021. The Enchanted Princess (La Princesa Enchantada)
A knight was traveling the world in search of adventures when one day he met on his travel four animals, a lion, a greyhound, an eagle and an ant, disputing over a freshly killed wild beast which they had found in the middle of the field.
Since they could not agree, when they saw the knight approaching, they asked him to divide up the beast among themselves and [agreed] that they would abide by his decision, as this was the only way they could have a peaceful feast. The knight agreed, unsheathed his sword, chopped up the beast in a way that seemed best to him and divided it among the four and this seemed good to all of them. To the eagle he gave the guts, to the lion the buttocks, to the greyhound the ribs, and to the ant the back. Having done this, he was ready to continue on his way.
But before he departed, the animals spoke to him because, as he had resolved their dispute, they were grateful to the knight. And the lion said to him:
Here, I’ll give you a strand of hair from my head. Carry it always with you, and when you need to transform into a lion you only have to say: “God and lion”, and lion you will become. And when you want to become a man again, just say: “God and man”.
Then the eagle gave him one of its feathers and said:
Take this feather and carry it always with you and when you need to transform into an eagle, you’ll say: “God and eagle”, and eagle you will become. And when you want to become a man again, you’ll say: “God and man”.
The ant was thinking about what to give him, and finally, it plucked off one of its antennas and said to him:
I don’t know what to give you, because everything [on my body] is necessary for me, but even though I am not whole now, take this antenna and when you need to transform yourself into an ant, say “God and ant”. And when you want to turn into a man again, just say: “God and man”.
The greyhound also plucked off a strand of hair and said to him, like the others, that when he needed to become a greyhound, he would say: “God and greyhound”; and to transform into a man again: “God and man”.
After receiving all these gifts the knight set out happier than ever, for he thought that such gifts would make him famous when he went on his adventures. And [while] thinking about these things, he arrived at a palace where it was said that there lived a giant guarding a princess whom he had abducted, and that no one had been able to see her. But the knight approached it and saw the princess looking out from the only balcony of the palace and resolved to get closer and talk to her. And she warned him immediately:
Stay away [young sir], because if the giant see you, he will eat you, for he is a ferocious giant.
The knight was not afraid and came even closer until he was right under the balcony, and he asked the princess about her story.
The princess told him that a giant lived there, who kept her locked up so that no one could know about her [existence] except for him. The knight told her that he was willing to rescue her from there if she would agree to marry him, and she said that she knew of the way to defeat the giant, but the giant would kill her if she was to reveal his secret.
The knight anxiously insisted time and again that she reveal the secret and, on seeing how determined he was, the princess told him:
Look, I know that the giant would only die when someone breaks an egg which he kept securely inside the palace. And when he dies [then] I will be free. But I don’t know where he keeps the egg and, moreover, the giant is [also] a sorcerer.
Then they heard the palace doors squeaking on their hinges and saw the giant was coming out and heading towards them.
And the knight said:
God and ant!
and he was transformed into an ant, so that the giant could not see him.
The ant climbed up the tower, went into the princess’s room and waited until everyone retired to bed in the palace. And when this happened, he turned back into human form and woke up the princess, who was amazed to see him in her room. And there the knight and the princess thought for three days and three nights about how to find the egg. And after three days, the giant, who had left [the palace] to attend to some business, returned with a porcupine inside which he kept the egg. And as soon as he entered the palace, the giant said:
I smell human flesh!
[when he sensed the presence] of the knight; and he sent the porcupine to search for him. And the knight, when he saw the porcupine coming, said:
God and lion!
And he was transformed into a lion and fought with the porcupine, which was full of fearsome quills. But when the lion had it [the porcupine] defeated, the porcupine turned into a hare and ran away. Then the knight transformed into human form again and said this time:
God and greyhound.
The greyhound chased after the hare, and after an exhausting race the hare, seeing that the greyhound was about to overtake it, turned into a dove and flew away. The knight, who saw it flew away, returned to human form and said:
God and eagle.
So he chased after the dove as an eagle and captured it in flight; and when he landed, he turned back into human form once more, cut open the dove with his knife and there he found the egg which he was looking for.
The giant, as he was [also] a sorcerer, felt the fate of the porcupine in his own bosom, was about to faint and went to look for the princess so as to cast an evil spell on her. But then came the knight carrying the egg which contained the life of the giant in his right hand, valiantly approached the latter and smashed it on his head and the egg broke and the giant died. And as he was dying, he turned to the princess and said:
I, who love you dearly, told you about my secret. And now you have told it to him and have me killed.
Then the knight took the princess in his arms and led her out of the palace as he had promised her; and she, too, kept her promise and married him.
[Nguyen: moral of the story – keep all of your secrets to yourself! and help out all animals when they ask you for assistance!]
—– VOCABULARY —–
Acerca – about
Además – besides
Agotador – tiring, exhausting
Agradecer – to show gratitude, to thank
águila – eagle
Alcanzar – to reach, to catch; (to accomplish) to achieve
Alejarse – to move away, to go far from
Ansioso – anxious, worried, nervous
Arrancar – (to remove by force) to pull out, to uproot
Asomar – to stick out, to lean out
Atender – to care for, to look after
Atender a – (to comply) to meet, to abide; (to consider) to take into account; to bear in mind
Atrapar – to catch, to capture
aún más – even more, even more so
Aunque – even though, although
Brazo – arm
Carrera – race; career
Chirriar – (to make a harsh sound) to screech, to squeal, to creak, to squeak
Conceder – (to bestow) to give, to grant, to award
Costillas – (anatomy) back, rib; chop, cutlet, sparerib
Cuchillo – knife
Cumplir – to carry out, to keep
Desfallecer – to faint, to pass out
Despertar – to wake up, to arouse
Diestra – right hand
Disponer – (to have at one’s disposal) to have; (to place) to arrange, to set out
Disponerse – (to make ready) to prepare, to get ready
Disposición – willingness
Disputarse – (to contend for) to dispute, to fight for
Empezar – to begin, to start
Encerrar – to lock up
Enseguida – immediately
Entraña – heart, core
Estrellar – to smash, to crash, to slam
Feroz – savage, fierce, ferocious
Galgo – greyhound
Gozne – hinge
Guardar – (to place) to put away; (to reserve) to save, to keep
Hormiga – (insect) ant; (person) hard-working
Liebre – hare
Lomo – back, lower back; loin; (book) spine
Mochar – to chop off
Nalgas – buttocks, butt, bum
Oler – to smell
Paloma – dove, pigeon
Partir – to depart, to leave
Pelear – to fight, to argue
Pelo – hair (single strand)
Pluma – (of a bird) feather
Portar – to carry, to bear
Púa – sharp point; quill, spine
Puercoespín – porcupine
Repartir – to distribute, to divide
Revelar – to reveal, to divulge
Secuestrar – to kidnap, to hijack, to seize
Semejante – (alike) similar; (of such a degree) such; (fellow human) fellow being
Temible – fearsome, fearful, scary
Torre – tower, spire, turret
Trepar – (to ascend something) to climb, to scale
Tripas – guts, innards
Trocear – to cut up, to cut into pieces
Una y otra vez – time and time again
Vencer – (to vanquish) to defeat, to beat