054. Thumbelino (Pulgarcito)
A couple had seven sons, and the youngest among them was as small as a thumb, and so they called him Thumbelino. They lived near a forest, yet they had nothing to eat because they were as poor as rats and hunger visited them day and night without fail. The father was [getting] desperate and he said to the wife:
Are we going [to sit here and] see our children die? Well, I don’t want to see them die from hunger.
And she said to him:
Look, we’ll take them to the forest tomorrow and, while they are distracted, we’ll leave them there, and with that at least we won’t see them die.
Thumbelino, when he heard this, went outside and filled his pockets with pebbles. [Then] When his parents took them to the forest, he dropped the pebbles [on the ground] from time to time. The children were playing in the forest until night came, and when their parents did not come, they began to cry [aloud]. And Thumbelino said to them:
Why are you all crying?
And they said:
Because our parents had left and we are lost.
And Thumbelino said:
Well, don’t you worry, for I’ll take us back to the house.
The parents were in the house with a heavy heart, thinking of the fate of the poor children.
The mother said:
Aye, the wolves must have eaten them.
And they replied:
No, mother, for we are here at the door.
The parents were overjoyed [when they heard their voice] and embraced them, and everyone was happy [at this turn of event]; but hunger is evil and pressing, and soon they had nothing [more] to give the children to eat. And the parents said to one another:
This time we’ll take them [even] further away.
And they did this. Thumbelino, when he heard this, kept a piece of bread that his father had given them to play with and crumbled it on the road from time to time. But the bread was eaten by the birds and this time he was not able to find the way back. So the poor, abandoned children continued walking together in fear until they saw a house, which was the house of an ogre, but they went to it [nevertheless]. And the [ogre’s] wife opened [the door]:
Aye, ma’am, please give us shelter for we are lost.
No, leave here at once, for this is the house of the ogre who eats all the [little] children.
Oh, please ma’am, hide us even if it’s only for one night.
So she hid them away. But as soon as he got back, the ogre said:
I smell fresh flesh.
Of course -said the wife-, the lamb, the suckling lamb…
No, no, I smell fresh flesh of children.
And he began to search [around] until he found them. And he gave them to his wife and said to her:
Fatten them up a little, for they are like chopsticks [now], then I’ll have a hearty dinner [made out] of children with my friends.
The wife gave them good food for dinner and later put them to bed in a little room that was next to the kitchen. And Thumbelino noticed that in the next bed there were seven other children, who were the children of the ogre, with seven cloth sleeping caps [on their head], and they, on the other hand, had seven paper caps [put on them]. Then Thumbelino, as soon as everyone was asleep, went and changed the caps.
The ogre got up from bed at midnight and went to the little room, and as there was no light, he felt the caps and killed those who had paper caps on and prepped them to eat the next day. And as soon as he got up, he ordered his wife to prepare a stew out of them. The wife went and discovered that these were her children.
Oi, wretches, you have killed our seven children!
The ogre went to look and discovered that Thumbelino and his brothers had escaped amidst the confusion, so he [left his house and] went in the forest, put on his seven-league boots and set out to search for them. But, as he was very sleepy, he took a little nap midway through thinking that he would reach them in no time. And it [just so] happened that the children were hiding near him. Thumbelino, taking advantage of him sleeping, removed the seven-league boots from the giant and put themselves in them and in a flash they arrived at the palace where the king lived. And when the king saw that Thumbelino was very smart, he employed him, his little brothers, and his parents, who were still mourning for the children, believing that they were [already] dead.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Al menos – at least
Apretar – (to apply pressure) to press, to pull, to squeeze
Aunque – even though, although, even if
Calzarse – (to cover with footwear) to put on
Cordero – lamb, lambskin
Desdichado – unhappy, wretched, unfortunate
Desesperar – to drive crazy, exasperate
Desmigar – to crumble
De tanto en tanto – from time to time
Dormilón – sleepy-head, fond of sleeping
Encogido – (timid) shy; (cowardly) easily scared, faint-hearted; (reduced in size) shrunken
Engordar – (to become fatter) to gain weight, to get fat
Fijarse en – to pay attention to
Fresca – cool, fresh air
Gorro – hat, cap
Guiso – stew
Lechazo – suckling lamb
Listo – smart, clever; ready
Oler – to smell; huelo – I smell
Palillos – chopsticks
Palpar – to touch, to feel
Periquete – jiff, flash (very quick)
Rata – rat
Remediar – to remedy, to repair, to solve, to put right
Soltar – to let go of, to drop
Tela – fabric, cloth
Temeroso – fearful, frightened