The Rich Man and his Animals |
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Translated by Danae Race and Nelly Rubio-Rayas
There once was a rich man who had in his house a deer, a little goat, a cow, and a lamb, along with the other animals he had in his house.
Daily, a young man arrived to take the animals out to graze in the field, sent by his employer, even though in his house he had everything: corn, straw, green fodder, everything that was needed. But to his animals he would give none. What he did first was sell his fodder, while his animals were getting thin. They were already dying from being so thin, and in the first year the crops yielded nothing, which made everything more expensive. When the evil rich man saw that he couldn’t feed the animals, nor had someone to take them out to the field, what he did was to search for a man. And the rich man sent this man to abandon those four animals, that he had set aside to eat.
“They cannot gain weight; I’ve only uselessly lost money with them.”
The man whom he had taken into his service replied:
“Where am I to go to leave them? To my house or to the church?”
To him answered the rich man:
“Don’t be stupid! Don’t be hard-headed! Ears of rock!... I still haven’t told you where to take them!... Or, have I told you yet?”
“No, my master, you still have not told me where to take them, but I will take them wherever you order me.”
“Take these four animals out quickly and leave them in the field; I don’t want to have t hem here.”
The good man untied them and went to abandon them at the edge of the village, where there was nothing to eat. There he left them and came back.
The deer, the little goat, the cow, and the lamb sat in a circle and began to have a conversation, discussing what they should do to search for sustenance. When they all became quite sad, the deer, who was the smartest, exclaimed:
“What are we to do?” he says to the other animals. “If you all want, you see: I know this area, follow me and I will know where to take you.”
At this, the others answered:
“We will all go together, good little deer. The only thing we beg of you is that you don’t abandon us. Don’t let us lose you in the dark. You know where you take us.”
“My brothers, don’t be afraid; I hear what you’re saying.”
When it started to get dark, he took them to a cave. That day, or rather, that night, they slept there. That night he didn’t go outside, he was very tired, and slept like a rock.
In the early morning, the deer arose and said to the others that had been sleeping with him:
“Wait for me while I go to search for something to eat; if I find something, I will bring it.”
He hadn’t gone far from the cave that was now their home, when the other animals heard someone, they didn’t know who, come running. The lamb said:
“It seems it is the deer that is running towards us, who knows what scared him.”
The little goat replied:
“What do you think scared him?”
“Of course! Don’t you see that it could have been some big puma or tiger that might have wanted to eat him?... Nobody knows!
Then the cow said:
“Stay still, shut your mouth! If not, the big puma will hear us, and our world ends here!”
They hushed, and no one moved; so the cow approached the entrance of the cave to see who was coming. The lamb and little goat were shaking in fear; and the cow said:
“I see him!... Here comes the deer dripping blood.”
Terrified, the other animals, the lamb and the little goat exclaimed:
“Let me see!”
The other also said:
“Let me see!”
As soon as they saw him, they ran out to see from where he had come, arriving afraid. He did not enter the cave, but he went to lay down in another house made of rocks. His animal friends asked him:
“What has happened, good little deer?”
“I was content, going down through there, when a man shot at me. Maybe he meant to hit me in the back; he missed and the bullet grazed my neck.”
What the cow did next was to tell his two brothers:
“We are going to heal him.”
She sent the lamb to gather the herb called babosilla and wild mustard, while the little goat was sent to search for water and medicina del pez. The little lamb didn’t return, perhaps a wolf ate him. They waited and waited, and nothing. They were waiting for him to heal the deer, the one whom the bullet had grazed between skin and meat.
As he thought about it, the little goat said:
“The cow should go look for a doctor to come heal the deer.”
The cow went to searching for an old dog. She ran into him in the pine grove and told him:
“Good little dog, what are you doing?”
“Nothing, you see. My master came to cut firewood here, and he brought me,” said the dog. “And you, good cow? What are you looking for here?”
“I’m going to tell you what made me come here.”
“Say it, good cow.”
“I’m going to tell you; now that I’m here with you, you are the one I came searching for.”
“For what purpose?”
“We have a patient and I want you to go heal him; I beg of you.”
“And you think I can heal him?”
“Of course!”
The cow brought the old dog; they arrived at the place where the healing would happen. The dog began to heal the deer. Before, on the way, they gathered medicinal herbs. The cow was in a hurry.
The little dog started to lick the wound of the deer; once he had licked it, he put the crushed medicinal herbs on it. It didn’t take long for him to get well.
Meanwhile, the little goat went to search for what was necessary for them to eat, and so the little animals were living in the forest.
When they would hear a sound, they would become alarmed. The following day they heard a big puma roar which scared the little goat, the little dog, and the cow. Then the deer said to them:
“Look here, if something happens to us, don’t be afraid; the cow has her horns to defend herself; to you all, I say: you, little goat, when you hear that someone approaches us, simply pull my tail and you will see what happens.”
The big puma roared again and the little goat became more terrified. So, the good little deer told him:
“Pull my tail three times and then I will transform into a great eagle to save you all.”
And, truly, once again they heard him roar more closely, they saw the big puma approach chasing fifteen wolves. And there, in front of them, the big puma killed six wolves. When they saw this, the deer said to the little white goat:
“Pull my tail!”
He pulled it and the deer transformed into a great eagle. The old dog jumped up to sit on his neck, the little white goat settled in astride in the eagle’s shoulders. Then he took flight and the big puma stayed there, looking up in fear at the deer which had become an eagle.
And so it happened that when the deer-eagle saw that the big puma had gone, he landed with his brothers on his back and once again they pulled his tail and he transformed back to a deer.
And on another occasion as well, they saw a big puma, a tiger, and other animals coming; the deer heard them coming. So he said to his brothers:
“Look here! The one that can’t see us.”
What the little white goat did was pull the deer's tail and he transformed into a panther. And when all those animals arrived close to the cave, the panther faced them and told them:
“Where are you going, good animals?”
The big puma answered:
“We came to see you; hide us in your house.”
“Here, as you see, I barely fit myself; you all are too many and will not fit.”
“We came to see you and we’re only trying to hide ourselves because some men are following us; they want to hunt us and this caused us to flee. The best thing would be for us to leave now. Thank you.”
So they went on their way.
As soon as their fear went away, the little animals pulled the panther's tail and he transformed once again into a deer.
After, the little deer went out frequently and one time he didn’t return to his house; they hunted him somewhere.
That old dog died. The little goat and the cow buried him and were left alone. They went out as well to sear for food and then returned to the house.
One time when they were talking, both the cow said to one another:
“What are we doing here? We’re so alone! Let’s go! We’re just locked up here.”
The cow said:
“You’re right. Let’s go!”
They each went their own way and to this day they are still roaming the forest and the prairie.
There once was a rich man who had in his house a deer, a little goat, a cow, and a lamb, along with the other animals he had in his house.
Daily, a young man arrived to take the animals out to graze in the field, sent by his employer, even though in his house he had everything: corn, straw, green fodder, everything that was needed. But to his animals he would give none. What he did first was sell his fodder, while his animals were getting thin. They were already dying from being so thin, and in the first year the crops yielded nothing, which made everything more expensive. When the evil rich man saw that he couldn’t feed the animals, nor had someone to take them out to the field, what he did was to search for a man. And the rich man sent this man to abandon those four animals, that he had set aside to eat.
“They cannot gain weight; I’ve only uselessly lost money with them.”
The man whom he had taken into his service replied:
“Where am I to go to leave them? To my house or to the church?”
To him answered the rich man:
“Don’t be stupid! Don’t be hard-headed! Ears of rock!... I still haven’t told you where to take them!... Or, have I told you yet?”
“No, my master, you still have not told me where to take them, but I will take them wherever you order me.”
“Take these four animals out quickly and leave them in the field; I don’t want to have t hem here.”
The good man untied them and went to abandon them at the edge of the village, where there was nothing to eat. There he left them and came back.
The deer, the little goat, the cow, and the lamb sat in a circle and began to have a conversation, discussing what they should do to search for sustenance. When they all became quite sad, the deer, who was the smartest, exclaimed:
“What are we to do?” he says to the other animals. “If you all want, you see: I know this area, follow me and I will know where to take you.”
At this, the others answered:
“We will all go together, good little deer. The only thing we beg of you is that you don’t abandon us. Don’t let us lose you in the dark. You know where you take us.”
“My brothers, don’t be afraid; I hear what you’re saying.”
When it started to get dark, he took them to a cave. That day, or rather, that night, they slept there. That night he didn’t go outside, he was very tired, and slept like a rock.
In the early morning, the deer arose and said to the others that had been sleeping with him:
“Wait for me while I go to search for something to eat; if I find something, I will bring it.”
He hadn’t gone far from the cave that was now their home, when the other animals heard someone, they didn’t know who, come running. The lamb said:
“It seems it is the deer that is running towards us, who knows what scared him.”
The little goat replied:
“What do you think scared him?”
“Of course! Don’t you see that it could have been some big puma or tiger that might have wanted to eat him?... Nobody knows!
Then the cow said:
“Stay still, shut your mouth! If not, the big puma will hear us, and our world ends here!”
They hushed, and no one moved; so the cow approached the entrance of the cave to see who was coming. The lamb and little goat were shaking in fear; and the cow said:
“I see him!... Here comes the deer dripping blood.”
Terrified, the other animals, the lamb and the little goat exclaimed:
“Let me see!”
The other also said:
“Let me see!”
As soon as they saw him, they ran out to see from where he had come, arriving afraid. He did not enter the cave, but he went to lay down in another house made of rocks. His animal friends asked him:
“What has happened, good little deer?”
“I was content, going down through there, when a man shot at me. Maybe he meant to hit me in the back; he missed and the bullet grazed my neck.”
What the cow did next was to tell his two brothers:
“We are going to heal him.”
She sent the lamb to gather the herb called babosilla and wild mustard, while the little goat was sent to search for water and medicina del pez. The little lamb didn’t return, perhaps a wolf ate him. They waited and waited, and nothing. They were waiting for him to heal the deer, the one whom the bullet had grazed between skin and meat.
As he thought about it, the little goat said:
“The cow should go look for a doctor to come heal the deer.”
The cow went to searching for an old dog. She ran into him in the pine grove and told him:
“Good little dog, what are you doing?”
“Nothing, you see. My master came to cut firewood here, and he brought me,” said the dog. “And you, good cow? What are you looking for here?”
“I’m going to tell you what made me come here.”
“Say it, good cow.”
“I’m going to tell you; now that I’m here with you, you are the one I came searching for.”
“For what purpose?”
“We have a patient and I want you to go heal him; I beg of you.”
“And you think I can heal him?”
“Of course!”
The cow brought the old dog; they arrived at the place where the healing would happen. The dog began to heal the deer. Before, on the way, they gathered medicinal herbs. The cow was in a hurry.
The little dog started to lick the wound of the deer; once he had licked it, he put the crushed medicinal herbs on it. It didn’t take long for him to get well.
Meanwhile, the little goat went to search for what was necessary for them to eat, and so the little animals were living in the forest.
When they would hear a sound, they would become alarmed. The following day they heard a big puma roar which scared the little goat, the little dog, and the cow. Then the deer said to them:
“Look here, if something happens to us, don’t be afraid; the cow has her horns to defend herself; to you all, I say: you, little goat, when you hear that someone approaches us, simply pull my tail and you will see what happens.”
The big puma roared again and the little goat became more terrified. So, the good little deer told him:
“Pull my tail three times and then I will transform into a great eagle to save you all.”
And, truly, once again they heard him roar more closely, they saw the big puma approach chasing fifteen wolves. And there, in front of them, the big puma killed six wolves. When they saw this, the deer said to the little white goat:
“Pull my tail!”
He pulled it and the deer transformed into a great eagle. The old dog jumped up to sit on his neck, the little white goat settled in astride in the eagle’s shoulders. Then he took flight and the big puma stayed there, looking up in fear at the deer which had become an eagle.
And so it happened that when the deer-eagle saw that the big puma had gone, he landed with his brothers on his back and once again they pulled his tail and he transformed back to a deer.
And on another occasion as well, they saw a big puma, a tiger, and other animals coming; the deer heard them coming. So he said to his brothers:
“Look here! The one that can’t see us.”
What the little white goat did was pull the deer's tail and he transformed into a panther. And when all those animals arrived close to the cave, the panther faced them and told them:
“Where are you going, good animals?”
The big puma answered:
“We came to see you; hide us in your house.”
“Here, as you see, I barely fit myself; you all are too many and will not fit.”
“We came to see you and we’re only trying to hide ourselves because some men are following us; they want to hunt us and this caused us to flee. The best thing would be for us to leave now. Thank you.”
So they went on their way.
As soon as their fear went away, the little animals pulled the panther's tail and he transformed once again into a deer.
After, the little deer went out frequently and one time he didn’t return to his house; they hunted him somewhere.
That old dog died. The little goat and the cow buried him and were left alone. They went out as well to sear for food and then returned to the house.
One time when they were talking, both the cow said to one another:
“What are we doing here? We’re so alone! Let’s go! We’re just locked up here.”
The cow said:
“You’re right. Let’s go!”
They each went their own way and to this day they are still roaming the forest and the prairie.
