056. The Dwarf And The Shepherd (El Enano Y El Pastor)
A pastor was searching for his flock of cattle on the side of a hill when, in the middle of the path, he found a well-worn and half-broken bag. He saw it and yet was hesitated to pick it up because of how old it was, but in the end he thought that at least it would be worth it to patch it up. And when he picked up and threw it on his shoulder, he heard the following words coming out from the bag:
With me you carried,
and lucky will you be.
The shepherd was dumbfounded on hearing this and, as those words could only come from the bag, he fearfully and carefully opened it to see what was in it. And what he found was a dwarf as small as a corncob, dressed in a red cloak and a green cap.
The dwarf and the shepherd immediately became friends and the dwarf, who was very grateful to the shepherd, did him many favors and they went everywhere together. When the shepherd was thirsty, the dwarf would reach into his vest pocket -which was where he preferred the shepherd to carry him-, scratched a rock and in a [short] moment clear and fresh water that was a pleasure to drink would come out [from it]. And when the shepherd was sad, he would take out a little flute from under his cap and played beautiful songs for him. And if the shepherd wanted to spend a day sleeping, the dwarf would look after the cattle for him. And moreover, he would warn the shepherd when a storm was coming, or when the weather was going to be good, and he would tell him where the best pastures for the flock was. And he had a black rock that was infallible: every time that he threw it at crows, foxes, vixen… they all fell dead.
And so they stayed along side one another like this for a long time. Until one day when the dwarf told the shepherd that he had lost his magical powers, that he could no longer draw water from a rock, nor warn of coming storms, nor foresee good weather [ahead].
The shepherd told him not to worry, for they would continue to be friends. And from then on it was the shepherd who was in charge of singing songs to the dwarf, of finding him shelter from the cold and relieving him from the heat, of searching for his favorite mushrooms; in short, he took [good] care of the dwarf [regardless of] whether he had magical powers or not, [this] because the shepherd was [simply] a good person.
One day when he was on his way back with the livestock, two sheep went missing and he could not find them anywhere. With this weighing on his mind, he went back to the village and when he was about to arrive, he noticed that the dwarf was also missing. He then retraced his steps to see where he could have dropped the bag and, at this time, he saw the two sheep coming back in the distance, with the joyful dwarf playing the flute in front of them. When he got to his side, the dwarf told the shepherd that he had not lost any of his [special] powers, that he had only said this to test his appreciation [for their friendship].
The shepherd was also very happy [on hearing this] and so continued [on with] his life as before.
Until one evening when they were following the flock that the dwarf told the shepherd to put him on his shoulder. The dwarf took hold of his ear to make sure he was safely secured and immediately began to say to him:
As you are a good man, I’m going to telling you something. Over there on the other side of this hill is a lush forest that if one enters through some rocks, one would find the cave of an ojáncanu (e.g. cyclop). In this cave the ojáncanu has imprisoned a princess, of whom he was deeply in love with that he kidnapped her one day when she was going out on a hunt. So he had her well hidden in the depth of the cave, but I know that whoever frees her will obtain a lot of riches.
But -said the shepherd- that is impossible, because a man cannot kill an ojáncanu.
That is true -said the dwarf- but I will help you with my infallible (e.g. unfailing) black stone.
No sooner had he said this that a crow came, grabbed the black stone [with its beak] that the dwarf had in his hand and hastily flew away.
The dwarf shouted his head off in despair, for he had only that one stone and [without it he] could no longer kill the ojáncanu and help his friend obtain the riches. And the shepherd said:
Don’t you worry, for it’s all the same to me whether I am rich or poor; I feel for the poor princess [though], who cannot leave the cave, so that, in spite of everything, I am going to see if I can use my wit to free her from the ojáncanu.
So the next day the two of them went to the cave of the ojáncanu.
They positioned themselves near the cave in some bushes, and the shepherd began to imitate the cawing of the crows. Soon the ojáncanu came out [of the cave] to see what news that cawing crow was bringing him, as the crows were the ones who told him everything that was going on in that area.
As he did not see the crow, he began to look around and wandered a bit away from the cave; then the shepherd told the dwarf to continue imitating the cawing sound while remaining hidden so as to attract the [attention of the] ojáncanu and that, meanwhile, he would enter the cave to rescue the princess. And when he had gotten her out of there, he would give a loud whistle to let him know that he had already left.
So they did this, and while the shepherd crawled toward the cave, the dwarf went from one bush to another imitating the cawing of the crows, and the ojáncanu was furious for he could not find the crow [anywhere].
Then the shepherd reached the depth of the cave and rescued the princess. As he was leaving the cave, he saw that there was a large stone that must have served as a table for the ojáncanu, and on it was the dwarf’s black rock, so he picked it up and put it in his pocket. Then he went outside and hid themselves, and the shepherd whistled loudly, as he had said [to the dwarf earlier], to warn him that he had the princess and that they were able to [make their] escape [from the cave].
[Nguyen: change ‘bag’ to ‘pocket’ in earlier sentences where applicable.]
But no sooner had he whistled that the shepherd heard heartrending screams coming from the bushes where he had been hiding with the dwarf [earlier]. And it was [the case] that the ojáncanu had found the place where the dwarf was cawing and had caught him.
The shepherd ran like a hare towards the place where his friend was, and on arriving he saw that the ojáncanu had the dwarf in one hand so as to smash him against a crag. Then the shepherd threw the black stone and, as the stone was infallible, it hit the ojáncanu on the head and he fell dead then and there.
Then the shepherd took the princess to her palace and the princess, being grateful [for his help], married him. And even though the dwarf remained in the forest at times, at others he went [to the palace] to spend time with them. And he continued to bestow on them the same favors that he had always granted to the shepherd.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Abrigo – shelter (from the cold)
Agarrar – (to grasp with the hands) to grab, to take, to take hold of
Agradecimiento – gratitude, appreciation
Aliviarse – to ease; (to heal) to get better
Apostarse – (to station oneself) to position oneself; (to gamble) to bet
Arañarse – to scratch
Arrastrarse – to crawl, to slither
A toda prisa – very quickly
Atraer – to attract, to draw
Avecinarse – to come close, to approach, to come near
Avisar – to warn, to let know, to inform
Boquiabierto – (astounded) open-mouthed, speechless, dumbstruck
Cargar – (to have with) to carry; (to charge with responsibility) to burden
Chaleco – (clothing) vest
Colina – hill
Cuervo – raven, crow
Delante – in front, ahead
Desesperar – to drive crazy; to exasperate
Desgañitarse – to shout one’s head off; (to become raspy) to grow hoarse
Desgarrador – heartrending, heartbreaking
Desgastado – worn, worn down
Estrellarse – to crash, to smash
Frondoso – lush, dense, thick
Fulminar – to hit, to strike; (to kill) to strike down; to utter, to hurl
Ganado – livestock, cattle
Graznar – to caw, to squawk
Graznido – (sound some birds make) duck quack, crow caw, goose honk
Infalible – unfailing, infallible, foolproof
Ladera – slope, hillside, mountainside
Liebre – (animal) hare
Lo siento – I’m sorry
Matorral – thicket, bushes
Ojáncano – cyclop
Oreja – ear
Otorgar – to bestow, to grant
Oveja – sheep
Panochar – (botany) ear, cob, corncob
Peña – rock, cliff, crag
Pesar – grief, sorrow, remorse
Probar – (to trial) to try, to test
Raposa – fox, vixen (feminine)
Rebaño – flock, herd
Rehacer – to repeat an action, to redo, to do again
Remendar – (to sew up) to darn, to mend; to patch; to correct
Rescatar – to rescue, to save
Roca – rock
Roto – (in pieces) broken; (ripped) torn
Sendero – path, trail
Seta – mushroom
Silbido – whistle, whistling
Sombrerete – little hat, cap
Temporada – time, period of time, stint
Tiento – caution, care
Tormenta – storm
Valer – to be worth; to cost; (to have value) to be valuable; (to serve) to be useful
Zurrón – bag