Long
ago, in a little town not so far away, three young men sat outside
a
tavern. They saw a funeral
procession passing by. They asked a young man who worked in the
tavern
to find out the
identity of the
dead person.
The boy returned and said, “It is your old friend Lively. He was
murdered by a thief named Death.” |
The oldest man in the group turned to his friends and said, “Who
is this fellow Death? Why is everyone so afraid of him? I am not
scared.
Let us find this Death and
get rid of
him.”
The three men agreed. They
shook
hands. They were going to find
Death and
put an end to his
evil
deeds. They went into the tavern and asked the keeper
where they might find this fellow called Death. The man said,
“Ten miles down the road there is a village. Recently, a
plague
went through there. Men, women and children all died. I am certain
you will find Death in that unhappy place.”
The three men got up and
set off to
the village. They were in high, good spirits. They had only gone a
few miles when they met an ugly old woman. They laughed at her
wrinkles
and her
wispy grey hair. They
made
fun of her old, torn clothing. They would not let her
pass even though she looked frightened.
“Please, please, get out of my way,” the old lady cried. “I
tell you Death is following me. I must get away from him to
survive. I do not want to die. Get out of my way!”
“We will not let you pass,” the leader of the three men said.
“Tell us where we can find this Death. He has murdered our
friend. When we find him, we will kill him.”
“Gentlemen,” said the old lady, “if you want to find Death,
all you have to do is look under that old
oak
tree, up there at the top of the hill.”
On hearing this, the three men
allowed the old woman to pass. They ran up to the oak tree. When
they got there, they did not find Death. Instead, they found a
chest
filled with gold coins! They sat down to count their newfound
treasure.
They quickly forgot about finding Death.
Finally, the leader said, “We must be careful with this gold.
The townspeople will say we
stole
it. We will be hanged as thieves. Let us
draw
straws. The one who draws the shortest straw will go
back to town and get some food. The other two will stay and keep
watch over the gold. Tomorrow we will divide the treasure and go
our separate ways. That way no one can accuse us of being
thieves.”
They agreed to this plan. They drew the straws. The shortest straw
was drawn by the youngest of the three men. The other two gave him
a few gold coins. He went off to town to buy some food.
The two men guarding the gold quickly made a plan. They decided to
kill their friend when he returned with the food. First, they
would eat the food. Then they would divide the treasure two ways
instead of three.
The youngest man walked into town. He thought, “I will buy the
food. I will also buy poison and put it in the food. My two
friends will die and I will have all the treasure to myself.” So
he bought a strong poison. He put it into the food and the drinks
he purchased. That night he went back to his friends.
When he returned, his companions jumped on him and murdered him.
They quickly buried his body. “Now,” the leader said, “let
us relax and eat. We are very
wealthy
men.” They spread out the food and drink. They ate their dinner
with satisfaction, not noticing any strange taste. In a few
minutes, both men were dead from the poison.
So it came to be that the three men found Death – just the
person they had been looking for. And they found him under the old
oak tree, just as the old woman they had tormented had promised. |
bargained:
looked for
(buscaban, esperaban)
tavern: pub for alcoholic drinks (taberna)
to find out: to investigate (para investigar)
dead =/= alive (muerto =/= vivo)
scared: frightened (asustado)
get rid of: remove, kill (sacarse de encima, matar)
shook hands:
(to shake/shook/shaken) (se dieron la mano)
put an end to: finish (acabar, terminar)
evil deeds: very bad actions (maldades)
plague: serious infection (plaga)
set off to: went towards (partieron para) |
wrinkles:
slight skin depressions (arrugas de la piel)
wispy: thin and weak (débil, ralo)
made fun of:
laughed at (se rieron de)
oak: hard wood tree (roble)
on hearing this = when they heard this (al escuchar esto)
chest: large box (arcón, baúl)
treasure: wealth (tesoro)
stole: (to shake/shook/shaken) (robamos)
draw straws: to draw anything (straws or pebbles etc.) chosen at random
(elegir una pajilla al azar)
wealthy: rich (ricos) |
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