107. The Friend of Death (El Amigo de La Muerte)
Once upon a time there was a man who had put all of his efforts into being a just man. He did not feel comfortable with anything for which he disagreed with, and whenever he had to opine on some matter, he judged it as his conscience dictated, without flinching at the possibility that his judgment might harm the rich or aid the poor, or hurt the powerful and connected in favor of the defenseless. He, above all else, always said what seemed to be most just according to his understanding.
And then this man had a son, and naturally, he wanted him to be as just as he was. He kept thinking about how to achieve this wish: that his son would be like him and act in the same way, treating each person as he was and calling bread, bread and wine, wine.
To this end, he asked all those he knew and valued what he could do to transmit this sentiment [virtue] to his son. And some told him one thing, others another, until he ran into a very old and wise man, who said to him that children depended on their godparents and that it was proper [natural] for them to inherit the godparents’ grace and virtues. So in that way, if he wanted his son to be a just man, he’d have to find a godfather who was just.
The old man’s reasons convinced the father, and he decided to take leave and look for a just man to make him his son’s godfather.
He began to travel around the world and one day, in the middle of a forest, the Devil himself showed up in person as, knowing what the man was searching for, he thought that this was a good opportunity to have a godson. In any case, he approached the father and told him:
Where are you going?
I am in search of a godfather for my son.
And what type of godfather are you looking for? – asked the Devil.
I am searching for a godfather who is, above all, a just man.
Well, I will gladly nominate myself because I think I am the right person.
How just do you think you are? – said the father.
The justest in the world.
Very well, well tell me who you are.
I am the Devil.
Well, yes we are good! – said the father -. And you consider yourself the most just in the world? You go after everyone trying to make them sin; you deceive, utilizing any low tactics to tempt us, does that seem just to you? Leave, my man, as you are not worthy to be my son’s godfather.
And the father went on his way. He walked and walked, until at last he ran into a completely bald and half-senile old man who asked where he was going. And when the father answered him that he was searching for a godfather for his son, he offered himself, saying that it would be difficult to find someone more just than him. The father asked him who he was and the old man told him that he was Saint Peter. And the father said:
It surprised me greatly that you considered yourself as just. You are the gatekeeper to heaven, and every time a soul arrives, the only thing that you do is giving him inconveniences and hindrances before you let him pass; and for the trifles and matters of no importance, two out of three times you’d quietly send them to Hell. And you still dare to say that you are a just man! Go with God and forget about being my son’s godfather!
And without further ado, he left him standing there and went on his way. Once more he continued until he ran into a man with a long beard, whose appearance was entirely that of a good man. As the road was deserted and the two had not crossed path with anyone else in a long time, they stopped [in their travels] and talked to one another. The father told him that he was in search of a godfather for his son and the condition that he had, and the stranger, on hearing this, offered himself as the godfather, saying that it would be impossible to find anyone else more just than him. The father, intrigued, asked him who he was and the stranger replied:
I am God.
God? – said the father-. Well, [now] we’re in a mess! You gave wealth to some people in such quantity that they knew not what to do and squandered them away out of pure boredom, and on the other hand, you made others so poor that in their entire sad existence they couldn’t even find one satisfaction. To some you gave life, health, and strength to give and take, and to others, on the other hand, you sent them illnesses without ends. You made some men wise and granted them all the gifts of intelligence, while others could not understand even the simplest of things. You made lunatics, cripples, murderers, you bred illnesses, plagues, and wars. It takes you the same effort to do good as it does for you to do evil, but, although it is in your hands to avoid all the misfortunes, you do not lift a finger to do so and let everything be as I have just said. Does that seem just to you?
And with no more desires to argue, the father continued his long journey in search of a just godfather for his son and left God standing in the middle of the road.
He walked on through valleys and mountains when came a time in which the father began to feel very tired of going from one place to another without encountering the godfather he was searching for. And he was losing trust in being able to find such a person when, lo and behold, he ran into a kind of ghost with white head and peeling face sitting by the roadside without any flesh on him, as he was bare naked with only bones [to show]; [moreover,] he was wrapped around in a sheet and was leaning on a scythe.
This caught his attention so much that he stopped to talk to him.
Who are you? – asked the father.
I am Death. And you, who are you? – asked Death.
I am a father who is traveling around the world in search of a just man to become the godfather of my son.
Well I doubt you can find someone else who is more just than me- said Death -, because, for me, I favor neither the rich nor the poor, sage nor fool, young nor old, king nor the common man. When their time comes, I treat them all equally and I take them all away without any consideration nor preferences. You tell me if you think there is anyone more just than me.
Well – said the father -, it doesn’t look to me that you are as just as you say, because sometimes you kill the one who is most needed to provide for a family and leave all the children in misery, and in others, you don’t take away the decrepit and senile who would do better to leave this world as soon as possible. But anyway, among all the possible godfathers that I have seen up until now, I recognize that although you are not as just as I believe you to be, at least you are the most just among them all. So, all right, you will be my son’s godfather.
So they did the christening and there was a lot of talk about it because Death, to celebrate it, pulled out all the stops. It was a much-talked-about christening, and at the end of it, candies and sweets were handed out by the cartloads to the delight of the children. Death was very happy to be a godfather because no one had ever offered it to him before, nor had anyone ever heard of such a case. It was normal for everyone to cast him aside, but at the christening, as he was treated differently for being made the godfather, he was very animated and was very happy to socialize and mix and chat with the people which, in any other setting, [they] would have run away from him in horror.
[Note: “echó la casa por la ventana”, which literally would mean “threw the house out of the window”, but I take it to mean “pulled out all the stops”.]
When the celebration was over, Death said to the father:
I have to go now, because I have very important obligations that I had abandoned to attend the christening. I am very happy with the treatment I received and I promise you that, as soon as I can get away from my obligations, I will come to visit my godson. I don’t need to tell you that the first shoes he wears, the first suit he dons, and Palm Sunday are on my account; and I will bring him the biggest Easter cake from the confectionery each year. Moreover, I want to come see the child often because, although I am the much cursed and loathed Death to everyone, I really want to hear myself being called godfather.
Death, then, went away to do his tasks and to bring displeasure and malaise to those houses where there were people whose times had arrived, for no matter how good of a godfather he was, he could not neglect his work. And indeed, as soon as he could, he would escape [his work] to go see the child and tickled him with his long, dry fingers that, when he moved them, they would make cracking sounds because the bones were grinding [against one another]. But the child did not cry, and as he was accustomed to Death, he would laugh instead, and this made Death absurdly happy.
From going so often to see his godson, Death became friends with the father; and one day he said to him:
It is a pity that you are so poor, because what I would like is for my godson to be rich. So I am going to help you out here. You are going to become a doctor and don’t worry if you know nothing about illnesses. You will go to see the sick when they call for you, and if you do not see me by the bedside, it means that the patient is not in [any] danger: you will give him a liquid extracted from these herbs that I will give you, and whatever ailment that he may have, he will be in good health again. If the patient has to die, there is nothing to do as you will see [me] at the foot of the bed and I will indicate to you with my fingers the number of days he has left to live.
It was said and it was done. In a short time, [by] faithfully following Death’s instructions, he became a famous doctor and made a good fortune.
It happened one day that he was called to visit the king, who was very ill, and they offered him a bag full of gold coins if he could heal him. On arriving at the patient’s room, the doctor saw that Death was at the foot of the bed and was showing him three fingers from one hand, which meant that the king would die in three days. The doctor understood perfectly what Death wanted to tell him, but the bag of gold coins tempted him so much that, in order to get a hold of it, he resolved to prescribe the herbal liquid that Death had given him. And this resulted in the king being cured, as it was a marvelous liquid that healed people even if their illness were mortal.
Death, on seeing this, was furious and swore to make the doctor pay dearly for his disobedience. The doctor pretended that he had not seen Death at the foot of the bed and excused himself, but it did not escape Death that the man had acted out of greed. So after a few days, Death paid the doctor a visit and told him:
We have been friends for a long time and I have [always] been coming to your house to see you, but you have never come [to visit me in] mine. And I was thinking that it is time for you to get to know my house, so if you find it appealing, I would like to invite you to come [visit] today.
The doctor was greatly curious to [get to] know the house of Death, and above all, to know where it was and how he lived, so he immediately accepted the invitation. They set out and walked for a long time through forests and mountains, along roads and trails [paths], up above and down below, along rivers and [their] river banks, shorelines and cliffs, always [going] through places lost [to time] and very difficult to remember. And the doctor kept saying:
Everything is so complicated and confusing; I don’t know if I will know how to find my way back.
And Death said to him:
Don’t you worry, it won’t cost you anything to go back.
Finally, they arrived at the house of Death. It was a palace so high and immense that one cannot take in [the whole view] with one look. They entered and went through rooms and more rooms, with each being so large that the view was lost in them. The doctor wanted to see the bed where Death slept and the table where he ate, but they did not appear. Only lamps could be seen, and the lit oil lamps illuminated the rooms with a gloomy, sad, and sinister lighting. And Death walked in the midst of that immense sea of lamps, between lights and shadows, without losing his way and without touching a single one. Not all lamps were the same. There were many full of oil, which gave off a bright light, and others, on the contrary, were half-empty or almost empty, which illuminated more dimly; and the meager flames of the most empty seemed to be at the point of being extinguished. The doctor did not understand this strange sight and he asked Death about it.
Here there are as many lamps as there are people in the world – said Death -. Each lamp corresponds to a person; for as long as the flame burns, the person lives on. If the lamp burns well and the light illuminates clearly, the person is well and healthy; if the wick flickers and the light wanes, the person is sick. As long as the oil in the lamp lasts, and with this, the flame rises, the person lives; as soon as the oil runs out and the lamp is put out, the life of the person attached to the lamp is extinguished.
The doctor then relaxed his pace and began to pay attention to those lamps next to where he was passing by. When he found one fully filled and with a high [bright] flame, he said:
Look, this one has many years of life [left].
When he saw one that was nearly empty, he could not refrain from saying:
Look at this poor soul, how little [life] he has left.
At this, he found a lamp so full [of oil] that it seemed [as if] it was at the point of overflowing, and he asked Death out of curiosity:
Whose lamp is this that is so full?
And Death answered him:
This lamp is that which corresponds to your son.
Wow! What good fortune! He surely has a great number of years left in his life.
Very close to that lamp he saw another with barely a drop of oil, and he said to death in a derisive tone:
Look at this one, soon someone is going to be taken to heaven.
And Death replied:
Then take a good look at it, because it is yours.
The doctor was left horrified and was plunged into the darkest despair; he began to implore with Death to add even only a few drops of oil from any other lamp, since there were many that were full to the point of overflowing.
Now that I am rich and have appreciation for what is [constitutes] a good life, now I am going to die!
Then he proposed to Death to put in his lamp a little of the oil from that of his son’s, who would care little about living a few months more or less, [or] a year or two, having his whole life ahead of him, and in this way [that] would give him time to advise and teach his son to become a just man.
Death rejected all that the father told him; he did not even bother to listen to him. He said that he was a bad father, because to cut short his son’s life [in order] to extend his own was not just, as he did not hesitate to harm the son if it was to his benefit. Was that being just? And he said to him further:
Remember that if you chose me as godfather for your son, it was because you believed that I was the most just [in the world].
And while they were discussing the matter, and the man was at times pleading and at times imploring, the lamp’s oil ran out and the doctor fell dead.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Abarcar – (to deal with) to cover; (to stretch over) to extend over, to take in
Aborrecido – loathed
Aburrimiento – (tediousness) boredom, tedium; (tiresome thing) drag, bore
Acantilado – (sheer) steep; (geography) cliff
Acortar – (to make shorter) to shorten, to reduce, to cut short; (to abbreviate) to cut down
Adecuado – (relevant) appropriate, suitable; (enough) sufficient
Afán – (yearning) eagerness, desire; (hard work) effort;
Ahijado – godson
Alegar – (legal) to claim, to allege; (to adduce) to cite (reason), to put forward (excuse or reason)
Alternar – (to mingle, used with “con”) to socialize, to mix; (to combine repeatedly) to alternate
Añadir – (to incorporate) to add
Apetecer – (to want) to feel like, to fancy; (to be appealing) to feel like, to fancy
Apoyarse – (to rest on or against) to lean; (to seek support; used with “en”) to rely on, to depend on
Asesino – (person who kills intentionally) murderer, killer; (politically motivated killer) assassin
Avaricia – (cupidity) greed, avarice
A veces – (occasionally) sometimes, at times
Aviar – (related to birds) avian; (to make ready) to prepare, to get ready; aviarse – (to make oneself ready) to get ready; (to subsist) to manage, to get by
Bajeza – (meanness) baseness, vileness; (despicable act) vile deed
Burlón – (derisive) mocking, teasing, sardonic; (joking) teasing; (person fond of jokes) joker
Caduco – (old-fashioned) outmoded, outdated; (invalid) expired, lapsed; (old and frail) decrepit
Calvo – (without hair) bald; (barren) bald, bare
Calzar – (to cover with footwear) to wear, to put on; (to fit) to wear
¡Caramba! – Darn! Wow!
Carretada – wagonload, cart load
Chocho – (exhibiting senility) senile; (sentimental) doting
Como acabo de decir – as I have just said
Compadre – child’s godfather; (friend) buddy
Comulgar – (religious) to take communion; (to be in agreement; used with “con”) to agree with, to share (an idea)
Confitar – (to cover with sugar) to candy, to crystallize; (to keep in syrup) to preserve in syrup
Convenir – (to be desirable) to be advisable, to be a good idea, to be worth
Cosquillas – tickles; tickling sensation
Costar – (to be valued at) to cost; (to be difficult to) to be hard
Crujir – (to make noise) to creak (stairs or wood); to rustle (leaves, paper, cloth); to crackle (firewood); to crunch (food, gravel, snow); to grind (teeth); (to cause to make a sharp sound) to crack (articulation or bone)
Cuanto antes – as soon as possible
De acuerdo – (used to express agreement) okay, all right, OK; (general) agreement
Delicia – delight
Dementar – to drive crazy
Demente – (out of one’s mind) crazy, mad; (medicine) demented; (crazy person) lunatic
Desbordarse – (to run over) to flood, to overflow, to burst its banks, to spill over; (to erupt) to get out of hand
Desconfiar – (to regard with suspicion, use with “de”) to not trust, to be suspicious of, to mistrust
Desconocido – (undiscovered) unknown; (not famous) unknown; (strange) unfamiliar
Descuidar – (to abandon) to neglect; (to not bother) to not worry
Desesperación – (hopelessness) desperation, despair; (exasperation); (cause of desperation)
Desnudo – (without clothing) naked, bare (body part), in the nude; (uncovered) bare; (pure) plain
Despilfarrar – to squander, to waste
Desvalido – (defenseless) helpless, destitute
Detenerse – (to cease movement) to stop
Dictar – (to say aloud) to dictate; (legal) to pronounce, to pass, to issue;
Don – gift; talent
Donaire – (elegance) grace; (wittiness) wit; (joke) witticism
Dotar – (to supply with, used with “de” or “con”) to equip with, to provide with, to endow with
Echar la casa para la ventana – pull out all the stops
Engañar – (to lie to) to deceive, to trick, to fool
Entendimiento – (comprehension) understanding; (consciousness) mind, understanding; (agreement) understanding
Envuelto – (coated) wrapped, wrapped up; (implicated) involved; (surrounded) enveloped
Escasamente – (hardly) barely, scarcely; (marginally) slightly; (poorly or thinly) meagerly
Escoger – (to select) to choose
Evitar – (to keep clear of) to avoid; (to avert) to prevent, to avoid; (to keep from) to save from
Fantasma – (apparition) ghost, phantom; (threat) specter
Festejarse – (party, holiday, occasion) to be celebrated; festejar – (to party) to celebrate; (to honor) to entertain, to wine and dine; (to flatter) to to laugh at; (to woo) to court
Fielmente – (loyally) faithfully; (exactly) faithfully, accurately
Fijarse en – to pay attention to
Fortaleza – (physical power) strength; (building) fortress, fort; (mental power) fortitude
Fúnebre – (related to funerals or the deceased) funeral; (sullen) gloomy, mournful, funereal
Futesa – trivialities, trifles, mere nothing
Guadaña – scythe
Inmutarse – (to be bothered) to get upset, to be perturbed; inmutar – (to bother) to upset
Importar – (to be of importance) to matter, to be important; (to be bothered) to care, to mind
Jugo – (liquid) juice; (essence) meat
Juicio – (legal) trial, court case; (reason) good sense, sense, sensible; (point of view) judgment, opinion; (mental health) sanity
Juzgar – (legal) to judge, to try; (to form an opinion about) to judge; (to think) to consider
Lámpara – (light-emitting device) lamp; (electric bulb) light bulb, light
Lecho – (place to lie down) bed; (bottom) bed (of a river), floor (of an ocean); (geology) layer
Lioso – complicated, convoluted, confusing
Llama – (fire) flame
Magnate – magnate, tycoon, baron (old-fashioned)
Malestar – (physical state) discomfort; (worry) uneasiness, unease, malaise
Más falta – most needed
Mezclarse – (to muddle up) to get mixed up; (to combine) to mix; (to implicate oneself) to get involved
Molestarse – (to get annoyed) to get upset, to take offense; (to trouble oneself) to bother
Mona – (drinking binge) drunkenness; (imitator) copycat; (culinary) (Spain) Easter cake
Ni siquiera – not even
No hace falta que – it’s not necessary to; there’s no need for; you don’t need to
No hacía más que – he kept [doing sth…]; all he did was …
No poder evitar – cannot help but; cannot avoid; cannot stop oneself from
Ora – (used to express alternation) now; sometimes
Orar – (religious) to pray; (to speak before a group) to speak, to make a speech
Pábilo – (burning part of a candle) wick
Padrinos – godparents
Palma – (anatomy) palm; (botany) palm, palm leaf
Parpadear – (to bat one’s eyelashes) to blink, to twitch; (to scintillate) to twinkle, to flicker
Pecado – (immoral act) sin; (offense) sin, crime
Pelado – (flaking) peeling; (culinary) peeled; (plain) barely; bald, shaved
Perjudicar – (to jeopardize) to be detrimental to, to damage, to harm; (to speak ill of) to slander, to malign; perjudicarse – (to exacerbate for oneself) to make things worse
Plaga – (infestation) plague, pest; (illness) plague; (calamity) scourge, plague, affliction
Por encima de todo – above all
Puesto que – since, given that, because, as
Rebosar – (to spill over) to overflow; (to exceed capacity) to overflow; (to be packed, used with “de”) to be filled to the brim with, to be overflowing with
Recetar – (medicine) to prescribe
Rechazar – (to refuse to accept) to reject, to turn down; (to push back) to repel, to drive back
Reconocer – (to distinguish) to recognize; (to admit an error) to admit
Relajar – (to lessen tension or stress) to relax, to calm; (to lessen in severity) to relax; (to tease) to mock
Ribera – (geography) bank (of a river), shore (of a sea); (area) riverside
Rozar – (to touch lightly) to brush against, to brush, to graze, to rub
Sábana – (for a bed) sheet
Sabedor – aware
Sabio – (showing good judgment) wise, sensible; (possessing wisdom or knowledge) wise, learned
Sacar adelante – (to provide for and give an education to) to bring up, to give a good start in life; (to keep going) to get off the ground, to make a success of
Seco – (lacking moisture) dry, dried (food); (of few words) terse; (ironic) dry; (blow) dull
Sendero – (way) path, trail, track
Sentir a gusto – feel at ease; ease; feel comfortable; feel good
Sin cuenta – untold, countless, without number
Siniestro – (wicked) sinister, evil; (disastrous) fateful; (calamity) disaster, catastrophe
Sonado – (well-known) famous; (much commented on) much-talked-about, notorious; (mad) crazy
Sumido – immersed, lost (in thought)
Tener puesto – to be wearing
Tentar – (to entice) to tempt; (to examine by touch) to feel; (to test) to try
Todos cuantos – all those who; all who; all those; everyone who; all of
Toparse con – (to meet someone by chance) to run into, to bump into; (to encounter something) to come across, to come up against
Trabar – (to hold back) to hinder, to obstruct; (to engage in) to strike up, to start up; (to make secure) to fasten
Transitar – (to travel on foot) to walk, to go, to go along; (to circulate) to travel, to go
Tratarse de – (to refer to) to be about; (to amount to) to be a question of, to be a matter of, to be
Tullir – (to immobilize) to paralyze, to cripple
Vejete – old geezer, old guy
Vera – (border) side, edge; (geography) bank (of a river), shore (of a lake or ocean)