"¤ THE LITTLE COLONEL ¤" "This tale is the story of a small hero who knew how to fight against adversity, on his own, when he saw he was all alone by himself to face life." "I thank you very much, Mr. Mayor, for getting up so early just to wish me goodbye, and with this wild weather." "You certainly deserve it, Colonel." "Madam." "~ Goodbye, Pelusita." "~ Goodbye, sir." "And you, nurse, don't cry anymore." "You take good care of the lad for me." "Yes, sir." "~ Goodbye, Don Estéban." "~ Goodbye." "You take care of everything as if you were myself." "Thank you." "Goodbye to all." "Lieutenant, I know it irks you not to leave with the regiment." "America would be a great adventure for you, but you are so young... and my child needs you." "Don't worry, your Excellency." "I will always be by his side." "I'll try to teach him everything I've learned from you." "Thank you." "Come on, son." "From today, Lucero is your horse." "You're really leaving it for me?" "You're not taking it with you?" "Really." "It kept this as a surprise for you." "Give me a kiss, son." "It's loaded now." "Not bad." "~ Very bad, very bad!" "~ This isn't done." "~ God." "Do you think this is military?" "~ Go on, give him the milk." "Steer the horse properly." "You'll see, I'll ride faster than you." "Hup, Lucero!" "But what are you doing?" "Where are you going?" "Listen to me!" "The class is over for today, goodbye." "José, stop, José!" "Hello, Teresita!" "Hey, be careful!" "Let Eduardo tell you about it." "My God, what a boy this is!" "And beware of his teacher, too!" "Look at what shape he left me." "One day he is going to kill himself and you're going to take the blame." "If he keeps this up, soon he'll be the teacher and I the disciple." "But look how he races off, the runaway!" "Well, what do you want me to do?" "Here comes Joselito, blessed be the truth!" "Here I go!" "Well, well, every day he gets better!" "A Rod and a half!" "Have you noticed, Doña Adela?" "How clean the jump, he's mastered it!" "One day we'll bring him home on a stretcher." "An ignominious assumption, Ma'am." "Devilish boy!" "How he controls the animal!" "Look, look!" "At his age he could give horseback riding lessons." "If only the Colonel could see him!" "The Lord Count, with all his wars, scarcely even remembers him." "In contrast to her...she's surely like to see him, the poor woman!" "And she would keep him from doing so many naughty things." "It's a phase he's going through, get over it." "Joselito!" "Here, son, you put on this jacket." "I'm fine as I am." "You come here." "I thought you were going to congratulate me." "How good have I been?" "You've been very bad." "Doña Adela knows this well." "Every day you're more playful and less punctual." "You've arrived late for your music lesson." "You're acting weird, Don Estéban, isn't it good to jump a rod and a half?" "Too bad." "For me a Mozart sonata is more important than a leap of a rod and a half." "So that's your point, now?" "What kind of talk is that?" "Uh..." "I meant that the two things aren't really comparable." "Mozart is much easier." "You're already able to perform it?" "Of course, what did you think?" "I didn't think so earlier." "~ I'll be pleased to hear you." "~ Right away." "Don Julián, let's show Don Estéban a demonstration of Mozart's music." "I was waiting for you." "Play him the one my mother taught me." "~ Yes, but..." "~ Come on, Estéban's going to like it, for sure." "~ And if he gets angry?" "~ Surely not." "¤ If you see a pigeon going along a blue path... ¤ the message will be: "What do you expect of me sing?" ¤" "Fine, a good intro, keep it up." "Now you'll see!" "¤ Ah!" "¤" "But what is this?" "A joke?" "I hope it's not a flamenco chant, of such bad taste... what you're teaching to the Lord Count, right?" "As you can see, Don Estéban, I don't think that it's so tasteless after all, and the boy..." "Here there is no boy, he's addressed as "Lord Count"." "Yes, Yes, forgive me, but when he asked me,..." "I thought the Lord Count is Andalusian, and living in Andalusia,... so it's natural to learn the folk music of his homeland." "Say yes, Don Julián, I like this music." "Come in." "Hey, where are these guys going?" "What kind of entrance is this?" "They're stud workers, sir, they teach singing to the Lord Count." "Teach singing?" "What say you have to say about this?" "It's true, I ordered them to come." "And you arranged this without my permission, and in such a manner,... forcing them through the window like thieves!" "~ We're just doing what we were told." "~ What he said." "Are you the teacher of Lord Count?" "Yes, sir." "This is unbearable!" "I was sure Don Julián wasn't the type to teach flamenco." "Stay for my class, Don Estéban." "I'll sing you something from Córdoba, your homeland." "Let's do it, Fabian!" "Flamenco, here?" "You've reached an unforeseeable state!" "Well, I agree." "Sit down, man!" "How are you going to play standing up?" "If your father saw all this...!" "An urgent dispatch for the count of Alvear." "Is this the way in?" "Yes, go on in and ask for the butler." "¤ If they ask me "please",... ¤ I'd give away all my money." "¤ If they ask me "please",... ¤ but I won't give my horse away, not even to the mayor." "¤ My horse comes first. ¤" "Another one." "¤ An old lady bought a cock on Christmas Eve,... ¤ the cock was bought,... ¤ but before dinner, the cock ran away." "¤ That was pretty good, huh?" "¤" "Bravo, bravo, bravo, very good!" "What do you say now?" "That is very bad, very bad." "You have to start studying serious music, that is." "And you guys get out of my sight...the way you came in!" "Lord, an urgent dispatch." "Don Estéban, news from Dad!" "From Dad!" "It is not his Excellency's handwriting." "It's from your uncle." "Does he say something about my father?" "Who is the letter from?" "What news do you have?" "My uncle Martín." "My God!" "What's up to you?" "What does Don Martín have to say?" "Is it something bad?" "It's very painful news." "Cholera has decimated your father's regiment." "And is Dad sick?" "Does he say if he's coming home?" "The Colonel won't ever be back." "Don Martín is coming to Spain to take care of you." "Welcome, Lord Count." "Leave your studies, let's go, he's just arrived!" "Really?" "Have you seen him?" "~ I've been with him." "~ You don't know him." "As if you knew him, the stories of your father painted us a live portrait." "How exciting they were!" "Right?" "My father always said his brother was more courageous than him, and that was a lot." "Twenty years in America, that's a lot, for sure!" "~ José, my son, how are you?" "~ Very well, and you?" "A little tired from the trip." "You're exactly as your father had described you to me." "Are you going to tell me lots of things about him?" "Now is not propitious time." "We'll talk on another occasion." "Come along." "Are you going to spend a lot of time with me?" "More than I would like." "My dear brother was pleased to appoint me your tutor and executor until your coming of age." "Ah, let me present my Secretary, Bruno Villegas." "~ Lord Count." "~ Sir." "Now sit down and listen well, youngster,... so for the rest of your life, you'll have in mind the last will of your father." "Begin reading the testament, notary." ""In Seville, my residence, at the beginning of May in the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy-two,..." ""before me, Don Francisco Escobedo, clerk of the city,..." ""and five witnesses of this neighborhood,..." ""who see, understand, and know the testator,..." ""who, like me, judge him with the capacity to grant this Testament,..." ""His Excellency Don José Alvear, who has..." ""given us to understand he has the intention of making this will..." ""in accordance with the following terms." ""For the legal guardianship, representation and administration on behalf of my only son..." "What's the matter?" "I can sense your unhappiness." "Even Lucero is a forlorn horse, he walks with reluctance." "You know the cause." "Ever since Uncle Martín came, everything's like this." "Haven't you seen how he mistreats the servants, you, Doña Adela, and me?" "He doesn't let anyone live." "I'll disobey him in all matters." "I can't stand it anymore." "No, Joselito." "It was the will of the Colonel, your father, may he rest in peace,... that Uncle Martín stand in for him." "Maybe God has provided someone to educate you with a hand much harder and more effective than mine." "This is the third time, Don Estéban, that I have cause to remind you of my instructions." "I came to accompany him to his horse-riding class." "The education of an aristocrat is not forged in the open air,... but in libraries and classrooms." "Riding classes are suspended from today." "But, Don Martín, I just..." "Nothing, no excuses." "I advise you to obey my orders more rigorously henceforth." "He won't obey." "And I'll do whatever I want, you know." "Are where you going, Lord Count?" "You'll be held responsible before me for this conduct." "Let's go." "There he is." "¤ Listen, you horse of mine, and stop galloping,... ¤ my grief flows on the river that goes all the way to the sea." "¤ Cut are the fine roses, roses of my song,... ¤ ~ He can't see us, go on, hide!" "¤ and only thorns are left bleeding in my heart." "¤ Horse Lucero, with mane of silver and steel stamp,... ¤ while mounted on you there is no misfortune, my faithful companion." "¤ Light trotting cures my ills... ¤ and brightens my life, Lucero, Lucero, my horse, my horse. ¤" "~ Well, well!" "~ Teresita!" "Joselito, come, give me a kiss." "I love to hear you sing!" "If I'd known you were listening, I'd have done better." "You seem in good spirits." "Are you happier with your uncle?" "No!" "He's just as upset as I am." "How so?" "Teresita has brought me bad news." "His father has discovered our walks." "I won't be able see her anymore." "You see, Joselito!" "Come along with me." "My uncle told me I can't horse-ride anymore so I've left." "~ Then you've escaped?" "~ Yes, and I won't be going back." "This is the chance for all three of us!" "This is madness!" "You're going straight home." "I'll go too so he won't scold you." "No, I won't." "I'm not afraid of him." "Say you will, you don't be afraid." "We'll continue our horse-riding classes, don't you worry." "~ You'll come along with me." "~ I said that I won't, Teresita." "Silly, you coming with me gives me an excuse!" "So you introduce him to me, and knowing him, I'll visit you every day." "Well, in that case, OK." "Well, well, enough chatting, get into the carriage, and we'll horse ride after you." "~ All set." "~ Come, soldier!" "~ He's in the library, sir." "~ Good." "Hello." "Wait for me here, I want a word with you." "At your service." "You keep quiet." "Miss..." "Forgive me introducing myself so unexpectedly." "I am Teresa Arévalo, daughter of the mayor." "I know your father, it's a pleasure to meet you as well." "Do be seated, please." "Thank you, I only came to accompany Joselito, and incidentally, to greet you." "Thank you very much." "You are lovely." "Your father and I have matters to discuss, and I've already said that I'm at your disposal." "But why don't you sit down?" "Sorry, I'm in a hurry." "We've returned a little later and Joselito is worried." "Promise me that you're not going to scold him." "From this moment on, your pleasure will be my duty." "Thank you, sir." "Goodbye." "~ Goodbye." "~ Good day." "I'm forgetting your rebellion and I'm not going to punish you for it,... but I'd do it if you hadn't got yourself a protector." "But hear me well: when I have to tame a stubborn horse, do you know what I do?" "I hit him, humiliate him, I make him give up his will, and I even force him to beg my forgiveness." "As you will see from now on." "You'll never ride that horse you like so much again, as it will be mine." "Bring it here." "Help me." "Hold that horse." "That's no way to treat a horse." "I'll give him his first riding lesson." "Go, Lucero, run!" "Get off me." "That is not the way to treat any horse, sir, much less Lucero." "Leave this house at once." "I never want to see you here again." "As for you, come with me." "~ Let me go, let me go!" "~ What's going on?" "~ He's going to beat him." "~ Oh, my God!" "You have no right to step in." "~ Let me go!" "Eduardo, come here!" "~ Come here!" "Eduardo, help!" "~ Keep still." "~ Eduardo!" "Eduardo!" "Open!" "Leave me alone, leave me alone!" "Don't beat me!" "Key-lock the door properly, and see that he doesn't come out until I order it!" "OK, Lucero, the next time he mounts you, throw him at once." "Joselito, my boy." "Open up for me." "Is that you, Doña Adela?" "~ Yes, I want to talk to you." "How are you?" "~ All right." "Did you bring sugar for Lucero?" "Yes, but he wasn't in the stable." "Where did he go?" "Child!" "I don't know, probably a stable boy led him for a walk." "And what about me, what's he planning, do you think?" "I've heard something about a school in Madrid." "~ When?" "~ Tomorrow." "But you're all coming with me?" "Why are you crying?" "What's the matter?" "He's dismissed us." "And he doesn't allow Don Estéban to get near you." "We're going to the hotel." "No, no, no, don't go." "Don't leave me alone." "I'll speak with him so you don't have to leave." "I'll do what he says." "My son!" "Child!" "Leave me alone." "Excuse me, sir." "Sir..." "Where do you think you're going?" "I know what you're up to." "What are you doing, you insolent brat?" "I don't want you to harm my horse." "You'll shoot me to prevent this?" "Yes." "But do you feel so much fondness for a horse?" "It was the last gift from my father." "Oh, forgive me, I didn't know." "You despise me, right?" "Although you may not believe it, it hurts me that you feel this way." "What I did was aimed at an end: to educate you as your father would have done." "Do you remember his last words to you?" ""José, my son, obey your tutor in everything just as if he were myself."" "One day you'll realize all this was for your own good." "If it's your desire that I go away to school, I will go when you want." "This house without Don Estéban and my Mistress isn't a home anymore.." "Your father would be proud of this small sacrifice,... and you won't ever regret it." "You need a detailed education." "You are still very young for such outbursts." "Goodbye." "We'll miss you, sir." "And I you." "Go ahead." "Hey, hey, horse!" "Hang on, wait for me." "Yah, yah!" "Whoa, whoa!" "Well, Joselito, here's where we say goodbye." "Goodbye." "Goodbye, Eduardo." "What you plan to do?" "Stay here with Teresita." "We must arrange our affairs." "If things get bad, I'll go to Seville for a time,... if you don't soon summon me to Madrid." "Come with me right away." "I wish I could, but better married and everything first." "Goodbye." "Good luck." "Go ahead!" "Come on, giddy up!" "The coach is in sight!" "Mount up, come on!" "Thank you." "Bandits, bandits are after us!" "How many?" "Young sir, bandits, bandits are after us!" "Wake up, young sir, wake up!" "What's going on?" "Many bandits, bandits." "More than a thousand, on our tail." "Are you armed?" "Yes, don't worry." "Here are we." "Faster!" "Faster, go, go!" "Yah, yah, horse!" "Slow down a bit, our pals are right there!" "Halt." "To the assault." "Check out everything, don't leave a single nail unpulled!" "Man!" "It's just a boy!" "Grab him, he's trying to escape!" "Come here, rogue!" "Drag him up, forward!" "So, the tadpole is brave." "Where were you going?" "To grab some stones." "For some stones, eh?" "Now I'll give you some stones so you'll remember me!" "Hurry up, you!" "Tie him to that trunk, so he doesn't escape." "What are you useless morons doing there?" "How heavy!" "You, turn the carriage around." "Right away, Mr. Bandit." "Come on, let's go." "You'll run those horses until they founder... and you'll say to the boy's parents that if tomorrow they don't bring fifty thousand reales here, I'll get rid of him." "You got that?" "Yes, sir, understood." "Scram!" "Faster, veggies!" "The boxes, the trunks!" "Where are they?" "But they were right here!" "They were, but where are they now?" "Who are you?" "Show your face, I see you, you bastard!" "Get on out of here at once!" "There goes that bomb!" "~ Now throw away some more bombs!" "~ Let's go!" "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "¤ Seven blunderbusses cross the mountains, seven knives looking for war." "¤ Our gang is coming, singing songs, the mountains tremble with fear." "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "¤ Pom, pom, pom pom!" "¤ I'm a "poster boy", brave and gallant,... ¤ Bandits without shame, I'm the captain!" "¤ You can guess my nickname since I'm so handsome,... ¤ they call me "Bacon" for want of something better." "I'm so bad!" "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "¤ "Swap Crops" has a history, a very scary nickname." "¤ and I'm "The Carrot" for my red hair." "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "¤ For I am the stuttering one, the "unwise one" that you'll love." "¤ And I don't chew "ing", I just do it while I talk." "¤ I'm "Chili", oh, I'm a minstrel... ¤ around Seville, where I have no rival." "¤ I'm "Vinegar", handling the dagger." "¤ You'll never know a Vinegar as sharp as him." "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "What happened?" "Nothing, he just fired his blunderbuss." "And is it my fault if it has a mind of its own?" "Throw it away, since you can never get it to work..." "And you, don't be a drag." "Let's go." "That boy!" "Let's see if you treat the fifty thousand reales better." "And what you want to do, me to carry him in my arms?" "You wouldn't make a bad dry nurse." "Plop him onto the horse!" "What horse or who dismounts?" "Let him walk!" "It is that my feet hurt!" "~ Do you know to ride?" "~ No, Sir." "Would you fall down if we put you on that horse?" "If you tell me where I have to hold on, I think I won't." "Well, we'll see." "With one hand on the saddle and the other with the reins." "Like this, sir?" "Yeah, more or less." "Boy, boy, get back here!" "I don't think that we'll be followed." "If this thing should fall on us, we're crunched." "Wait here." "Stop here." "Girl, your father!" "Get yourself into the Church." "Teresita!" "When you've finished the Rosary, go home immediately,... and you're not to leave until the day of your wedding." "I choose your suitor, not you." "But, what wrong has our daughter done to you?" "What has she done to me?" "She's opposed me in every matter since the day she was born." "And it only takes me to forbid her to meet this youngster... that I find them together all the time,... and last but not least, with your approval." "As for you, I must warn you that if you keep courting my daughter, I'll run you out of town." "Look well to what you say, your Excellency, since I am an officer of the King." "And I am the mayor." "You've been warned." "They've kidnapped the Lord Count." "They're demanding a ransom to return him." "They also cleaned us out." "Where was this?" "In Peñapartida, by Valenzuela." "I'm going to the mountains." "I won't stop until I find him." "Be careful, Eduardo, mind yourself!" "Can you hear that, Lucero?" "People must be in that cave." "Even if they're bandits, we'll stay." "I can't go any farther." "Go find something to eat." ""He who robs a thief has one hundred years of forgiveness."" ""Birds of a feather flock together."" "This is the strangest place!" "Who lives here?" "You're right, Lucero, I fear the same thing." "But you're stuffing yourself." "Aren't you afraid?" "I'm all atremble." "Hey, man, you were doing the braying!" "They left you on your own, eh?" "Lucero, we'll prepare our defenses like my father would have done." "Too bad you can't help me." "Not a single one will escape." "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "Now's the time to defend." "Hide, Lucero, here you're at risk." "What a night!" "I thought we'd never get back." "Freeze." "Man, the horseman!" "The fifty thousand reales!" "Stay back!" "Come on, baby, don't play with gunpowder." "I'm an even better shot than a rider, so back off!" "Look, child, there are seven of us, it's better if you stand down, we'll outman you." "Not another step." "Come on, I said!" "Quiet it!" "What are you doing?" "Stop it!" "Oh, I'm burning!" "Help, help, I'm choking!" "This is a kid from hell!" "Has the kid calmed down?" "Damn boy!" "Who's idea was it to kidnap this brat?" "It was Chili, who's not good for anything!" "Come on, you grab him." "No, not me, let Bacon be the one who breaks in!" "Come on, come on, let it be Bacon who breaks in, so the moment he sees me he turns me into pork crackling!" "What wrong have I done to you, bad seed?" "I'll go." "Give me the blunderbuss." "No, Vinegar, you'll ruin the ransom." "~ Hand it over, I said!" "~ No." "You all have less brains than the Unwise One." "Come here." "The kid just has two guns, one with two barrels and one with one,... he's already fired one of the barrels, and the other gun, so what does he have left?" "By my mother, what a mess!" "Go on, tell us, you know how to count." "Vinegar, what do you say?" "I don't understand numbers." "You donkeys!" "He only has one more shot." "That's what I was going to say." "If we trick him into firing, what'll happen next?" "We'll go and grab him up like a lamb." "He's right." "Let's go see." "Walk." "Careful, careful." "Quietly, quietly." "I just lost my hat!" "According to you, he's already run out shots." "We are going to see." "Bring your own, Bacon." "~ Give it here!" "~ No, my hat, my hat, man!" "There, you see?" "~ Not even a fly's moving." "~ Let's go." "Shut up." "~ What are you doing?" "~ Are you scared or what?" "As God wills." "Oh, by my mother!" "Quit shoving." "Don't push!" "Where will he have gotten to?" "Who taught you how to count?" "That's not a kid, it's a regiment!" "Tomorrow I seal this place up!" "The law will end up catching all of us, especially the Unwise One, but not him." "But we have to man up." "We have to force our way." "Will you let that brat laugh at us?" "Shut up, animal!" "Look out, it's him!" "Oh, mother!" "He who dares stick his nose out, I'll slice it off him, you've been warned." "Go on, risk it, walk." "This is what we've been missing!" "It even looks like a witchcraft thing!" "Don't hog the blanket, selfish." "I say, do you think we should get wet?" "Good idea, let's get wet." "Even wetter?" "Me, I'm soaked to the skin!" "By my mother, may he sleep at the right hours!" "Can't you hear?" "~ ¤ Oh!" "¤ ~ This is the last straw!" "~ He's singing!" "~ Fucking kid!" "I like it." "¤ No bandit's going to move me from here." "¤ The cave is large and it's not raining inside." "¤ I've scared them to the bone, look, look... ¤" "Olé!" "¤ Oh!" "much like chickens,... ¤ with the ringing of the storm." "~ Olé!" "~ What's with the "olé"?" "Don't you hear he's insulting us?" "¤ Come to my place, buddy,... ¤ bandit, if you dare,... ¤ here the well has water,... ¤ even fresher than snow." "Oh, what a crowd!" "¤ Here are olives, those from Almeria,... ¤ and oranges from China,... ¤ Muscat from the vine,... ¤ and two blunderbusses which fire to the rhythm of my guitar." "¤ So I make fun of all of you, Oh, I laugh... ¤ Oh!" "I laugh at you all, oh, I laugh at you all,... ¤ while you're shivering from the cold. ¤" "Olé!" "Wow, and that doesn't the kid sing well!" "?" "If you dare come, I'll be waiting for you!" "Man, it's raining..." "Let us, let us, only a little..." "You can stay there, in the straw, so you do not get any wetter." "Take these blankets." "Thank you." "What a good boy!" "This is for me." "Oh, how cool!" "Now don't move." "Be careful where you stick your face, you got that?" "I've had enough of this." "What are you doing?" "I'm going to lie down." "Is something wrong?" "Arrogant bastard!" "What's he doing now?" "He's winding up the dolls." "I'm going to put you to sleep, OK?" "¤ Let's sing the bandits' lully lullaby,... ¤ that my child shivers in the downpour." "¤ Sleep my bud, my cinnamon flower,... ¤ While my lullaby watches over." "¤ Oh, my foot, so wet and cold,... ¤ the lullaby has put it to sleep." "¤ You sleep, my star, while the bogeyman comes... ¤ for the bandits who sleep too little." "¤ They dream that the moon sings to the bogeyman... ¤ they'll see your little hand with a blunderbuss." "¤ Flower of rosemary, bandits' lullaby. ¤" "Let us sleep!" "~ Ay, ay, ay, ay!" "What am I doing here?" "~ Has it started?" "~ What?" "~ This way." "Come on." "Get closer." "Look at him." "He looks like an Angelfish." "Yes, very nice, he resembles my son." "~ Leave him alone." "~ Our money." "~ What are you doing?" "~ Tie him up, otherwise, goodbye money." "You're right, Vinegar, make sure he doesn't escape." "You'll wake him up." "That's what I want --- to wake him up." "Let's see if he can escape now." "Guard the entrance." "Go on, Carrot." "Caution, don't overtighten it, the poor kid." "Poor kid?" "This kid can make the very Devil tremble and stay as cool as if nothing's happened." "Hey, wake up!" "Up!" "Go on, escape now." "Try, if you're brave enough." "Don't do anything to me!" "~ Let me alone, let me alone!" "~ Keep till, still, I say, keep still, or I'll gag you!" "Surrender, son." "We've had such a night..." "Hey, tell us who you are, what your parents' names are." "Who is going to pay the ransom, son?" "No one, I don't have parents." "I only have my uncle Martín, who hits me." "Look!" "~ How awful, Sweetie!" "~ Poor boy!" "What bastard that guy is, how he's abused you!" "I don't trust him, he's smarter than all of us." "This stupid guy is right, surely you did something to him so he'd hit you like that." "I didn't do anything to him." "I don't believe it, you're a Barabbas." "That doesn't matter to us." "As soon as we get you to Valenzuela, you go straight back to your house." "No, no, not to my house." "Better to the village, with Don Julián." "Who's Don Julián?" "He teaches me music." "He's the village organist." "If you're good, we'll do what you say, but first we have to see what happens about the ransom,... and we'll mock the guy who brings it, and Valenzuela, who isn't so easy." "My uncle won't pay a ransom for me." "We'll see about that." "He wants to get rid of me, he hates me." "No more stories." "Let's go." "~ The ransom." "~ Ransom is the first thing." "You stay here." "Cover me." "Go on." "Holster that gun." "Holster that gun, I said!" "Are you Diego Valenzuela?" "I guess." "I am the bailiff to Don Martín Zúñiga, guardian of the boy." "Did you bring the money?" "Yes." "Don't complain, I'm paying it all in gold." "I see that your master is cooperating, but we won't return the child until tomorrow." "We'll leave him in some old town around here, healthy and safe." "We don't have him in here in case you didn't play in good faith." "My master, who is very generous, has asked me to wonder whether you thought it was a pretty puny ransom." "What are you joking about?" "He would be willing to deliver that amount again for the opposite solution." "What do you mean by opposite?" "You kill the boy." "What a rogue!" "What balls that servant has to go on such a mission!" "That's no servant, he's my uncle." "He's your uncle, you say?" "Well, what about it?" "You've had time to consider." "What do you decide?" "I don't know, I don't know, that's asking too much." "We are already noticed by the authorities, and with a crime like that on our heads..." "He would agree on even more money." "How would you like a hundred thousand reales?" "One hundred thousand real?" "Tell your master that we agree,... as if the babe were already in heaven." "Take this on account." "You get the rest when my master sees the proof." "I'll come back here in three days." "You should search throughout the mountains and look up under every stone." "We have to go by every edgeway and everywhere else." "The boy has to show up." "Do you understand?" "Let's go." "Are we going to let them take all that money?" "Shut up, you animal!" "Don't be sad, boy." "You're free to go." "You can go wherever you want and whenever you want." "Fuck the ransom!" "Where you going now?" "I don't know." "You shouldn't leave." "Valenzuela will find you wherever you go." "He has informers everywhere." "Why not stay with us?" "We can help square accounts with your uncle." "You need help." "You'd teach us how to handle weapons, in exchange." "And to ride." "~ And...and...and..." "~ Enough!" "Don't stay cross with us, and stay." "In our cave you'll be safe." "No, you are thieves." "~ We are not." "~ No, no, sir." "Then, what are you?" "Well,...go on, you tell him, you're the boss." "We are not thieves." "Well, we are, kind of, anyway." "With these faces that we have...especially the Vinegar." "This is a true bandit!" "A few years ago the mayor gave orders to the mountain village chiefs... so that these neighbors would help militias to clear off the bandits." "And we are volunteers." "Within a few days they dismissed us for being such nincompoops." "We weren't any good at anything." "But we had taken a fancy to this life." "We discovered the cave and we got everything that was inside." "And you know..." ""He robs a thief has one hundred years of forgiveness."" "Is there some evil in this?" "I don't know, but...it seems to me that you're bandits, too." "No, we are not." "Yes you are, since you haven't returned what was taken away,... all this junk that you have in the cave." "And if we give back everything, would you choose us?" "~ Yes." "~ OK!" "Starting today, you lead us." "We name you our captain." "No, no, Captains are only for show." "I'll be like my father:" "Colonel." "Agreed, Colonel!" "And if you're going to educate us, where do we start?" "Well...with a bath." "You smell like a stable." "Let's go!" "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "Oh, no, oh my God, I don't want to wash myself!" "I don't want to wash myself!" "Unwise One!" "But I am very clean and I don't need to wash up!" "Go on, I told you!" "Oh, he hit me!" "And to me, why?" "And what about Vinegar, for that matter?" "That poor guy is in despair." "That one, in despair?" "But, my Colonel, you're going to kill me out of upsets." "Hey, you've really taken your role as commander to heart." "And the kid's doing well, what we lacked was a little discipline." "Get washed, I said." "So much discipline...but is it enough discipline?" "You, Captain, lead by the example." "Wash!" "This is for you, Bacon." "Such an ugly disguise you've got!" "Here, Carrot!" "Hats for all." "~ For you." "~ Yes, give me that to me, man." "~ I like that one." "~ This is for me." "Mine's more beautiful." "There are things here for you, too, Vinegar." "I won't wear a disguise." "Sorry, man." "So get dressed." "Now." "What a portrait!" "Vinegar, get out of there and come here!" "I'm fine here." "When he sees us aiming at him, you'll see how quick he gets off." "Yeah, he'll run then." "I don't want a guilty conscience!" "Aim!" "Come on, aim!" "Well, so here goes." "Fire!" "You're worse than I thought." "What a disgrace!" "And you, what, don't you dare?" "I dare, it's the gun that doesn't dare." "Shoot." "Well, here goes." "You got it!" "You got it!" "Yes, he got it, he got it!" "And you what, aren't you ever going to learn to do anything?" "Such good luck, such good aim!" "Ay, ay, ay, by my mother!" "Oh, my mother!" "Oh, I'll get killed!" "Oh, I'll get killed!" "Grab me, help!" "You'll see how it's up to us." "Now, now, now." "Now Vinegar's up, up with the Vinegar." "I'm the last." "I do not ride." "And I don't have to learn." "Do not look at me, I don't ride." "Ah, I'll mount!" "~ Show them how to do it." "~ This one's already dead, he'll get killed!" "Poor captain!" "Carry him well, he's the captain." "Carry him well." "No, there not, on the other side!" "Good, better, best, come on, here." "Come on, let's ride." "~ But don't cling, bear yourself right." "~ Oh, my mother, my mother!" "That's it, that's it!" "~ Poor, poor, he'll be dead!" "~ You're going to see the captain do it." "~ So you'll learn." "~ Come on, Captain, let's go!" "Olé!" "~ Hey, did you see that?" "~ Well, yeah." "I was galloping." "Oh, Valenzuela!" "Let's hide, he'll kill us, he kill us!" "Yes, let's go, let's go!" "Oh, oh, my God!" "You say that he's here?" "I see there are many tracks." "For a while now we've been hearing a number of shots around here." "Could it be that the militia's camped nearby?" "It may be, we'll check it out." "Let's go!" "And apply those spurs, we're running out of time." "We can unhide now." "And sure enough, at doing magic tricks, there's no one who can beat us." "You're much wiser than us, boy." "Fine!" "Here comes the mayor." "Did you order him to come?" "It's a good sign, that he's coming." "I was waiting for him." "There's a contingency that we hadn't anticipated." "You wouldn't figure out what it's about." "What is it?" "It's been several days and Valenzuela should already have claimed his money." "What does this tell you?" "That the militia sent by the mayor to the mountains won't let him move." "Precisely, you're not far wrong." "You ought have prevented any mobilization, I told you." "We'd have fallen under suspicion." "If they don't catch him, nothing will happen." "Valenzuela will dispose of the boy safely, will claim his reward, and that's the bottom line." "But if they catch him, he'll talk." "This is for sure." "And this is the contingency that must be solved." "How do?" "I think the best thing we can do is to take all the wealth and pull up stakes." "No, no, no, no, no you're getting nervous." "Yesterday I made an arrangement." "I was with the mayor and I proposed to him that I marry his daughter." "A beautiful sacrifice, don't you think?" "I liked her on sight." "That's smooth." "But she will consent?" "The mayor won't dislike getting related to the noble house of Alvear." "And as his son-in-law, I'll be immune from any ravings of a known bandit." "Here he comes, and with his daughter." "Excellence, the Lord Magistrate." "Good morning, Don Martín." "I'll be right with you." "Leave us alone." "You bring news?" "I sent more militiamen to the mountains." "Good morning." "~ How are you?" "~ Well, and you?" "You have a beautiful daughter." "My daughter's also dismayed by the disappearance of the Lord Count." "I reckon, Don Martín, that there are already two people at risk here." "Lieutenant Aranda delved into the mountains and nothing's known about him." "Now's not the time for that." "No, no, your daughter is right." "There's no doubt that her fiancé is in danger." "There is no such fiancé, Don Martín." "I have forbidden these lovers." "Come in, come in, we'll talk serenely." "Fire!" "Nothing, not even one in the target." "You'll never learn to shoot." "Lunch!" "~ Food, man!" "~ Yes, you've really mastered the art of eating." "You, collect the weapons." "Go, go, go you." "Eh, no, come on, both of us." "~ But they'll eat all." "~ Come on, quickly." "How good is that!" "I'm hungry!" "Maybe they've eaten everything already?" "Oh, I'm burning, I'm burning, I'm burning!" "Shut up!" "Just right, Colonel." "How many times must I tell you not put your hands into the food?" "Forgive me." "Let us pray." "And you, sit down." "Leave a bit of space in the bench for me." "Bless, Lord, the food we have served,... and bring us our daily bread as well as... for the salvation of our souls, amen." "Amen, amen, amen, amen." "Go for it!" "Silence!" "If you want us to eat nicely, sing for us." "Yeah, we'll keep the best slices for you." "Go on, sing something." "Once again?" "A serrana, Joselito!" "But are you going to have me doing this for my whole life?" "Silence!" "I'm going to sing, but only if you behave." "You can begin." "¤ The first thing to do at the table is pray." "¤ It's not to serve the eaters the best portions." "¤ Whoever uses their fingers should use a napkin." "¤ And he who never breaks a dish wouldn't be scolded." "¤ A gentlemen reveals himself by his table manners. ¤" "And at the table, which has been blessed, don't sing or scream." "¤ And you shouldn't lick your fingers!" "¤ A gentlemen reveals himself by his table manners." "¤ You must chew slowly without noise and without slurping." "¤ Whoever eats with his fingers can't put on airs of being a gentleman." "¤ Bet it will be he who uses knife and fork to cut and pick." "¤ Even with delicacies, you shouldn't gobble like a starving wolverine... ~ ¤ because eating to live isn't the same as living to eat. ¤ ~ I'm bad!" "¤ A gentlemen reveals himself by his table manners. ¤" "Abuse of good food and wine at the table is bad... ¤ you must not be excessive!" "¤ A gentlemen reveals himself by his table manners." "¤ You must chew slowly without noise and without slurping." "¤ A gentlemen reveals himself by his table manners. ¤" "Joselito, the trap worked!" "Here, let's get our prey!" "But who is it, Joselito?" "Eduardo, Eduardo, my friend!" "~ Do know you him?" "~ He's my riding teacher." "Get him down immediately, get him off!" "~ Fast, Sackbutt!" "~ Come on, hurry!" "Don't just cut him loose, he'll fall and get hurt!" "Well, pull him up, climb!" "Remove your foot, man." "I'll help you, I'll help." "We got him." "Oh, I'm hanging, I'm hanging!" "Hey, I'm OK, let me go!" "Let me go." "~ Eduardo!" "~ Boy, what a joy!" "I thought I'd never see you again." "You prick!" "And look hungry." "I've been two days without eating." "Let's go inside, there's still some food there." "I spent two days looking for you in the mountains." "If I hadn't found you I would have starved to death." "But many bandits would be necessary to kill you, rascal." "~ Don't you want any more?" "~ Eat all of it." "I could eat a ram, but... enough is enough." "~ Dibs on the leftovers!" "~ And me, and me!" "Here." "Who's still hungry?" "Me, me!" "You the one who like me the least." "You have it." "This is mine, this is mine!" "If it hadn't been for these good bandits, and you can see how they're welcomed you,... by now I'd be dead." "They've saved me." "How strange!" "Who could have known that your uncle would be capable of such action?" "It's incredible!" "It seems incredible that such a man could be your father's brother." "~ But suppose he weren't?" "~ Repeat that." "I said nothing more than "But suppose he weren't?"" "Do you realize what this means?" "This hadn't occurred to me." "There must be a way to find out." "But how?" "In the library there's a table where he stores his papers." "We could go get them." "Not you, it would be bad if he saw you." "We'll go ourselves." "Do you agree to go to the village?" "Right away!" "Well, hang on, hang on --- we need horses." "Don't worry, I have a friend who'll lend us his." "Let's go!" "Your stay here, don't come in." "~ You know where the key is?" "~ Yes." "Stay with him." "Guard him carefully." "What are you up to?" "Come quickly!" "Where are you going?" "I'm blind here, it nearly killed me." "This is slippery." "Shut up, man, shut up. you." "Quiet, quiet!" "~ There are, there are..." "~ "There are..."" "No, I'll say if I see someone." "I can't hear anything." "~ You can't hear anything." "~ Shut up." "Give me your knife." "Quiet." "This doesn't yield." "We should shoot the lock." "~ But..." "~ Yes, all right, all right." "I think it will open more easily with the key." "What a joy to see you, Lieutenant!" "You were missed in the village." "And your absence was a shame, since you haven't hear the great news:... your girlfriend is going to marry me." "You're a cad!" "Now, tell me what you're seeking at my table, because maybe I can help." "You aren't the boy's uncle." "You've contracted his death, and the motive will be known by everyone." "Keep still, drop the gun!" "If you fire, I fire." "Get out of here." "I'll deliver you to justice for insolence and fraud." "Let's go." "You forget that the Lord Count has relatives in Seville." "At least one should know his uncle." "A pity we didn't investigate earlier." "Anyway, your days are numbered." "You are a bold impostor, and this will soon be revealed." "I'll make sure of that." "Let them leave." "I have a way better get to them, if you pay well." "Aren't you one of them?" "I was." "You can have them all and the boy, too,... but I have to collect the money that you were giving to Valenzuela." "Sunday's tomorrow --- don't go to church." "Why not?" "Because they plan to rat you out there in front of the whole village." "A carriage, Chili." "The mayor!" "Come inside, come on, inside." "Get lame..." "Has he arrived yet?" "No, not yet." "This is Teresita." "You'd like to talk to her, right?" "Lots, but I'm afraid that the mayor doesn't like me all that much." "Start sneaking." "I'm going to talk to Don Julián." "Joselito, my son!" "~ Keep playing!" "~ Everyone'd thought something'd happened to you." "You are going to write to Doña Adela and Don Estéban as soon as the mass is over." "They came when they heard about you." "They must be downstairs." "I'm going to sing so they'll hear me." "Your Ave Maria." "~ Do you have your Rosary there?" "~ Here it is." "~ Thank you." "¤ Ave Maria,... ¤ source of beauty,... ¤ my sweet mother,... ¤ you're pure snow on the rosebush." "¤ You bear the aroma of lilies and jasmines." "¤ The sun wishes to shine like you and the spring longs for your lullaby." "¤ St. Mary, Virgin and mother, I love you!" "¤ May your hand lead me on the good path." "¤ Share your love from the altar, as I offer you the heart of my singing. ¤" "The guy isn't coming." "Vinegar is a traitor." "He's to blame for everything, I'm pretty sure." "Notify the Lieutenant." "¤ Ave!" "¤" "Well, goodbye, Don Julián, I'm going." "~ You're going already?" "~ Yes." "Let's go, Lieutenant, he didn't show up." "Mother, I love him." "I'm going with him." "Go, my daughter, have Don Prudencio marry you in the chapel." "I love you." "Where's Teresita going?" "To communion." "Don Prudencio!" "Don Prudencio!" "Don Pruden...!" "Man, if it isn't my nephew!" "On a silver platter." "No, Eduardo, Joselito's there." "Takes care of him." "You're also expected, Miss." "I easily figured out the next move of your Lieutenant lover." "But this won't help you." "I'm going to kill him without mercy." "My father will know that you've fled." "Everyone will know it." "What have you done with my uncle Martín?" "Tell me!" "I am indeed your uncle Martín!" "It'll be me who shoots." "I wouldn't deprive myself of this pleasure." "You're a Judas, Vinegar!" "Colonel, I mean, I'll shoot that Don Martín..." "Bring him here." "The comedy is over." "Quiet, don't move!" "A very important detail let you down: betrayal." "I won't kill you so I can't be compared to any scum of your ilk." "Did I do well, my Colonel?" "Very well, Vinegar." "Halt." "These are them." "I arrest the prisoners in the King's name." "Secure them." "Surrender." "My small Colonel!" "This time you're going to pay for all at once." "I'm going toss you off those crags." "Come on, get out!" "Let's go!" "Watch out, they can't be trusted." "Fingers on the triggers of your blunderbusses properly." "C'mon, hurry, move forward!" "Quiet!" "~ Give us a hand, San Simbar, may that one stumble into the trap!" "~ You hear that!" "Aim at them well, and at the head!" "San Simbar be thanked!" "Go get them, let no one escape!" "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "¤ Seven blunderbusses cross the mountains, seven knives looking for war." "¤ Our gang is coming, singing songs, the mountains tremble with fear." "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "¤ Pom, pom, pom, pom." "¤ For this big-hearted gang... ¤ knelt on my knees I ask for compassion." "¤ Wanting to kill me an impostor arrived... ¤ they were able to save me with zeal and love." "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "¤ A boy with attitude wanted to give us a lesson... ¤ and brought us to the good path by the grace of song." "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "¤ We love him like a child of our own, his hug is the truest... ¤ and we'll always admire the little Colonel." "¤ The seven with me shall have my favor... ¤ I am a good friend of the mayor." "¤ I'll always remember that I owe my life... ¤ to the dear old singing crew." "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!" "¤ I am, like you, of the band of the Cuckoo!"