081. Juan The Bear (Juan El Oso)
There was once a father who had two children, a boy and a girl. One day he sent them to the forest to search for firewood. They were collecting bundles [of firewood] in such good spirits when they saw a gigantic bear coming, whereupon they became so afraid that they started running, leaving all the firewood behind. The boy fled, but the girl stumbled and was caught by the bear. It grabbed her, put her on its back and disappeared with her into the depths of the forest.
The bear did not want to eat the girl. It carried her to its cave with the intention of making her its wife. This happened, but the bear, as it was a jealous type, was very careful in keeping its wife from leaving the cave so that no one could see her; for that, it never let her leave the cave, not by day nor night, and each time it went out for hunting, it would block off the cave with an enormous rock so that the poor girl was unable to move it.
Eventually, the girl bore a son who was half human, like his mother, and half bear, like his father. The son grew up and one day began to feel the inside of the cave to be too narrow, that he fancied to walk and see the sun, and the day[light], and the forests and the mountains, as he only had a glimpse of the [outside] world each time the bear moved aside the rock to enter or to leave.
One day, the son was struggling with the rock and [partially] moved it, but he was not able to move it aside [completely]. In the evening when the bear returned, it realized that no one but its son was able to do this and punished him harshly for it; and it would have punished him further if not for the tears from the mother, which finally managed to pacify the bear. The following day, when the bear had left, the son summoned all his strength and this time he managed to move the rock until the path was clear. Mother and son left running to get as far away as possible before the bear realized what had happened. But lo and behold, the bear was back within a short time, and there is no saying what became of it as soon as it saw the cave’s entrance was clear. It started chasing after the fugitives, bellowing in such manner that the entire mountain shook. It entered the forest and there it caught up to them.
Better that it had not, because the son valiantly confronted and fought it. They fought until the son grabbed his father by the mouth, opened it with such force that he first tore it, and then ripped it [apart] completely. And there the bear fell dead.
Mother and son continued on their way and arrived at the village where the mother was from. Juan, which was what she called her son, wanted to go to school, but the teacher did not let him because being half beast and half human, he feared that Juan would frighten all the other kids away. Moreover, no one wanted to play with him because as he was very strong, he’d scare [away] all the rest.
Things were like this when, one day, a giant as tall and as large as the largest tree appeared in the village and decided to take over the place. The townsfolk were very fearful as they knew not how to defend themselves against the giant. But Juan found out and, by the same count, went to confront the giant and beat him so badly that the giant ran away. The whole town was very thankful to Juan that the mayor said to him:
– Tell us what is it that you desire to have most?
– Well give me an iron bar that weighed seven quintales (hundredweights – roughly 7*46=322 kilograms).
They gave him this and Juan put the rod on his back as if it was made of hazelnut, left the town and set out on the road to see if there was a place where he could find suitable work for himself. He walked and walked when he encountered a man who was pulling [uprooting] the tallest and most deep-rooted trees, as if they were tender shoots; and Juan said to himself: “This person has to work for me.”
So he approached him and asked:
– What is your name?
– Arrancapinos [lit. uprooting pine trees, it’s also a nickname for little people, per Spanishdict].
– How much do you earn?
– Five pesetas daily.
– Well come with me and I will give you ten – Juan proposed.
– Done deal – said the other, and he went with Juan.
Those two continued walking together down the road. And they had not advanced far when they saw a man that, with a single blow of the sword, cut through hills and mountains and moved them from one side to the other. And Juan said to himself: “This person also suits me.”
So Juan approached him and said:
– What is your name?
– Muevemontañas [lit. moving mountains].
– How much do you earn?
– Five pesetas daily.
– If you come with me, I will give you ten.
– Done deal.
There were now three of them, and they continued on their way. Then they saw the sky darkened and more and more clouds appeared, black and dense, that day[light] was obstructed. They looked from one side to the other and, suddenly, they saw up high in the mountain was a sitting man who blew and blew and made clouds moved at his whim. And Juan said to himself: “This person, too, is coming with me.”
So Juan called on him and he said:
– What is your name?
– Soplador [lit. blower, one who blows].
– How much do you make?
– Five pesetas.
– Come with me, I’ll give you ten.
– Done deal.
Then there were four. And as it [the sky] began to darken above, they decided to search for a place to shelter. In the distance they saw a house and they headed there with the intention of spending the night.
They arrived at the door, but no matter how hard they knocked no one came to open it for them. And this went on until a man passed by, who was horrified on seeing where they were knocking. And he said to them:
– You wretches! Don’t you know where you are knocking? You should know this is the Devil’s house and no one leaves it alive.
On which Juan, being very determined, replied:
– My man! I am very happy that this is the house of the Devil, because now I have desire to fight him.
Anyway, as no one answered their calls, Juan sneaked in through a window and opened the door from the inside. His companions entered and immediately found a pantry well stocked with ham, longanizas (spicy sausages), roasted capon, and loaves of bread. As they were starving, each one wolfed down in one seating a ham, a capon, multiple longanizas, and a loaf of bread. And with a satisfied stomach, they went to bed.
They rose early the next day, and Juan told them:
– Three of us will go work on the land around here, which surely must have tasks for us, and the fourth will stay to cook our meals. When the meal is made, alert us with a whistle and we will return.
They decided that Arrancapinos would stay and the others would go.
Arrancapinos put himself to work and was busy for a good while making meals when someone knocked loudly on the door. He came out to see who it was and a frightening subject appeared: furry, with hairs of more than three feet, hands like claws, a long tail that ended like a spear’s tip, and horns which seemed like two [tree] branches. The subject entered the house and said to Arrancapinos:
– Give me a chair, as I want to sit down.
– I only serve the boss who pays me – said Arrancapinos.
– Then I will bring it myself.
And the Devil, as that who he was, grabbed a chair and sat himself down next to the fire. Later he took out a big, curved pipe, which has space for a roomful of tobacco, and said:
– Light the pipe for me.
– I only serve he who pays me – said the other.
– Then I will light it myself.
He did this, and after a while he approached the food cauldron and spat in it. Arrancapinos, being very mad, shouted at him:
– Only a pig does what you have done!
– No one has called me “pig” without receiving what he deserves – said the Devil.
He [then] grabbed Juan’s rod of seven quintales (300+ kilograms) and gave Arrancapinos a thrashing, which knocked him to the ground. Then he left through the door and disappeared.
Meanwhile, Juan and the other two were waiting for a long time to hear the whistle, because they were already pressed with hunger. And Juan said:
– This meal is taking too long. We are going to see if this blockhead has not fallen asleep.
They arrived at the house and found Arrancapinos half dead next to the fire and the cauldron had burned so much [of] what he had cooked. They revived him and he explained to them what had happened, and everyone got a good guffaw out at him.
The following day, Juan left Muevemontañas (Moving Mountains) to be in charge of the food and went to work with the other two; and they agreed that they would be notified with a whistle when the meal was ready.
After a short while the Devil appeared. He first asked for a chair, then he lighted his pipe, and afterward he spat in the cauldron, and when Muevemontañas protested [against this], he gave him such a beating that it left him completely crippled [e.g exhausted, unable to move]. It was until Juan and the other two, being tired of waiting, came back to the house that they found their friend in such a lamentable state as the Devil had left him. This time Juan got mad and they arranged for Soplador (e.g. He Who Blows) to take care of the meals the next day.
And more of the same [thing again]: once more they could not eat and with their friend completely walloped by the Devil.
This time Juan became truly mad and said that he himself would stay and wait for the Devil. His three companions went to work the following day while he prepared the fire and the [food] cauldron. At the usual hour, the Devil appeared, sat himself in the chair, lighted his pipe and, when Juan saw him approaching the cauldron, he struck him with such blow from his rod of seven quintales that it almost split him in half. Then Juan grabbed him by the neck as if he was a cat and threw him into a very deep well which was [just] outside the house. Then, when the meal was ready, he called his companions with a whistle and they saw, admiringly, that nothing had happened to him. While they ate, Juan told them how he ended the Devil’s visit and then he wanted to show them the well where he had thrown the Devil into.
The three companions really wanted to see the Devil down below, but the well turned out to be very deep that they could not estimate its depth. Then Juan proposed that, [in order] to see him [the Devil] well, they would lower themselves one by one, attached to a rope. And just in case they were afraid, Juan gave them a bell to be rung if they dare not continue going down further, and in this way, they would be lifted up and made way for the next.
The first to go down was Arrancapinos, but, when he had climbed down more than seven hundred meters of rope and not see the bottom, and barely the hole above, and everything was very dark and cold, he got afraid and rang the bell and they pulled him up. Then Muevemontañas descended, and when he had climbed down seven hundred meters and a foot, he too got afraid and rang the bell. The third was Soplador, who descended seven hundred meters plus two feet and turned back.
Then Juan said to them that instead of three valiant men he had three cowards for companions, and he decided to go down himself. He told them to not raise him up even if he rang the bell, then lowered himself down the well. He was climbing down for no less than seven hours before reaching the bottom. And instead of the Devil he encountered three young women as beautiful as the sun, who were dancing a circular dance and that, as soon as they saw him, they interrupted to tell him:
– Where are you going, you wretch? Perhaps you don’t know that this is the Devil’s house?
Then Juan knocked on the door seven times with his rod and it collapsed at once. The Devil appeared immediately and said to him:
– You have guts to have come here! Well we’ll see who is the stronger of us two. Here you have two swords, choose the one that you like and we’ll get started.
The Devil showed him the two swords: one shiny and bright as a mirror, and the other well rusted and grimy. Juan chose the rusted one and the Devil thought that he is going to fight against a simpleton. They initiated combat by crossing their swords over and over again, and the swords hissed like the wind and colliding like flints [note: the original text is “y las espadas silbaban como el viento y chocaban como pedernales”; the second half is unclear in meaning to me], but neither could manage to injure the other. Until Juan, who was seven times more astute than the Devil, cut off his ear in a thrust. The Devil let out many terrifying cries, covered his severed ear with his hand, and said:
– Very well, you have defeated me and I recognize you as brave. You can keep this ear of mine that you have cut off and, whenever you find yourself in trouble, you need only bite [on] it and I will appear and fulfill your wishes.
Juan was at the bottom of the well once more and the three beautiful young women received him with admiration when they learned that he had defeated the Devil [note: the original text is “que le recibieron se quedaron admiradas al saber que había vencido al Diablo”, and Google Translate has the following: “who received him were amazed to learn that he had defeated the Devil.”]. Juan asked them:
– Wouldn’t you like to leave here and return to your houses?
– Yes we do – replied the three.
Then Juan rang the bell and his companions removed them one by one from the well. When the three had gone up above, Juan thought [to himself]: “These three guys now have one young woman for each of them and, if I climb up, I’d be the fourth, and a fight would break out.” So that when they sent down the rope for him to climb up, he tied a very large and heavy rock to it in his place. [Then] he rang the bell after he had secured it [in place]. The others began to raise it, but they stopped pulling halfway through and, pataplum! the rock fell to the bottom and shattered in pieces. And Juan said to himself: “I was ready and had saved myself from a disaster.” He immediately took out the Devil’s ear, gave it a good bite and the Devil appeared at once, grumpy as always:
– So soon already? – he said – What is it that you want from me?
– Take me out of this well and tell me where are those three scoundrels with the three maidens.
The Devil gave a snort that elevated Juan in the air and, in less than the time it took to tell this, he found himself out of the well. And the Devil said to him:
– Your companions and the three maidens are in the tavern of the town next to here, having a grand time and laughing at you nonstop.
So Juan, with fire in his eyes, grabbed his rod, in four strides he planted himself in the tavern and found them in the middle of a large revelry; he began to hit [swing] with his rod left and right, left [reduced] those six into flour [powder] and never again would you hear them sing to roosters nor hens.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Acaso – perhaps
Acopiar – to collect, to gather
Acordar – to agree
A continuación – (afterwards) next, then
A cuestas – on one’s back; on one’s shoulders
A diestro y siniestro – left and right
Adivinar – to guess; to predict
Advertir – to detect, to notice
Agarrar – to grab
Agujero – (opening) hole
Ahuyentar – (to scare off) to frighten off
Alarido – (cry) shriek, howl, yell
Amarrar – (to fasten) to tie, to tie up, to moor; (to secure) to clinch, to tie up
Añicos – pieces
Antojo – (strong desire) craving; (sudden desire) whim; craving, will, whim, please, leisure
Apaciguar – to calm down, to pacify
Apartar – to set aside, to move away
Apetecer – (to want) to feel like, to fancy; (to be appealing) to feel like, fancy
Apoderarse de – (to appropriate) to seize, to take possession of, to get control of; (to overpower) to overcome, to grip
Apuro – (difficulty) predicament, difficult situation, tight spot; (dearth) hardship
Armarse – to arm oneself
Arraigado – deeply rooted, deep-rooted; (established) settled
Arrancapinos – nickname for little persons
Arrancar – (to remove by force) to pull out, to pull up, to uproot (a tree)
Arrear – (to hit) to thump; (to plunder) to loot; (to rush) to hurry along; (to incite to move) to spur on, to urge on, to drive
Arriba – (higher) up, above; (part of building) upstairs
Arrojar – to throw
Asados – grilled, roast
Astuto – shrewd, cunning
A su medida – tailor-made, customized, tailored to your needs
Atado – (fastened) tied; (package) bundle
Avanzar – to advance, to move forward
Avellano – (botany) hazel
Avisar – to warn
Baldado – (disabled) crippled; (tired out) exhausted, shattered
Barra – (long piece of metal or wood) bar, rail, crossbar
Bramar – to bellow, to roar
Brillante – bright
Brote – shoot, bud, sprout
Caber – (to have enough space) to fit, to be room for; to fit, to go; (to be conceivable) to be possible
Caldera – (large heating device) boiler; water heater; cauldron; kettle, pot
Capón – (culinary) rooster: capon, sheep: mutton; castrated
Carcajada – loud laughs, guffaw
Castigar – to punish
Celoso – (envious) jealous; (dedicated) zealous, conscientious
Chocar – (to run into) to crash, to collide, to bump; (to confront) to clash; (to puzzle) to surprise
Cobarde – coward
Cobijarse – (to protect oneself) to take shelter, to shelter; cobijar – (to house) to give shelter to
Colar – (to introduce furtively) to sneak in
Colina – hill
Comparecer – to appear in court, to appear
Convenir – (to be desirable) to be advisable, to be a good idea, to be worth
Cuerda – (thick cord) rope; (thin cord) string
Cuerno – horn, antler
Danza – dance
Decidido – determined, resolute
De cuajo – tear this off, by the roots, cut this off
Dejar de tirar – stop pulling; tirar – (to draw nearer) to pull
De lo lindo – a great deal, a lot, like crazy
Demás – others; the rest
Demasiado – (in excess) too
De refilón – a glimpse of; sideswiped
Derribar – (to destroy) to demolish; (boxing) to knock down; (to make fall down) to make collapse
Desdichado – (wretched person) poor wretch; (wretched) unhappy, unlucky, unfortunate
Desgarrar – to pull apart, to tear, to tear apart, to rip; (to upset) to break;
Desgraciado – unhappy, miserable, wretched; unlucky, unfortunate, ill-fated;
Despensa – pantry
Diario – daily
Divertir – to amuse, to entertain
Doncella – maiden
Encender – to turn on, to light
En menos de – in less than
Entablar – (to initiate) to start, to start up, to strike up, to enter into, to open
Escoger – to choose
Escupir – to spit
Espantado – frightened, scared, terrified, horrified
Espeluznante – (frightening) terrifying, hair-raising, horrifying, horrific, blood-curdling
Estocada – (lunge with a weapon) stab, thrust; (injury) stab wound; (bullfighting) sword thrust
Estrecho – (of small width) narrow
Faena – task, job, work
Forcejear – (to make an effort) to struggle; (to scuffle) to wrestle, to struggle
Franca – (candid) frank, honest, open; (evident) marked, clear; (commerce) free; (military) off duty
Gallina – hen, chicken
Gallo – (bird) rooster, cock; (strange pitch) wrong note, squeak
Ganar – to win; to earn
Ganas – desires
Ganas de pelear – desire to fight; want to fight
Garra – claw, talon
Gigantesco – gigantic
Gresca – (quarrel) row, fight; (commotion) uproar, ruckus, rumpus
Haberse – (to confront) to have it out with somebody
Harina – (culinary) flour
Haz – (bundle of wood or hay) bundle
Hete aquí – here; here is thus; lo; lo and behold; here is; there it
Hogazas de pan – loaves of bread
Interrumpir – to interrupt
Izar – to hoist, to raise, to run up
Jamás – (not ever) never
Jamón – ham
Juerga – (celebration) partying, binge (excessive), revelry
Juntar – (to place together) to put together; (finance) to save, to raise; (to make a collection) to collect; (to assemble) to get together, to bring together
Lamentable – sad, deplorable
Longaniza – (long spicy pork sausages)
Lumbre – (flames) fire (fireplace or bonfire); (brightness) light, glow
Malhumorado – (ill-humored) grumpy, bad-tempered, in a bad mood, ill-tempered
Mandar – (to dispatch) to send; (to give commands to) to order, to tell, to command
Merecido – (merited) well-deserved, well-earned
Mesón – inn, bar, tavern
Morder – to bite
Mordisco – bite
Ni aunque – even if; if; not even if
Nublar – (to overcast) to cloud, to darken, to obscure; (to blur) to cloud, to obscure
Oreja – ear
Oscuridad – dark, darkness
Oxidado – (covered in rust) rusty; (out of practice) rusty
Paliza – beating, thrashing
Palmo – span; handspan; several inches (approximately)
Pánfilo – (dim-witted) simple, gullible, pumpkin; (fool) dim-wit, gullible person
Pasear – to go for a walk
Pedernal – (geology) flint
Pegar – to hit
Peludo – (fuzzy) hairy, furry, shaggy, bushy; (with long hair) long-haired
Por lo menos – at least
Por si acasa – just in case
Provista – supplies, provisions; supplied, stocked
Puerco – pig, hog, sow; filthy, dirty
Quintal – hundredweight; unit of weight roughly equivalent to 46 kilos
Rajar – (to break) to crack, to tear, to rip, to slice; (to stab) to knife, to cut up
Reluciente – (shimmering) shining, gleaming, sparkling; (healthy looking) glowing, radiant
Roñoso – (grimy) dirty, filthy; (corroded) rusty; (miserly) mean, stingy, tight-fisted
Silbar – to whistle; (to jeer) to hiss; (to make a sound with the wind) to whistle
Simple – (mentally challenged) simple, simple-minded; (unintelligent person) simpleton
Sinvergüenza – (despicable person) swine, rogue
Soplar – (to expel air) to blow
Tajo – (wound) cut, slash; (geography) steep cliff, sheer drop; (Spain: work) task;
Tardar – (to spend time) to take; (to take too much time) to take too long
Tardar en – to take … to
Temprano – early
Tener muchas ganas de – to really want to; to really feel like
Tierno – soft, tender; (person) loving, affectionate
Trato – deal, agreement
Tropezar – to trip, to stumble
Tundir – (to hit) to trash, to beat; (to cut off) to shear
Vara – (pole) stick, rod
Zancada – stride
Zurrado – walloped, spanked