Don Quixote_ Translation by Edith Grossman (HarperCollins) - Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra [458]
“May he live a thousand years,” responded Sanchica, “and the man who brings it not a year less, even two thousand, if that’s necessary.”
Then Teresa left the house, carrying the letters and wearing the necklace around her neck, and she drummed on the letters with her fingers as if they were tambourines, and when she happened to meet the priest and Sansón Carrasco, she began to dance, saying:
“By my faith, we’re not poor relations anymore! We have a nice little governorship! And if the proudest of the gentlewomen tries to snub me now, I’ll know how to put her in her place!”
“What is this, Teresa Panza? What madness is this, and what papers are those?”
“The only madness is that these are letters from duchesses and governors, and these things I’m wearing around my neck are fine corals, and the Hail Marys and Our Fathers are of beaten gold, and I’m a governor’s wife.”
“As God’s in heaven we don’t understand you, Teresa, and we don’t know what you are talking about.”
“You can see it here,” responded Teresa.
And she handed them the letters. The priest read them aloud so that Sansón Carrasco could hear, and Sansón and the priest looked at each other as if amazed at what they had read, and the bachelor asked who had brought the letters. Teresa responded that if they came home with her, they would see the messenger, a handsome, well-mannered boy who had brought another present that was worth a good deal. The priest took the corals from around her neck and looked at them, and looked at them again, and being convinced of their value, he was amazed all over again and said:
“By the habit I wear, I don’t know what to say or think about these letters and these gifts: on the one hand, I can see and touch the fineness of these corals, and on the other, I read that a duchess sends a request for two dozen acorns.”
“It’s ludicrous!” said Carrasco. “Let’s go and see the messenger; he’ll explain the things that perplex us.”
They did, and Teresa returned with them. They found the page sifting some barley for his horse, and Sanchica cutting slices of bacon that she would cover with eggs and give to the page, whose bearing and grace pleased both men very much; after they had exchanged courteous greetings, Sansón asked him for news of Don Quixote as well as Sancho Panza, for although they had read the letters from Sancho and my lady the duchess, they were still confused and could not really grasp Sancho’s governorship, especially of an ínsula, since all or most of the islands in the Mediterranean belonged to His Majesty. To which the page responded:
“Señor Sancho Panza is a governor, of that there can be no doubt; whether what he governs is an ínsula or not does not concern me, but it’s enough to know that it’s a place with more than a thousand residents; as for the acorns, I can say that my lady the duchess is so straightforward and humble,” he said, “that she not only would send a request to a peasant for some acorns, but has on occasion asked to borrow a comb from a neighbor. Because I want your graces to know that the ladies of Aragón are as highborn but not as punctilious and haughty as Castilian ladies; they are simpler in their dealings with people.”
While they were engaged in this conversation, Sanchica interrupted, her skirt filled with eggs, and asked the page:
“Tell me, Señor: does my father happen to wear full-length breeches since he’s been governor?”
“I haven’t noticed,” responded the page, “but he probably does.”
“O, God!” replied Sanchica. “How I’d like to see my father wearing them! Can you believe that since I was born I’ve wanted to see my father in those full-length breeches?”
“Well, your grace will see him wearing those things if you live,” responded the page. “By God, if his governorship lasts two months, he’ll even be wearing a cap for cold weather.”
The priest and the bachelor saw clearly enough that the page was speaking sarcastically, but the fine