was only a matter of human doubt rather than something probable, they reached an agreement to perform the delicate operation on the boy Gudú. And in the course of the discussion, they clarified some important details. The Queen noted that although Gudú would not love anyone, she could not deprive the King of attraction to the opposite sex, since he must have offspring and avoid the cursed question of succession, which had put the child’s rights in such danger as well as, in the view of all, the Realm.
—Yes, this is possible, said the Goblin, after a brief consultation with the Sorcerer. Although it does not occur very often among humans, it can be arranged for him to lust after creatures of the opposite sex a great deal, without loving them in the least.
—And there’s something else, said the Queen, and it’s that we must prevent this attraction from controlling him. Keeping in mind his father’s last passion, I think this can be as harmful as love itself.
—Very wise, said the Sorcerer. We will make it so no woman is capable of holding onto him for too long. Let us look into it, and we’ll tell you the result of these inquiries later.
They soon returned to the Queen with the following news:
—Although it may seem strange, dear girl, this last bit is more difficult than any other. There are no recipes for it. But don’t be alarmed: we have found a very clever and cunning solution, although the Goblin, in order to indulge you, may find himself in a difficult and unpleasant situation.
—Tell me at once. Ardid grew impatient.
—We have pondered the issue, coming to the conclusion that if we obtain a woman who takes thousands of different forms, who would be responsible for satisfying the carnal desires of the King, distracting him with each unique form, but only for a short time, it’s clear that it won’t be possible for the King to take a fancy to anyone. The wives he may have, of course, do not count, the old man clarified. With them, at any rate, he can do whatever he wants. We already know that they pose no danger to what concerns us.
—Of course, said the Queen, with a trace of sorrow or resentment. In the long term or the short, the wife negates herself. We are in agreement, for that negation there is no better prescription than marriage. But . . . where is this miraculous creature? I don’t know anyone who meets these conditions. And even if they are met, years pass, and she who is fresh today, for all that she disguises herself, tomorrow will be old and lose all her appeal.
—I know of someone, dear girl, said the Goblin, who is spared from these miseries. Obviously, of course, she is not of your species.
—Well then, it doesn’t work, said the Queen. A being that is not of the flesh does not attract the flesh.
—Leave it to me, said the Goblin, with a laugh that smelled too strongly of new wine, in the opinion of his two friends. Leave it to me: she must not be of the flesh, but she can take human form, when it suits her, although only for a short time. A short time is precisely what this is about, isn’t it? As many human forms as she desires, and the most seductive, he made a condescending gesture. According to human standards, of course.
—Well then, be that as it may, attend to this creature as soon as possible.
—Here is the great sacrifice of our dear friend, said the Sorcerer with great sorrow. We are going to expose him to an encounter that he doesn’t like at all and which he’s been avoiding the entire time he’s been contaminated: he must go in search of Ondina, she who lives at the bottom of the Lake. And while he maintains an excellent relationship with her, it is not so with her grandmother, the Great Lady. And the Great Lady, High and Most Pure Power par excellence, detests the contaminated. And to make matters worse, she dwells at the source of the Water, which she so wisely conducts.
—At the bottom of the Lake? Ardid marveled at such a significant revelation.
—Not at the bottom, thankfully, said the Goblin, taking a swig to lift his spirits. If that were the case, it could not be done. But yes, a little higher up, in the Cave of the Spring. And with luck, she won’t happen to travel the watery paths to visit her granddaughter while I am talking with her.
Having said that, he drank more than usual, got almost scandalously drunk, and his nose took on a shade of such vivid crimson as had never been seen on him before. Which, as might be expected, filled his two friends with unease.
But the decision had already been made.
2.
Ondina of the Depths of the Lake had lived in the loveliest spot in the Lake of Disappearances for four-hundred-and-thirty years. Ondina was extraordinarily beautiful: smooth floating hair the color of seaweed coming down to her waist, large eyes ranging from the softest gold to dark green, as changeable as the light, and bluish-white skin. Her arms waved slowly between the deep roots of the plants, and her legs moved like the fins of a carp. A steady and shining smile, which transitioned from the pearlescent white of a shell to the liquid pink of a sunrise, floated across her lips. Any human would have felt a captivating desire to study her in all of her details—with the exception of her ears, which, like all of her kind, were long and pointed at the tips, although of a soft color between rose and gold.
Despite being the granddaughter of the Great Lady of the Lake, she did not possess a shred of her wisdom, not even a speck of the slightest intelligence—as often happens with water nymphs. On the contrary, she was so sweet and gentle, and exuded such innocence, that her profound stupidity could very well be mistaken for more poignant charm and enchantment. Like all water nymphs, she was exceedingly capricious, and her great whimsy was her Collection at the Bottom, where she had cultivated her garden of Intricate Greens with care. Ondina’s collection consisted of an already considerable display of men, young and handsome, between fourteen and twenty years of age. She liked them so much that she would often drag them to the bottom, and there she preserved them, rosy and unharmed, thanks to the sap of the maraubina plant that grows once every three thousand years among the wellsprings. But soon she grew tired of them, and however much she adorned them with flowers from the lake and crowned their heads with all sorts of glittering stones, and caressed their hair, and kissed their cold lips, they said and did nothing; and so she always needed more and more young men to distract her with variety.
Every so often, cautiously approaching the shores of the Lake, she had seen how young peasant couples caressed and kissed one another, and it filled her with envy. She had confessed as much on more than one occasion to the goblins, who, out of pity, sometimes pushed men to the bottom. Among them was the Goblin of the South, to whom she had confided her wayward obsession. “This is foolishness,” the goblins told her. “Choose a dolphin from those that roam the Southern coasts to take as your husband and stop this. Considering your youth, you can be forgiven, but tread carefully so your grandmother doesn’t find out: she doesn’t tolerate human contamination, and you can only play safely with the drowned.” “That’s what I’ll do,” she said then, contritely. “I promise not to forget.” But since she was stupid to the most remote depths of her being, she not only forgot, but persisted in her foolish desire to receive caresses and kisses from a living man. “But what for?” the Goblin of the South asked her, who, after his libations had given him his post in the Castle, the Northern region of which grazed the waters of the rising Lake, had long conversations with her. “I see no reason.” “Nor do I,” responded Ondina. “I see no reason, but so it is.”
This was the state of things when the Goblin opportunely remembered about her, her naïve nature and her foolish whimsy. This is how water nymphs were, it was said. He had met another, in the South, who had taken a fancy to donkeys, and also another, farther East, who had a penchant for red-bearded soldiers. Anything could be expected from a water nymph, except common sense.
He
