029. The Buried Daughter (La Hija Enterrada)
A king had only one daughter, whom he pampered and loved above all else [in the world]. The two of them lived in a beautiful palace when one day a gypsy woman who was begging for alms happened to pass by. The king did not want to let her enter, but the princess, who was kind-hearted, allowed her into the palace. And this gypsy woman was not who she [said she] was, but [instead was] a witch.
The gypsy woman stayed in the palace and one day she looked at the princess with evil intent and bewitched her. The girl became ill from that very moment and [her health] began to worsen, so much so that her father became very worried and, fearing that it had something to do with the gypsy woman, he threw her out of the palace. And one day, the princess, who continued to worsen, called for her father and said to him:
Father, if I die, have me buried in the palace chapel, and every night you will see to it that a sentry is posted there by my side, this will need to be done without fail every night.
The king, who loved her dearly, told her:
You won’t die until many years from now.
But she insisted:
Be that as it may, don’t forget what you have promised me.
The princess, after this conversation, continued deteriorating day after day until she, at last, died.
The king was heartbroken and no one was able to alleviate his grief, but, in the midst of this, he did not forget the promise he made to his daughter and ordered the first sentry to stand guard that very night.
So they did this, and the first night the princess came out of her grave at twelve o’clock (e.g. midnight), seized the sentry, killed him and put him in the same grave that she had come out from. Then she wandered around the church until dawn arrived, at which time she returned to her grave.
When they came by to relieve the sentry the next morning, they found that he was nowhere to be seen. Then the king was worried, thinking that the sentry had stood guard at some other place, no doubt mistakenly, and that with this he had broken the promise made to his daughter. So the next night he ordered the guard captain to make sure that, this time, the sentry was positioned where he was supposed to be.
But the next morning, when they went to look for him, they saw that he had disappeared like the prior one, for they could see no trace of him [at all]. And this happened again in the next two nights.
After all this, word spread among the king’s soldiers and no one wanted to go stand guard at the grave of the dead princess. So then the king decided that the sentries would get chosen by lottery, and whoever drew the lot would have to go.
So they drew lots and one among them got it, and this person thought to himself: “Well, I’m not going to go and what I’ll do is to desert [my position] and hit the road.” And so it was said and done: he left with the intention of never serving the king again. And he was on his way when an old man came up to him and said:
Where are you heading in passing through this area here?
And the soldier said to him:
Well, you see, I’m going to make it clear here: I left [the palace] because the king’s daughter has died, they have buried her inside the church and now the father puts a sentry [by her grave] every night; in the morning when they come to relieve him, they find that the sentry is not there, nor does he show up anywhere else. I’m afraid and do not want to be the sentry, as they have done this through lottery and it is my turn tonight.
The old man then said to him:
[I’ll take] None of that, what you’re going to do is to return immediately and pay good attention to what I tell you to do. Trust me on this and you will have made your fortune.
And the soldier said:
No, for if I do this I will be lost (e.g. die, disappear).
The old man insisted:
Be quiet and listen to what I am going to tell you: return to the palace and tonight, when you stand guard at the princess’s tomb, wait until half an hour before twelve o’clock and hide behind the tabernacle, and remain hidden there and without saying a word, no matter what you see. Then she will exit her tomb with fire spewing out from her eyes and mouth and, on seeing that you are not there, she will curse her father for not having placed a sentry there.
And he continued explaining and at last he said:
Do as I tell you and you will attain your happiness.
Reluctantly the soldier returned to the palace and assumed his post and, when the time arrived, they took him to the church where the princess was buried, left him in there and put the key outside. And there the poor soldier stayed, being scared to death [for what’s about to come].
When he saw that it was half an hour before twelve o’clock, he went to the altar, stood behind the tabernacle and waited. And at twelve o’clock sharp, as in the previous nights, the princess came out of her tomb with fire spewing from her mouth and eyes as the old man had said. She went out and began to look about the church, for she was searching for the sentry, and as she did not find him she began to say:
Curse my father, who had given me promise to have a sentry stand guard here each night and he has not done what he promised me.
And the princess continued to walk around the church [all the while] wailing and lamenting, and then the soldier, when he saw that she was going away, did as the old man had told him: he ran to the tomb and laid himself with face down in it. He barely did this when she arrived and, as soon as she saw him, she began to pinch and prick him with a pin, saying thus:
Get up, get up, get up!
The soldier let her said that three times and waited; and then she shouted at him this time [around]:
Get up if you are a Christian!
[Nguyen: the original Spanish text is “¡Levanta si eres cristiano!” I’m not sure if ‘cristiano’ has another meaning here. Some sources say ‘cristiano’ could refer to an individual, or human being.]
And as soon as the soldier heard this, he jumped up, because this is what the old man had instructed him to do. And as soon as he had stood in front of her, the fire in her eyes and mouth began to diminish until they disappeared completely. The the princess embraced the soldier and told him:
Oh sentry, you have been my salvation!
And he confessed to her:
Well, I was as scared as I have [ever] been.
And she said to him:
And I will not do you any harm as I did to the other poor sentries who came before you, who died for not doing what you have done.
And there they sat, in one of the church’s pews, talking until dawn when the other soldiers came to relieve the sentry and found that he was still alive, and the princess too. So they went running to inform the king with news of this event and he came with all the authorities of his kingdom and the court, and they saw that it was true what they announced to them, and so they took the couple out of the enclosure and brought them to the palace. And the king, overjoyed for having recovered his daughter, said:
As reward for having lifted the curse on my daughter, you will get to marry her.
and this seemed good to her and they all gave the couple their blessings, and later they had children and remained living in the palace ever since.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Acertar – (to be able to) to manage to; (to discover) to find; (to identified accurately) to get right
Acudir – (to consult) to turn to; (to occur to) to come; (to attend) to go to
Adentro – inside, in
Alejarse – to move away, to go away, to leave
Amanecer – dawn, daybreak
ánimo – mood, spirits
A regañadientes – reluctantly, unwillingly
Asegurarse – to make sure
Asustar – to frighten, to scare
Ay – cry, moan
Bendición – blessing
Boca abajo – face down
Callar – to say nothing, to keep quiet
Capilla – chapel
Centinela – sentry, guard
Conque – so, so then
Correrse la voz – to spread the word
Corte – (injury) cut; royal court; (legal) court
Daño – (destruction) damage; (injury) hurt, pain, harm
Deambular – to wander, to wander about
Desmejorar – to get worse
Dentro de – inside, within
Disminuir – to reduce, to lessen
Dolor – pain, ache
Echar la llave – to lock
Embrujar – to put a spell on, to bewitch
Empeorar – to get worse, to deteriorate
Gitano/a – gypsy
Hazme – do me (a favor, thing, etc.),
Mimar – to pamper, to spoil
Ocupar – to employ, to use
Pareja – (romantic pair) couple
Pellizcarse – to pinch oneself
Perder – (to lose to death or destruction) to lose
Pincharse – to prick, to puncture
Premio – prize, award, reward
Preocuparse – (to get anxious) to worry
Rastro – trace, sign
Recinto – (enclosed area) enclosure; (zone) place, area
Recorrer – to travel around
Relevar – to relieve, to take over from
Sagrario – tabernacle, sanctuary
Salir al paso – get out in front, run into
Sea como sea – in any case, anyway
Sepulcro – tomb, burial chamber
Sepultar – to bury
Sepultura – grave, tomb
Seriamente – seriously, earnestly
Sorteo – lottery, draw, lots
Tener que ver con – to have to do with
Tocar – to be someone’s turn; to be someone’s obligation or chance
Tumba – grave, tomb
Tumbarse – (to recline) to lie down, to stretch out