (pursuit) hunt; (hunted animal) game
Cazador – hunter
Ceder – to cede, to give up
Cerrado – very dark; shut, closed
Coces – coz – (kick of an animal) kick
Componer – to form, to make up; to compose, to write; to repair, to fix
Compuesto/a – dressed up; composed
Conseguir – (to realize an object) to achieve, to manage; (to acquire) to get, to obtain
Convite – banquet, feast; invitation
Corriente – current (river)
Cuadra – stable; ward, barracks
Cuchillo – knife
Curar – to get better, to recover
Debilidad – weakness, feebleness
Dedo – finger, toe
Delgado – thin, slim
Deprisa – fast, quick
Desconfiar – to be suspicious of; to doubt whether
Desconfiar de – to not trust, to be suspicious of, to mistrust; to doubt whether
Desconsolado – disconsolate, heart-broken
Domar – to tame, to break in (horses)
Embarazada – (with child) expecting, pregnant; pregnant woman
Encantado – (very pleased) delighted; (under a spell) enchanted, bewitched
Encomendar – to assign the responsibility of, to entrust
En fin – anyway, anyhow
Engañar – to deceive, to trick, to fool
En todo lo demás – in everything else
Entender – to understand
Entenderse con – to have an affair with; to be friends, to get along with
Escondite – hiding place
Escupir – to spit
Esfuerzo – effort
Espalda – back
Espeso – thick, dense
Faltar – to miss, to be missing
Fijarse – (to become aware of) to notice; (to concentrate) to pay attention
Flaco – thin, skinny
Foso – pit, ditch
Fuente – fountain, spring
Fuerte – strong, sturdy
Gesto – gesture, expression
Grueso – stout, thick, fat
Hayas – you have; haber – to have
Herramienta – tool
Hornear – to bake
Jinete – rider, horseman
Lamentarse – to express dissatisfaction; to complain, to grumble
Liga – (clothing) garter, suspender
Lozano – healthy-looking, lush, luxuriant
Lumbre – (flames) fire; (cooker) stove; (brightness) light, glow
Matrimonio – marriage, married couple
Me cuesta – I find it hard to
Meñique – little finger
Menor – younger, smaller, under, lower, lesser
Merienda – snack
Montar – to ride, to mount
Muñecos – doll, puppet
Notar – to notice
Ocurrencias – (wisecrack) witty remark, funny remark; (unexpected thought) idea, bright idea
Palangana – bowl, washbowl
Palo – blow; stick
Pañuelo – handkerchief
Partida – game; departure
Pasar – to travel through, to go past
Pasar a traves de – to pass through
Pedacito – small piece
Pedazo – (portion) piece
Pedregal – stony ground
Pegar – (to attach) to paste, to glue
Pellejo – skin, hide
Perseguir – to follow, to chase, to pursue
Picar – (to divide into pieces) to chop, to mince, to grind
Pico – (animal anatomy) beak, bill; (geography) peak, high point
Pon – put (e.g. poner)
Porfiar – (to persist) to insist; (to dispute) to argue
Por parte alguna – anywhere
Posarse – to land, to perch; posar – to put down, to lay down
Proveer – to provide, to supply
Puchero – cooking pot, stewpot
Recordar – to remember
Resulta que – it turns out that
Retrasar – to postpone, to delay
Revolver – to stir, to toss; revolverse – to toss and turn
Rodilla – knee
Santa – holy, saint
Sembrar – to plant, to sow
Sencillo – easy, simple
Ser – to be (siendo)
Serrana – mountain range, mountain
Sigilosamente – stealthily
Tajada – slice, cut
Tampoco – neither, nor
Tienda – store, shop; tent
Tirar – to throw away, to waste, to squander
Todavía – still
Torcer – (to contort) to twist; (to fold) to bend
Trigo – wheat
Trocear – to cut up, to cut into pieces
Uva – grape
Va – s/he goes (ir)
Vacío – empty, vacant; (frivolous) shallow
Valer – to be worth, to be valuable
Vara – (botany) branch, stick
Vendar – to bandage, to dress; to blindfold
Verter – to pour, to spill, to shed
Viento – (gust of air) wind, breeze
Viña – vineyard
Volverse – to become, to grow to be