100. Six Friends With Superhero Powers (Seis Amigos de Novedades)
In a small village surrounded by meadows, in a valley [situated] between mountains, there lived a Hunter who was reputed to be very skilled. He was not known for any skill worthy of mention, save for that of hunting.
In the game of skittles he was beaten by many, as well as in the game of tic-tac-toe; as for the card game of mus, he was neither good nor bad. But, yes, in killing hares as well as partridges, quails, sordas, and even wild boars, he had no rival in all the realm. Who here had not heard at least once the name of the Hunter of Zelayeta [being mentioned]?
[Note: I’m not sure what “sordas” are.]
And it happened that, it was not known how, perhaps because he had heard stories from some foreign visitors passing by, it occurred in his mind and in his heart a strong desire to travel to faraway places and to see new things. For that, he thought [of] some other friends who had some remarkable skill set, but in his small village he could find no one who met his requirement and he set out [on his trip] alone.
And on his way he met a man who gave [aroused in] him [great] admiration, a man [standing] tall and erect who carried a milling stone attached to his foot. And when he saw him, he approached him with these words:
– My man, what are you doing, or what is it that has you standing there?
And the man replied:
– In order not to go too fast, once in a while I need to tie this mill wheel [millstone] to my foot. If I see some hare running, I go after it, and if I am not careful, I will overtake it and in this way it will escape me. This is how I am.
And the Hunter said to him:
– Do you want to come with me to see and know what is happening in the world?
– All right! – said the other -. I’m going with you!
They walked on together and arrived at a large ranch, with beautiful turnips being planted everywhere. And at the edge of the ranch they saw a chasm that was at least three leagues deep and, next to it a very strong man, who was the one who had bored a hole in it, had his ear pressed against the ground.
– What are you doing, my man? – said the Hunter -. Perhaps your ear is sore?
And the other replied to him:
– Don’t you know that a seed that is sown in the ground will soon begin to decay? And that, as it decays, it becomes strong again and begins to sprout new life from that death?
The Hunter [then] said:
– We don’t pay attention to those little things.
And the man said:
– Well, when the dead seed rises little by little and peeks out from the crust of the land, it germinates. And I dedicate myself to listening to the imperceptible sound of those germination when they rise up, because neither birds that fly high above, nor hares in the woods, nor bees among the flowers have finer ears than mine.
– Well then – the Hunter said -, if you want to come with us to see the world, some of your skill set may be useful to us. I, who am a hunter, can reach a wood pigeon three leagues from here and take it to the ground in one shot. And this one here with me is capable of being more light-foot toward the north than the smoke that escapes from a baker’s chimney on the day which the southern wind blows.
– Okay – said the other -. Let’s go there.
They continued on their way, traveling up and down great slopes, and lo and behold, next to a gigantic and wild tree, one of those that have never been pruned, they encountered a boy doing something that they couldn’t understand.
– Boy, what are you doing there? – asked the Hunter.
And the boy replied:
– I am making a bollard with this tree because I want to make a mill under my roof. And since I need running water, with the strength that I have, I will carry my house next to the river, and anchor it down with this bollard so that it will not go [float] away.
– Then wait until our return – said the Hunter – and come with us, where we will see what’s happening in the world.
The four of them continued on their way until they left the grove and encountered who was to be their fifth companion, who was doing something extraordinary.
– Hey you – said the Hunter on seeing him -, can you tell me what you are doing, eating the stones from that quarry? Are those rocks [tasting] as good as corn bread?
And the Stone-Eater said:
– Let it be known that if I, in eating all the stones I want, I will pass them down to my behind [butt] and start throwing them out of it, [whereby] I [can] put an entire army in flight.
– Oh my God! – said the Hunter – . Well, join us and, together, it seems to me that we’re going to do something great.
So those five continued on and soon found their sixth companion. He was supporting a mountain on his shoulders and they asked him what he was looking for [looking to do] with it. And the man told them that he did it so that it wouldn’t fall on a neighboring village. And when they suggested that he traveled with them, he threw the mountain aside and went with them.
So these were our six friends with superhuman powers: the Hunter, the Speedster, the Listener, the Strongman, the Stone-Eater, and the Mountain-Mover.
The six of them were talking about their [superhuman] qualities when the Listener said:
– Let’s see, hush, the king at three leagues from here was saying something.
– Well, what does he say? – asked the others.
That, to whoever who is able to bring him a pitcher filled with water from a fountain that he knows as fast as his maid brings it, he would give that person all the money that a man can carry.
On hearing this, the Hunter said:
– You, Speedster, let go of that millstone that you have tied to your foot and, in a moment, go to where the king is.
The Speedster presented himself before the king, grabbed a pitcher, ran to the fountain, and when he returned faster than the smoke [blown by the southern wind] with the pitcher filled with water, the maid, who was a witch, put a narcotic in his nostrils to put him to sleep and make him lose the bet.
– We are screwed – said the Hunter, who had seen everything with his eagle eyes -. Our companion the Speedster is sleeping. But don’t [you] worry, I will wake him up.
He took his gun, aimed carefully and [upon] firing it, pulled out the narcotic [lodged] in the Speedster’s nose, with which the latter ran faster than anyone else, arriving first at the finish line.
The six friends went to the king and called on him to keep his word. The king [then] asked who would carry the promised prize money. The Hunter had previously instructed the Strongman [for this task] and they had prepared a gigantic sack made with the skin of ten oxen. As soon as they filled it with the money, he threw it over his shoulder and, with the five companions at his sides, he [they] left the palace.
The king, stung [by this], sent an army corp after them. The Hunter, as soon as he saw them appeared behind them, said to the Stone-Eater:
– This is your chance.
The Stone-Eater spent a quarter of an hour eating stones until he was full of them, then he aimed his behind toward [at] the king’s soldiers and unloaded such a barrage that, to those who were not crippled by him, they were [killed] dead.
After this, they rested on the slope of an enormous mountain, pondering what they would do with all that money they had gathered between themselves. And that this [moment] the Hunter saw an [even] larger army approaching them, at whose head was the king himself, ready to recover his [lost] money. Then the Hunter said to Moving-Mountains:
– Well, now your chance has arrived.
And as soon as the soldiers reached the foot of the hill, Moving-Mountains went to the other side, lifted the hill and let it fall on the whole army, so that they were completely crushed and were never heard of again.
And that was how the six friends eager to know what was happening in the world ended their adventure for the time being.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Abeja – (animal) bee
Acaso – (maybe) perhaps; (in rhetorical questions)
Acertar – (to identify accurately) to get right, to guess correctly; (to find the mark) to hit the target
Adelantar – (to move past) to pass, to overtake; (games) to move forward
Agujereado – (with many holes) full of holes
Agujerear – to make holes in, to pierce
Alcanzar – (to get to) to reach, to catch, to catch up with; (to rise to) to reach
Amarradero – (nautical) bollard; (argolla) mooring ring; A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. The term originally referred to a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring boats
Ancha – (dimension) wide, broad, thick; (in clothing) loose, loose-fitting
Andanada – (military) volley, broadside (from a ship); volley, barrage, stream
Aplastado – (squashed) crushed, flattened
Aptitud – (natural skill) gift, talent, flair
Apuntar – to aim; (to signal) to point at, to indicate
Apurarse – (to be distressed) to worry oneself; apurar – (to consume all of) to finish, to finish off
Arboleda – (botany) grove
Arrojar – (to fling) to throw, to hurl (with force); (to generate) to produce
ávido de – eager for, greedy for
Borona – (grain) corn, maize; (small grain cereal) millet
Cántaro – pitcher, jug
Cantera – (mining) quarry; (reservoir of talent) source, reserve of young players
Codorniz – (animal) quail
Contornos – (periphery) outskirts, environs, surrounding area
Corteza – (botany) bark; (culinary) crust, rind, peel; (anatomy) cortex
Cuesta – (incline) slope, hill
Demasiado – (in excess) too, too much;
Deprisa – (rapidly) fast, quickly, hurriedly; (expressing haste) quick, hurry
Descansar – (to take a break) to rest, to have a break, to take it easy
Descomunal – (tremendous) colossal, huge, enormous
Destacable – notable, outstanding
Digno – (deserving) worthy, worth; (honest) honorable; (proud) dignified
Disparar – (to discharge) to shoot, to fire
Emplazar – (to give an urgent request) to call on; (to allocate) to locate, to site, to place; (legal) to summon, to subpoena
En cuanto a – with regard to
Enfilar – (to put in a line) to line up, to put in a row; (to direct) to aim;
En fuga – on the run; to flight; off; fleeing; escaping
Erguido – upright, straight, erect
Escocido – stung; escocer – to be painful, to sting, to smart; (to wound) to hurt
Exigencia – (obligation) demand, requirement, exigency; (claim) demand
Falda – (clothing) skirt; (slope) hillside; (culinary) skirt steak
Fastidiar – (to irritate) to annoy, to bother; (to mess up) (Spain) to spoil, to ruin
Finca – (rural real estate) property, country house, country estate, ranch, farm
Fortalecer – (to reinforce) to strengthen; (physically) to make stronger, to strengthen
Germen – (biology) germ; (source) germ, seed; (bud) germ
Hábil – (proficient) skillful, skilled, good; (astute) clever; (business) working, work
Hacer caso de – (to pay mind to) to pay attention to, to follow
Humo – (gas in a visible form) smoke, fumes, vapor, steam
Juego de bolos – bowling game
Instruir – (to teach) to instruct, to train; (legal) to hear, to try
Largar – (nautical) to pay out, to let out, to unfurl; (to deliver) to give; (to unload) to dump on
Legua – (unit of measurement) league
Ligero – (not heavy) light, lightweight (material or structure); (culinary) light; (not thick) thin
Lince – (animal) lynx
Mente – intelligence, mind; (intellectual) mind
Meta – goal, finish line
Molino – (factory) mill; (machine) grinder, mill
Nabo – (vegetable) turnip, root vegetable; (architecture) newel
Novedad – (piece of news) news; (attribute) novelty, newness; (iteration) innovation; (alteration) change
Oreja – (anatomy) ear
Paloma torcaz – ringdove, wood pigeon
Panadería – (store) bakery, baker’s, baker’s shop; (activity) baking
Pedrusco – rough stone, piece of stone
Podar – (to cut back) to prune (a tree or a rosebush), to trim (a hedge);
Prado – (land) meadow, field; (botany) grass
Premio – (honor) prize, award
Pudrirse – (to spoil) to rot, to go bad, to decay, to decompose; (to waste away) to rot, to languish
Quizás – may be, perhaps
Rueda – (revolving object) wheel; (circular formation) circle; (dance) rueda
Salvaje – (undomesticated) wild, untamed, feral; (primitive) savage; (cruel) savage, brutal
Semilla – (botany) seed; (origin) seed
Sima – (geography) chasm; (sinkhole) pothole
Soltar – (to stop holding) to let go of, to drop, to put down, to let out; (to free) to set free, to release
Sostener – (to grasp) to hold; (to defend) to support, to hold, to back up
Sujetar – (to grasp) to hold; (to fix in place) to fasten, to hold in place; (to restrain) to hold down
Surgir – (to materialize) to arise, to come up, to emerge, to appear; (to rise forth) to spring forth
Techo – (exterior construction) roof; (interior construction) ceiling
Trasero – (at the back) rear, back; (buttocks) bottom, butt, bum
Tullido – (physically disabled) lame, disabled, paralyzed, crippled
Válgame – My Goodness!