"Go on with thy story, Sancho," said Don Quixote, "and leave the choice

of our road to my care."

"I say then," continued Sancho, "that in a village of Estremadura there

was a goat-shepherd--that is to say, one who tended goats--which shepherd

or goatherd, as my story goes, was called Lope Ruiz, and this Lope Ruiz

was in love with a shepherdess called Torralva, which shepherdess called

Torralva was the daughter of a rich grazier, and this rich grazier-"

"If that is the way thou tellest thy tale, Sancho," said Don Quixote,

"repeating twice all thou hast to say, thou wilt not have done these two

days; go straight on with it, and tell it like a reasonable man, or else

say nothing."

"Tales are always told in my country in the very way I am telling this,"

answered Sancho, "and I cannot tell it in any other, nor is it right of

your worship to ask me to make new customs."

"Tell it as thou wilt," replied Don Quixote; "and as fate will have it

that I cannot help listening to thee, go on."

"And so, lord of my soul," continued Sancho, as I have said, this

shepherd was in love with Torralva the shepherdess, who was a wild buxom

lass with something of the look of a man about her, for she had little

moustaches; I fancy I see her now."

"Then you knew her?" said Don Quixote.

"I did not know her," said Sancho, "but he who told me the story said it

was so true and certain that when I told it to another I might safely

declare and swear I had seen it all myself. And so in course of time, the

devil, who never sleeps and puts everything in confusion, contrived that

the love the shepherd bore the shepherdess turned into hatred and

ill-will, and the reason, according to evil tongues, was some little

jealousy she caused him that crossed the line and trespassed on forbidden

ground; and so much did the shepherd hate her from that time forward

that, in order to escape from her, he determined to quit the country and

go where he should never set eyes on her again. Torralva, when she found

herself spurned by Lope, was immediately smitten with love for him,

though she had never loved him before."

"That is the natural way of women," said Don Quixote, "to scorn the one

that loves them, and love the one that hates them: go on, Sancho."

"It came to pass," said Sancho, "that the shepherd carried out his

intention, and driving his goats before him took his way across the

plains of Estremadura to pass over into the Kingdom of Portugal.

Torralva, who knew of it, went after him, and on foot and barefoot

followed him at a distance, with a pilgrim's staff in her hand and a

scrip round her neck, in which she carried, it is said, a bit of

looking-glass and a piece of a comb and some little pot or other of paint

for her face; but let her carry what she did, I am not going to trouble

myself to prove it; all I say is, that the shepherd, they say, came with

his flock to cross over the river Guadiana, which was at that time

swollen and almost overflowing its banks, and at the spot he came to

there was neither ferry nor boat nor anyone to carry him or his flock to

the other side, at which he was much vexed, for he perceived that

Torralva was approaching and would give him great annoyance with her

tears and entreaties; however, he went looking about so closely that he

discovered a fisherman who had alongside of him a boat so small that it

could only hold one person and one goat; but for all that he spoke to him

and agreed with him to carry himself and his three hundred goats across.

The fisherman got into the boat and carried one goat over; he came back

and carried another over; he came back again, and again brought over

another--let your worship keep count of the goats the fisherman is taking

across, for if one escapes the memory there will be an end of the story,

and it will be impossible to tell another word of it. To proceed, I must

tell you the landing place on the other side was miry and slippery, and

the fisherman lost a great deal of time in going and coming; still he

returned for another goat, and another, and another."




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