037. The Golden Slipper (La Zapatilla De Oro)
A king went hunting with his guests and, following a [game] kill, he got separated from the group. After a while, it got late in the evening and he [looked back and] saw that no one was following him except for a count in his court. Then they both decided to look for shelter somewhere [in that area] and by chance they came across a house in the middle of the field.
In the house lived a couple who had a very beautiful and smart daughter, and they immediately offered lodging to the king and his companion.
They did not have much food in the house, but looking for something good to serve the king, they prepared two partridges and cooked and brought them to the table.
The girl divided the partridges and gave the heads to her father, the wings to her mother, the bodies to the king and his companion, and she kept the legs for herself. Upon seeing this distribution, the young count who was with the king said:
These partridges are not well divided, for we get the larger portion and that is not right.
And the girl said:
Yes, señor, that is well-intended, for you see: the head is for my father, because he is my father and the head of the household; the wings are for my mother, who is seconds in the house; the body is for you, for you are our guests. And since I am the one who goes to and fro [to prepare the food], the legs are for me.
Having said this, they all accepted the explanation and began to eat. And the young count became enamored with the girl for she seemed very smart, and being very pretty and capable to boost as well.
When they finished with dinner, everyone [then] retired to bed; and the young count said to the king:
I like this girl so much that it seems to me that I have fallen in love [with her], and if she loved me [in return], I would well marry her, for I do not seek a woman who has many [worldly] possessions, but one whom I like even if she does not have anything.
And the king said:
Very well, tomorrow morning you can ask the parents for her hand.
So he did this the next day, and the girl’s father replied that his daughter was not worthy of marrying him for they were not nobles but [only] poor artisans. The young count insisted that they asked her [directly], for if she accepted [then] he would marry her without worrying about her background. They called for the girl and, when they told her that the count was courting her, she gave her consent. And the wedding took place a few days later.
Some time passed by and one day, in the palace, the king approached the young count and asked him about his wife, for he had not seen them since the day of the wedding and he was curious [for how things were going]. And the count told him:
Not even if I had traveled a thousand times around the world would I have found a better wife, nor more capable, faithful and loving than she.
This was overheard by one of the king’s ministers, and he remarked aloud so they could hear him:
I don’t believe it, for it is well-known that all women are the devil [in disguise].
And the young count said:
My wife is the devil? But she’s the most honest and virtuous [person] that you can find in the world.
Aha! -said the minister-. Is that what you think? Then let’s wager our heads that she’s not as honest as you think [she is].
A bet it is -replied the irritated count.
Well, the king [here] is our witness -said the minister.
They agreed that the count would not return home for eight days, and in the meantime, the minster would try to make her sin. And there the count stayed, in the king’s palace, waiting for the eight days to pass.
The minister then went to the count’s house and asked to see the countess, but she sent word through the maid that she would not see nor speak to an outsider while her husband was away. The minister did not despair and continued to insist [on meeting her], and on one day they would tell him that their mistress was not there, on another that she had gone out, and yet another that she could not receive him. And the days began to pass by and the minister became desperate for he could not see how to get to her when she was not willing to do so.
So he began to think about what he could do before the eight days were up, for otherwise he would lose his head, and at that moment he came up with an idea whereby he searched out the countess’s hairdresser and told her that he would give her three sacks of gold if she could get him three private items belonging to the countess. The hairdresser agreed to this [proposal]. The next day, she was attending to the countess when the latter left her rings on the dresser while washing herself, so she then removed a very pretty ring which the count had gifted her; then, when she was combing her hair, she cut off a lock of hair without her realizing it; and then she noticed that she had a mole on her right breast. And as soon as she left the count’s house, the hairdresser went to see the minister and gave him the three items belonging to the countess.
The minister went happily to the palace and called for the king, the count, and [other] witnesses. As it was the eighth day, the king said to him:
How is it that you could not come until today?
And the minister said:
I could have come earlier, but I was enjoying my time [with the countess].
Then the count threatened to kill him on the spot, for he did not believe him; and the minister said:
You don’t believe it? Then look at this ring and tell me if you recognize it -and he showed the ring to the count-. Tell me if you recognize this lock of hair -and he showed him the lock of hair-. And tell me if your wife doesn’t have a mole on her right breast?
The count was speechless for he recognized the three items. Then the king said:
Call the marshal here and apprehend the count, and after three days we will cut off his head.
So they imprisoned the count and he stayed in the chapel awaiting his decapitation. As the prisoners were allowed to make a wish, the count asked that he be allowed to write a letter to his wife. Then he explained in the letter what had happened and asked her if it was true that she had been with the minister, which he believed was not the case, and for which he had bet his head.
The countess understood the situation at once and, without wasting any time, went to find a goldsmith and tasked him to make a golden slipper in twenty-four hours.
The goldsmith threw his hands on his head and said:
One golden slipper in only one day! That’s [just] impossible!
Well, it must be [done] in one day! And there is nothing that can’t be done if one [truly] wants to do it.
Good -said the goldsmith-, but you will pay me double what it’s worth.
The countess agreed and then went to see a dressmaker and ordered a purple velvet tunic, and the same thing happened, but she [the dressmaker] agreed to make it because the countess paid her double the normal amount. So the next day, the countess dressed in the tunic, put the slipper on a tray and went to the gate of the king’s palace and began to say aloud, so that they could hear her from within the palace:
I ask for justice from heaven, for I cannot find it here on earth!
She shouted again and again until it reached the ears of the king; and he said:
Who is saying such a thing? I am a king who provides justice equally to all and I do not sell myself [out] for money.
And he added:
Bring that woman to me at once!
So that when she was in the king’s presence, he asked her [thus]:
What is it that you were saying back there?
That I cannot find justice on earth, and therefore I ask for justice from heaven; because there is a man who had stolen a slipper like this from my bedchamber, and that man is… -and she said the name of the king’s minister.
The king, on hearing this, ordered the constable to bring the minister to his presence. When he arrived, the countess repeated her accusation; and the minister said:
What is this crazy woman saying! I have never seen this woman [before] in my life!
And the countess said:
Do you say that you have never seen me, and that you do not know me, and that you did not steal my golden slipper?
The minister again gave his denial, and she insisted:
Do you swear that you have never seen me, nor do you know me? Do you swear it three times without going back on your words?
And the minister replied:
Yes, ma’am, three times and as many as necessary. That I have never seen you, nor do I know you at all.
Then the countess said to him:
Then why do you say that you have slept with me?
Those present were left in suspense at this question, and the countess said to the king:
Señor, [please] send for my husband, for I am the peasant girl whom you met while out hunting [a while ago] and whom the count married, and you [all] have heard him sworn that I had not been unfaithful to my husband.
The king and his entire court were amazed by the girl’s wit. They immediately sent for the count, who, as soon as he saw his wife, embraced her, and they then spared the minister’s life, but the king banished him forever from his court.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Agudeza – sharpness, acuity
Ala – wing
Alcoba – bedchamber, bedroom
Alguacil – bailiff; sheriff, marshall
Amenazar – (to menace) to threaten
Añadir – (to incorporate) to add
Anonadado – stunned, astonished
Apostar – to bet
Avenirse a – to agree to
Bandeja – platter, tray
Cabello – hair
Campesino/a – country person, peasant, farmer
Capilla – chapel
Cariñoso – affectionate, loving
Casualidad – chance, coincidence
Cobijo – shelter, refuge
Dar con – to find
Darse cuenta – to realize
Desdecirse – to take back, to go back on one’s words
Desesperar – to drive crazy, to exasperate; to make lose hope, to drive to despair
Despegarse de – to take off from; despegarse – (to come off) to become unstuck
Desterrar – to banish, to exile
Digno – worthy, honorable
Enamorado – in love
Encerrar – to enclose, to lock up
Fijarse – to pay attention, to take notice
Guisar – to cook, to stew
Huésped – guest
Infiel – adulterous, unfaithful
Jurar – to swear, to promise
Lunar – mole; spot, polka dot
Mechón – (cluster of hair) lock
Modista – fashion designer, dressmaker, tailor
Morado – purple
Negar – to refute, to deny
Orfebre – silversmith, goldsmith
Otro que – other than
Partir – to cut, to split
Pata – leg
Pecar – (religious) to sin; (to overdo) to be too
Pecho – chest, breast
Peinadora – hairdresser
Pieza – piece, part, element
Prender – to apprehend, to arrest
Preocuparse – to get anxious, to get worried
Preso – prisoner
Pretender – to intend, to expect; to woo, to court
Quitar – to remove, to take away
Reconocer – to recognize
Repartir – to distribute, to divide
Repetir – to do again, to repeat
Seña – sign, signal
Suspenso – suspense; fail, failure (exam, etc.)
Testigo – witness
Tocador – dresser, dressing table
Túnica – tunic, robe