080. The Fool of Coria (El Tonto de Coria)
There was a married couple who had a son. Some said the boy was stupid and others said that he was too smart, but the case was in that town they all called him the Fool of Coria.
One year, at the time of St. Martin, the Fool said to his father:
– Father, how come all of our neighbors [get to] kill a pig while we [have to] fast?
– It is because we are poor, my son – the father replied.
And the Fool said:
– Well, if you want, father, we can well kill a very fat pig [too].
– And how is that? – asked the father.
– That – said the Fool – is on me.
He picked up the Fool and they went right to the pigsty where the priest kept the pigs, selected the biggest one, carried it to their house, and killed it… they ate it well and put [hid] away the butchery!
The priest missed the pig and searched for it everywhere, but there was no trace of it. So came the day in which all the neighbors from the town were to make confessions, and as the priest was suspicious of the Fool of Coria, he said to a fellow priest who had come to help him:
– If that Fool of Coria confesses to you, look to see if he knows something about the pig that was stolen from me.
So that the Fool of Coria went to confess with the foreign [visiting] priest. And he began the confession by asking:
– Tell me, my son, did you on any occasion gain access to so-and-so’s apples?
– And you, señor priest?- asked the Fool in turn.
– Yes, my son, yes – replied the priest.
– Well, me too – said the Fool.
– And tell me, my son, did you gain access to the chestnuts as well?
– And you, señor priest?
– Yes, my son, yes.
– Well, me too.
– Good, son, good. Now you are getting rid of your sins. And tell me, did you gain access to some pigsty to steal a pig?
– And you, señor priest?
– Yes, my son, yes.
And the Fool of Coria got up from the confession box, stood in the middle of church and said to the neighbors:
– Do not confess to this priest, he is stealing left and right.
And he left for his house, laughing [the whole way].
—– VOCABULARY —–
Ayunar – (to refrain from food) to fast
Castaño – (color) brown; chestnut (hair); (botany) chestnut
Cochiquera – pigsty
Corre de mi cuenta – is on me; one is on me;
Demasiado – (excess) too, too much
época – (duration of time) period, time, age, epoch; (time of year) season
Forastero – stranger; outsider
Fulano – so-and-so; what’s his name; what’s her name
Matanza – (mass annihilation) slaughter, killing, massacre; (butchery) slaughter
Pecado – (immoral act) sin
Recelar – to suspect; to fear
Tonto – (not smart) stupid, dumb; (absurd) silly, stupid