CHAPTER 9

When Lázaro robbed the chest

One day, the priest went to another town. Then, a tinker knocked on the door and asked if I had any pans to mend. I had an idea. I said:

- I lost the key to this chest. Can you open it?

He tried many keys and finally he opened it. I said:

- I have no money but I can pay you with a loaf of bread.

The tinker got the bread and went away.

The following day, when the priest went out, I took a loaf of bread and ate it up.

The second day, I did the same. But the third day, the priest said:

- There are nine loaves of bread and a piece. I think someone is stealing bread. I will check it out.

The following day I did not eat because I was afraid. But I found some holes in the chest. Maybe mice could steal the bread. So I ate small pieces. But I was very hungry.

When the priest opened the chest he thought there were mice eating the bread.

He covered all the holes with wood and nails.

For dinner, he cut the pieces that the mice had bitten and said:

- Eat that. Mice are very clean animals.

But then, I had another idea so I could eat.

It’s not a mouse but a snake

I knew the priest was sleeping. I got a knife and I made a hole on the side of the chest. It wasn’t difficult because it was a very old chest. Then, I opened the chest and I ate a piece of bread.

Then I could go to sleep on some straw, that I used as a bed. When I could eat, I could sleep. If I couldn’t eat, it was difficult to sleep.

Next morning, the priest saw that the mice were again eating his bread. He covered the hole.

At night, I made another hole with the knife. And in the morning, the priest covered the hole again.

One day, he decided to put a mouse trap in the chest. He put a piece of cheese. But I ate the bread and the cheese. The priest did not know what to do. He asked the neighbours: “How is it possible? The mouse eats the cheese but it doesn’t fall in the trap?”

A neighbour said: Maybe it’s a snake, not a mouse. The priest got a big wooden stick and he hit the chest at night. He made a lot of noise so I couldn’t sleep. He came near me and moved the stick next to me in case the snake was there.

I couldn’t eat at night but when the priest went to church, I opened the chest and I ate a piece of bread.

Finally, I was afraid he would find the key that I had under the straw. I had an idea. I put the key in my mouth. Every night I put the key in my mouth and I went to sleep.

But one night I was sleeping with my mouth open. The key was in my mouth.

The air that went out of my mouth whistled.

The priest heard the whistle and thought it was the snake. He came to me with the stick trying to find the snake. He thought the snake was under the straw and he hit me on my head so hard that I fainted.

When he saw that I was bleeding, he fetched a candle and he saw the key in my mouth!

Three days later I opened my eyes. The cruel priest said:

- I caught the mice and the snake which ate my bread.

An old woman and some neighbours came in to cure me and give me something to eat, because I was starving.

When I got better, the priest said:

-Lázaro, find another master. You are too clever.

And he closed the door on me.

CHAPTER 10