The Coyote Under the Table/El Coyote Debajo de la Mesa (16 page)

Así que el rey dijo que en ocho días el príncipe y el pastor harían la prueba para ver cuál era más fuerte.

El rey mandó hacer a sus artesanos cuatro pilares grandes—uno de madera, uno de piedra, uno de hierro y uno de oro macizo. Dijo que el hombre que pudiera levantar un pilar de esas cuatro sustancias seguramente sería el más fuerte del mundo.

El príncipe pasó la semana entrenándose para la competencia. Levantaba grandes piedras sobre la cabeza y luchaba con diez hombres a la vez. El pastor pasó todo el día durmiendo en el pajal en el caballerizo del rey. Al final de una semana, una gran multitud se reunió para ver enfrentarse al príncipe con el pastorcito.

Primero, el rey los llevó al pilar de madera: —¿Cuál de ustedes puede levantar éste? —preguntó.

El príncipe resopló y se estiró y torció y luego abrazó el pilar. Lo levantó de la tierra. La multitud rompió en vítores.

El pastor se persignó. Y luego lo repitió, por las dudas. Puso una mano en cada lado del pilar y lo tiró al cielo. Subió y subió en el aire hasta verse como un puntito allá arriba. Cuando volvió a la tierra, hizo traquetear las ventanas del palacio del rey.

El rey quedó sorprendido y el príncipe parecía un poco preocupado. Luego, caminaron al pilar de piedra. El príncipe se estiró y gruñó largo rato y luego tomó el pilar entre los brazos. Lo levantó unos cuantos pies de la tierra y luego lo dejó caer. Otra vez la muchedumbre soltó vítores.

El pastor volvió a persignarse. Tiró el pilar sobre el hombro. Voló por el aire. Cuando dio con la tierra, una rotura apareció en la pared del palacio.

El rey condujo al príncipe y al pastor al pilar de hierro. El príncipe reunió toda su fuerza para el intento. Levantó el pilar una pulgada o dos de la tierra.

El muchacho se persignó. Mandó el pilar al cielo. Cuando aterrizó, la tierra se movió como un terremoto y el palacio se rompió en dos.

Para terminar, el rey los condujo al pilar de oro, pero el príncipe había gastado toda su fuerza. No pudo intentarlo. El rey le dijo al pastor: —Si puedes levantar este pilar de oro serás rey cuando yo muera, y mientras tanto, te puedes quedar con todo el oro.

Pero el pastor estaba mirando a su alrededor y dijo: —No creo que quiera ensayarlo. Mire nomás el mal que ha ocasionado su idea descabellada. Veo hombres con los brazos y piernas quebrados. Veo casas con el techo roto. Mire su palacio: Está partido en dos. Me temo que si llego a ser rey, terminaré tan loco como usted. Creo que lo que más me corresponde es regresar a casa.

El muchacho se encaminó para su casa. Cuando llegó, se persignó al revés hasta que su fuerza era lo debido. Luego devolvió el anillo a la viejecilla sabia.

Y ¿qué pasó en el palacio? Bueno, la reina sentó al rey y le dijo: —No importa que el pastor sea más fuerte que el príncipe o no. No importaría si su fuerza fuera la mitad de la del príncipe. Se ha mostrado dos veces más sabio que el rey, y debiera ser el próximo rey.

Por una vez el rey le hizo caso a su esposa. Y como lo más probable es que ya hayas adivinado el resto de la historia, no hace falta contarlo.

 

T
here was once a man who owned a herd of goats, but he was too busy to tend the goats himself. He thought he would go to the village and hire a boy. He found a boy who had no father and lived alone with his poor mother. The boy was anxious to work so that he could help her. So he accepted the man's offer to pay him four pesos a week. He traveled back to the man's ranch with him.

The boy turned out to be a good goatherd. He soon knew all the goats by name and they would come when he called. He could milk the goats quickly and get more milk from them than they had ever produced before. But it was a hard life for the boy and he was often hungry and sad.

One morning as he was driving the goats into the mountains to eat grass, the boy met an old woman along the way. He greeted her politely, “
Buenos días, abuelita
.”

“
Buenos días
. What are you doing here,
nietecito
?” the old woman asked him.

“As you can see,
abuelita
,” the boy replied, “I'm taking care of these goats.”

“I see,” said the old woman. “And is it a good life, taking care of goats?”

“I have no reason to complain,” the boy said. “But I do get a little hungry sometimes.”

“Take this,” the old woman said, and handed him a folded cloth. “Every time you unfold this cloth there will be something good to eat inside.”

The boy thanked the old woman. “It's nothing,” she told him. “Is there anything else you need?”

“Well, I do feel a little sad and lonely sometimes.”

“Then take this,” the old woman said. From under her cape she brought out a little violin. “Play this. The music will make you happy.”

“But I don't know how to play,” the boy told her.

The old woman laughed. “You can play this violin. It's a magic violin. And do you see this little white key here at the end? If you turn that key, before you play, everyone who hears the music will have to dance.”

Again the boy thanked the old woman, but she just waved her hand and walked on down the road.

When the boy arrived at some good grazing land the goats began to eat, and he sat in the shade of a tree to rest. He put the violin under his chin and drew the bow across the strings. He was amazed at the sweet music that came out. He sat for hours playing the violin while the goats grazed peacefully.

About midday he began to grow hungry. All his master's wife had sent along for him to eat was a bit of dry bread. The boy thought,
The old woman told me the truth about the violin. It really is magical. I'll unfold the cloth and see if she told me the truth about it too.

When he unfolded the cloth the boy saw the most delicious meal he could imagine in front of him—bread and meat and cheese and fresh fruit of all kinds. It was much more than he could eat. He ate what he could and then set the rest aside carefully. He folded the cloth again, and closed his eyes and took a nap.

The boy woke up with a start. The goats were making frightened noises, and so he looked about to see what the problem was. Two coyotes were creeping toward one of the youngest goats. The boy grabbed a big rock to throw at the coyotes. And then he thought of something else. He picked up the violin and turned the little white key at the end.

The boy drew the bow across the strings and a lively tune sprang from the violin. The goats all looked away from the coyotes. They stopped making frightened noises. Instead, they stood up on their hind feet and began to dance. And the coyotes did the same thing! The boy played on and the goats danced more and more wildly. And the coyotes' dance was the wildest of all. The boy played until his arm was so tired he couldn't go on.

When he quit playing the goats all fell to the ground exhausted. And the coyotes rolled over onto their backs and fell asleep. When they woke up, they felt so happy, they didn't even think of bothering the goats. They went away wagging their tails.

That evening when the boy arrived home with the goats, they looked healthier than ever before. And they gave twice the amount of milk they had been giving. Of course, the boy's master was pleased. But he was also a little suspicious.

The master's wife was suspicious as well when the boy seemed to have no interest in the bread and thin soup she served him for his supper.

Every day the boy took his cloth and violin and drove the goats back to the mountains. He spent the days playing music and eating good food. When wild animals came to bother the goats, he turned the white key on his violin and made all the animals dance. Each day the goats were more content and gave more milk. And each day the owner and his wife grew more suspicious.

Finally one day the master decided to follow the boy to the mountains and find out what was going on. He arrived at the pasture just about noontime and watched the boy and the goats from behind a bush. He saw the boy playing his violin softly and the goats grazing peacefully.

Then the master saw the boy set down his violin and unfold his cloth. The master had never seen such a meal! His mouth began to water. So that was why the boy never ate his supper any more!

The master hurried away to tell his wife what he had seen. His wife told him, “Go to town and buy a piece of cloth like the one you saw the boy unfold. Tonight while the boy's asleep we'll take his cloth and leave the new one in its place.”

So the man rushed off to the store and bought a cloth that looked just like the boy's. That night he crept into the stable where the boy slept and took his cloth.

The next day the boy was very disappointed when he unfolded his cloth and no food appeared. But he said to himself, “Oh, well. Nothing can last forever. At least my violin still works.” And he chased away the empty feeling in his stomach with the music of his violin.

But when he got home that evening and saw that the master and his wife were just finishing a big meal—in fact, they looked as though they'd been eating all day—, the boy knew what had happened.

After he had milked the goats and settled them for the night, the boy took his violin to the master's house. “Master,” he said, “I noticed that you and your wife just finished a very good meal. Would you like me to play you some music? It might help you digest your food.”

The master had heard the sweet music the boy made with the violin, and he thought this would be a perfect end to the trick he and his wife had played. They had stuffed themselves on the food from the boy's cloth, and now they'd let the boy lull them to sleep with the music of his violin. “Oh yes, boy,” the man said. “Play us a song.”

The boy reached up and turned the little white key on his violin and then began to play. Right away the man's feet began to tap. His wife began moving about in her chair.

“Play a little slower,” the master said. “I don't seem to be able to sit still when you play like that.”

But the boy didn't play slower. He pulled the bow faster and faster across the strings. The master and his wife were dancing around the room, kicking their feet over their heads. “Stop! Stop!” they cried. “That's enough music.” But the music only grew wilder. Soon they were banging against the walls and falling over the furniture. They begged and pleaded with the boy to stop his music.