IN OLD CADIZ
(A LEGEND OF THE CASTANETS)
Before the Moors came into Spain, Cadiz, or Gadir, as it was then
called, had become famous for its dancers. Throughout the land they were
known for their grace and beauty.
Now there lived at this time one who had grown too old to dance any
more. So she wished to teach her little daughter the steps she had once
loved so well.
But strangely enough, she was afraid to do this--afraid, because a
savage race called the Visigoths (v[)i]z´[)i] g[)o]ths) were sweeping
through Spain and were trying to destroy the art of the people. They
were overrunning the country, smashing great statues and burning fine
books.
[Illustration: CADIZ]
What would they do if they were to discover that women were secretly
teaching their children to carry on the art of dancing?
Although she feared the Visigoths, this mother, who had once been a
dancer, used to take her daughter to a cave far from the city. And here
she would attempt to instruct the little girl.
But young Lira did not want to learn to dance. She was plump and lazy.
She disliked to exercise, except with a knife and fork. For eating was
the only thing she really enjoyed.
One day when the sun shone fiercely, Lira felt very sorry for herself.
She was hot and twice as lazy as usual--which, I assure you, was
dreadfully lazy!
She decided that she would not take her dancing lesson. Yet how was she
to escape it? Soon her mother would be leading her off to the cave and
making her work.
Lira bit into a large loaf of bread and thought furiously. Why, of
course! She would hide her mother's castanets and then say that she had
lost them. This was a splendid idea.
So running off ahead of her mother, she made her way to the secret cave.
Below her lay the city of Cadiz. It was so white that it made one think
of chalk on snow. But to hungry little Lira, it looked like whipped
cream!
Cadiz points her long, white finger out into the azure blue bay. She has
a gleaming golden eye, which is the dome of her cathedral.
When Lira's mother arrived at the cave, Lira ran up to her and
exclaimed, "Oh, Mother, I have lost the castanets! And now there will be
no lesson today."
She then sat down and continued to chew contentedly upon her enormous
loaf of bread. But her mother's face turned white.
[Illustration: STREET OF THE SERPENTS]
"What are you saying, child?" she cried. "Do you tell me you have lost
the castanets?"
Lira nodded and took an unusually large bite out of the loaf. Her mother
stood over her, her face a mask of fear.
"Lira," she gasped, "do you know what you have done? If, indeed, you
have lost the castanets, then truly you have brought misfortune upon
your whole family."
Whereupon, her mother recited this verse:
"_Castanets, with magic spell,
Never lose or give or sell;
If you do, then grief and strife
Will follow you through all your life._"
Lira's eyes grew big. The loaf of bread dropped to the ground as she
arose.
Leading her mother to the rock behind which she had hidden the
castanets, she said, "Look, Mother. The castanets are not really lost. I
was only fooling you. They are hidden in here and--"
She pulled out the loose rock and looked behind it. The castanets were
gone.
Now, in those days, people believed in spells and charms, and Lira's
mother was terribly frightened. She was also terribly angry with Lira.
She hurried away toward home, leaving Lira standing alone, with the
tears running down her plump little cheeks. She was afraid to go home,
and so she wandered down to the wide beach.
Here children were playing, while boys and girls with flashing eyes were
swinging along, clapping their hands and singing. Music sounded.
Laughter rang. Night had begun to fall.
A crescent moon hung in the sky. It was a moon that had been cut in
half, and the other half was Cadiz. The air was full of dream dust, with
garlic in it.
Lira did not feel the spell of night that had settled upon the rest of
the world. She was too miserable. What had become of the castanets?
Had some evil power removed them from behind that rock? And if so, what
frightful thing would happen to her and to her family?
Gradually the people began to leave the beach and finally Lira found
herself alone. She looked out across the bay--a bay that was to become
the scene of historic battles during Spain's wars with England and
France.
Moonlight twinkled silvery upon the water. It was very quiet. And then,
all at once, Lira heard a step behind her, and a mysterious voice
whispered: "Lira, Lira, turn around!"
Her heart skipped like a pebble across a lake. She turned. There stood
her older brother, his figure looming straight and tall in the
moonlight. Lira sighed with relief.
[Illustration: ALCAZAR GARDENS, SEVILLE]
But her brother did not move. He only stood, scowling down at her. Then
he continued to talk in that low, frightening voice.
"Do you know," he said, "that you have brought terrible misfortune upon
us, Lira?"
Lira felt the hot tears begin to sting her eyes again. So he, too, was
going to scold her for losing the castanets! But suddenly he took a step
toward her and, thrusting his face close to hers, said, "The Visigoths
are coming to drive us away from our homes!"
Lira began to tremble. Those terrifying savages! She knew that they had
been sweeping her country, destroying everything in their path. Now they
were about to descend upon her home. And it was all her fault--hers! She
sobbed and clung to her brother.
"Oh, why did I do it?" she cried. "Why did I hide the castanets?"
Her brother put his hand under her chin and lifted her head so that
their eyes met.
"Are you sorry, little sister?" he asked kindly.
Lira's answer was a pitiful wail.
"Will you ever tell another untruth?"
"No, no, never, as long as I live!"
"Will you remember the jingle about the castanets?"
"Yes, yes! Always and forever!"
"And will you work hard and learn to dance and carry on our mother's
art?"
"Yes, yes! Oh, I will try so hard!"
"Then--look, sister!"
And to her amazement, Lira's brother held out the magic castanets. He
had been watching when she hid them. And when she had gone into the
cave, he had played a trick upon her by taking them away.
It was a trick that Lira never forgot--never, though she lived to be
very old. All her life she treasured the magic castanets and never
again did she lose sight of them.
But something else she did lose, and that was her round little figure.
Indeed, she became lovely and slender. She also became a famous dancer,
and one day she taught her own children the dances of Spain.
[Illustration: SEVILLE]