From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. Laval
Part 1 – Magnificent Stories, Stories of Animals, Anecdotes (Cuentos maravillosos, Cuentos de animales, Anécdotas)
012. The Three Pieces of Advice (Los Tres Consejos)
(Told by Mrs. Clorinda B. de Somerville in 1915)
People should know that a very happily married couple once lived in a certain town, and they would have been completely happy if Lady Fortune had given them a bit more help; but it seemed that she was content in turning her back on them. It was of futile effort when the husband, a good man through and through, searched for work, for no one would offer any job to him. The wife, who was a gem, sewed and embroidered to perfection; but, unfortunately, no one could offer her any help either. They had a son of about twelve years old, who was as useful as his parents were, studious and intelligent, where he was their only consolation; and yet, the sight of him caused his father much pain as he thought of the sad future that awaited his son.
One day, Juan -that was the name of our good man- made a decision out of desperation.
Rosa, -he said to his wife- this situation cannot go on; if I can’t find a way to feed us all here, I will go in search of it away from this town; and as I need to take along some money for my expenses, let us sell some furniture that you deemed to be nonessential, and I will take a portion of the proceeds and you will have the rest to meet your needs and the needs of our son, while you continue on with your sewing and wait for my return. In God I ask that you both will lack for nothing in my absence, and that it’d be short.
The sale of the furniture net them one thousand pesos. He took six hundred, and with tears in his eyes he bid goodbye to his wife and son.
On passing by the house of a good friend, one of excellent character but a bit aloof, he said to himself:
I am going to say goodbye to my good friend and ask him to take care of his godson before I return, -then he entered.
I’ve come to say goodbye to you, my good friend.
And where are you going, my good friend?
Wherever God has in mind for me. I am going to try my luck, to see if I can find work elsewhere, for here I can’t even earn enough to buy a roll of cigarettes.
I will accompany you, my good friend. How much do you take a long for this trip?
Three hundred pesos.
[Nguyen: I thought it was six hundred?]
What a coincidence! I, too, have here another three hundred; I’ll put them in the bag and we’ll head out together.
The companion of Juan’s good friend provided much consolation to him, for he was a cheerful and witty man. His jokes made him laugh and distracted him from the grief caused by the separation from his family, conversing and conversing, they went on their way without feeling any effect from the long travel.
After traveling for one week, they arrived at a square in a city, and in one of its corners they saw a crowd of people gathering around. Natural curiosity made them come closer and they saw in the middle of the crowd an old man who exclaimed:
Three pieces of advice, gentlemen, for only three hundred pesos; three pieces of advice that will provide good fortune and happiness to those who know them! Three pieces of advice, one hundred pesos for each one! No one is interested in them?
Juan felt as if a voice inside him was telling him to buy them, and unable to hold back, he approached the old man and told him:
I will buy them; here are three hundred pesos.
The old man received the money and bringing his lips closed to Juan’s ear, he murmured:
These are the three pieces of advice, which will bring you happiness if you follow them at all times: Do not leave the old for the new; Do not ask what is not of importance to you; and Do not get carried away by the first news that you receive.
When Juan moved away from the old man, everyone looked at him with great pity in their eyes.
He is crazy, -they said.- The poor guy!
His good friend asked him:
My good friend, for God’s sake, what have you done? Have you lost your common sense? Can’t you see that the old man is a despicable charlatan, who had stolen money from you?
Juan remained silent and said to himself:- It may well be so, but it may also be that everyone is wrong; -and he was determined to follow the advice that he had bought, whenever the opportunity presented itself.
They had lunch and left the city, as there was also a shortage of work there; and a short while later they found themselves at a fork in the road, an old path and another more recently constructed. They asked which among the two was better and people replied that the old one was very long and uncomfortable, and because of that no one made use of it [anymore], and that everyone preferred the newer path just because it was new, more comfortable and shorter than the other one.
Juan, who remembered the first piece of advice that the old man had sold him, said to his companion:
Let us take the old path; remember, my good friend, how the saying goes: Do not leave the old for the new, nor certainty for uncertainty.
No, my good friend, -said the other,- it’s better for us to follow the new path so as to arrive at our destination sooner.
I, my good friend, will take the old path.
And I will take the new path, then we’ll see who among the two of us will arrive first at the city. I’ll wait for you at the square.
In truth, the path which Juan took, which had been completely abandoned for more than a year, was very uncomfortable; it was covered with thickets of thistles and of all kind of weeds, [mud] puddles and piles of rocks and earth, which made it difficult to traverse in; and only after four hours of difficult navigation did he manage to reach its end and entered the other city.
When Juan entered the square, he was greatly surprised to not find his good friend, who, according to his estimates, must have arrived an hour before he did. Not knowing what to think nor do, he sat down on a bench and waited for the arrival of his friend. Suddenly, the noise made by several approaching people drew his attention whence he got up and headed toward the group. It was to Juan’s great surprise to see that they had brought his dead friend, who had been stabbed to death on the new path by thieves who wanted to rob him of his money! Juan genuinely cried for his friend and did not part with his corpse until he had buried it.
Juan found himself helpless [in this new situation that he was thrown into], but in the end he was alive; and he left the cemetery thinking that the first piece of advice was well worth the one hundred pesos that it had cost him; but this did not free him from the sad reality which he found himself in. Luckily he found a job the next day, and although the work was rough and did not pay well, he was determined to not leave the city. As he was thrifty and led a tranquil and organized life, he managed to save some money in those nine years which he lived in the city, after which he thought of returning to his hometown to reunite with his wife and son and to finally settle down and work for himself alongside them, whom he did not have any news from in all that time.
He said goodbye to his employer and coworkers, who truly felt how his departure would impact them as everyone appreciated his talent, and he left in great spirit and full of expectations for the future. But perhaps because of his introspection (reverie), he had picked the wrong road and took a different one from which he was thinking of using, and suddenly he found himself in the middle of a thick forest.
It was nighttime and he was desperate to find a way out when he saw a [glimpse of] light [from afar]. Guided by it, he arrived at a grand palace, and addressing a man who was around there, he asked him who was the owner of the castle. –No one knew him, but it is known that whoever entered the palace would never step out again.
Juan said: –I will enter. Between getting eaten by the wild beasts if I stay outdoors or taking the risk in going inside to stay alive, I prefer the latter– and so he went and knocked on the door.
A very well dressed servant came out to meet him.
What is it that you want? -he asked.
I would like to ask for a room to stay in tonight -Juan replied.
Here we do not turn down anyone who wishes to stay; please proceed to the living room while I let the Count know.
A little later a pleasant-looking gentleman entered and said his welcomes. They talked for a bit and after some time the owner of the palace invited Juan to dinner and together they went to the dining hall, which was truly a beautiful room, regally furnished just like the rest of the palace. But one thing particularly caught Juan’s attention and it was that at one end of the well-presented dining table was a skull placed between two burning candles. When he saw this, a shudder of nervousness ran through his entire body, for he remembered what the man standing close to the palace had said earlier: -“He who enters that place would never come out again.” – But he also immediately remembered the old man’s second piece of advice:- Do not ask what is not of importance to you; -and he continued the conversation, feigning indifference [about what he had seen].
He ate his food, and although the sight of the skull had robbed him of his appetite, he did not want to show this outwardly, and so he ate with the utmost calm.
At the end of the meal, two servants led a beautiful lady bound in chains to the middle of the room, and at a signal from the Count they began to whip her mercilessly until blood ran down her back, at which point they stopped torturing her and took her away.
Juan watched this and remained silent.
The Count was surprised to see that his guest did not ask him any question about what he had just witnessed, despite the fact that he used all possible means to get him to do so; but his remembrance of the second piece of advice sealed Juan’s lips.
Once dinner was finished, the Count invited Juan to visit the other rooms in the palace, and after viewing them, our Juan limited himself to just praising the good taste with which they were decorated and the fine preference of the [displayed] furniture, for all of which he congratulated the owner. The owner then said to him:- I won’t accept your congratulations until we are finished, and we still have to see the best among them all. -And when he opened the bronze door, Juan’s eyes came upon the most terrible spectacle. No less than one hundred skeletons leaned against the walls surrounding the enormous room, and countless skulls and loose bones covered the entire floor. Juan shuddered for a second time, but he did not say a word.
How does this look to you? -the Count asked him.
That this room is possibly the crypt of your ancestors.
No, sir. All these skeletons and bones that you see are from people who were my guests, just like you are now; but all of them asked me what is the significance of that skull lighted by the two candles that I have on the table in the dining hall; who was the lady that my servants flogged and why did they mistreat her [such]; and I, who have sworn to kill anyone who comes to me with these questions, where instead of answering them I would have them strangled. The lady that my servants took to the dining hall bound in chains and flogged so cruelly, she is my wife, and she gets that punishment for having cheated on me; and the skull that is on the dining table belongs to that of her accomplice, whom I killed with my own hands. You are an extraordinary man; you are the only one who, in the ten years since these events, did not ask me any questions; and as I had also vowed to leave all my inheritance to the first person who did this, I will hand you the will tomorrow, whereby I will establish you as my rightful heir.
When Juan woke up the next day, he found the will on the nightstand. He quickly got up to thank the Count for his generous decision. Juan left his room to ask if the latter had already risen and saw the entire palace in mourning and all the servants were dressed in black.
What’s going on? -he asked them.
The Count passed away at dawn today.
Juan was greatly affected by this news, and he cried his heart out at the death of his benefactor.
The next day, after they had buried the remains of the deceased, Juan summoned the servants and read them the will. Everyone immediately recognized it as the Count’s handwriting.
Juan then said to the steward:
I am going to leave to search for my wife and son so as to relocate them here; but in the meantime I would like the wife of the former owner of this palace to not be tortured anymore; I believe that she is already purged of her shortcomings and that, if her spouse does not forgive her, God will have already done so. Look after her in my absence so that she doesn’t lack anything and that she can rest well in her remaining days.
Sir, the Lady Countess passed away earlier this morning as well.
Juan arranged for her to be buried with dignity, and mounting a beautiful horse and with his handbag full of money, he set out in search of his wife and son.
Despite the sad events that had happened to him, he was of joyous mood along the way, and he thought: –Such a great thing that I did in buying the three pieces of advice from the old man! It was well worth the second one hundred pesos that I gave him!
When he arrived at his hometown, no one could recognize him. He asked for his wife and they told him that she had left with a son that she had, a year after being abandoned by her husband, but they did not know where she went. Then he spurred his horse and after several days of riding he arrived at a large city, where, by dint of asking around, they gave him news of his wife. They told him where she lived and that, although no one bothered her, no one visited her as well, with the exception of a clergyman who stopped by to see her everyday. And this they told him in a sarcastic tone that was not at all reassuring.
But Juan remembered the third piece of advice in time, and having calmed down, he went to the house and knocked on the door. The servant told him that the lady of the house did not want to entertain any guest, but he insisted on seeing her by saying that he was a good friend of her husband and that he brought very good news about him. With this message, the lady of the house received him in immediately. He, without making himself known, was conversing with Rosa for a good while and made up some random story about her husband. He was telling her about it when a young clergyman entered. Rosa introduced him to Juan saying that he was her son, whom she had managed to provide an education at the cost of great sacrifices, which luckily were fully repaid, as the young man was very good to her and was her only support. And while she said all this, she stroke him affectionately.
Juan then made himself known and you can imagine how great their joy were.
Once the first moments of disbelief had passed, Juan told his true story, and after resting for three days the three of them left to settle in the palace that Juan inherited from the Count.
Our hero then thought along the way:
How well I did in following the third piece of advice from the old man! If I didn’t remember it in time, I would have killed my wife and my son, and I would have been miserable forever! It was a great piece of advice! Definitely well worth the one hundred pesos I paid for it!
Juan and Rosa and their son lived for many years in the palace, being beneficiaries to everyone, as the enormous fortune that they possessed allowed them to carry out great acts of charity for all.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Consejo – (recommendation) advice (uncountable), piece of advice (countable); (organization) board, council;
Avenido – (who get along well; used with “bien”) well-matched; (who don’t get along; used with “mal”) badly, ill-matched
Prestar – (to loan) to lend; (to give) to provide; prestarse – (to volunteer) to offer to
Inútil – (of no use) useless; (inept) useless, hopeless; (impaired) disabled; (military) unfit; (futile) unsuccessful, in vain; (worthless person) good-for-nothing, waste of space, useless
A carta cabal – absolute, through and through, out-and-out
Perla – (jewelry) pearl; (critique) pearl of wisdom; (wonder) gem; (insolent person) (Chile) smart-ass, sassy devil
Porvenir – future
Aguardar – (to be in a state of expectation) to wait for, to await, to expect
Mueble – (furnishing) piece of furniture, furniture; (portable) movable
Subvenir a – (to provide for the payment of) to meet, to defray; (to help) to aid
Costurar – (to stitch together) to sew
Alocado – (insane) crazy, mad, wild; (forgetful) scatterbrained; (rash person) reckless fool; (forgetful person) scatterbrain
Tentar – (to entice) to tempt; (to examine by touch) to feel; (to test) to try
Chistes – (short, funny stories) joking, jokes
Muchedumbre – (group of people) crowd, throng; (large number) mass
Nueva – tidings, news
Lastimosamente – (inspiring pity) pitifully, pathetically; (deplorably) pathetically
Almorzar – (to eat lunch) to have lunch
Escasez – (insufficiency) shortage, scarcity; (deprivation) poverty
Cómodo – (providing ease) comfortable; (handy) convenient
Cardo – (botany) thistle; (vegetable) cardoon
Maleza – (brush) undergrowth; (wild plants) weeds
Charcos – (liquid on the ground) puddle, pool
Penoso – (miserable) pitiful, sorry, sad; (arduous) laborious, hard, difficult; (horrible) terrible, awful
Escaño – (furniture) bench; (politics) seat
Acontecimiento – (occasion) event
Acribillar – (to cover in wounds) to riddle (with bullets or arrows), to pepper (with bullets or arrows), to cover; (to cover in bites) to bite all over
Puñalada – (act of stabbing) stab; (medicine) stab wound, knife wound
Cartera – (for money) wallet, billfold; (bag) purse, handbag; (for documents) briefcase, portfolio
Rudo – (unfinished) rough; (brusque) rough; (bad mannered) rude, coarse, sharp; (merciless) cruel; (severe) harsh
Arreglado – (restored to good condition) repaired, fixed; (organized) tidy, neat; (neatly dressed) well-dressed, smart, smartly dressed, dressed up
Establecerse – (to take up residence) to settle; (to open a business) to set up
De veras – (honestly) really, truly, seriously
Prendas – (quality) talent, gift; (term of endearment) darling, sweetheart; (guarantee) security, token, pledge; (clothing) garment, article of clothing
Ensimismamiento – absorption, self-absorption
Intemperie – the elements
Alojamiento – (place to stay) accommodations, lodgings
Amueblado – (with furniture) furnished
Calavera – (anatomy) skull
Estremecimiento – shudder (of fear or horror), shiver (from cold or fever)
Azotar – (to punish with a scourge) to whip, to flog; (to thrash) to spank, to slap; (to pound) to lash, to batter
Piedad – (compassion) mercy, pity
Martirizar – (to cause pain) to torture, to torment
Alabar – (to speak highly of) to praise
Esqueleto – (anatomy) skeleton
Suelto – (free) loose; (slack) loose, undone, untied
Extremecerse – (to tremble) to shake, to shudder
Antepasado – (relative) ancestor, forebear, forefather
Alumbrado – (streetlights) lighting
Estrangular – (to asphyxiate) to strangle, to throttle; (medicine) to strangulate; (to squeeze) to constrict
Fe – (religion) faith; (trust) faith
Velador – (small table by the bed) nightstand, bedside table, night table
Enlutado – (wearing black) in mourning, wearing mourning, dressed in mourning; (saddened) griefstricken
Mayordomo – (chief male servant of a household) butler, steward
Cartera – (for money) wallet, billfold; (bag) purse, handbag
Tétrico – gloomy, dismal
Picar – (horse racing) to spur on; (to be hurt by an animal) to sting, to bite, to peck at (birds)
Espuela – (horseback riding) spur; (business) skill in business, acumen
Retintín – (derisive tone) sarcastic tone; (sound) tinkling
Tranquilizar – (to pacify) to calm down; (to soothe) to reassure
Aquietar – (to ease) to calm down
Recado – (correspondence) message; (task) errand