The Clever Husband and Wife.

 Narrated by Elisa Cordero, a Tagalog from Pagsanjan, La Laguna. She heard the story from her servant.

 

Pedro had been living as a servant in a doctor’s house for more than nine years. He wanted very much to have a wife, but he had no business of any kind on which to support one.

 

One day he felt very sad. His look of dejection did not escape the notice of his master, who said, “What is the matter, my boy? Why do you look so sad? Is there anything I can do to comfort you?”

 

“Oh, yes!” said Pedro.

 

“What do you want me to do?” asked the doctor.

 

“Master,” the man replied, “I want a wife, but I have no money to support one.”

 

“Oh, don’t worry about money!” replied his master. “Be ready to-morrow, and I will let you marry the woman you love.”

 

The next day the wedding was held. The doctor let the couple live in a cottage not far from his hacienda,1 and he gave them two hundred pieces of gold. When they received the money, they hardly knew what to do with it, as Pedro had never had any business of any sort. “What shall we do after we have spent all our money?” asked the wife. “Oh, we can ask the doctor for more,” answered Pedro.

 

Years passed by, and one day the couple had not even a cent with which to buy food. So Pedro went to the doctor and asked him for some money. The doctor, who had always been kind to them, gave him twenty pieces of gold; but these did not last very long, and it was not many days before the money was all spent. The husband and wife now thought of another way by which they could get money from the doctor.

 

[153]Early one day Pedro went to the doctor’s house weeping¹. He said that his wife had died, and that he had nothing with which to pay for her burial². (He had rubbed onion-juice on his eyes, so that he looked as if he were really crying.) When the doctor heard Pedro’s story, he pitied the man, and said to him, “What was the matter with your wife? How long was she sick?” “For two days,” answered Pedro.

 

“Two days!” exclaimed³ the doctor, “why did you not call me, then? We should have been able to save her. Well, take this money and see that she gets a decent⁴ burial.”

 

Pedro returned home in good spirits. He found his wife Marta waiting for him at the door, and they were happy once more; but in a month the money was all used up, and they were on the point of starving again.

 

Now, the doctor had a married sister whom Pedro and his wife had worked for off and on after their marriage. Pedro told his wife to go to the doctor’s sister, and tell her that he was dead and that she had no money to pay for the burial. Marta set out, as she was told; and when she arrived at the sister’s house, the woman said to her, “Marta, why are you crying?”

 

“My husband is dead, and I have no money to pay for his burial,” said Marta, weeping.

 

“You have served us well, so take this money and see that masses are said for your husband’s soul,” said the kind-hearted⁵ mistress⁶.

 

That evening the doctor visited his sister to see her son who was sick. The sister told him that Marta’s husband had died. “No,” answered the doctor, “it was Marta who died.” They argued and argued, but could not agree; so they finally decided⁷ to send one of the doctor’s servants to see which one was dead. When Pedro saw the servant coming, he told his wife to lie flat and stiff⁸ in the bed as if she were dead; and when the servant entered, Pedro showed him his dead wife.

 

The servant returned, and told the doctor and his sister that it was Marta who was dead; but the sister would not believe him, for she said that perhaps he was joking. So they sent another servant. This time Marta made Pedro lie down stiff and flat in the bed; and when the servant entered the house, he saw the man lying as if dead. So he hurried back and told the doctor and his sister what he had seen. Now neither knew [154]what to believe. The next morning, therefore, the doctor and his sister together visited the cottage of Pedro. They found the couple both lying as if dead. After examining them, however, the doctor realized that they were merely⁹ feigning¹⁰ death. He was so pleased by the joke, and so glad to find his old servants alive, that he took them home with him and made them stay at his house.

 

1 weeping   

adj. 哭泣的，<古>下雨的，垂枝的 动词weep的现在分词

参考例句：

• It's no use weeping over what can't be helped. 对于无能为力的事哭也没用。
• Is she still weeping away? She's been crying all day! 她还在哭吗？她已经哭了一整天了！

2 burial   

n.埋葬，埋藏，掩埋

参考例句：

• The priest prepared the body for burial.牧师给死者作安葬准备。
• The Premier's burial was a solemn occasion.总理的葬礼是个庄严的场面。

3 exclaimed   

vt.exclaim的过去式v.呼喊，惊叫，大声说( exclaim的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "We have a good chance of winning," he exclaimed optimistically. “我们很可能获胜。”他乐观地喊道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She exclaimed in delight when she saw the presents. 她见到礼品高兴得叫了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 decent   

adj.象样的，不错的，体面的，正派的，恰当的

参考例句：

• We want to raise our children to be decent men and women.我们盼望把孩子们培养成优秀人才。
• There isn't even a decent table in this room.这屋里连张像样的桌子也没有。

5 kind-hearted   

adj.好心的

参考例句：

• She is one of the most kind-hearted girls that I saw.她是我看到的姑娘中最善良的一个。
• Mike is a very kind-hearted boy.迈克是一好心肠的小伙子。

6 mistress   

n.（文学用语）使男子为之倾倒的女人，女主人

参考例句：

• Does his wife know he has a mistress?他的妻子知道他有一个情妇吗？
• Is your mistress at home?你家女主人在家吗？

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 stiff   

adj.严厉的，激烈的，硬的，僵直的，不灵活的

参考例句：

• There is a sheet of stiff cardboard in the drawer.在那个抽屉里有块硬纸板。
• You have to push on the handle to turn it,becanse it's very stiff.手柄很不灵活，你必须用力推才能转动它。

9 merely   

adv.仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• Your scheme is merely a castle in the air.你的计划只不过是空中楼阁。
• You merely caused a crash by cutting in on me like that!你那样超我的车，差一点就撞车了！

10 feigning   

假装，伪装( feign的现在分词 )； 捏造（借口、理由等）

参考例句：

• He survived the massacre by feigning death. 他装死才在大屠杀中死里逃生。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。