00:00Fairy Stories from Spain by J. Munoz Esquamez. Colored Illustrations by William Matthews.
00:09King Chufu. King Chufu, Empress of China, was doing her hair when her maids, who,
00:17on their knees witnessed the delicate operation of artistically arranging the imperial hair
00:22of Her Majesty, burst into cries of admiration, scarcely repressed by the etiquette of the palace.
00:30What is the matter? King Chufu deigned to ask, turning her head.
00:35Ah, lady! exclaimed the maids in a chorus. Brahma has deigned to favor you with a sign of his
00:43protection. And what is that? inquired the Empress.
00:48A silver thread which appears amidst your beautiful hair. That is to say, I have a white hair.
00:57So it is called amongst simple mortals, but in the Daughter of the Sun they are threads of silver,
01:04to which poets spontaneously sing verses, under the penalty of being quartered like dogs.
01:10Let the seers and astrologers come at this very moment. I must know what this foretells.
01:16Five minutes afterwards, the royal boudoir was full of mustached men, with eye protectors,
01:22who, kneeling, waited to be consulted.
01:25Today a white hair has appeared in my head, exclaimed the Empress.
01:31The seers tugged at their mustaches in desperation, leaving the floor covered with hairs.
01:36Hail! said the eldest, daughter of the sun, who hast all the brilliance of the diamond,
01:43the beauty of the iris, the wisdom of Confucius, and the sweetness of the honey.
01:49The silver thread foretells a terrible calamity in the empire.
01:53Know that Brahma has decreed. It horrifies me to say so.
01:58That one of your imperial teeth will commence to ache.
02:03Terror was depicted on every countenance, and all who witnessed this scene pulled their pigtails,
02:09a sign of terrible desperation among the Chinese.
02:12The pages and maids groaned in chorus.
02:15The mandarins sat down on their hats, passing the time by eating tangerine oranges
02:20and rubbing their eyes with the peel.
02:23The news spread into the city, and very soon the whole of Peking came out into the streets and places,
02:28weeping salt tears over the terrible aching of the Tuu.
02:33Four simple subjects were forbidden to pronounce completely the names of the imperial members
02:39or other parts of their illustrious sovereign's body.
02:42The Tuu! The Tuu!
02:46shouted the maddened people, making Peking seem like an immense enclosure of bulls.
02:51And, as if to make the illusion still more complete,
02:54there were not lacking people who produced cattle bells,
02:57with which the faithful are called to the pagoda, the Church of the Chinese.
03:02In those days there came to Peking a young Spaniard, a native of Seville,
03:08a sharp and witty youth, who had arrived at the capital of the Chinese Empire
03:12after having wandered over half the world on foot, without money and without shame.
03:18He was thought to be very wide awake and even clever,
03:21and all because he had been a groom and bullring attendant in his own town,
03:26where he was nicknamed Pinchabah.
03:29Well, our Pinchabah was astonished to see the desperation of those Chinese,
03:33and above all when he heard the sound of
03:36Tuu! Tuu!
03:38which made him fear he was going to meet a drove of bulls.
03:42In case it was so, he thought it better to climb up to the first window which came to hand.
03:47He had hardly reached the window when from the interior of the house came forth a hand,
03:52and then an arm, which, catching hold of him firmly by the neck,
03:56pulled him up and made him enter the house in a most original way.
04:00The arm was that of a palace guard who, on seeing our civilian climbing up to a window
04:05of one of the imperial rooms, detained him in order to deliver him up to justice.
04:10This crime was a terrible one.
04:14In China, it was something daring to profane one of the windows of the empress.
04:19That crime was punishable, at the least, with death.
04:23The worst of it was that Pinchabah did not know a word of Chinese,
04:26and was therefore amazed when the guard said to him, with a terrible air,
04:32What is this fellow saying to me? thought Pinchabah.
04:36Pinchabah. He seems to have a stomachache, and is telling me that he has indigestion.
04:41Well, let him get better.
04:43And he shrugged his shoulders.
04:45But the guard was nasty, and, seizing him again by the neck,
04:48took him through the passages of the palace to the rooms of the great chancellor.
04:52The latter was found praying to God that the terrible prediction might not be fulfilled,
04:57as it might cost him his destiny.
04:59If the empress's tooth hurts her, she will hurt me, said he.
05:05So when he was told of the horrible sacrilege committed by a foreigner,
05:09he became exceedingly angry, and wished to have him beheaded.
05:13Take me to this youth, that I may settle him, he said to the guard.
05:18And facing the Spaniard, he said sharply,
05:22Cunching ponton.
05:24Another stomachache.
05:25The same as the horses in the bullring.
05:28But perhaps they have worries.
05:31By good fortune, the great chancellor spoke broken French, and Pinchabah also,
05:36so that at last they almost came to understand each other.
05:40And what may you have been in your country? asked the chancellor.
05:46I, a wise monkey.
05:49A wise monkey is a boy attendant in a Spanish bullring.
05:53The chancellor did not understand the word monkey, but did understand the word wise.
05:59And full of joy, he said,
06:01I am going to ask you a question, and if you answer me rightly, count on my protection.
06:07The chancellor then informed Pinchabah of the cause which had sown such sorrow in Peking.
06:12And the lad, smiling, said to him with the greatest songfroi,
06:17Is that all?
06:18Well, I will restore calm to the Chinese empire.
06:21I will make this white hair disappear, and with it the presages of these charlatans.
06:27What has the hair to do with the teeth?
06:30Introduce me to the empress, and you will see something interesting.
06:35The great chancellor said to him,
06:37I will, but it would not be well for the empress to see you in these clothes.
06:41May God make your days happy.
06:44We must make you look decent.
06:46And taking him to the bathroom, he placed him in the hands of his slaves,
06:50who, in a twinkling, perfumed and clothed him in beautiful robes of silk and gold.
06:56Pinchabah, accompanied by the great chancellor, went to the imperial rooms,
07:00and there, on account of the person who accompanied him, being the head of the government,
07:05had only to wait in eleven antechambers, after which he was shown into the imperial presence.
07:10Here I bring you, celebrated princess, the most famous and wise necromancer of the world,
07:17said the chancellor, who must have been fond of exaggerating.
07:21A whirlwind made him fall on this palace, dragging him from far lands,
07:25and in the center of the whirlwind it seems to me I saw a great Confucius,
07:30who held him by the neck.
07:33Rise, wise man, said the empress, sweetly.
07:37Pinchabah did not move.
07:39Get up, wise man, repeated the chancellor in French.
07:44Do you mean me?
07:45exclaimed Pinchabah, and with one bound he stood up.
07:48Bow down, or you are a dead man, shouted the chancellor to him.
07:53I don't want to, answered the youth.
07:57What does he say?
07:58inquired the princess.
08:00That he must see the silver thread that Brahma presented you with this morning.
08:06Look at it, said the queen, with emphasis,
08:09and taking out the seven hundred hairpins and the three hundred packing needles with which she adorned herself,
08:15she let her silky black hair fall down,
08:18and amongst it could be seen one hair as white as snow.
08:22Pinchabah advanced, with more fear than shame,
08:25and his mind made up, seized the hair,
08:28and, making signs as if in prayer, sharply pulled it out.
08:32The queen gave a scream,
08:34and Pinchabah, approaching the window, threw out the white hair,
08:38the cause of the misfortune of the Chinese empire.
08:41Ah! exclaimed the queen.
08:44Do you return Brahma his gift?
08:46What a marvelous man!
08:48He deserves a thousand rewards.
08:50For the present you will cede to him your post,
08:53and from to-day he will be my chancellor.
08:55And, so that you will not be troubled,
08:57I will hang you this afternoon with a rope that I made for you some days ago.
09:02What an honor for the family, lady!
09:05said the chancellor, terrified.
09:08Do you wish me to translate your proposal to the wise man?
09:12Do so at once.
09:14The poor man translated with complete fidelity what the queen had said,
09:19and then Pinchabah told the chancellor that he would only accept his post
09:23on condition that he was given him as his secretary.
09:27The empress acceded to Pinchabah's request,
09:30and granted him the royal seal as a sign of his unlimited authority.
09:34So that I can do what I like?
09:37He asked.
09:38Whatever your highness wishes,
09:40now I am going to present you to the full functionaries of the palace.
09:44He received them all with gestures of amiable protection,
09:47and the chancellor translated what he said.
09:50See here, said Pinchabah,
09:53let them bring me that chinaman who seized me by the neck two hours ago.
09:57Seized your highness by your venerable neck,
10:02indignantly asked the secretary.
10:05The end.
