060. The Bagpipe That Made Everyone Dance (La Gaita Que Hacía Bailar A Todos)
There was a man who had three sons. The two older ones were very clever and were always making fun of the youngest. One day, the father said [to himself]:
Since this son of mine is good for nothing as he is being made fun of all day long, I am going to turn him into a shepherd to see if he will smarten up.
The boy became a shepherd and had been taking care of goats for a year when he ran into an old woman one day, who said to him:
Young man, what are you doing here, always taking care of the goats?
And the boy told her:
Well, my brothers laugh at me and [so] my father made me become a shepherd.
And how are you doing as a shepherd? -asked the old woman-. Is your master kind, and are you getting fed well?
I am not complaining, ma’am -replied the boy-, for the master is kind and the food is good, too.
Then the old woman told him:
So you are happy? Don’t you want anything?
And the boy replied:
Well, [the truth is that] I’d like to have a bagpipe to entertain myself.
The old woman smiled and from among the bags that she was carrying, she took out a bagpipe and gave it to him.
The boy, as soon as the old woman had left, began to play the bagpipe and all the goats immediately began to dance. And the more he played, the more the goats danced and the more they enjoyed doing so. And so this happened one day after another: he would play the bagpipe and the goats would dance until they were exhausted. And his goats were always very plump and full of joy and, with such good disposition, they produced much more milk than before.
The other shepherds, who saw how plump the boy’s goats were, wondered what he did to have them always looking in such good shape. Then they discovered that the goats were dancing to the sound of the bagpipe and [so] they went to the boy’s master to tell him about this, but the master did not want to believe it.
So he went to where the boy was with the goats and said to him:
Let’s see, why are the goats all lying down, instead of romping around like those of the other shepherds?
And the boy told him:
Because they are resting.
And the master said:
Then, is it true that the goats dance?
Yes, sir -replied the boy-. They dance as soon as I play the bagpipe for them.
Well, that I have to see -said the master.
The boy began to play the bagpipe and all the goats got up and began to dance happily. The shepherd danced, too. Everyone was so at ease dancing that the master also began to dance; and so they danced until the boy got bored with playing the bagpipe and took some rest, and so did the goats and the master.
So the master went home and talked to his wife [about this]. And she told him:
Where has anyone seen goats dancing [around]?
Well, go and see [for yourself] -her husband told her-, the goats danced and I, myself, danced as well.
That I have to see -said the wife.
The wife went to where the shepherd was with his goats and told him to play the bagpipe. As soon as he began to play, the goats got up and began to dance, and right away the master’s wife also began to dance, and so they continued on until the shepherd got bored from playing and everyone [then] lay down to rest from [so much] dancing.
When the wife got home, her husband said to her:
What? Did the goats dance?
The goats danced, and I with them -replied the wife-. When that shepherd plays the bagpipe, everyone has to dance.
I already told you so.
As this seemed very strange to them, they decided to send the shepherd away. When the shepherd left, the goats grew weaker and weaker and stopped producing milk, and they all died from sadness [shortly after].
In the meantime, the young shepherd returned to his house and told [his brothers] what had happened to him, and they were laughing at him until they had had enough. Then the father said:
As this boy is not even fit to be a shepherd, you [all] will have to work to sustain yourselves, for I alone cannot support this family.
The next day, the father sent the oldest brother to town to sell apples. On the way there, the oldest brother ran into an old woman, who asked him:
What do you have there in the sack?
And the oldest brother replied to her in a curt manner:
Rats.
And the old woman said:
Well, rats you will have.
The oldest brother arrived at town and began to hawk the apples; and when the people asked to see them, he opened the sack in which he was carrying the apples and out came dozens of rats from it; the townsfolk, furious [from thinking that he was making fun of them], gave him [such] a beating that the young man returned to his house being all bruised and without a cent [in his pocket].
The next day, the father sent the middle brother away to sell oranges. On the way he ran into the same old woman, who asked him:
What are you carrying in the sack?
And the middle brother responded to her in a curt manner:
Birds.
And the old woman said:
Well, birds will you have.
The middle brother arrived in town and began to hawk the oranges; and when he opened it, many birds came flying out and nothing was left [behind in the sack]. And the poor young man returned home hopelessly gloomy.
Then the youngest said to the father:
Father, let me go to town to sell something.
The two older brothers laughed at him and said:
What are you going to sell, you fool, if we have not sold [anything] ourselves!
But the father allowed him to go and gave him a big basket of grapes to sell. On the way, the boy ran into the same old woman, who asked him:
What are you carrying in the sack?
And he answered her:
[I have] grapes to sell. Would you like some?
And the old woman replied:
No thank you. May you sell a lot of grapes.
So the boy arrived in town and began to sell [his] grapes. And the more he sold, the more there were in the basket, so that he never stopped selling. Until finally when he filled the whole bag that he was carrying with coins and returned home.
The next day, the youngest went with his father to sell oil, and all the [proceeds from the] oil that they sold were exchanged for eggs. When they returned home with all the eggs, the boy was so happy that he took out the bagpipe and began to play it. And the father said to him:
My son, for God’s sake, don’t play the bagpipe, for the eggs are beginning to dance and they will all break [if this continues]!
Don’t you worry, father!
said the boy. And he continued playing and all the eggs were dancing in the baskets. And the father said to him:
Don’t play the bagpipe, son, or the eggs will break!
And the son replied him:
Don’t you worry, father, they won’t break!
And the eggs danced and so did the father and the son, for everyone who heard it danced to the sound of the bagpipe. And when they got home, the father said:
And now, how can we manage to get all these eggs out of the baskets?
But the boy played the bagpipe again and the eggs left the baskets one after another and danced [their way] to the cupboards where they were to be kept. And the more he placed, the more eggs came along and they never ran out, so they set up a store to sell eggs and they always had fresh eggs to sell every time the boy played the bagpipe. And they sold so much eggs that they became wealthy [from this].
In the meantime, the two older brothers had not sold anything that they brought [to town] and returned [home] poorer than ever. Then, they took the bagpipe from the youngest and played it to see what it would bring them, but nothing came out of this because the old woman had given it to the little brother and it would only respond to him [, and only him].
—– VOCABULARY —–
Aburrir – (to weary) to bore, to get tired of; aburrirse – (to get tired of) to get bored
Acabarse – (to be used up) to run out; (to run its course) to end, to finish
Alacena – cupboard
Apurarse – (to be distressed) to worry oneself; (to be in a hurry) to hurry up
Arreglarse – (to do with or without) to manage; (to be solved) to get sorted out, to make up (couple)
Bulto – bag, piece of luggage
Burla – leg-pulling, joke; taunt
Descansar – to take a break, to rest
Despedir – to say goodbye; to fire
Echado – (resting) lying down; (idle) lazy
Enflaquecer – (to cause to lose weight) to make thin; (to sap the strength of) to weaken
Entre tanto – meanwhile
En vez de – instead of
Espabilarse – to wake up; to get it together, to smarten up
Gaita – bagpipes; flute, recorder; (annoyance) drag, pain, nuisance; Spaniard
Hacer caso – to take notice of; (to heed) to pay attention to, to listen to
Hartarse – to get fed up, to get tired of, to get sick of
Magullar – to cause a bruise, to bruise; magullarse – to get bruised
No sirve para nada – useless, good for nothing, there’s no point, it’s no use
Paliza – beating
Poner – to establish, to open (a store, etc.)
Pregonar – (to announce products) to hawk; (to make public) to spread around; (to declare) to proclaim
Quejarse – (to protest) to complain, to whine, to moan
Reír – to laugh
Rendido – exhausted, worn out
Sonreír – to smile
Tonto – stupid, silly
Triscar – (to frolic) to gambol, to frisk, to romp; (to step heavily) to stamp; (to twist) to bend; (to mix) to tangle; triscarse – (to get mixed) to get tangled
Tristeza – sadness, sorrow
Tumbarse – (to recline) to lie down, to stretch out
Uva – grape