I'll tell you one story. Although I am not a master at telling stories, you are masters at telling
Once upon a time there lived a man, and he knew how to cast magic. And there was another man who loved to play cards. Then one day these two met and sat down to play. And the sorcerer - his name was Don Juan - won all the time. Don Pedro - that was the second name - first lost all his money to him, then a ring from his finger, then a pin from his tie, then other things - until finally there was nothing left to lose.
Then don Juan says:
- Do you want us to play for your life? Maybe you can win back!
“Oh, it was not!” - Don Pedro thought and agreed. But he was unlucky again! Lost this bet too.
- Now you are mine! - don Juan said. - You will serve me. If you cope with the job, I’ll let you go in peace, but if you don’t cope, don’t punish me.
“Well, I’m ready,” says Don Pedro.
- When to start?
“I’m not in a hurry,” the sorcerer answers. - Whatever you think of, come. Here's my horse, he knows the way.
He laughed and disappeared.
Don Pedro wandered home, and the horse followed. And some kind of melancholy suddenly overcame him: he was drawn, just like that, and he was immediately drawn to get to don Juan! Witchcraft, and that's all.
He mounted his horse and before he could blink an eye, he found himself in an unfamiliar place, in front of the gates of an ancient castle.
Don Juan himself came out to meet him, praised him for his efficiency and called his daughter to take the guest upstairs and show him where to spend the night.
The sorcerer's daughter was a beautiful girl named Blancaflor - which means “White Flower”.
But I must tell you that Don Pedro was young and handsome. And, as usual, they liked each other.
“You know what,” the girl said to Don Pedro. “My father is planning to destroy you!” Be on the lookout! In the morning I will serve you hot chocolate for breakfast. My father ordered a burning potion to be mixed in there: while you drink it, you don’t feel it, but then it flares up in your stomach like a fire and can burn you to the ground. So you slowly pour this refrigeration powder into the cup. And when the father asks: “Aren’t you hot, Don Pedro?”, answer: “Thank you, just right.”
The morning has come. At breakfast, the owner asks Don Pedro if the chocolate is hot.
“Thank you,” Don Pedro replies, “just the way I like it!”
And, of course, he did everything that Blancaflor ordered.
The sorcerer was surprised:
“Well,” he says, “good!” Here's my first task for you. My late grandmother, when she was still a girl, went boating and dropped a gold ring into the sea. Find me this family jewel and bring it to me! Otherwise, you won’t see freedom.
Don Pedro walked out the door, walking darker than a cloud. And there Blancaflor is already waiting for him.
“Don’t worry,” he says, “everything will work out!” Let's go to the shore, I will turn into a mermaid, and even if I search the entire bottom of the sea, I will find your great-grandmother's ring!
So they did. In the evening, Don Pedro comes to the owner and gives him the ring. The same one, golden, ancient, lay under water for two hundred years!
Don Juan was more surprised than ever, but nothing could be done. He praised the zealous servant and sent him away until the morning.
In the morning at breakfast the same story again. The owner asks:
“Aren’t you feeling hot, Don Pedro?” And he said no, just right. The sorcerer frowned.
“Well,” he says, “here’s my second task for you.” In one day, build me a new palace over there, not far from the old one, and so that tomorrow morning I could move there with my whole family and all my belongings! If you don’t do it, you won’t see freedom.
Don Pedro lost his soul. It’s clear that one person can’t do this. He walked out the door like a cloud, and there Blancaflor was already waiting.
“Don’t worry,” he says, “we’ll sort it out!” Here's a magic wand, hit the ground three times and servants of all trades will appear. Give them orders.
And exactly! Don Pedro walked away from his master's house, struck the ground three times with his stick, and three young men stood up in front of him.
He explained to them what he needed, and they clapped their hands - clap, clap, clap! And, out of nowhere, a whole army of workers appeared. Some are carrying stones, others are digging the ground, laying the foundation... Lo and behold, the walls have already risen, they are already laying the roof, and making the interior beautiful!
As soon as the sun rose, the owner went out onto the balcony and saw: a beautiful palace towering, sparkling with clean windows. What can I say?
He pretended to be very pleased, praised Don Pedro for his diligence and sent him away until the next morning.
The next morning, Don Pedro again mixed refrigeration powder into his cup of chocolate.
The owner asks:
“Aren’t you burned, Don Pedro?” And he answered - nothing, they say, I just like it hot.
The sorcerer ground his teeth in anger.
“Well,” he says, “listen to my last task!” I have a wild stallion. You go around it for me and calm it down so that a small child can sit on it without fear! If you do it, go to all fours, and if you don’t do it, say goodbye to life.
Well, Don Pedro wasn't very scared. He went out the door and walked and whistled. Here Blancaflor meets him and asks what kind of work his father gave him. He responded:
“The work is nothing, I can do it in no time, I know how to handle horses!”
- Ah! says Blancaflor. - My poor Don Pedro! After all, this is exactly the most difficult thing! This horse will be my father, and the saddle will be my mother, and the girths, straps, and stirrups will be all my sisters. And I myself will be the bridle. Take this whip, it has lead in the handle, and when you sit on your horse, hit him on anything with this handle, and hit him on the saddle, on the stirrups and girths, and stick these spurs into his sides. But be careful not to touch the mane, just hold on to the bridle! Look, we will defeat them.
And so it happened. No matter how much the terrible stallion kicked or snored, he could not throw off Don Pedro. He clutched the bridle tightly, and showered the horse, saddle, girths and straps with stirrups with blows of a heavy whip! In the end, the exhausted horse, pricked by spurs, not only calmed down, but struggled to reach the stable.
Well, Don Pedro knocks on the owner’s door, but the owner has locked himself in his bedroom and won’t come out. He asks me to tell Don Pedro that he is unwell. He allegedly went with his hostess to the city for a bullfight, and there the bulls broke out of the corral and trampled the spectators. And let, they say, Don Pedro take any horse from his herds as a farewell and leave as soon as possible.
Don Pedro went to get his horse, and Blancaflor was right there. Again I taught him what to do.
The herders show him the most beautiful, expensive horses, but he doesn’t care! They show worse horses - he doesn’t even look at them! Finally he sees a horse standing there, old and old, skinny and skinny, with all its ribs exposed.
“I’ll take this,” he says.
The grooms began to dissuade him, but he told them that he was afraid of robbers. They say, on a good horse, they will probably stop you: both the horse and the wallet will be taken away. And no one will covet such a nag.
So he led his skinny horse out of the yard, and his name, by the way, was Pensamiento, which means “Thought.” And it’s not for nothing that he was called that!
It means that Don Pedro was leading the horse, and Blancaflor ran up and said:
- That same horse! Now you can go.
And as soon as it got dark, they jumped on their horses and rushed off.
But just before leaving, Blancaflor sneaked into her bedroom, took a glass, spat in it and placed it at the head of the bed.
She did it for a reason! Because at midnight her mother, although she was severely beaten, suddenly jumped out of bed and woke up her husband.
“Hey, hey,” she whispered, “if only this Don Pedro didn’t take our daughter away on the horse Pensamiento - fast as a thought!”
Then don Juan called loudly:
- Blancaflor! Are you at home? And I heard in response:
- I'm here, father! What, time to serve breakfast?
It never occurred to him that the drool from the glass was answering.
- Sleep, baby, sleep! - he said and turned to his wife: - See, everything is in order.
But after a while the mother woke up again. Again she bothers her husband:
- Hey, hey! I hope this Don Pedro doesn’t take our daughter away on his horse Pensamiento - fast as a thought!
Don Juan called again:
- Blancaflor, are you there? And I heard in response:
- I'm here, father! What, time to serve breakfast?
- Sleep, baby, sleep! - he said and turned to his wife: - Don’t you dare wake me up again!
But the mother did not let up. It was obvious she had a bad feeling!
Several more times she raised her husband and forced him to call out to his daughter. And each time the same thing was repeated, only Blancaflor’s answers sounded quieter, weaker, because the saliva in the glass began to dry up.
And don Juan was angry with his wife:
- Let your daughter sleep, can you hear how sleepy her voice is!
But still, his wife again could not stand it and pushed him away.
- Hey, hey! - she screamed. “I’m afraid that this Don Pedro took our daughter away on his horse Pensamiento, as fast as a thought!”
And then the husband became completely furious, gave her a beating, and she calmed down until the morning. But as soon as dawn broke, the mother herself ran to Blancaflor’s bedroom and immediately understood everything!
- Oh, you old fool! - she began to lament. - What did I tell you? After all, this rogue took away our beloved daughter! Fly now and bring her back!
Don Juan had to turn into a black raven and fly in pursuit. And now he is already overtaking the fugitives!
“Hey, hey,” Blancaflor says to Don Pedro, “my father is catching up with us.” Now I will turn the horse into a church, myself into a bell tower, and you will be a bell ringer. He will begin to question you, and you repeat one thing:
“Yes, sir, the service will begin now!”
So they did.
Don Juan turned into a man again, ran up to the church and shouted to Don Pedro:
- Bell ringer, bell ringer, did a guy and a girl pass by here? The horse under them is skinny and painfully fast!
And Don Pedro rings the bells and mutters:
- Yes, sir, the service is about to begin, don’t be late, sir!
“Ugh, what a fool!” thought don Juan. “Apparently, I won’t be able to catch up with them.” And he turned back. He returned home and told his wife everything.
The wife got angry and shouted:
- You yourself are a fool! After all, that’s what they were! You're out of your mind! I'll have to fly for my daughter myself.
She turned into a gray heron and flew away. And now she is already overtaking the fugitives!
“Hey, hey,” Blancaflor says to Don Pedro, “my mother is catching up with us.” Let me throw my comb in front of her.
She threw the comb, and immediately tall mountains stood in the heron’s path! The heron was delayed, but still went around the mountains. And now she overtakes the lovers again.
“Hey, hey,” says Blancaflor, “my mother is catching up with us again.” Let me throw my mirror in front of her, I have nothing else. Let it overflow into a lake, you and the horse will be the shores, and I will be a little fish.
So they did.
The heron landed on the lake and began to catch fish. But the fish kept eluding her. Finally Blancaflor said:
- Well, it will be, mother! You see, you can't get me.
“Well, have it your way,” her mother answered, “just know: if your dear Don Pedro, when he returns home, is embraced by one of his relatives, he will immediately forget you for seven whole years!”
And she flew away.
And Blancaflor and Don Pedro rushed on, and on the way he promised her that he would never allow any of his relatives to hug him.
But then they arrived at the gates of the city where Don Pedro lived, and he said:
“Wait for me here, I’ll go ahead and prepare everything.”
He, you see, wanted his relatives to give his bride a grand welcome.
All the household were very happy about Don Pedro. Of course, they considered him dead! And of course, everyone wanted to immediately embrace him. But he forbade them to do so, although he did not explain why. And then he lay down on the sofa for a minute and pulled himself up - he was very tired from the journey.
At this time, another relative, a great aunt, arrived at the house. She lived on the other side of town and was the last to hear the good news. The aunt had no children of her own, and she loved Don Pedro with all her heart. And so this glorious woman burst into the house, pushed aside the servants, waved away her relatives and, without listening to anyone, she was also deaf! - rushed straight to the sleeping man and hugged him tightly...
Don Pedro woke up and rubbed his eyes. They tell him that everything is ready for the ceremonial meeting - both music and refreshments. But he won’t even understand what’s going on and what kind of meeting it is.
“Well,” they explain to him, “you brought some girl with you, you were going to get married!”
- Where did you bring it from? - Don Pedro is surprised. “Did I really go somewhere?”
In general, what the old sorceress, don Juan’s wife, predicted came true. Don Pedro forgot his bride, as if she never existed.
And what should she, poor thing, do now? She built herself a palace on the outskirts of the city - that’s when witchcraft came in handy! - and she began to live there alone. Out of boredom, she got herself a pair of doves and taught them human speech. And she retold her sad story to the doves so many times that they remembered it by heart and even learned to represent it in their faces: the dove for Don Pedro, the dove for Blancaflor.
Meanwhile, rumors were already circulating around the city about a young stranger who had settled alone in a beautiful palace, which came from nowhere. Some took her for a foreign princess who had retired from the court, others for the rich widow of some overseas merchant, and, of course, many wanted to get to know her better.
One day, when Blancaflor had already lived in solitude for several years, Don Pedro gave a dinner party at his place. It seems he was celebrating his name day. However, I don’t know for sure. They began to call guests, and then someone said:
- Let's invite that girl, the princess or whatever her name is, who lives alone in the palace. I really want to find out who she is and where she comes from!
Blancaflor agreed to come, but only if she was allowed to take both lovebirds with her. She was, of course, allowed. But at dinner she was silent the whole time. And when the sweets were served, one of the guests could not stand it and asked:
“Dear princess, won’t you tell us who you are and where you come from?” Do me such a favor!
“Okay, so be it,” Blancaflor sighed. - Just let my sweet little doves speak for me.
And the doves spoke. They knew this whole story very well and knew how to act it out.
“Hey, hey,” the dove began, “have you really forgotten how my father treated you with a fire potion?” Don't you remember who helped you out?
“I don’t remember,” answered the dove.
- Well, then I’ll remind you!
And the dove began to tell further, and just before the end of the story she asked again:
- Hey, hey, maybe you’ll remember how the gray heron, my mother, predicted our separation? She knew that someone would hug you at home and you would forget me for seven whole years!
- I remembered! By God, I remembered! - Don Pedro suddenly shouted. “You are Blancaflor, my savior and bride!”
Well, you understand, they decided to celebrate the wedding at the same time. Moreover, there was plenty of food and drink left in the kitchen, and the musicians had not yet left.
New delicious dishes were immediately brought, everyone’s glasses were filled again, and the bride and groom were seated at the head of the table on soft pillows and the most delicious morsels were brought to them.
And although you and I are sitting not on velvet pillows, but on straw mattresses, it wouldn’t hurt for us to wet our throats and refresh ourselves. I wouldn't mind having regular beans and corn tortillas right now.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru