In the mountain villages of Andalusia, the streets are so narrow and the houses are so close to each other that residents can shake hands without leaving the house. A passerby, encountering a donkey with luggage, must certainly give way, and large baskets loaded on animals even touch the walls of houses. In addition, the mountaineers are hot-tempered people and cannot stand it if the cattle trudges along at a pace. Wherever they go, they definitely have to gallop at full speed, and this results in a lot of misfortunes.
That is why the old mayor, headman and judge of one of these villages, issued a strict order commanding everyone who drives cattle through the streets to shout from afar: “Move out of the way!” - and shout so loudly that even the deaf can hear.
-The peasant Sancho also knew this. Every day he drove his two donkeys to the market in the city and did not skimp on blows with a stick. His donkeys raced like racehorses, but Sancho could shout louder than anyone else. He sang like a nightingale, and passers-by, hearing his loud voice a mile away: “Get out of the way!”, managed to step aside in advance and take refuge in a safe place.
One evening Sancho was returning from the market with his donkeys and suddenly saw two women on the way. Peasant women in wide skirts and elegant lace capes-mantillas were probably going to visit, but having met by chance, they entered into a conversation, and the conversation was very heated. This was no longer a conversation, but a real argument, because the peasant women were waving their arms and trying their best to out-shout each other. Then Sancho hit his donkeys with a stick and shouted as loud as he could:
- Get off the road!
But the women had no time for him. The argument went so far that they grabbed each other's hair and did not hear Sancho's shouts.
The driver realized that things were bad: another minute and disaster would happen. Then he shouted again and shouted so loudly that, it seems, he would have been heard even in Seville. But that didn't help either. What had to happen happened. The donkeys ran at the debaters, knocked them off their feet and trampled their elegant lace mantillas into the road dust. Of course, the peasant women immediately jumped up. Forgetting their enmity, they attacked the innocent Sancho.
- Shameless! - they both shouted at once. “Where are you driving your donkeys?” The alcalde will make you pay for our dresses and lace mantillas.
Without wasting time, they set off to the house of the old mayor. But Sancho didn’t yawn either.
“If they come running before me, then I will be guilty. If I get there first, I can still justify myself,” Sancho reasoned. He abandoned the donkeys in the first yard he came across and rushed straight through other people's gardens and fences to the alcalde. He managed to come running before the peasant women and frankly told the judge everything that happened.
The alcalde listened to the peasant and, after thinking, said:
“It’s not easy to help you, because no one can prove that you really warned these women by screaming, and I can only advise you one thing: no matter what they tell you, no matter what they accuse you of, be silent.” Even if I myself begin to unfairly blame you, also remain silent. Even if I order you to be taken to prison, don’t say a word. I want these women to mistake you for a deaf-mute. This alone is your salvation.
So said the alcalde. He called two alguasil guards and ordered the peasant to be taken to the basement, where the offenders were awaiting trial.
He did this just in time, because angry women immediately burst into the house. They shouted in rivalry that two donkeys had knocked them down, torn their dresses and trampled on their elegant lace capes. And the third donkey didn’t even bother to warn them by shouting; he has violated the mayor's orders and must buy them new mantillas.
The alcalde clapped his hands, and the alguacils brought in the sad Sancho.
“Peasant Sancho, don’t you know my strict orders?” Why didn't you shout: "Get out of the way!" when you drove your donkeys through the village? - the alcalde asked sternly.
But Sancho did not say a word in response - he was silent.
- Answer me!
But the peasant continued to remain silent.
The alcalde threatened:
“If you make fun of me, I will send you to prison!”
But even to these menacing words the peasant did not answer anything.
Then the alcalde took a sheet of paper, dipped his pen into the inkwell, as if he was going to write a sentence, but, after thinking, he put the paper aside. Shrugging his shoulders, he told the complainants:
- Respectable women, it seems to me that I cannot judge this man. You see - he is deaf and dumb and is not responsible for his actions.
The peasant women did not like this decision very much. They realized that they would not receive a single peseta from the “deaf-mute” for their torn mantillas, and they shouted at once:
- Is he the deaf-mute? Yes, this rogue is simply laughing at you, your honor! He probably had enough throat to yell at the whole street: “Get out of the way! Get out of the way!”, and he shouted so loudly that God forbid anyone!
Then the alcalde laughed:
- Go home, beauties. Did you understand what you just told me? You yourself showed that Sancho carried out my order and warned you with a cry, and such that God forbid everyone! You'll have to repair your elegant lace mantillas yourself.
The shamed women left, and the judge ordered the alguasils to release the peasant.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru