034. (Las Tres Manzanitas De Oro) The Three Little Golden Apples
A shepherd couple had three sons and they loved all three equally. As time went by, the three children grew older until one day when the two oldest ones said to their parents that they wanted to leave home and go work at a place where they could experience the world and earn some money. And the youngest one said that he, too, wanted to go. The parents were sad [upon hearing this] because they were suddenly left alone by themselves without their three sons, but the youths were so determined [on leaving] that they had no choice but to let them go.
The brothers left [their home] and arrived at a [split in the] road which forked in three directions, and they said to one another:
Well, then let each of us go in a different direction and in a year’s time we’ll meet here again.
So they did this and each one went his own way looking for adventures [in the world]. And the year passed by and that day came when the three of them were to meet again at the fork of the road. And, just as they had agreed to [do so previously], the three of them met one another there.
The eldest brought a medium-sized bag filled with money; the middle one, a small bag filled with money, which was what people had paid them for their services in other houses. And the youngest brought three little golden apples, which the Virgin gave him because he had been [loyally] serving her; and the Virgin said to him:
Now that you are going away, I give you three little golden apples, one for you, one for your father, and one for your mother.
So when they met at the fork, the three of them showed one another what they had managed to earn in a year of work. And the two older brothers liked the youngest’s apples so much that they asked one [apple] for each of them.
But the youngest said no, for he did not want what the others had, and so they too should not covet what he had either.
Then the brothers angrily said to him:
Well, give us your apples or we will kill you.
The youngest [brother] did not want to give them away and [so] the older brothers pounced on him and killed him. But the apples fell from his hands down the hillside and got lost in the undergrowth so that they [the two older brothers] could not get their hands on them. Then, in exasperation, they buried the youngest brother and returned home.
The parents, when they saw only the oldest [ones] had returned, asked about the youngest, and they replied:
We don’t know anything about him. We agreed to meet at a [specific] place after a year, but he did not appear [there] and we had to return home.
The parents thought that perhaps he was happy where he was and that he would not return until next year.
The next day, the father took the cattle out for grazing and while he was in the pastures he saw a very beautiful reed that caught his attention. He cut it and made himself a flute out of it and realized that the flute sounded marvelously, so when he got home he showed it to his wife and their two sons and said:
Look at this flute, you have got to see [hear] how good it sounds.
And he began to play it, and the flute said:
Play, play, father of mine,
For three little golden apples
My brothers ended my life.
But in the end they got nothing though.
The father was very surprised by what he had just heard, but then he did not attach any importance to it. The mother, on the the other hand, was intrigued by the song and kept thinking about it [in her head].
With this, one of the brothers picked it up to try it out and the flute said this time:
Play, play, brother of mine,
For three little golden apples
You helped ended my life.
But in the end you got nothing though.
Then the mother, who heard it for the second time, said:
Oh My God, they have killed my little one, they have killed my son!
And the father said:
Be quiet, woman, that is a crazy idea that you have [in your head].
And the mother said:
Well, you play it again, and think well about what the flute is singing.
The father picked up the flute and played it, and the flute again said:
Play, play, father of mine,
For three little golden apples
My brothers ended my life.
But in the end they got nothing though.
Then the father also realized [understood] what the flute was saying and he grabbed the older brothers and beat them until they admitted the truth. Then they went to where the father had cut the reed when he was shepherding, and there his child appeared, with the reed coming out from his heart.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Abalanzarse – (to fall upon) to leap on; (to run forward) to rush, to surge; abalanzar – to throw, to hurl
Al cabo – in the end, ultimately
Apalear – to beat, to thrash
Caña – (hollow stem) cane, reed
Darle vueltas – to turn it over in one’s mind
Darse cuenta – to realize
Declarar – to state, to declare, to announce
De golpe – suddenly, all at once
Empeñarse – to persist, to insist on
Fastidio – (irritation) annoyance; (bother) nuisance
Ganado – livestock, cattle
Juntarse – (to assemble) to get together, to meet up, to come together
Ladera – slope, hillside
Ladera abajo – hillside
Maleza – (brush) undergrowth; (uncultivated plants) weeds
Maravillosamente – wonderfully, marvelously
Mediano/a – medium, medium-sized
Pastar – (to eat grass) to graze
Pasto – pasture
Próximo – (following) next
Quedar – to agree to meet, to arrange to meet; to be left, to remain
Quizá – may be, perhaps