"Andrés." "Andrés, wake up." "What do you want?" "Did they hit you at school?" "Of course they did." "I won't go." "Where?" "To school." "Besides, I can already read." "I'll go to America, like our uncle did... to get out of the war." "What are you saying?" "I don't want to be hit." "By who?" "By the teacher." "He looks mean." "Go to sleep." "You don't want to fall asleep in school." "Then you really would get it." "Look, there he is." "Good morning." "Here he is." "So you know how to read?" "His father taught him while he was ill." "You said he was asthmatic." "Yes, but he's better." "He's shy." "He needs it in case he has an attack." "A kiss, son." "Be patient with him." "He's a sparrow... out of the nest for the first time." "Come on, son." "Good morning." "Good morning, Don Gregorio!" "You, the new boy... stand up!" "Your name?" "Sparrow!" "His name's Sparrow!" "Please!" "Come over here." "Answer." "Or do you want us all to call you Sparrow?" "He's wetting his pants!" "Wait." "Come back here!" "What's wrong, son?" "Moncho, what are you doing here?" "Moncho!" "Where were you going?" "Like I said." "His plan was to go... to La Coruña and get on a ship to America." "That little devil." "Have some cheese." "You shouldn't have bothered, madam." "How is he now?" "Perfect." "I can't believe it." "All night, outside with no food... freezing, and he didn't even catch a cold." "Why does he think I hit students?" "They hit me at school." "I don't." "I've never hit anyone." "Least of all a child." "Tell him I've come to apologize." "Please, Don Gregorio... it's not your fault." "He's a sensitive boy." "I want to apologize... and ask him to return to school." "You won't have any cheese?" "Please call him." "Yes, sir." "I like that name." "Sparrow." "We'll only use it if you like it." "And forgive your schoolmates, they aren't so bad." "Someday you'll laugh at them." "It's very good." "Quiet!" "Quiet!" "Sit down!" "Today we have a new pupil." "That is a joy for all... and we shall greet him with applause." "Very good." "Pull up that chair and sit down next to me." "Today we'll begin with a poem." "Who?" "Romualdo." "What will you read?" "A poem, sir." "Which one?" "Antonio Machado's "Childhood Memory."" "Very good." "Go ahead." "Remember, slowly and clearly." "And watch the punctuation." ""A cold gray winter afternoon." "The pupils study." "Monotony of rain behind the windows." "The classroom." "A picture shows Cain, fugitive... and Abel dead... next to a crimson stain."" "What does "monotony of rain" mean, Romualdo?" "When it rains, it pours, Don Gregorio." "Good." "Now, a dictation..." "Hello." "Come in, come in." "How are you?" "I'm fine." "But the boy isn't." "I don't understand." "Yesterday I gave him a math problem... and he was hopeless." "Yes." "It's true he should work a bit harder, but" "Spare the rod." "Get those numbers into his head." "Give them to the teacher." "No, I can't accept them." "You won't snub me?" "Please, Don Avelino..." "I wouldn't." "They're very good." "Like I said:" "Make an effort with the boy." "Good-bye." "Take these capons." "What?" "Put them in your desk... and return them to your father." "All right." "But he'll be angry." "He'll slap me." "Good Lord." "Well, then... tell him I can't eat meat." "Fowl, I mean." "Right, tell him that." "Speaking of fowl..." "If a rooster lays an egg... on the border between Spain and France... which country's egg is it?" "Spain's." "Why Spain?" "We have bigger balls!" "What do you say?" "Roosters don't lay eggs." "Very good, Moncho." "That's the right answer." "Moncho... sit there, with Roque." "Romualdo, you can start the dictation." ""A cold... and gray... winter..."" "Next line." ""...afternoon."" "Period." "I shat my pants my first day of school." "Hello." "Hello, son." "Don Gregorio doesn't hit!" "Really?" "Really." "And he returned some capons to a powerful rich man." "Who said that?" "His son,José María, told me." "His dad's more powerful than the mayor." "And the capons?" "A gift to the teacher to make his son learn." "But his son won't study." "He says he'll be a big shot anyway." "Know where potatoes come from?" "From fields, where else?" "They come from America." "Don't be ridiculous." "It's true!" "Don Gregorio said so!" "Before Columbus, there were no potatoes in Spain." "What did people eat?" "Chestnuts." "There was no corn, either." "This teacher is good." "I like him." "Did you pray?" "Where?" "In school." "Yes." "Something about Cain and Abel." "You can't trust gossip." "Don Gregorio, an atheist!" "Atheist?" "One who doesn't believe in God." "Like Daddy?" "How can you say that?" "He curses God." "Well, that's..." "That's a sin." "Just a sin." "But he believes in God, like all good people." "And the devil?" "What about the devil?" "Does he exist?" "Of course he exists!" "He was an angel that rebelled against God." "He got pale in Hell." "So now he's the Angel of Death." "Then why didn't God kill him?" "God doesn't kill, Moncho." "They say they burned churches in Barcelona!" "Those Republicans are like that!" "They don't burn churches." "And thanks to the Republic, we women can vote." "So what?" "I'd only vote for Christ the King." "Kings aren't elected." "Things are bad." "But I know the solution." "Yes, I do." "What solution?" "Set fire to Madrid." "Don't be barbarous." "May I, Don Gregorio?" "Of course." "Come here, Ramonciño." "Listen, Don Gregorio." ""Introibo ad altare Dei." -"Ad deum..."" "How many times is that?" "He's going to be an altar boy?" "He was going to be an altar boy." "Go to your mother." "As soon as he started school, he lost interest." "You're not saying I'm responsible?" "I'm not saying anything." "The facts speak for themselves." "Understand him." "After being locked up so long... it's natural for everything to interest him." "What are you doing?" "Nothing." "Your brother?" "He's working." "Let's go." "All right." "Mommy, I'm with Aurora!" "I see." ""Birds leave the warmth of their nests."" ""Freedom stimulates the spirits of strong men."" "God, that's good." ""Ashes from an arnau lizard... that was burned alive." "If you mix it with coffee... it fires the desire... of even the haughtiest woman... and makes her yours... for life."" "Here, Roque, it's yours." "I started this way with Carmiña..." "Carmiña de Saradón!" "She's fire, Roque, fire!" "How come we never see her?" "She says she can't leave her mother... but I think it's shame." "She has no shame at all in bed!" "And if she had, give her some anisette." "No, that's for her mother." "Carmiña doesn't need help warming up her body." "As soon as I show up, she lights up... and presses those rock-hard tits against me." "I lay her down... and she melts like butter in my hands." "You hump her every day?" "I wish." "Working in Coruña..." "What's going on?" "But Sunday makes up for the rest of the week." "You seem stuck on her." "She's worth it." "If I touch her, my vision is blurred." "She kisses me, my head fills with bells." "She embraces me, and I embrace heaven." "And her mother?" "I haven't even seen her." "She's always in bed." "She can't get up." "But that fucking dog..." "The dog?" "It's named Tarzán." "Does it bite?" "Almost." "The bastard." "I drop my pants... and I feel him gnashing his teeth behind me." "It's like he was jealous." "Know what Carmiña does?" "The more the dog growls and barks... the more she presses herself against me." "Like it excited her." "Well, I'm on my way." "Careful with the dog." "I'll kill that bastard some day." "What will it be?" "An Orujo." "Three glasses of wine." "Where are we going?" "I told you: to see him hump her." "That's humping?" "Haven't you seen dogs?" "When?" "When a dog gets stuck to a bitch." "People do the same thing." "But men hump women when they're in love." "When they love each other." "Tie up the dog, Carmiña." "What do you care?" "Leave him alone." "He'll hump her now." "The dog will bite him!" "Goddamn dog!" "Get out!" "Tarzán!" "What's wrong?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "Tarzán!" "You said they loved each other." "So?" "They don't." "Tarzán!" "You know there are races?" "Look." "I like Chinese girls." "The teacher says we're all the same." "Chinese girls are prettier." "When I'm older, I'll go to China and marry one." "Do you know why men hump women?" "The teacher taught you that, too?" "They kiss and push each other." "Who?" "Men and women." "Go to sleep." "And they touch each other's asses." "And now, the squash." "Make your pencils coincide with the top... of the squash, and then..." "And then use your finger to mark... where the bottom is." "We now transfer the object's height to the paper." "Gentlemen, quiet, please." "If it doesn't work for you, raise your hand." "Gentlemen." "Quiet." "Gentlemen." "Quiet." "Fine." "If you won't be quiet, I'll have to be quiet." "What?" "Andrés!" "What are you doing?" "Roque taught me how." "If Dad sees you..." "He won't if you don't tell him." "How's school?" "We were drawing." "Today he should have hit us." "Why?" "We were shouting and ignoring him." "Instead of hitting us, he got very quiet." "And then?" "Then bit by bit, we quieted down." "Didn't he say anything?" ""Thank you."" "Look." "I'm going to learn to play it." "How many times do I have to tell you?" "You have to hold it like it was a girl." "You've never held a girl?" "Youth today!" "This way." "This way." "Firm but lovingly." "Like a lover." "Exactly!" "Your brother may be the musician." "Music has the face of a woman you want to love you!" "Close your eyes and imagine her!" "Imagine her hair... her eyes." "You are doing well." "You are doing very well." "Can I play?" "No, there are too many of us." "Stop!" "Stop, I said!" "What happened?" "He hit me with the ball." "He ran into Roque." "You're like a couple of butting rams." "Time for class!" "Stand up, rams." "You,José María... change places with Roque." "Don Gregorio." "But..." "Yes?" "Roque is my friend." "All right." "Shake hands with José María." "Sit down." "Let's see." "I don't know if you've realized, but it's almost spring." "So as soon as the weather's better... we'll do the natural history class outside." "Do you like nature?" "Right." "You've never even noticed it." "Nature, my friends... is the most surprising spectacle man can behold." "Did you know ants have herds of livestock... that give them milk and sugar?" "That spiders invented the submarine... millions of years ago?" "Did you know that butterflies have tongues?" "The tongue of a butterfly... is like an elephant's trunk... but very thin and wound up like a watch spring." "You know where Australia is?" "In America." "In Oceania." "You know what a "tilonorrinco" is?" "It's a bird from Australia." "When it's in love, it gives its girlfriend an orchid... a flower that's beautiful and very expensive." "Hey, kids." "You're the tailor's sons, right?" "An instrument?" "A saxophone." "I thought so." "Do you play well?" "Great." "I'll be a musician, too." "What will you play?" "The piano." "The sax isn't good for my lungs." "Great." "I have a band, "The Blue Orchestra."" "Your father made our costumes." ""From the farthest shore, the sunset behind us..." "The Blue Orchestra, from Galicia!"" "Come with me." "Then we went to the chocolate factory... and they asked what he could play... and I said, "In the World."" "Hold on, hold on." "Why did he take you to the factory?" "The orchestra practices there." "That's news to me." "Look!" "In exchange, they advertise the chocolate." "Between songs, the musicians say:" ""Exprés Chocolate, the best!"" "They all say it together:" ""Exprés Chocolate, the best!"" "That's frivolous." "Why should a dance band be serious?" "They'll pay you?" "Macías said if I'm good, we'll see." "You see?" "After all... what has he got to lose?" "Say yes, Mom!" "You have to mend this." "It's big enough for both of you." "First I'll wash it." "God knows who wore it." "A sax player." "Now I don't want to play piano, Mom." "Mr. Macías will teach me the drums." "Great." "Calm down." "When do you start?" "During the Carnival." "Ladies and gentlemen!" "Ladies and gentlemen!" "Your attention, please." "Ladies and gentlemen... we're going to speak Castilian Spanish... since we forgot Gallego on our last tour of South America." "You don't have to play." "But make it look like you're playing... get that body movement going." "One, two, three..." "Peanuts" "If you want a little fun" "Buy yourself a bag of peanuts" "When the evening is lonely" "My lovely little customer" "The peanut seller belts out his pretty tune" "If the little girl hears his song" "She'll come down from her balcony" "Little customer, don't go to bed" "You see that?" "And you didn't want him to play." "I didn't know he could play." "Peanuts" "Little customer, don't go to bed" "Without buying a bag" "Let's dance!" "I don't know how." "It's time you learned." "When the evening is lonely, my little lovely customer" "The peanut seller belts out his pretty tune" "If the little girl hears his song" "She'll come down from her balcony" "You know who I am?" "Yes." "Who?" "Aurora." "How did you recognize me?" "I don't know." "Because you're the prettiest." "You couldn't see my face." "Look, the sax player is my brother." "Do you know how to dance?" "More or less." "Come on." "Well done, Sparrow." "Wait." "Remember what I said about a butterfly's tongue?" "It's like a watch spring." "Right." "And why?" "To reach the nectar... flowers keep in their chalices." "Carefully, without bothering them." "What's nectar?" "Nectar is a sugary juice flowers secrete... to attract insects." "In exchange... insects spread the seed of the flowers." "Look, there's one." "When you touch the sugar jar with a moistened finger... don't you already taste it... as if your fingertip were your tongue?" "The tongue of a butterfly is like that." "Smelling the nectar... the butterfly unrolls its tongue... and reaches the bottom of the chalice." "Look at this anthill!" "Don Gregorio!" "Don Gregorio!" "He's choking!" "Thank God you thought of the water thing." "It happened before." "On his First Communion." "He was about to take Communion, and he was so excited... he got an attack." "A miracle!" "We got some holy water, splashed it on his face... and he was cured." "Well, the river water isn't holy... and it worked, too." "I'll give you some soup to warm you up." "She's mystical." "And you're Republican." "I'm in Manuel Azaña's party." "Don Gregorio." "Yes?" "If it's not a problem..." "A suit?" "A gift." "It's just I'd like to do something for you." "And I know how to make suits." "It's my trade." "I have a great deal of respect for trades." "And I appreciate your offer." "But my principles" "Principles between friends?" "We are friends, aren't we?" "Fifty-four." "Seventy-one." "Forty-three." "MEASUREMENTS DON GREGORIO" "What are you thinking about?" "The teacher." "He's such a good person." "I'm glad you're making him the suit." "Teachers don't earn what they should." "They're the light of the Republic." "The Republic!" "Where will we end up with that Azaña?" "What's wrong with Azaña?" "What you hear at Mass, I'm sure." "I go to Mass to pray." "You do, but the priests... go for another reason." "Well, don't get angry." "Moncho is all right." "Give me a kiss." "Good night." "Don't be so boring." "Your father really is an artist." "Look how elegant I am!" "My poor wife." "I lost her... when she was only twenty-two." "As the poet said, "An abandoned bed... a cloudy mirror, and an empty heart."" ""An abandoned bed... a cloudy mirror, and an empty heart."" "In other words, I ended up all alone." "You read much?" "Comic books." "It's time you start reading real books." "Books are like a home." "THE CONQUEST OF BREAD" "In books... our dreams take refuge so as not to freeze to death." "Here, borrow this." "TREASURE ISLAND" "You'll like it." "And I have a present for you." "Open it." "You know what it's for?" "I got it!" "Be careful." "Don't hurt it." "It's an Iris." "Beautiful!" "You see?" "It has four wings." "The color and shine... come from a series of overlapping plates... scales placed one over the other, like roof tiles." "And the tongue?" "The tongue is called "proboscis."" "Let's see it." "No, right now it's rolled up... otherwise it couldn't fly." "We'd need a microscope to see it." "What's that?" "A device for seeing infinitely small things." "I ordered one for the school... but you know things go slowly in Madrid." "If we get one, we can see its tongue." "A cricket!" "It's a "Prince Cricket."" "How do you know?" "It sings better than a "King Cricket."" "That way." "Here it is!" "Who could that be at this hour?" "Go see, son." "This girl wants to see Dad." "She says her mother's died." "Go to your room." "We're eating." "So take your food!" "How did it happen?" "It must have been her heart." "I found her dead." "Did you call the doctor?" "Why?" "I went to see the priest." "Right." "The coffin and burial cost forty-five pesetas." "But I have no money." "Wait." "What?" "I didn't say anything." "Do what you must do." "Why can't we see her?" "That's a secret." "Tell me." "No." "I have a secret, too." "About Carmiña." "Who told you her name?" "Tell me your secret, I'll tell you mine." "She's Dad's daughter." "So, why doesn't she live with us?" "Dad had her with that dead woman before he married Mom." "How do you know her?" "Roque and I followed this man O'Lis up to Carmiña's house." "And?" "They got naked, and he humped her." "That's why Mom sent us away." "Why?" "She's a slut." "What does Dad say?" "Nothing." "What could he say?" "Hello, Sparrow!" "Hello." "Is this your garden?" "It's a friend's." "But he lets me pick fruit here." "I got some apples." "Want one?" "They're delicious." "Very juicy." "What are you doing here?" "Watching a funeral." "Really?" "Who died?" "When someone dies, do they die or not?" "What do your folks say?" "My mom says good people go to heaven... and bad people go to hell." "And your father?" "That if there's a FinalJudgment... the rich will bring their lawyers." "My mother doesn't find it funny." "What do you think?" "I'm afraid." "Can you keep a secret?" "Between you and I:" "An otherworldly hell does not exist." "Hate and cruelty... that's hell." "At times, we ourselves are hell." "APRIL 14, 1936" "LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC!" "Who wants coffee?" "Coffee?" "A toast!" "Long live the Republic!" "Long live!" "The king's lost his crown" "It's only paper" "The gold one was" "Taken away by Berenguer" "The king's lost his crown" "It's only cardboard" "The Spanish crown" "Will be worn by no thief!" "." "Ramón." "The Civil Guards." "So what?" "The doctors had me on porridge for seven years." "My stomach got worse." "One day I told my wife... to make me a stew with ham, sausage, and lard." "And I was cured." "Hello." "What's that song?" "I don't know." "I heard it on the radio." "Rose-colored dawn" "At sunrise" "Melodious note" "Of a crying violin" "Like in a novel" "The insomnia where she lived" "Her story of love" "Gentlemen!" "Listen up." "We're going abroad!" "We've been hired in Santa Marta de Lombás." "All expenses paid and seventy pesetas." "Seventy beautiful pesetas!" "Get those shirts clean." "Santa Marta de Lombás, look out!" "Me, too?" "Of course!" "And me?" "You won't be hungry here." "I tell you as the mayor." "Sausage, ham, cheese, whatever you want." "I'll smash your head in, Carolina!" "You know I will!" "I chose you because I don't want men in my house." "Adult men are as thick as mules." "Baby!" "Coffee!" "Don't be scared." "They make good manure." "She doesn't speak, but she can hear." "Come on." "Show the musicians their room." "Be quick." "Thank you." "Thank you very much." "She's the Chinese girl from the book!" "You're right!" "No, that's too much." "No one says "no" here." "Eat and grow, kid." "And her?" "Who?" "She already ate." "She eats like a bird." "Want to see something?" "Come here, baby." "Look!" "This is where the wolf bit her!" "Cover yourself." "She was only four." "We were with the livestock." "The wolves were hungry, and they tricked me." "God, did they trick me!" "Aren't you going to eat?" "I'll get angry." "We were in a meadow near the woods." "One of those bastards appeared... and then went back into the woods." "The dogs tore off after him, and I went with them." "We left her there, alone... sitting on a sack." "It was just a moment... but when we returned... she was gone." "God, but those bastards tricked me!" "But she survived." "The wolf didn't want to kill her." "He just bit her back." "The old people said the bite was to silence her... so she wouldn't scream." "And it sure did work." "We found her in a wolf den." "She was fine... but she never spoke again." "Why is she Chinese?" "Who?" "Your daughter." "She's my wife." "The wise bird, using the science of clairvoyance... picks out your fortune from the magic box." "Want the bird to tell your fortune?" "She came into my room, took my hand... and we escaped on horseback." "What did he do?" "He went after us with a knife." "But in Coruña, we got on a boat to China." "Look!" "I remember something the teacher said." "A bed, a mirror... and a heart... are all empty." "In other words, you're all alone." "I'm going to marry Roque's sister when I grow up." "Today, after a lifetime dedicated to teaching..." "Don Gregorio is retiring." "As mayor of this town... and in the name of the authorities... students and parents..." "I want to make clear our gratitude... for what you've done for our children:" "prepare them for life..." "Don Gregorio, you know I'm not one for speeches." "All I can really say..." "is thank you." "Thank you from the bottom of our hearts." "Honorable authorities... dear children... and distinguished citizens." "In springtime... the wild duck returns to its home to mate." "Nothing can stop him." "If you cut off his wings, he'll swim." "If you cut off his feet, he'll row with his beak... like an oar against the stream." "This journey... is his raison d'etre." "In the autumn of my life, I should be skeptical." "And in a way, I am." "The wolf will never lie down... with the lamb." "But I am sure of one thing." "If we can allow one generation... just one generation, to grow up free in Spain... then no one will ever be able to take away their liberty." "Let's go!" "No one will be able to steal that treasure from them!" "Thank you very much." "And now, fly free!" "What's wrong?" "Nothing." "We won't go bug hunting anymore?" "Why not?" "Now that it's summer, we can go every day." "Look." "Better late than never." "From the Ministry of Education." "We get the microscope, Sparrow!" "What's that?" "It's a "Lucanus cervus..."" "a flying deer." "It's called that because its mandibles... look like antlers... and they fight over females with them." "They're the biggest beetles in Europe." "There's one!" "Give it to me!" "I got it!" "Careful." "Very carefully..." "Now we'll get to see the tongue under the microscope." "Won't you come in?" "He's scared!" "He's chicken!" "Don't let him come!" "Remember the tilonorrinco?" "That bird that gives its girlfriend... a flower that's very expensive." "Right!" "An orchid." "Come on." "Be like a tilonorrinco." "But this isn't an orchid." "That doesn't matter." "Can you swim?" "No." "Me, neither." "Don't look." "Here." "Shut your eyes." "In his speech to parliament today..." "Minister Robles said... the country cannot continue on its present course." "We must choose once and for all between communism and fascism... or else we will fall into anarchy!" "He declared Spanish democracy dead." "That pear-headed bastard!" "They want it dead!" "Minister Sotelo agreed... that the government was no longer viable." "He emphasized that the country must be ruled with an iron fist!" "The Republic will survive!" "Some may call my views fascism." "If that's what it takes for a strong state... then I am proud to call myself a fascist!" "Careful." "Careful." "An Orujo." "You've already had a few." "I've had... what I've had to." "Driving oxen?" "Maybe." "Come on." "Give me that." "It's dangerous." "I need it." "I'll pay for it..." "I'll pay." "Let's go." "I have to go home with my dad." "They're talking about politics." "Let's go." "Good doggy." "Good doggy." "Doggy..." "Doggy..." "Tarzán!" "Steal it!" "Moncho!" "Moncho!" "What?" "Come to the house." "We're playing a game!" "There's a war in Africa." "I heard it on the radio." "Why?" "Something about Spain and God..." "Up with Spain!" "Hooray!" "Get the newspapers, Ramón." "Thank God!" "Your card." "Your card." "It's the war?" "Yes." "They say the military has risen up." "Help me." "If anyone asks..." "Dad never said anything against the priests." "And he's not a Republican." "Moncho, listen carefully to what I'm saying." "Dad never gave a suit to the teacher." "You understand?" "Yes, he did." "No, he didn't!" "You understand?" "He didn't!" "No, he didn't give him the suit." "Long live the Republic!" "Long live." "Who is it?" "Open the door, madam." "Is your husband here?" "No, he isn't." "Know where he is?" "Please tell him the mayor wants to see us." "He needs us." "I'll tell him." "Andrés." "Andrés." "Up with Spain!" "Up with Spain!" "Up with Spain!" "Up with Spain!" "God forgive us." "God forgive us all." "Ready." "Traitors!" "Reds!" "Bastards!" "Atheists!" "Red bastards!" "Clown!" "Red!" "Atheist!" "Atheist!" "Atheist!" "Ramón, for God's sake, shout!" "Traitors!" "Criminals!" "Reds!" "Thugs!" "Criminals!" "Trai" "No!" "Roque!" "Roque, no!" "Dad!" "Bastards!" "Shout now, Ramón!" "Now!" "Murderer!" "Anarchist!" "Bastard!" "Son of a bitch!" "You, too, Moncho." "You shout, too." "Atheist!" "Red!" "Red!" "Red!" "Atheist!" "Red!" "Tilonorrinco!" "Proboscis!"