091. The Cuélebre and the Shepherd (El Cuélebre y El Pastor)
Once up on a time there was a shepherd who spent his days tending to his flock. One day he was walking behind his sheep in the mountain, thinking about his [daily] business when, suddenly, he heard a cuélebre calling for him from a cave dug out of the mountain.
[Author’s note:] The cuélebres were a specie of dragons that lived in the mountains and forests of Asturias and other places, and the [common] people ran from them because they were fearful of them.
And the cuélebre said to him:
– Aye, good shepherd, help me leave this darkness in which I am. Here they put me when I was little and, as I have grown much since then, I cannot leave without someone removing that rock which covers the cave because I cannot reach it.
And the shepherd replied:
– If I help you leave, you will be able to eat me.
And the cuélebre said:
– How can I eat you if you helped me [out]?
So the shepherd took pity on it and with great effort he removed the rock which covered the mouth [entrance] of the cave. The cuélebre unscrewed itself little by little and came out of the cave with great effort. And when it was outside, it said:
– How hungry I am, shepherd, I am going to eat you!
The shepherd was indignant and said:
– That is not what was agreed and I have the right to have our agreement respected. We are going to search for someone to decide this dispute, and for that we need at least three opinions.
– I am in agreement – said the cuélebre.
The cuélebre and the shepherd went away to consult on their case [dispute]. They arrived at the edge of a stream where they encountered a half-starved hunting dog.
– Let us go and consult this dog – proposed the cuélebre.
They told the dog their problem and the dog said to them:
– I was the most loyal dog that my owner had, and the best hunter, and now that I am old and unable to hunt, he abandoned me here without compassion and left me to starve to death. And since no one should die of hunger, if the cuélebre is hungry, it does no wrong if it eats you, shepherd.
They took leave of the dog and continued walking. After a while they came to a forest and on its edge they found a very thin [emaciated] horse and the shepherd consulted with it. And the horse said:
– With pleasure I will give you my opinion. I was at the service of a gentleman with whom I behaved very well, as I was always ready for everything that was needed from me. And now that I am unable to work, because I am old, he left me to die in this forest. I believe that [in the case of] he who has not eaten, it is [only] right that he should eat, and if the cuélebre is hungry, he must eat you.
“It seems to me that I have lost this dispute,” the shepherd said remorsefully on seeing how things have turned out.
The two continued walking and the shepherd saw a fox seating on a rock. The shepherd approached it and said:
– Fox, come here, that I want to consult with you on a very grave matter in which my life is at stake.
And the fox said:
– Consult me from there, for I can hear you well.
The shepherd then told the fox what had happened to him with the cuélebre and also the declaration given out by the hunting dog and the emaciated horse.
– That is a declaration [opinion] from the animals – said the fox after listening to him -. To decide on this dispute we will have to reconstruct the facts. Let us three go to the cave where the cuélebre was kept and then we will decide.
So they went there and the fox said to the cuélebre:
– Let’s see, put yourself in where you were so that I can account for your situation when you asked the shepherd for help.
The cuélebre went into the cave and the fox then told the shepherd to immediately put the rock back where he had removed it [from]. The shepherd did this in no time and the cuélebre was once again enclosed in the cave. The fox then turned to the shepherd and said to him:
– Now leave it to die in there; if you had not provided help, you wouldn’t have run into danger and from which I have helped pull you out.
[Nguyen’s note: keep the fox’s above observation in mind as we continue with the story below.]
The shepherd was as happy as castanets for having rid of the cuélebre. Then he stroke his chin and said to the fox:
– The truth is that I am very grateful to you for what you have done for me, my fox friend. And to reward you, it occurs to me that you can come with me to town, where I am going to give you the plumpest hens that I have in the hen-house so that you can eat them to your heart’s content.
And the fox said:
– No way! I am not going to town to eat hens during the day, not with you nor alone, as I don’t want the dogs to be set upon me and run me to the mountain, that is if they don’t kill me [first].
And the shepherd said:
– Well then, stay here while I go get them and bring them to you.
The fox remained there waiting, and in a short while, the shepherd returned carrying a bag.
And the fox asked:
– You won’t deceive me, right?
And the shepherd replied:
– If I fooled you, I would have it on my conscience all my life. Here, have this hen and these chickens, may you enjoy them.
The fox threw the bag on its back and left with it. As it was going up the mountain, it said to itself: “I want to open this bag so badly that it seems that I cannot bear it any longer, let me stop at this clearing and gobble up a chick to my liking.”
It opened the bag and an enormous dog came out and chased after the fox. And this, running in front of the dog as if its soul was possessed by the devil, it said in a loud voice:
– For this I love you, my legs,
that in this damned world
there is nothing but traps [deceit].
—– VOCABULARY —–
Acariciar – (to touch softly) to pet, to caress, to stroke
Aguantar – (to withstand) to bear, to take, to support, to hold, to hold up
Auxilio – (support) assistance, help
Barbilla – (anatomy) chin, tip of one’s chin
Castañuelas – (musical instrument) castanet
Compungido – (regretful) contrite, remorseful; (disconsolate) sorrowful, sad
Convenir (en) – (to be in agreement) to agree on, to agree to, to agree; (to be desirable) to be advisable
Covacha – (shack) hovel; (lumber room) storage room
Desenroscar – to unscrew
Disfrutar – to enjoy
Engañar – (to lie to) to deceive, to trick, to fool
En un pispás – in a snap, in no time
Estar a punto de – (to be very close to) to be about to, to be nearly, to be almost
Excavar – (to make an excavation) to excavate, to dig; (to unearth) to excavate
Hecho – (reality) fact; (event) incident;
Indignarse – (to get annoyed) to get angry, to become indignant, to be outraged, to be incensed
Lástima – (sadness) shame, pity; (compassion) pity, sorry
Linde – (limit) boundary
Perrazo – (animal) big dog
Pleito – (legal) lawsuit, action, dispute; argument, fight
Portar – (to hold) to carry, to bear; (to have on) to wear
Prestar – (to loan) to lend; (to give) to provide
Puñetero – (bloody) damn; (annoyance) pain, jerk
Rebaño – flock (of sheep); herd
Reguero – (mark) trail, track; (liquid trail) trickle; (agriculture) irrigation ditch
Sentenciar – (to determine) to decide; (to state) to declare; (legal) to sentence, to condemn
Tapar – (to cover up) to cover, to block, to hide, to fill, to wrap up; (to close) to put the lid on
Trampa – (hunting) trap, snare; (door in the floor) trapdoor; (finance) debt
Zanca – (animal or human leg) leg, shank