CHAPTER 15

The sad dark house and the corpse

One day, my master got a rial. I don’t know how he got it but I didn’t want to ask him. He said:

- Here you are, Lázaro. God is helping us. Go to the square and buy bread, wine and meat. Also, I have more good news. I rented another house. We are going to move soon.

I got the rial and the jug and I ran out of the house. But when I was walking down the street thinking about the food and the wine, I saw a coffin. There was a woman dressed in black, the widow, and she was crying:

- Dear husband, where are they taking you? To the sad and unlucky house. The house where people can’t eat or drink.

When I heard that, I thought: “They are taking the corpse to our house”. So I forgot about the food and wine and I ran home, closed the door and called my master.

My master saw that I was very afraid. He asked me:

- Boy, what’s the matter? Why did you close the door like that?

- Sir, they are bringing the corpse to our house.

- How come?

- His widow was saying: “Where are they taking you? To the sad and unlucky house, where people never eat or drink.”

My master laughed and laughed and he couldn’t stop.

- It’s OK, boy, now you go out now and buy the food.

That day we ate properly but I was very frightened for a long time.

The esquire talks about his life

I spent a few more days with this master, the esquire.

I was curious about his life. I wanted to know why he went to Toledo, because he was a foreigner in this city. He didn’t know anyone here.

One day, he told me about his life. He said he came from Old Castile. He went away from Castile because he didn’t want to take off his hat when he met a knight, his neighbour.

- Sir, - I said- if he was a knight and he had more money than you, was it your obligation to take off your hat first? He took his hat, too, didn’t he?

- Yes, but I wanted him to take it off first , just once! I am an esquire, but if I meet a count in the street and he doesn’t take off his hat completely , the next time I see him I will pretend I have to get into a shop and not take off my hat.

And he continued saying:

- Besides, I’m not so poor. I have a piece of land with houses which, if they were not ruins, they would cost a lot of money. I also have a dovecot, which, if it was in good condition, it would have two hundred birds. And I have many more things. I came here to get a job, to serve a rich master. I don’t want a regular master, because they pay very little, or they may give you just a cloak.