003. The Gift (El Aguinaldo)
These were some very, very poor children who, on the eve of Epiphany, were walking through a mountain, and as it was winter, night soon fell upon them, but the poor children kept on walking. Then they met a lady who said to them:
Where are you going so late at night, in this freezing weather? Don’t you realize that you are going to die from the cold?
And the children replied:
We are going to wait for the [Three] Kings, to see if they would give us [a] present.
And the lady of the forest, who was very beautiful, said to them:
And what was the need for you to have to travel so far away from your house? To wait for the Three Kings all you have to do is to put your little shoes on the balcony and then lie down quietly in your little beds.
To which the children replied:
It’s that we don’t have any shoes, and in our house there is not a balcony, and we don’t have a little bed but a pile of straw… Moreover, last year we put our espadrilles in the window, but it looks like the Three Kings did not see them because they did not leave us anything.
So the lady of the forest sat down on a log on the ground and looked at the little ones, who were observing her terrifyingly, not knowing what to do; and she asked them if they wanted to take a letter to a palace and the children said yes, that they would take it there [for her]; then she searched in a bag she carried hanging on her waist and took out a large sealed envelope containing the letter.
Well, this is the letter – she said, and gave it to them.
Then she explained to them how they’d have to find the palace and that the way [there] was dangerous because they would have to pass through rivers that were enchanted and cross forests that were full of wild beasts.
The rivers you will pass by standing on the letter and the same letter will carry you to the other side; and to cross the forests, take all these pieces of meat that I give you, and when you run into some wild beast, throw a piece at it, and it will let you pass. And at the door of the palace you will encounter a snake, but fear not: throw it this little [piece of] bread that i give you and it will not do anything to you.
And the poor children took the letter, the meat and the bread and said goodbye to the lady of the forest.
So they continued on their way and, after a while, they came to a river of milk, then to a river of honey, then to a river of wine, then to a river of oil, and then to a river of vinegar. All the rivers were very wide and they were so small that they were afraid of not being able to cross them, but they did as the lady told them: they threw the letter into the river, climbed on it and the letter always carried them to the opposite shore.
When they finished crossing the rivers, they began to find forests upon forests, each more lush and darker [than the one before], where wild beasts came out, seemingly as if they were going to eat them. Sometimes they were wolves, other times tigers, yet still other times lions, all ready to devour them. But as soon as they threw them pieces of meat that the lady of the forest had given them, the beasts caught them with their mouths and disappeared in the depth of the forest, leaving them to continue on their way.
Until finally, when night had already fallen, they saw the palace in the distance and ran towards it. But there was a huge black snake in front of the palace that, as soon as it saw them, rose up on its tail and threatened to eat them alive with its enormous mouth; but the children threw the bread roll at it and the snake did nothing to them and let them pass. The children [then] entered the palace and immediately a black servant dressed in red and green, with many bells that rang as he walked, came out to greet them. Then the children gave him the letter and the black servant, on seeing it, began to jump up with joy and carried it away on a silver tray to his master.
The master was a prince who was being enchanted in that palace, and as soon as he picked up the letter he became disenchanted; so he then ordered his servant to bring the children to him immediately, and he said to them:
I am a prince who was enchanted and your letter had freed me from the enchantment, so come with me.
And he took them to a large room where there were cheeses of all kinds, and cottage cheese, and ham and thousands of other sweets, so that they could eat as much as they wanted. Then he took them to another room and in this room there were spun eggs, coconut yolks, sugared almonds, cakes of many varieties and thousands of other confections, so that they could eat whatever they wanted. And then he took them to yet another room where there were cardboard [toy] horses, shotguns, sabers, hoops, dolls, drums, and thousands of other toys, so that they could take whatever they wanted. And after all that, and after kissing and hugging them, he said:
Do you see this palace and these gardens and those carriages with those horses? Well, everything is yours because this is your Christmas present. And now we are going in one of those carriages to look for your parents so that they can come and live with us.
The servants hitched up a luxurious carriage and off went the prince and the children to look for their parents. And the entire way was a very wide and well-kept road and the rivers and the forests and the wild beasts had [all] disappeared. And then they all cheerfully returned to the palace and lived very happily [ever after].
—– VOCABULARY —–
Abrazar – to hug
Aceite – oil
Acostar – to put to bed, to lay down, to go to bed
A cual más – most, each more, one more, each one more
Alejar – to move away from, to keep away, to dispel
Alpagarta – espadrille: casual, flat, but sometimes high-heeled shoes.
Amenazar – to threaten, threatening
Ancho(s) – wide, thick, broad
Apenas – as soon as, barely, hardly
Aro(s) – ring, hoop
Ateridos – freezing, cold, shivering, frozen stiff from
Atravesar – to cross, to go through
Bandeja – tray
Besar – to kiss
Boca – mouth
Bolsa – bag, sack
Camita – small bed
Carretera – road, highway
Cascabel – bell
Cintura – waist
Coger – to grab, to take
Cola – tail
Colgado/a – hanging, hooked on, glued to
Colorado – red
Condujo – s/he led; conducir – to lead, to carry (transport), to drive
Confitura – jam, preserve
Contemplar – (to observe) to gaze at, to contemplate, to study; (to examine) to consider, to look at
Criado/a – servant, maid
Cruzar – to cross, to go across
Cuanto – as much as, as many as, the more, all, a few
Cuenta – account, realized
Cuidada – well-kept
Culebra – snake
Dejar – to leave, to let
Delante – in front, ahead
Desaparecer – to disappear
Despedir – to say good bye, to lay off, to fire
Encima – above, on top
En cuanto – as soon as
Enganchar – to hook, to hitch up, to harness
Enseguida – immediately
Entregar – to turn in, to submit, to give, to deliver
Escopeta – shotgun
Fiera – wild beast
Frondoso – thick, lush, dense
Golosina – candy, sweet
Gran – large, great
Hará – s/he will do, hacer – to do
Hasta que por fin – finally; until finally; until at last; at last; until he finally
Helar – to freeze
Hondo – deep, profound, the depths
Huevo hilado – spun eggs, a.ka. Angel hair, a type of desserts; hilado – thread, yarn
Invierno – winter
Jamón – ham, thigh
Juguete – toy, plaything
Lejos – far, far way
Lobo – wolf
Miel – honey
Monte – hill, mountain
Montón – tons, lots, loads
Muñecas – (anatomy) wrist, doll,
No os – you, don’t you
Orilla – shore, bank
Oscuro – dark, shady
Paja – straw, hay
Panecillo – bread roll
Pasar – to cross, to pass, to meet
Pastel(es) – cakes, pastry, pie
Pedazo – piece
Peladillas – sugared almonds
Poner de pie – to stand up
Presto – ready, promptly, swiftly
Príncipe – prince
Pusimos – poner – to put
Querían – they wanted; querer – to want, to love, to be fond of, to mean
Queso(s) – cheese(s)
Requesón – cottage cheese
Sable – saber, cutlass
Sacar – to take out, to remove
Sala – living room, room
Saltos de alegria – jumps with joy
Sellado – sealed, stamped
Sentó – s/he sat; sentar – to sit
Se ve que – it looks like; you see that
Sobre – envelope, sack, clutch bag
Tambor – drum
Tronco – trunk, log
Verde – green
Vestirse – to get dressed, to dress oneself
Vinagre – vinegar
Víspera – eve, day before
Vuestra – your, yours
Yema(s) – (egg) yolk, fingertip, (botany) bud