064. The Little Roebuck (El Pequeño Corzo)
A boy and a girl, who were siblings, lived at home with their stepmother. The stepmother was an evil woman and did not love them. One day, the boy said that he could no longer put up with her anymore, and that he’d [decided to] run away.
His sister began to cry because she did not want the boy to leave, but as she neither wanted to be separated from her brother nor to remain there by herself, in the end she decided to leave with him.
They left with [only] the clothes [on their back] and a bundle of changes [e.g. clothes for changing] and went far away from the house. When the stepmother discovered that they had left, she became furious and the first thing she did was to enchant three distant fountains that she knew the children would have to pass by.
The two siblings, after much traveling, began to feel thirsty and soon encountered the first fountain. They approached it to have a drink and the girl heard a crystal clear voice that said:
He who drinks my water, an agile lion he’d become.
The girl, after hearing this, fearfully said to her brother:
For God’s sake, don’t drink this water, or you will become a lion and devour me.
The boy, as he loved her very much, put up with his thirst and they continued walking [along the road] with the hope of soon encountering another fountain. And with this they ran into the second fountain and anxiously approached it to have a drink, but the girl heard a crystal clear voice which said:
He who drinks my water, an agile wolf he’d become.
The girl, being greatly frightened, said to her brother:
For God’s sake, my brother, do not drink this water, or you will turn into a wolf and eat me.
So that they did not drink from that fountain either and continued on their way, but [now] they were parched with thirst. At last, they saw a third fountain and began to run towards it because they could not resist it any longer; but, as they got there, the girl heard a crystal clear voice which said:
He who drinks my water, an agile roebuck he’d become.
And she had hardly finished hearing these words when she saw that her brother was already drinking from the fountain without her being able to save him from doing so. And he was [then] transformed into a beautiful roebuck. His sister became very afraid, thinking that he would not recognize her and would run away from her, but the little roebuck said:
Don’t you worry, little sister, for you are not alone. I will search for strawberries and fruits for you, and I [myself] will sustain from the grass in the forest.
The roebuck and the girl started walking and entered a lush forest. In a clearing in the forest they found a small house that looked to be uninhabited. They knocked and knocked and, as no one answered them, they entered the house to spend the night. And as no one came to the house that night to sleep, nor in the following nights, they decided to stay and live there.
Close to the house -although they did not know about it- was a castle inhabited by a king who was very fond of hunting. Every morning the girl would say goodbye to her brother, the roebuck, who would go rummaging in the forest to find food to eat and fruits for his sister. One day when the king was out hunting, he saw the roebuck and began to chase after it. The frightened little roebuck ran wildly back to the house and when he was at the door, he cried out loud:
Open the door for me, my little sister, open it for me!
One of the king’s servants, who was walking nearby, saw this and ran back to tell the king:
Your Majesty, that little roebuck that you were chasing after… it speaks!
The king was amazed at this turn of event, and he asked:
How can it speak? Is that [even] possible?
And the servant:
Yes, Your Majesty, for I saw it and heard it [with my own eyes and ears]!
And the king said:
Well, tomorrow we’ll verify this.
They left the next day to go hunting again and the king warned everyone in his retinue:
If you see a little roebuck, do not shoot it.
They combed over the forest until they find it, and the little roebuck, being scared to death, started running back to the house. And the king and his servant were waiting close by in hiding. The frightened little roebuck arrived at the door and cried out:
Open the door for me, my little sister, open it for me!
And the servant, looking at the king, who was truly surprised [at what he was witnessing], and said to him:
You see, Your Majesty, how it was true what I told you?
Then the king told the servant to prepare to accompany him the following day. And so both of them left in the morning and head to the house in the forest. When they arrived, the king stood at the door and, imitating the voice of the little roebuck, cried out:
Open the door for me, my little sister, open it for me!
The girl opened the door, believing that it was her brother. And on realizing that she had been deceived, she began to cry inconsolably. And the king said to her:
Don’t cry, beautiful girl, for we are not going to do you any harm.
The king, who had fallen in love with the girl, invited her to come to his castle, but she was afraid for her brother.
What would become of my brother? -she asked.
We will also take your brother with us to the castle and there he will have everything that he needs -replied the king.
So the girl and the roebuck went to live in the palace. The king, little by little, won over the girl’s heart, got married to her and they had a baby boy nine months later.
One day, the stepmother, after having learned the fate of the siblings, came to the castle with a daughter of hers. She introduced herself as a wet nurse and presented her daughter as a maid. This seemed well to the king and he sent them to his wife, but, as soon as the stepmother stepped foot in her stepdaughter’s room, she produced an enchantment, made the queen disappeared and put her daughter in her place; however, the enchantment included a condition and it was that the queen must come to say goodbye to her son on three occasions.
After this, the evil stepmother closed the room door and, claiming that the queen was unwell, did not allow anyone to enter so that they would not recognize her daughter, who was impersonating the queen.
Once the spell was cast, the queen came back the first night dressed in all white, and the roebuck also appeared and stood by the door. She entered, embraced and rocked the child in her arms, and said:
My son, my little brother, I will return and take [good] care of the both of you for two more nights -and, having said this, she disappeared.
The same servant who was accompanying the king to the house [in the forest] was following the little roebuck, because he had seen it entering the castle. He followed it to the room and saw it stop at the door with its head down and with a sorrowful countenance. It was then when he heard those words, and he went back to tell them to the king.
The next night, the king and his servant were waiting in hiding close to the room when they saw the queen arriving, being dressed in all white, with the little roebuck following her and stopping with its head down. The queen opened the door to the room, then entered [, took hold of the baby] and rocked him [in her arms], saying:
My son, my little brother, one more night I will return and take good care of you both.
And she disappeared after having said this; and the king and the servant were perplexed, as they did not know if what they had seen and heard were [really] true. And the little roebuck did not say anything [either], as it seemed to have lost the ability to speak.
On the third night, the king decided to solve the enigma and stationed himself by the door. The queen arrived at the same time, dressed in all white [like before], entered the room and rocked the child [in her arms]. But the king, being attentive, entered after her. This time, the queen said:
My son, my little brother, now I will never return and will be unable to care for either of you.
Then the king embraced the queen before she disappeared as in the previous two nights and, at that moment, the spell was broken and her brother, the little roebuck, who was standing at the door as he had the nights before, transformed into a handsome young man. The king called his servants and everyone [went and] saw that it was the stepmother’s daughter who was sleeping in the queen’s bed, and lying at the imposter’s feet was the wicked stepmother. And between themselves they detained the pair, brought them to the castle’s courtyard and there threw them into a cauldron of boiling oil so that they could never do evil deeds again. And [so] the king and queen lived happily with their son afterwards, and the brother was given a beautiful house next to the castle so that he would never be separated from them again. And [last but not least,] the faithful servant was also rewarded [richly for his deeds].
—– VOCABULARY —–
Acunarse – to rock (baby)
Admirar – to surprise, to amaze, to astonish; to think highly of, to admire
Aguantar – (to withstand) to bear, to take, to support, to hold; (to tolerate) to put up with
Alegar – to claim, to allege; to cite, to put forward, to plead
Ansioso – (uneasy) anxious, worried
Apostarse – (to station oneself) to position oneself
Batir – (to mix) to beat, to whip, to whisk, to churn; (to explore) to comb, to search
Cabizbajo – (glum) downcast, crestfallen, dejected
Comportar – (to imply) to involve
Comprobar – to check, to prove, to verify
Corzo – roe deer, roe buck (male)
Cristalina – (very clear) crystal-clear
Desenfrenadamente – wildly, in an uncontrolled way
Despedir a – to say goodbye to
Doncella – (servant) maid, maidservant
Encontrarse – to be, to feel
Engañar – to deceive, to trick
Espantado – frightened
Evitar – (to keep clear of) to avoid; (to avert) to prevent
Frondoso – lush, dense
Gacha – down, bowed
Haremos – we will do; hacer – to do
Hatillo – bundle
Indispuesto – indisposed, unwell
Internarse – (to penetrate into) to penetrate, to advance deep, to go into
Ligero – (fast) swift; (not heavy) light; (not thick) thin
Madrastra – stepmother
Madroños – strawberry trees
Malvado – evil, wicked
Meterse en – to go in
Nodriza – wet nurse
Reconocer – (to distinguish) to recognize; (to admit an error) to admit
Rumbo a case – heading home; way home
Séquito – entourage, retinue
Suplantar – to take the place of, to impersonate
Tirar – to discharge, to fire, to shoot