074. The Lost Son (El Hijo Perdido)
Sometime ago, the wife of an old gnome was searching for strawberries in a forest. She was carrying her son on her back, with him fastened securely in a knapsack. She was putting the strawberries in a basket when she saw a farmer coming toward her on horseback, with his wife sitting behind him and a baby boy in her arms. The gnomess (note: I created this word to denote a female gnome) prudently hid herself behind one of the ferns while saying thus: “I would really like to know if a human child could be as handsome as my own.” With this, when the farmer and his wife approached close to where she was, she stuck out her neck to see the baby boy, but the horse, having seen the gnomess’s ugly appearance, got frightened and started to run away. And it was in the thick of this gallop and fright that the baby boy got separated from his mother’s arms and fell to the ground.
The gnomess was upset for not having been able to see the baby boy when she suddenly realized the boy was right there, on the ground, in front of her. And without thinking twice, she removed her son from the knapsack and placed him on the ground, then picked up the boy and carried him away with her.
Meanwhile, the farmer had managed to calm his horse and turned back to search for his child. They returned to the place where he was lost, searched and searched until the wife said:
– There is our child!
Happily the farmer went to her side, but when he saw what the child looked like, his hands were on his head.
– That cannot be! – he said – My son does not have teeth like fish hooks, nor hair like a boar’s bristles, nor claws in his little fingers!
And he looked at the child again, and said desperately:
– This here is a little gnome! He is not our son!
The wife nearly fainted upon hearing this. They continued searching for their son but could not find him anywhere. Disheartened, they finally decided to return home.
– What are we going to do with the little gnome? – asked the wife.
– Leave him here – answered the husband.
– We cannot do that – said she – He is a defenseless creature and the beasts will feast on him.
In the end, they carried him to their house with them. But that same evening the wife saw her husband with a club in hand, she followed him and understood at once that he was going to kill the little gnome. And the husband was ready to strike when she threw herself on top of the little one to stop him.
– No, no, no, don’t hit him, that’s so cruel! – she begged.
And that was how she saved him. And the wife picked up mice to feed the gnome, which led the husband to become even more furious. This went on for some years and one day the husband said:
– The town’s fair is today. Do you want to go there?
The wife was very happy and she said yes.
– Then go prepare yourself.
The wife went and dressed up for the special occasion, because for a long time she had desired to have a chance such as this to dress in her best clothes. And she was so preoccupied that she did not realize she had forgotten about the little gnome. And she thought: “And what if my husband removed him in my absence?”
So she entered the house, picked up the little gnome and carried him away with her.
Upon seeing this, the husband angrily asked her:
– You cannot leave him at the house?
To which she replied:
– No, I don’t dare leave him alone.
Then they went on their way, which was an arduous hilly path full of steep up-and-downs. And as it was difficult, the husband offered to carry the little gnome for her.
– Be careful – she said to him.
But the husband immediately stumbled multiple times, leaving the little gnome falling to the ground in his last stumble. The wife, who was concerned and being attentive while this went on, managed to catch him by the folds of her clothes when he was falling. And the husband, enraged, said this to her:
– You were not so ready that day when you let our son fall from the horse.
Several more years went by and the house caught fire one summer night. The farmer thought this now is the perfect occasion to do away with the little gnome. And he was having this thought when he saw his wife dragging the little gnome by the hand away from the house. This tipped him over the edge and, with his own hands, he grabbed the gnome and threw him into the fire. His terrified wife looked at him, then rushed into the burning house once more. After some time, she came out once again with the little gnome in her arms.
The next day, the husband said this to his wife:
– I cannot take it any more. I’m leaving and will never come back.
The husband began walking and arrived at a forest. When he had walked for a good while, he saw a lad coming to meet him. He was tall and thin like himself, and blond like his wife.
– Aye! – he said aloud – This is how my son would have been had we not lost him.
And when the lad arrived he said this to him:
– Good day, young man. Where are you heading?
– Good day – replied the lad – if I knew who I am, I would know where I’m going to.
And the surprised farmer said thus:
– The truth is that you speak like those from my family. If my son was not taken by the gnomes, I would have taken you for him.
– Well then, father, I am your son.
Full of emotions, the two embraced each other there. And the lad said this:
– Now I know where I’m going! I’m going to see my mother!
But his father said to him:
– Do not go, my son, as your mother is heartless!
The farmer was very happy that he picked up his son and carried him on his shoulders. And in this way they walked for a good distance. And his son said:
– Thank you, father, because you’re more careful carrying me today than when you were carrying the little gnome that day in the hill.
The startled father asked thus:
– What do you mean?
– You don’t remember that time? – said the lad – The gnomess walked on the other side of the precipice with me in her arms, and every time that you stumbled, she did the same with me. If my mother did not arrive to take hold of the little gnome, she [the gnomess] would have thrown me away.
The father became thoughtful. After some time, noticing that his son was heavy, he said to him:
– What are you carrying in those pockets of yours?
– A gift from the gnomess for my mother – said the youngster.
– And how did you live back there?
– It was nothing, while my mother was good to the little gnome, they were good to me.
– And they let you eat well? – the father continued to ask.
– Whenever my mother fed mice to the little gnome, they would give me white bread, meat, and cheese.
And with this the father said:
– It’s as if you smell like smoke!
– Definitely – said the child – this was from the previous night, when you threw the little gnome into the fire and they did the same to me. If my mother did not enter the house once more for him…!
The father became more and more pensive and a sorrow began to weigh down on his heart. And he asked once more:
– And how is it that they let you walk away?
– It is because when my mother sacrificed that which is most dear in her life, which is you, and she let you walk away from the house to save the little gnome, the elder gnomes lost the power that they had over me. Then they allowed me to go and went to pick up their young son. They must have found him by now.
At this moment they arrived in front of the house, which was now being fixed up by the mother with help from her neighbors. And father and son went to where the mother was.
– My dear, this here is our son, who was saved by you, and you alone! – the farmer said with tears in his eyes.
The mother embraced her dear son and, when they entered the house, the son emptied his pockets on his mother’s skirt and it was filled with diamonds and pearls and precious stones, which were gifts from the gnomess to his mother for having made sacrifices for the little gnome.
And with that, this story ends.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Agarrar – to grab, to take, to take hold of
Aguantar – to withstand, to bear; to tolerate, to put up with
Alargar – (to make longer) to extend, to lengthen;
Alcanzar – (to get to) to reach, to catch; (to accomplish) to achieve; (to be sufficient) to be enough
Alimañas – vermins, pest
Arder – (to be on fire) to burn
Arrastrar – (to move along the ground) to drag, to sweep, to brush; to pull; to tow
Arreglar – to fix, to repair, to mend; (to clean) to tidy, to tidy up
Atento – (paying attention) attentive; (polite) thoughtful
Aterrar – (to scare) to terrify
Bolsillo – (small pouch) pocket
Brillante – diamond
Campesino – peasant, farmer
Carrera – (activity) dash, run; (road) (Spain) street; (sports) race; (profession) career
Cerda – (on a broom, brush, or toothbrush) bristles; (animal hair) horsehair, bristle
Cerdo – pig, hog, swine; pork
Cestillo – small basket
Chaval – kid, youngster
Congoja – (suffering) anguish, distress; (sorrow) grief
Conseguir – to achieve, to manage; to get, to obtain, to acquire
Cuesta – slope, hill
Darse cuenta – to realize
Delgado – thin, slim
De pronto – suddenly
Desalentar – to discourage, to dishearten
Descenso – drop, fall; descent
Desesperado – desperate
Desfallecer – to pass out, to faint
Deshacerse de – to get rid of something
Despeñarse – (to fall from a height) to fall over a cliff; (to succumb to) to yield
Dispuesto – (inclined) willing, prepared; (disposed) ready, arranged
Empinado – steep
Encolerizado – enraged
Encuentro – (chance meeting) encounter; meeting
Ermitaño – hermit
Escurrirse – (to escape) to slip away; (to say more) to slip out; (to glide) to slip, to slide; (to lose liquid) to drip
Espantarse – to get frightened
Falda – (clothing) skirt; (slope) hillside
Fastidiado – (unsettled) upset; (ruined) broken
Fresas – strawberries
Gancho – hook; hanger (to hang clothes); (botany) branch
Garra – claw (animal), talon (bird)
Garrote – stick, club
Gnomo – gnome (One of a fabled race of dwarflike creatures who live underground and guard treasure hoards.)
Helecho – fern, bracken
Hombros – shoulders
Hueles a humo – you smell of smoke; oler – to smell
Humo – smoke, fume, vapor
Lágrimas – tears
Lucir – (to dress in) to wear; (to display) to show off, to flaunt; (to give off light) to shine
Meñique – little finger, pinky
Mochila – backpack, rucksack
Monte – (elevated land) hill, mountain; (undeveloped land) countryside, bush
Muchachillo – boy
Notando que – noticing that
Oprimir – (to distress) to weigh down; (to compress) to press, to squeeze; (to tyrannize) to oppress
Penoso – (arduous) laborious, hard, difficult; (horrible) terrible, awful; (miserable) pitiful, sorry, sad
Perlas – pearls
Perrillo – (young dog) puppy; (weaponry) trigger
Pliegue – fold, crease; pleat, tuck
Precipicio – precipice, cliff; (ruin) abyss
Precipitarse – to rush; to be rash
Preocupado – worried, concerned
Puso fuera de si a – put [someone/something] beside himself
Sobresaltado – startled, frightened
Sujeto – fastened, secured
Supiera – saber – I/he/she knew
Susto – (sudden fear) scare, fright
Trecho – (space) distance; (section) stretch
Tropezar – to trip, to stumble
Verano – summer
Vestir de gala – (to dress formally), (to adorn oneself) to get all dressed up
Volver grupas – to turn back(?); grupa – (animal anatomy) hindquarters, rump