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

分享到：