that he had killed, and which made the same gestures as the first.
Then he could not any longer contain himself, and started to run after
the second hare, entangling his spurs in the under-growth and stumbling
and falling at every step.
Like one who took no interest the hare went slowly to its lair, and
after it our enraged Don Teobaldo, resolved to make a terrible hash of
the jesting animal.
"This seems to be a thing of the devil," he said. "All the hares have
agreed to make fun of me."
At length, after a good while, Don Teobaldo, with his tongue hanging
out, arrived at a kind of cave, in the black depths of which he lost
sight of the hare.
"Well, now, I have to find you even if you are the devil himself in
person."
"Your servant," said a voice of rare quality; and a man with a strange
face and eyes of fire presented himself before Don Teobaldo, saluting
him with burlesque courtesy.
"Caramba!" exclaimed Don Teobaldo, without being frightened, because he
was a very valorous man. "If I must tell the truth, I wished to know
you personally."
"And do you not feel afraid?"
"Not at all. And since you are so familiar with me, I shall treat you
in the same way. I want to make an arrangement with you."
"Speak."
"First answer me: are you the hare that I pursued?"
"The same. I knew that you were engaged in an affair and wished to
speak to me, and brought you to my house so that we could talk
comfortably."
And the devil started laughing, flames shooting out of his mouth. It
was a sign that he was happy.
"Well, you shall see. You must know that to-morrow the tournament in
which the hand of the king's daughter is to be disputed will take place.
The victor will become hereditary prince, and I, frankly, wish to occupy
the post. It is therefore necessary that you make me conquer in the
fray."
"And what will you give me in exchange?"
"Whatever you ask me."
"That you make the princess forget her faith in God. I already have you,
and I want the princess."
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
And the devil and Don Teobaldo shook hands. The latter drew his back,
saying:
"How you burn."
The devil said to him:
"To-morrow, at the hour of the fight, a squire in black armour will come
and see you. I will give you a cuirass made in such a way that it
cannot be pierced through; a shield which will dazzle and stupefy your
adversaries if only looked at; a charmed sword, a touch with which will
produce death; and a horse as black as ebony which has the advantage of
requiring neither curb nor spurs: you will only wear them as
ornaments.... In a word, the horse--will be me."
"Oh, thanks, but I am sorry to trouble you."
"Don't let us say a word about this affair. I have resolved to carry
away the soul of this princess, who wearies me with her prayers and
psalms, and I have not been able to make her sin, even in thought."
And the devil caught up Don Teobaldo with his cape and left him at the
door of his house, after passing through the air at a prodigious speed.
On disappearing, he said in his ear: "Good-bye till to-morrow."
On the following day the city was decorated with pennons and banners.
The entire population flocked to the place where the hand of the
beautiful princess, whose virtues everybody praised highly, was to be
won in open contest.
Thirty knights took part in the struggle, and as they were the bravest
in the kingdom the spectacle promised to be interesting, though
barbarous; but such were the customs of those times.
The king and the court occupied the grand stand, the princess being in
the front row. The public took the rest of the seats, and the heralds
announced that the jousts were about to commence.
Don Teobaldo appeared in the foreground upon a beautiful black horse,
large black plumes waved over the crest of his helmet, and the armour
which he wore was also black.
On seeing his proud countenance one could not doubt his certainty of
obtaining the victory.
The signal was given, and another valiant knight came into the arena and
rushed upon horrible Don Teobaldo at his horse's full gallop.
When he was near, the devil's friend oscillated his shield, and his
adversary, without being able to prevail, fell to the ground
unconscious.
Another and another and another, and twenty more, went forth to fight
and suffered the same fate. Whoever resisted the mysterious action of
the shield, fell dead from a blow of the sword, even when only touched
with the flat of it.
The people gave shouts of despair on account of the horror which that
man inspired in them. The princess was on the point of losing
consciousness from terror on seeing that terrible spouse who was
offering her his disgrace.
"Heaven!" she exclaimed, "death before being the wife of that wicked
man."
And now, the last champion having suffered the same defeat as the
others, they were about to proclaim Don Teobaldo conqueror, and
therefore the husband of the princess, when the trumpet sounded,
announcing that a noble knight asked permission to take part in the
struggle.
The king looked at his daughter and, on seeing her so sorrow-stricken,
gave the desired permission, with the remote hope that the new-comer,
whoever he might be, would vanquish the terrible champion.
They requested him to tell his name and surname, but the knight said:
"My name is Miguel; my surname I reserve until after the fight, if I
emerge victorious, but rest assured that there is no one more noble on
earth."
And he rode into the lists, arousing a murmur of admiration; his armour
was all white as ermine, and the plumes of his helmet were also white.
White, of a dazzling white, was the beautiful horse he rode.
Don Teobaldo was greatly impressed by the sight, and more so the devil,
who with a neigh said: "I am glad you have come to fight, Miguel; we
have an old account to settle."
And turning his head to Don Teobaldo, he added:
"Pull out one of the hairs of my mane and keep it in your pocket, with
this you will have as much power as I. Try to defend yourself to the
last, for our adversary is terrible."
No sooner said than done. Don Teobaldo pulled out one of the hairs of
the devil's mane and kept it, and immediately felt strong and powerful.
Blinded by all the pride of the Infernal One, he assailed the knight of
the white armour, trying to fascinate him with his shield. Useless task!
The knight raised the visor of his helmet and showed the handsomest
countenance that ever was seen. That lovely face sent out celestial
rays.
"Ah, Luzbel!" cried he. "Do you rebel against me?"
And, throwing aside his spear, he drew his sword, whose brilliance
eclipsed that of the sun itself, and threw himself upon Don Teobaldo.
The black horse snorted, roared, bounded, evading the blows with
superhuman skill. Don Teobaldo's sword fell upon Miguel's white shield
two hundred times, but in vain, until dazed and vanquished horse and
rider fell at the feet of the handsome knight.
"Get you hence!" he said in a voice of infinite pity. "Know that you are
my slave until the completion of the centuries, and that you have no
power against God our Lord."
"Princess," he added, "you are saved. Your prayer reached the Most
High, and I, who am the Archangel Miguel, came to set you free from the
snares of the demon. Continue virtuous and you will receive your
reward."
And so saying he disappeared.
Meanwhile the devil wished to vanish, but Don Teobaldo remembered his
deceit, and as he had power over the demon, thanks to the hair that he
had pulled out, began to belabour him with spurs and sword, making him
bounce as high as the highest houses. Don Teobaldo did not move from
the saddle and finished by giving the devil such a superb thrashing as
nearly finished him.
"Let me be, and I will not trouble you again," cried Luzbel.
"Will you ask for my soul?"
"Neither your soul nor your body, but let me alone now."
Then Don Teobaldo, whose heart had been touched by the glance of the
angel and moved to repentance, dismounted from the horse and left it
free to disappear.
And so ended those famous jousts, which were never eradicated from the
memory of the public.
The princess, the following year, married a prince as virtuous as
herself, and Don Teobaldo did penance and became a good Christian who
had a just satisfaction in having administered a sound thrashing to the
devil.
[Illustration: tailpiece to The Devil's Tournament]
*THE TREASURE OF THE DRAGON*
An old sailor brought to my town the news of having seen, in a very
distant island, a terrible dragon which guarded an immense treasure.
Half of the body of this guardian was a fish, the other half a lion; it
moreover had such powerful wings that it could rise to an extraordinary
height. Air, water, or land were his elements, and when any ships came
near to the coast they were soon attacked by that ever vigilant monster.
Many expeditions were made, but all succumbed to the talons of that
invincible animal; moreover, the treasure was so splendid that it
excited the envy of adventurers from all parts of the earth.
Among the innumerable precious stones which with thousands of gold bars
formed those riches, there was a statue of natural size made out of a
single diamond, and which was worth such a fabulous sum that all the
treasures of the earth would not suffice to buy it.
The fear of the dragon did not lessen the enthusiasm of the lads of my
town; on the contrary, it was a further stimulus to their bravery and
daring, and so, in little less than a month, an expedition was formed of
the bravest and most ambitious.
They set out on the 15th of September on a bark named the _Temeraire_--a
handsome brigantine, the swiftest that ever glided over the waves.
After fourteen days' sailing they found themselves at about a league
from the island where the treasure and the dragon were. Behold what
happened!
The members of the expedition met in council in order to take their
measures, and agreed as follows: to launch some boats in order to land
in three or four places at the same time; to carry a great quantity of
ammunition so as to be able to fire upon the dragon; and, lastly, to
divide the treasure in equal parts and to distribute it among the
expeditionaries. There was only one vote against, that of a cabin boy,
a youth of eighteen, who opposed the dividing of the party, believing it
better to wait for the dragon on board the ship, and from there to fight
it with cannons.
"If you are afraid, stay behind," they all said to him, and nobody paid
any attention to the cabin boy's scheme.
As nobody trusted his companions, all embarked in the bunches, fearful
of being cheated if they did not witness the division of the treasure,
leaving on board only the cabin boy and the pilot, a very experienced
old sailor who had not uttered any opinion at the meeting. The launches
being full and the crews armed, they left the ship and rowed near to the
coast.
Pascual, for so the cabin boy was named, prepared the bow-gun, loading
it up to the mouth, and also seized a strong sharp spear. Then he sat
down in the bows, and from there, with a telescope, watched the progress
of his companions. The latter were about a hundred yards from the coast
when a tremendous roar was heard; he saw the dragon fly up into the air
and fall upon one of the launches. Several gunshots were heard, and
soon the launch disappeared under the water. The bullets glanced off
the skin of the terrible animal, which threw itself in turn upon the
other launches and sank them.
Its work of extermination finished, the dragon returned to the island,
shaking its wings, reddened by the blood of its victims.
The pilot, terrified, wished to go back to his country, but Pascual
prevented it, and directed him to go at full sail towards the island.
The pilot gave way to the solicitations of the cabin boy, who now no
longer thought of the treasure but of avenging the death of his
companions.
They had arrived at some hundred fathoms from the coast when they saw
the dragon, which was advancing towards them. Pascual rapidly aimed the
small cannon, but the ball struck on some rocks, and the dragon, more
irritated than ever, threw himself upon the brigantine. It described a
couple of circles in the air like an eagle choosing its prey, and at
length threw itself upon Pascual, who, mounted on a round house,
valiantly waited for it.
Such was the violence of the attack that the dragon, on attempting to
break the spear with which the heroic boy greeted it, sent it quite
through one of its claws, and so great was the pain that it made a
horrible outcry and rose up in the air full of terrible frenzy. The
spear remained fixed in the claw, and to it hung Pascual, who, by his
weight, increased the woes of the dragon. In vain the latter tried to
get rid of that singular guest; all its efforts were useless, Pascual
bestrode his spear like an enthusiastic gymnast. Then becoming furious,
it threw itself into the sea in order to try to drown him. Pascual swam
like a fish and dived like a seal; so his enemy was not able to liberate
itself from him. Being now desperate, it went to the island, dragging
the cabin boy with it; the latter had hardly touched terra firma when,
using the spear as a lever, he gave it a turn with all his might,
twisting the wounded claw in such a way that the pain deprived the
monster of its strength and consciousness. Giving a cry it fell to the
ground defenceless. Pascual then got out his jack-knife and looked with
care for the joints between the formidable scales which served the
dragon as armour. There he thrust it in many times, with the aid of a
stone which he used in place of a hammer.
The dragon was now dead, and Pascual thought of his companions and went
down to the shore to seek them. His search was useless, for he did not
even find a trace of them. He looked towards the spot where he had left
the brigantine, and that had also disappeared; doubtless the old pilot
was afraid and had gone away with the ship.
Then our hero decided to seek the treasure, but in vain he went over the
island in all directions: he found not the least sign of it. Then he
returned to the spot where he had seen the dragon lying when they had
approached the island, and he saw that there was an enormous stone which
no doubt covered the entrance of the grotto where the treasure was to be
found. He applied the spear to the joints and succeeded in moving it,
and after some effort he brought into view a winding staircase, down
which he hurriedly went. The first room to which the staircase gave
access had its walls covered with rubies, the second with emeralds, and
the third with pearls and diamonds. In the centre stood the magnificent
statue made out of a single diamond, and which represented a very
beautiful princess. Pascual was astounded at such extraordinary beauty,
and burst into an exclamation of admiration.
Presently he noticed the pedestal of the statue, on which might be read:
"In a stone lies the disenchantment."
Then the cabin boy looked at all the projections of the room, and
pressing one of them heard a creak, and instantaneously, as the scenes
in a fairy comedy are changed, the grotto disappeared; each precious
stone was changed into a human being, and the beautiful princess, again
turned to flesh and blood, came slowly down from her pedestal, and,
giving her hand to the valiant lad, offered to reward his bravery by
giving him all the riches of her kingdom, and with them her heart. Among
the disenchanted beings were all his companions of the expedition, who
embraced Pascual, and, what was very strange, did not envy him,
recognising that his triumph was deserved. All the destroyed boats
appeared on the coast, and in them they embarked, each one going to his
own country and the cabin boy to that of the princess.
Pascual is now no longer Pascual, but His Highness Prince Pascual I., a
very good man, according to what his subjects say.
[Illustration: headpiece to The Man with Two Faces]
*THE MAN WITH THE TWO FACES*
Claudio was screaming madly when his grandmother said to him:
"If you cry any more you will see the man with two faces."
"Oh, I say, who is he?"
"Well, he is a very strange being, who laughs with one face and cries
with the other. If a child looks at his smiling face he gives it a toy;
if it looks at his sad face he bites it and tears off the tip of his
ear."
"Well, then, I wish he would come, because I will be very good and he
will give me a toy."
"It would be much better if he did not come, because you are very bad
and you would get your ear bitten."
"But I want to see him," said the boy.
"Look for him if you like," said the grandmother, "but mind he does not
hurt you."
Claudio, who was eight years old and very innocent, quite believed in
the man with two faces, and resolved to look for him everywhere.
That afternoon he went to the outskirts of the town and asked some
woodmen:
"Where is the man with two faces?"
And they said to him mockingly:
"Go to the mountain over there and you will come to him."
He followed their counsel and climbed up the mountain without finding
anybody. That night he had to spend on the mountain, climbing up to the
top of a tree because the howling of the wolves frightened him so much
that he did not dare to go back to his home. In the morning, on getting
down from the tree, a squirrel saluted him with great ceremony, and said
"Good morning."
"Listen, squirrel," said Claudio, "do you know where the man with two
faces is?"
"I do not know, but my friend the eagle knows many things. Come with me
and we will ask him."
The boy and the squirrel went together and on the top-most part of the
mountain came upon the eagle's nest. The eagle turned towards the
squirrel and asked what he wanted. On being told of what Claudio wanted
he said to him: "I have sometimes heard this man spoken of, but I have
never seen him. I only know that he is very unhappy, because he can
only look at himself in the glass with his sad face, and on seeing
himself so afflicted the poor fellow bursts into tears."
"And where does he live?" said the boy.
"He lives so far away that you would never be able to reach the place,
but if you like I will carry you there, through the air, in my claws,
and we shall be there in a twinkling. I cannot do any more for you than
carry you to the door of his house, and I cannot answer for what may
happen to you."
"Never mind," said the boy; "take me, for I want to see him."
The eagle caught up the boy by his belt and the squirrel got into one of
Claudio's pockets. The eagle began its flight and the three found
themselves in the air. When Claudio saw that he was so high up he shut
his eyes, full of terror.
When the squirrel appeared from the boy's pocket the trees looked like
the size of pins, and he went quickly back again for fear of being
seasick. After several hours' flying, the eagle descended on a little
mountain and there left Claudio, startled at his own temerity.
"When you wish to come back--if they let you--blow on the whistle which
I am carrying round my neck. Keep it, for I have very sharp ears and
can hear the sound of it for five hundred leagues. As soon as I hear it
I will come, and pop! I will take you by the belt to my nest."
When the eagle had gone the squirrel came out of Claudio's pocket and
said to him:
"Have we arrived already, my little friend?"
"Have you come too?" exclaimed Claudio joyfully.
"Yes, but incognito. I liked the look of you and wish to help you with
my advice: you know that squirrels, modesty apart, are very sharp."
"All right, what am I going to do now?"
"Do you not want to see this man? Then let us go on, because I also
would like to know him."
"And if he wants to hurt us?"
"Then we will defend ourselves. I will go first and explore the
surroundings, and will come back at once."
And saying this, the squirrel started to run with the quickness usual to
his race, returning after a little while very much frightened.
"Do you know," he said, "that the man with the two faces is at the
present moment giving a terrible hiding to some boys that he has shut up
in a cage?"
"They must be naughty boys, but I am good, and he will give me toys."
"I don't know about that, because the only thing I have seen him give is
knocks; and do you know what he was saying?
"'This one I like, that one, no;
But I shall kill them all, O!'"
"Was he saying that?"
"Just what I am telling you. I have only seen his gay face which is in
the back of his head, and on seeing him I closed my eyes and came away
quickly, for if he sees me he will tear me to bits."
"What are we going to do?" said Claudio, startled.
"Climb up this pine tree with me and from there we will watch."
They climbed up a tree and from it saw a house, or rather a great cage,
formed of big iron bars with an iron roof. In the centre was seated the
man with the two faces with a whip in his hand, punishing a number of
boys of all ages who filled the cage.
The temptation seized Claudio to blow the whistle and make the eagle
come back to fetch him away, but his curiosity overcame his fear, and he
said to himself:
"After all, I can go away whenever I like."
A little later they saw the man with two faces come out of the cage and
walk in the direction of the place where Claudio was. On his approach
they saw such a woebegone countenance that Claudio was filled with fear.
As the squirrel saw him shudder, he said to him in a very low voice:
"Close your eyes or we are lost."
The boy obeyed and the man with two faces passed close to them without
noticing their presence. When he felt him pass, Claudio half opened his
eyes and saw his gay face. Again he had to close them, for he could
hardly stop laughing, so strange was the face.
On his disappearing in the distance, both the friends descended from the
tree and went up to the cage. On seeing them the boy prisoners began to
shout, full of joy:
"Have you come to set us free?"
"Yes," said Claudio, "but I don't know how to, because you are locked
up. Well, failing the key, let us look for other means."
And, examining the doors, he came upon one without a lock. He opened it
and went into the cage, but he had no sooner entered than the door
closed of its own accord, leaving him a prisoner.
"Poor little boy!" shouted the others, "you are quite lost, for this is
a kind of mouse-trap where you can enter but can't get out."
At this moment, the man with two faces arrived; he opened the door and,
facing Claudio, looked at him with the serious face which made the boy
shut his eyes to keep from crying.
"What! Have I got one pupil more?" he exclaimed. "Good, now it is your
turn to laugh, as it is the first day."
And seizing his head with both hands he turned it round so that the gay
face came in front of the boy. The latter looked a moment, and again
shut his eyes to keep from laughing aloud.
"I see that you are strong, but to-morrow we shall see," said the
monster, and he locked Claudio up with the other little ones.
Now it was night; all were sleeping, including the horrible gaoler.
Claudio was half asleep when he heard himself called softly. It was his
friend the squirrel, who had got in through the iron bars and said to
him:
"Be sure that to-morrow I will save you."
And without anything more he turned and went out by the way he had
entered.
The following day, at the usual time, the monster showed his sad face.
The prisoners began to cry. Claudio shut his eyes, and the monster gave
one of his ears a bite and showed him his teeth.
"That's for to-day; to-morrow there will be more," he said.
And after throwing a few pieces of bread to the boys he went away.
No sooner had he gone than millions of squirrels gathered round, and
with the quickness of lightning made an enormous gap. Through this the
boys escaped, and the squirrels entered in their place. The boys hid
themselves in a distant grotto, and there waited to see what would
happen.
The man with the two faces arrived at the cage and, on seeing the
squirrels there, became extremely angry, and seized a whip with which to
give them the daily beating, when all those little animals came out
through the iron bars.
The monster, putting on some very high stilts, started to run in search
of the boys, blowing a whistle. They, terror-stricken, were hiding in
the grotto without daring to breathe for fear of being discovered.
After eight or ten hours of giddy running, the man with the two faces
fell down exhausted and went to sleep on the ground near the grotto.
Then the squirrel asked Claudio for the whistle that the eagle had given
him, and without making any noise hung it round the monster's neck.