CHAPTER 1

Lázaro says who his parents were

My name is Lázaro de Tormes. My father was Tomé González and my mother was Antona Pérez. They were born in a village near Salamanca, Spain.

I was born in the river Tormes. That’s the reason why my name is Lázaro de Tormes. My father worked in a water-mill next to the river. My mother was inside the mill when she gave birth.

I was eight years old when my father was accused of stealing wheat from the bags in the water-mill. My father went to prison and they beat him there. Then, he was sent to Africa to fight against the Moors. He died in a battle, there.

My mother was left alone, so she moved to the city and rented a small house. She made food for students and washed the clothes for the servants of his Excellency the Comendador. One of the servants was Zaide, a black man. He visited my mother very often.

At first, I was afraid of Zaide. But later, I got to love him, because he brought us bread, pieces of meat and wood in winter.

After some time, my mother had a baby, my little brother. The baby was black and very pretty and I played with him.

One afternoon, we were at home with Zaide and my mother. My little brother saw that my mother and I were very white and Zaide was black. My little brother was afraid of Zaide because he was black. So I thought. "There are many people in the world who are afraid of others because they can’t see themselves.”

One day in the Comemdador’s house, they discovered that Zaide stole wood, blankets and wheat and horse-shoes. He gave everything to my mother and my baby brother. I sold the horse-shoes, because my mother told me to do so. Because I was a child, I told the truth when the Comendador asked me.

My mother and Zaide were beaten. She and Zaide couldn’t go to the Comendador’s house again.

My mum had to buy food for us , but she had no work. So she started to work at an inn, serving food. We had very little money and little to eat until my brother learned to walk and I grew up.

How Lázaro started to serve a blind man

There was a blind man in the inn. He saw me and asked my mum if I could serve him. She said: He is a good boy. Please take care of him, because his father died.

The blind man said he would be like a father to me. So I started to serve him.

The blind man decided to go to another city. So I had to say goodbye to my mum. She said:

- Dear son, I will not see you again. Be a good boy. You have a kind master.

The blind man and I were walking out of Salamanca. There, on a bridge, there is a stone animal like a bull. The blind man told me to get near it.

- Lázaro, put your ear on this bull and you will hear some noise inside it.

I did as I was told. When I put my ear on the bull, the blind man pushed me hard against the animal. He hit my head hard and I got a terrible pain, which lasted for three days.

- Stupid boy, you should know that a blind man’s servant should be cleverer than the devil.

He laughed a lot at me.

The blind man was very clever. He got money by praying. He knew more than one hundred prayers. When he said a prayer, he had a loud voice in church. He said his prayers were good for:

relieving pain
Women who couldn’t have babies would have babies.
Women who were not happy with their husbands would get happy.

Everybody believed what he said and they gave him money for the prayers.

CHAPTER 2