101. The Cursed Inn (La Posada Encantada)
Once upon a time there was a little girl who lived in an inn by the road. The girl was very, very curious. She pried into everything, and everything caught her attention.
One day some Moors arrived at the inn [and] they came with carts loaded with large trunks. The little girl was curious to know what those trunks contained, so she devoted her time to watching those Moors to see what they were up to. One time, taking advantage of the fact that the Moors had gone out, she entered their rooms, opened several of the trunks and discovered that they were full of valuables.
The Moors were staying in the inn for several days, as it was clear that they had things to do in the surrounding areas. One night it seemed to the girl that there were footsteps and movements in the basement of the inn, and without hesitation, she went to see what was going on.
It was the Moors, who were taking the trunks down to the cellar. The little girl hid herself behind the piles of boxes which the innkeeper had accumulated there and paid attention to what the Moors were doing. They were lighting a small candle, and by its light, uttered some Arabic words. At this moment, the girl watched with amazement as the wall in front of the Moors opened up.
The Moors went through the wall and entered the other side, leaving in that place all the trunks and valuables that they had brought with them. Then they went out, extinguished the candle and the walled closed without leaving a trace of a door [being there]. After this, the Moors returned to their rooms at the inn.
The girl, who was not only curious but also ambitious [greedy], thought about how she could get her hands on all those riches. The following morning, the first thing she did was to tell everything to the maid at the inn and they agreed [to act together]. Then, that night, while the Moors slept, the girl slipped into one of the rooms where she knew from the maid that the candle would be and took it [away].
The next day the Moors left the inn and that night the girl and the maid went down to the cellar. The two arrived before the same wall where she had seen the Moors standing. There they lighted the candle, and through its light, the girl repeated the Arabic words that she heard the other night. Then the wall opened and the girl stepped inside. The maid, meanwhile, as she was somewhat frightened, remained outside waiting and kept watch that the candle would not burn out.
The girl saw that, indeed, the trunks were full of jewels and money [gold coins] and she began to fill a sack to carry away. And the maid, who was watching the candle, said to her:
– Hurry up, for the candle is going out!
The girl did not pay attention [to this] and did not know whether to choose the best or take away everything, as everything seemed desirable to her. And the maid, who was watching the candle, said to her:
– Hurry up, for the candle is going out!
And hesitating and wavering, the girl continued filling the sack. And as she did not pay attention to the voice of the maid, the candle was extinguished and burnt out completely.
At that moment, the wall closed again and the girl was trapped inside. The maid, very frightened, ran away and disappeared from the inn forever.
And they said that, from that day on, they began to hear moans and cries of a little girl in the inn, but no one knew where they came from. Then, little by little, the rumor spread that there was a spirit in that inn which groaned and cried, and the people began to avoid it [the inn] out of fear. Finally, the innkeeper had to close the inn and left town. Much later they changed [redirected] the road and the inn was left alone [in its original place] and abandoned in the middle of the countryside with the girl inside. And so [in this way] she was lost from the memory of the townsfolk.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Almacenar – (to save) to store, to keep, to warehouse; (to accumulate) to stock up with, to collect
Alrededores – (suburbs) outskirts
Ambicioso – (greedy) ambitious, overambitious
Apagar – (to disconnect) to turn off, to switch off, to put out; (to cause to stop burning)
Apetecible – (tasty) appetizing, tempting; (interesting) appealing, attractive, desirable
Asombro – (astonishment) amazement; surprise; (fear) fright
Atender – (to care for) to look after, to deal with, to take care of; (to be attentive) to pay attention
Baúl – (storage box) trunk;
Caja – (container) box, crate; (machine) cash register, till; (service desk) counter, window, checkout
Deslizarse – (to move over a surface) to slide, to slip, to glide, to slither; (time or life) to slip away
Esquivarse – (to dodge one another) to avoid each other; (to evade, use with “de”) to shy away from
Fijarse – (to concentrate on) to pay attention to; (to become aware of) to notice
Fisgar – (to nose around) to pry into; (to nose around) to snoop
Gemir – (to express suffering) to moan, to groan; (to howl) to whine;
Hacer caso – (to notice) to take notice of; (to heed) to pay attention to, to listen to
Llanto – crying, weeping (literary)
Montón – (large amount) a ton, a lot, lots, loads, masses; (mountain) pile, heap
Picar – (to be hurt by an animal) to sting, to bite, to peck at (birds)
Quejido – moan, groan, cry, whine
Rastro – (vestige) trace, sign, scrap; (path) trail; (outdoor market) flea market
Repleto – (filled) full, packed, crammed; (filled to satiety) full, full up, replete
Sótano – (room) basement, cellar