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ONE LATE SUMMER DAY a group of wealthy rancheros was gathered
on the village plaza, joking and laughing and discussing events on their ranches.
One of the men, who was called don Ignacio, had a fine apple tree on his land.
The rancher called the tree el manzano real—the royal apple tree. It had been
planted by his great-grandfather, and it gave sweeter, more flavorful fruit than
any other tree in the country round about.
Every rancher for miles around knew about el manzano real, and each year
they all hoped don Ignacio would give them a small basket of its sweet fruit. And
so each one asked don Ignacio how the fruit of the tree was doing. To each one
don Ignacio replied, “It’s doing beautifully, amigo. My foreman takes perfect care
of the tree, and every evening he reports how the fruit is ripening.”
UN DÍA A FINALES DEL VERANO, un grupo de rancheros estaba
reunido en la plaza del pueblo, bromeando y riendo y hablando sobre las
novedades de sus ranchos.
Uno de ellos, que se llamaba don Ignacio, tenía un manzano muy fino en su
rancho. El ranchero lo llamaba el manzano real. Lo había plantado su bisabuelo y
la fruta que daba era más dulce y más sabrosa que la de cualquier otro manzano
de la zona.
Todos los rancheros de la comarca conocían el manzano real y cada año
esperaban que don Ignacio les regalara una cestita de su dulce fruta.
Así que, ese día, cada uno le preguntó a don Ignacio cómo iba la fruta del
árbol. A cada uno don Ignacio respondió: —Va de maravilla, amigo. Mi capataz
cuida perfectamente el árbol y cada tarde me avisa cómo va madurando la fruta.
WHEN DON IGNACIO said this to his friend don Arturo, the other man
replied, “Do you mean to say that you don’t tend your magnificent tree yourself?
How can you have such faith in your worker? Maybe he’s not doing all he says he is.”
“My capataz has never failed me in any way,” don Ignacio insisted. “He has
never told me a lie.”
“Are you sure?” said don Arturo.
“Absolutely certain. The young man doesn’t know how to tell a lie. His name
is Juan Valdez, but everyone calls him Juan Verdades because he is so truthful.”
Don Arturo shook his head. “I don’t believe there ever was an employee who
didn’t lie to his boss. I’m sure I can make him tell you a lie.”
CUANDO DON IGNACIO respondió de esta manera a su amigo don Arturo,
el otro repuso: —¿Quiere decir que usted mismo no cuida su magnífico árbol?
¿Cómo puede confiar tanto en un trabajador? Quizá no haga todo lo que le dice.
—Mi capataz nunca me ha fallado de ninguna manera —insistió don Ignacio—.
Nunca me ha mentido.
—¿Está seguro? —preguntó don Arturo.
—Absolutamente seguro. El hombre no sabe mentir. Se llama Juan Valdez, pero
todos le dicen Juan Verdades porque es tan honesto.
—Yo no creo que exista un empleado que no le haya mentido al patrón. Estoy
seguro que podré hacer que le mienta.
THE TWO FRIENDS went on arguing good-naturedly, but little by little
they began to raise their voices and attract the attention of the other men on the
plaza. Finally don Arturo declared loudly, “I’ll bet you whatever you want that
within two weeks at the most I’ll make this Juan Verdades tell you a lie.”
“All right,” replied don Ignacio. “I’ll bet my ranch against yours that you can’t.”
The other ranchers laughed when they heard that. “Ho-ho, don Arturo,” they
said, “now we’ll see how sure you are that you’re right.”
“As sure as I am of my own name,” said don Arturo. “I accept the bet, don
Ignacio. But you must allow me the freedom to try anything I wish.”
The gathering broke up, and the two friends rode confidently away toward
their ranches. But as don Arturo rode along he began to worry about what he had
done. When he arrived home and told his wife and daughter about the bet, his wife
began to cry. “What will we do if we lose our ranch?” she sobbed.
LOS DOS AMIGOS siguieron discutiendo de buen humor, pero poco a poco
comenzaron a hablar más alto, llamando la atención de los otros hombres en la
plaza. Al fin don Arturo vociferó: —Yo le apuesto lo que quiera que dentro de quince
días hago que este Juan Verdades le diga una mentira.
—Está bien —respondió don Ignacio—. Apuesto mi rancho contra el suyo que no
puede hacerlo.
Los
