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SPANISH STORIES/CUENTOS ESPAÑOLES

A DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK

Dover Publications, Inc.

Don Juan Manuel

(1282–1349),

THE INFANTE Don Juan Manuel was a nephew of King Alfonso the Wise. This haughty aristocrat, courtier and warrior, who amassed the most considerable fortune of his day, was at the same time an extremely erudite man, an antiquarian with an encyclopedic mind, as interested in how to carve a roast, falconry, the spinning of yarns or the technique of verse as he was in war and political intrigue. Writing on history or the exercise of knighthood or the culinary arts, he would digress eloquently on theology, astronomy and the natural sciences. More individualistic than any of his medieval contemporaries, he affixed his signature to everything he wrote and deposited his manuscripts in safety vaults.

His greatest achievement, El Conde Lucanor, reveals his broad knowledge of the folklore of his native country and of other nations as well, and acquaintance with an astonishing number of Oriental, Greek, Latin and Christian books. El Conde Lucanor was conceived as a moral treatise, a kind of practical guide on how to win friends and influence people. The author appears as the earliest mouthpiece of a rather vulgar brand of pragmatism verging on out-and-out opportunism. But the appeal of El Conde Lucanor lies not on the ethical but on the fictional plane. When Count Lucanor, the main character, seeks advice from his private secretary, Petronio, the latter expresses his opinion in the form of anecdotes, adventures or tales which illustrate his point. These stories, some of the author's own vintage but more often adaptations or borrowings from folklore, from Pliny's Natural History, Aesop's Fables, the Panchatantra, The Arabian Nights, The Gospel according to St. Luke, etc., constitute a veritable anthology of world literature, which became a source book for later writers including among others Cervantes, Calderón, La Fontaine, Hans Christian Andersen. El Conde Lucanor may be considered the earliest European work of fiction written in the vernacular, and its author Spain's first short story writer, and of course one of the founders of Spanish prose.

DE LO QUE ACONTECIO A UN MANCEBÓ QUE SE CASÓ CON UNA MUJER MUY FUERTE Y MUY BRAVA

por Don Juan Manuel

HACE MUCHOS años viv¡a en una aldea un moro quien tenía un hijo único. Este mancebo era tan bueno como su padre, pero ambos eran muy pobres. En aquella misma aldea viv¡a otro moro, también muy bueno, pero además rico; y era padre de una hija que era todo lo contrario del mancebo ya mencionado. Mientras que el joven era fino, de muy buenas maneras, ella era grosera y tenía mal genio. ¡Nadie quería casarse con aquel diablo!

Un día el mancebo vino a su padre y le dijo que se daba cuenta de lo pobre que eran y como no le agradaría pasarse su vida en tal pobreza, ni tampoco marcharse fuera de su aldea para ganarse la vida, él preferiría casarse con una mujer rica. El padre estuvo de acuerdo. Entonces el mancebo propuso casarse con la hija de mal genio del hombre rico. Cuando su padre oyó esto se asombró mucho y le dijo que no; pues ninguna persona inteligente, por pobre que fuese, pensaría en tal cosa. "¡Nadie," le dijo, "se casar con ella!" Pero el mancebo se empeñó tanto que al fin su padre consintió en arreglar la boda.

El padre fu‚ a ver al buen hombre rico y le dijo todo lo que había hablado con su hijo y le rogó que, pues su hijo se atrevía a casarse con su hija, permitiese el casamiento. Cuando el hombre rico oyó esto le dijo:

— Por Dios, si hago tal cosa ser‚ amigo falso pues usted tiene un buen hijo y yo no quiero ni su mal ni su muerte. Estoy seguro que si se casa con mi hija o morir o su vida le ser muy penosa. Sin embargo, si su hijo la quiere, se la dar‚, a ‚l o a quienquiera que me la saque de casa.

Su amigo se lo agradeció mucho y como su hijo quería aquel casamiento, le rogó que lo arreglase.

El casamiento se hizo y llevaron a la novia a casa de su marido. Los moros tienen costumbre de preparar la cena a los novios y ponerles la mesa y dejarlos solos en su casa hasta el día siguiente.

Así lo hicieron, pero los padres y parientes de los novios recelaban que al día siguiente hallarían al novio muerto o muy maltrecho.

Luego que los novios se quedaron solos en casa, se sentaron a la mesa. Antes que ella dijese algo, miró el novio en derredor de la mesa, vió un perro y le dijo enfadado:

— Perro, ¡dáos agua para las manos!

Pero el perro no lo hizo. El mancebo comenzó a enfadarse y le dijo m s bravamente que le diese agua para las manos. Pero el perro no se movió. Cuando vió que no lo hacía, se levantó muy sañudo de la mesa, sacó su espada y se dirigió a ‚l. Cuando el perro lo vió venir, comenzó a huir. Saltando ambos por la mesa y por el fuego hasta que el mancebo lo alcanzó y le cortó la cabeza.

Así muy sañudo y todo ensangrentado, se volvió a sentar a la mesa, miró en derredor y vió un gato al que mandó que le diese agua para las manos. Cuando no lo hizo, le dijo:

——¡Cómo, don falso traidor! ¿no viste lo que hice al perro porque no quiso hacer lo que le mand‚ yo? Prometo a Dios que si no haces lo que te mando, te haré‚ lo mismo que al perro.

Pero el gato no lo hizo porque tampoco es su costumbre dar agua para las manos. Cuando no lo hizo, el mancebo se levantó y le tomó por las patas y lo estrelló contra la pared.

Y así, bravo y sañudo, volvió el mancebo a la mesa y miró por todas partes. La mujer que estaba mirando, creyó que estaba loco y no dijo nada.

Cuando hubo mirado por todas partes, vió su caballo, el único que ten¡a. Ferozmente le dijo que le diese agua, pero el caballo no lo hizo. Cuando vió que no lo hizo, le dijo:

——¡Cómo, don caballo! ¿crees que porque tu eres mi único caballo te dejar‚ tranquilo? Mira, si no haces lo que te mando, juro a Dios que haré‚ a ti lo mismo que a los otros, pues no existe nadie en el mundo que se atreva a desobedecerme.

Pero el caballo no se movió. Cuando el mancebo vió que no le obedec¡a, fu‚ a ‚l y le cortó la cabeza.

Y cuando la mujer vió que mataba su único caballo y que decía que haría lo mismo a quienquiera que no obedeciese, se dió cuenta que el mancebo no estaba jugando. Tuvo tanto miedo que no sabía si estaba muerta o viva.

Y él, bravo y sañudo y ensangrentado, volvió a la mesa, jurando que si hubiera en la casa mil caballos y hombres y mujeres que no le obedeciesen, los mataría a todos. Luego se sentó y miró por todas partes, teniendo la espada ensangrentada en la mano. Después de mirar a una parte y otra y de no ver a nadie, volvió los ojos a su mujer muy bravamente y le dijo con gran sa¤a, con la espada ensangrentada en alto:

—¡Levántate y d me agua para las manos!

La mujer, que creía que él la har¡a pedazos si no hacía lo que le mandaba, se levantó muy aprisa y le dió agua para las manos.

——¡Cuánto agradezco a Dios que hayas hecho lo que te mandé—le dijo él—que si no, te habr¡a hecho igual que a los otros!

Después le mandó que le diese de comer y ella lo hizo. Y siempre que decia algo, se lo decia con tal tono, con la espada en alto, que ella creia que le iba a cortar la cabeza.

Así pasó aquella noche: nunca ella habló, y hacía todo lo que él mandaba. Cuando hubieron dormido un rato, él dijo:

— No he podido dormir por culpa de lo de anoche. No dejes que me despierte nadie y prepárame una buena comida.

A la mañana siguiente los padres y parientes llegaron a la puerta y como nadie hablaba creyeron que el novio estaba ya muerto o herido. Al ver a la novia y no al novio lo creyeron aún más.

Cuando la novia los vió a la puerta, llegó muy despacio y con gran miedo comenzó a decirles:

——¡Locos, traidores! ¿qué hacen aquí? ¿Cómo se atreven a hablar aquí? ¡Cállense, que si no, todos moriremos!

Al oir esto, todos se asombraron y apreciaron mucho al joven que hab¡a domado a la mujer brava.

Y desde aquel día su mujer fu‚ muy obediente y vivieron muy felices.

Y a los pocos días el suegro del mancebo quiso hacer lo mismo que había hecho su yerno y mató un gallo de la misma manera, pero su mujer le dijo:

——Ya es demasiado tarde para eso, Don Nadie! No te valdrá de nada aunque mates cien caballos, pues ya nos conocemos demasiado bie ...

Si al comienzo no muestras quien eres Nunca podrás después, cuando quisieres.

ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO A YOUNG MAN WHO MARRIED A VERY WILD, UNRULY WIFE

by Don Juan Manuel

MANY YEARS ago there lived in a certain village a Moor who had an only son. This young man was as good as his father, but both were very poor. In that same village there lived another Moor, who was also very good, but rich besides; and he was the father of a daughter who was completely unlike that youth. While the young man was courteous, and had the best of manners, she was crude and had a wicked temper. No one wanted to marry that devil!

One day the young man went to his father and told him that he realized how poor they were; and as he did not relish spending his life in such poverty, or leaving his village to earn a living, he would prefer to wed a wealthy woman. The father agreed. Then the young man proposed to marry the rich man's bad-tempered daughter. When his father heard this, he was much amazed and said no: for no person of intelligence, however poor he might be, would dream of such a thing. "No one," he told him, "will marry her!" But the youth was so insistent that at last his father agreed to arrange the wedding.

The father went to see the good, rich man and told him everything he had spoken of with his son and requested that, as his son had the courage to marry his daughter, the wedding be permitted. When the rich man heard this, he said:

"Good Heavens, if I did such a thing I would be a false friend, for you have an excellent son and I do not wish for his injury or death. I am sure that if he marries my daughter he will either die or his life will be very trying. But if your son wants her, I shall give her to him, or to anyone who will get her out of the house for me."

His friend thanked him profusely and as his son was so desirous of the marriage, asked him to arrange it.

The wedding took place, and the bride was brought to her husband's house. It is a custom among the Moors to prepare a supper for the bride and groom and set the table for them, leaving them alone in their house until the following day.

This is what was done, but the parents and relatives of the bride and groom were very much afraid that the next day they would find the groom either dead or badly injured.

As soon as the bride and groom were alone in their house, they sat down at the table. Before she could say a word, the groom looked about the table, spied his dog and said angrily:

"Dog, fetch water for our hands!"

But the dog did not do it. The young man began to get irritated and told it more fiercely to fetch water for their hands. But the dog did not move. When he saw the dog was not doing as he said, he rose furiously from the table, drew his sword, and went after it. When the dog saw him coming, it began to run. Both leaped over the table and over the fire until at last the young man caught up with it and cut off its head.

Thus, in a great fury and drenched with blood, he returned to the table, looked about and saw a cat which he ordered to fetch water for their hands. When it did not, he said:

"What, Sir false traitor, didn't you see what I did to the dog when it refused to do what I told it? I swear to God that if you do not do as I order, I will do the same to you as I did to that dog."

But the cat did not do it, because neither is it his custom to fetch water for the hands. When it did not obey him, the young man arose, seized it by the legs, and dashed it against the wall.

And thus, furious and raging, the young man returned to the table and looked about him on all sides. His wife, who had been watching, thought he was crazy, and said nothing. When he had looked everywhere about him, he spied his horse, the only one he had. Ferociously, he told it to fetch water, but the horse did not do it. When he saw it had not done so, he said:

"What, Sir Horse! Do you imagine that because you are my only horse I will leave you alone? Look, if you don't do what I tell you, I swear to God that I will do the same to you as to the others, for there is no creature on earth who would dare to disobey me." But the horse did not budge. When the young man saw it was not obeying, he went over to it and cut off its head.

And when his wife saw him kill the only horse he had, and heard him say he would do the same to anyone who would not obey him, she realized he was not joking. She grew so frightened that she did not know whether she was dead or alive.

And he, angry, furious, and drenched with blood, returned to the table, swearing that if there were a thousand horses and men and women in the house who would not obey him, he would kill them all. Then he sat himself down and looked everywhere about him, holding the gory sword in his hand. After looking right and left and seeing no living thing, he stared fiercely at his wife, and in a fury, with his gory sword aloft, he said:

"Get up and fetch me water for my hands!"

His wife, who thought he would cut her to pieces if she failed to obey him, jumped up in a great hurry and gave him water for his hands.

"How I thank God you've done as you were told," he told her, "or else I'd have done the same to you as to the others!"

Later he ordered her to give him something to eat, and she did so. And whenever he said something, he spoke to her so sharply, with his sword aloft, that she thought he was going to chop off her head.

Thus passed that night: she never speaking and doing everything he told her. When they had slept a while, he said:

"I haven't been able to sleep a wink because of what happened last night. Don't let anyone wake me and prepare a good meal."

The next morning, when the parents and relatives came to the door and heard no voices, they imagined the groom was now either dead or wounded. Seeing the bride and not the groom, they were convinced of this more than ever. When the bride saw them at the door, she tiptoed out, and frightened half to death, began saying:

"Madmen, traitors, what are you doing here? How do you dare speak here? Hush, for if you don't, we'll all be dead!" Hearing this, they were all amazed, and held in high esteem the youth who had tamed his headstrong wife.

And from that day on, his wife was most obedient, and they lived happily ever after.

A few days later, the young man's father-in-law wished to do as his son-in-law had done, and killed a rooster the same way. But his wife said:

"It's too late for that now, Sir Nobody! It will do you no good even if you kill a hundred horses, for now we know each other too well .

If at the start you don't show who you are When later on you wish to, you'll never get too far."

Lazarillo de Tormes

(published anonymously in 1554)

IN THE YEAR 1554 three different editions were printed (in Burgos, Alcal and Antwerp) of a book entitled Vida de Lazarillo de Tormes y de sus fortunas y adversidades (Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and His Fortunes and Adversities). Understandably, no author was mentioned. For instead of dealing sweetly with the amorous shepherds and doughty knights then in vogue, the book focused attention on the body politic of Spain. Its main character, the lad Lazarillo, no idealized hero but one of the unkillable children of the very poor, has to use his wits to obtain the coveted slice of bread from his mean, cruel, avaricious and hypocritical elders. Thus the dynamic force of the book is hunger.

The author, influenced no doubt by Erasmus, was more concerned with sociology than with literary art. His book casts a sharp light upon a country on the eve of the great economic crisis which ultimately made the sun set over the Spanish domains. This is, then, a new kind of fictional work: realistic, satirical—a concatenation of adventures illuminating society as much as the peripatetic "I" telling the story. Since the "I" is a p¡caro, i.e., a rogue, a vagrant, a hobo (in the case of Lazarillo an out-and-out delinquent), this type of novel became known as picaresque or romance of roguery. The new narrative form thus heralded by Lazarillo de Tormes was cultivated not only in Spain by the greatest writers of its Golden Age (Mateo Alem n, Cervantes, Quevedo), but in the rest of Europe, by Lesage, Fielding, Grimmelshausen.

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Excerpted from SPANISH STORIES/CUENTOS ESPAÑOLES by Angel Flores. Copyright © 1987 Dover Publications, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of Dover Publications, Inc..
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