The Faithful John

Érase una vezOnce upon a time una ancianoold Rey,king sehimself sintiófelt enfermoill yand pensó:thought SinWithout dudadoubt esis mimy lechobed deof muertedeath éstethis enin elwhich quethat yazgo.I lie
Once upon a time there was an old King, he felt ill and thought: "No doubt this is my deathbed on which I lie. YAnd ordenó:ordered "QueThat vengacome mimy fielfaithful Juan."John
And he ordered: "Let my faithful John come. EraIt was éstethis one suhis criadoservant favorito,favorite yand lehim llamabancalled asíthus porquebecause duranteduring todaall suhis vidalife habíahad sidobeen fielfaithful ato suhis señor.lord
" This was his favorite servant, and he was so called because all his life he had been faithful to his master. CuandoWhen estuvowas alat the piefoot deof lathe cama,bed díjolesaid to him elthe Rey:king "MiMy fidelísimomost faithful Juan,John presientoI sense quethat seit acercaapproaches mimy fin,end yand sóloonly haythere is unaone cosathing quethat meto me atormenta:torments mimy hijo.son
When he was at the foot of the bed, the King said to him: "My most faithful John, I sense that my end is near, and there is only one thing that torments me: my son. EsHe is muyvery jovenyoung todavía,still yand nonot siemprealways sabeknows gobernarseto govern himself conwith tino.wisdom
He is still very young, and does not always know how to govern himself wisely. SiIf nonot meto me prometesyou promise quethat lohim instruirásyou will instruct enin todoeverything lothat quethat necesitahe needs saberto know yand velarásyou will watch over porfor élhim comolike una padre,father nonot podréI will be able to cerrarclose losthe ojoseyes tranquilo."peacefully
If you don't promise me that you will instruct him in everything he needs to know and watch over him like a father, I won't be able to close my eyes peacefully. "OsTo you prometoI promise quethat nuncanever lohim abandonaré,"I will abandon leto him respondióresponded elthe fielfaithful Juan,John "lohim serviréI will serve conwith todaall fidelidad,faithfulness aunqueeven though hayathere may be deto costarmecost me lathe vida."life
"I promise you that I will never forsake him," replied the faithful John, "I will serve him faithfully, even if it costs me my life. DijoSaid entoncesthen elthe ancianoold Rey:king "AsíThus mueroI die tranquilopeacefully yand enin paz."peace
" Said then the old King: "Thus I die quietly and peacefully. YAnd prosiguió:continued "CuandoWhen yoI hayahave muertodied enséñaleshow him todoall elthe palacio,palace todosall losthe aposentos,rooms losthe salones,halls losthe soterradosunderground rooms yand losthe tesorostreasures guardadosstored enin ellos.them
"And he continued: "When I am dead, show him the whole palace, all the chambers, the halls, the underground rooms and the treasures stored in them. PeroBut guárdatebeware deof mostrarleshowing him lathe últimalast cámarachamber deof lathe galeríagallery larga,long dondewhere seit hallais located elthe retratoportrait deof lathe princesaprincess delof the TejadoRoof deof Oro,Gold puesfor siif loit viera,he saw sehe enamoraríawould fall in love perdidamentemadly dewith ella,her perderíahe would lose elthe sentido,sense yand porfor suher causasake sehe expondríawould expose himself ato grandesgreat peligros;dangers asíthus quethat guárdaloprotect him defrom ello."it
But beware of showing him the last chamber of the long gallery, where the portrait of the princess of the Golden Roof is, for if he should see it, he would fall madly in love with it, lose his senses, and for its sake expose himself to great dangers; so keep him from it. YAnd cuandowhen elthe fielfaithful JuanJohn hubohad renovadorenewed lathe promesapromise ato suhis Rey,king enmudecióhe fell silent éstethis one y,and reclinandoreclining lathe cabezahead enon lathe almohada,pillow murió.died
"And when the faithful John had renewed his promise to his King, the latter fell silent and, laying his head on his pillow, he died.