El Cuento

The Tale

El Cuento

The kitchen was floodedInundaba la cocina
With the smell of homemade breadUn olor a pan casero
Three plates on the tableTres platos sobre la mesa
Inviting to have lunchInvitaban a almorzar
And two diligent handsY dos manos laboriosas
Whitened with flourEmblanquecidas de harina
Worked diligentlyTrajinaban diligentes
In the heart of the homeEn el seno del hogar

The man arrived from the fieldLlego el hombre desde el campo
With half a day's work on his backCon media jornada a cuestas
He greeted his partnerSaludo a su compañera
Enchanted by her gestureEnamoro su ademán
And when he sought the beautiful foreheadY al buscar su frente hermosa
Of the son he loved so muchDel hijo que tanto amaba
The kiss he offeredEl beso que le ofrecía
Remained unfulfilledSe le quedó en un afán

Because the ten-year-old boyPorque el niño de diez años
Who was a song of joyQue era un canto de alegría
Like a goodnight flowerComo flor de buenas noches
With his white apronCon su blanco delantal
With a veil of sadnessCon un velo de tristeza
Clouding his eyesEmpañando su pupila
Turned and avoided his headTorno y esquivo su cabeza
When he tried to kiss himCuando él lo quiso besar

The man was surprisedQuedo el hombre sorprendido
By the unexpected eventAnte el hecho inesperado
And seeking an answerY buscando una respuesta
With a paternal gestureCon un gesto paternal
Forgetting his tirednessOlvidando su cansancio
He sat him on his lapLo sentó sobre su falda
And gently askedE inquiriole dulcemente
The cause of his sorrowLa causa de su pesar

Then the good boyEntonces el niño bueno
Who was always his hopeQue siempre fue su esperanza
His concern, his fatigueSu desvelo, su fatiga
The Sun of his awakeningEl Sol de su despertar
Answered with a broken voiceRespondió con voz quebrada
Almost on the verge of tearsCasi al borde del sollozo
They told me at schoolEn la escuela me dijeron
That you are not my dadQue vos no sois mi papá

A round of silenceUna ronda de silencio
Turned around the tableGiro en torno de la mesa
A father looks for wordsUn padre busca palabras
Difficult to findDifíciles de encontrar
And a mother in the kitchenY una madre en la cocina
Stokes the green firewoodAviva la leña verde
As if blaming the smokeComo culpando al humo
That is making her cryQue la está haciendo llorar

After a deep silenceDespués de un hondo mutismo
Facing the sorrowful childFrente al niño compungido
The emotional man saidDijo el hombre emocionado
But with a firm tonePero con firme expresar
I'm going to tell you a taleTe voy a contar un cuento
That I never told you in your cradleQue nunca conté en tu cuna
Because this tale, my sonPorque este cuento hijo mío
Is a true taleEs un cuento de verdad

More than ten years agoHace ya más de diez años
When spring arrivedAl llegar la primavera
Love made you a seedEl amor te hizo semilla
In your mother's wombEn el vientre de mamá
Who loved a poor boyQue amaba a un muchacho pobre
The best of my friendsEl mejor de mis amigos
But honest in his povertyPero honrado en su pobreza
And as good as anyoneY bueno como el que más

Awaiting your arrivalEsperando tu llegada
They became a couple immediatelyHicieron yunta enseguida
In the shelter of a small ranchAl abrigo de un ranchito
Like a dove's nestComo nido de torcaza
Although work was scarceAunque escaseaba el trabajo
Through odd jobs and kissesA fuerza de changa y besos
They faced lifeLe hicieron frente a la vida
With the faith that is capableCon la fe que es capaz

Time continued its courseEl tiempo siguió su marcha
And spent the moonsY fue gastando las lunas
You were already, you know, newYa estaba tú sabías nueva
To life on the thresholdDe la vida en el umbral
When the humble abodeCuando a la humilde morada
That sheltered their dreamsQue cobijaba sus sueños
Was surrounded by miseryLa entro a cercar la miseria
With its sad realityCon su triste realidad

Your poor mother hadNo tenía tu pobre madre
Not even a piece of hard breadNi un pedazo de pan duro
To feed her nipplesQue alimente sus pezones
When you wanted to suckleCuando quisieras mamar
A rickety objectUn trasto desvencijado
Would serve as your cradleTe habría de servir de cuna
And a tattered ponchoY un poncho deshilachado
Would be your dreamy trousseauSería tu soñado ajuar

Then the good ladEntonces el mozo bueno
As a last hopeComo última esperanza
Went out to demand from the worldSalió a reclamarle al mundo
Justice and equalityLa justicia y la igualdad
A job that would honor himUn trabajo que lo honrara
As a father and as a manComo padre y como hombre
To be able to raise the childPara poder criar al hijo
With pride and dignityCon orgullo y dignidad

He knocked on doors without responseGolpeo al dada sin respuesta
In the richest estatesEn las más ricas estancias
He asked for work from the gentlemenPidió arreo a los señores
Who mint a fortuneQue acuñan un dineral
And at the government's doorsY a las puertas del gobierno
He knocked with polished cedarLes golpeo de cedro lustroso
Without finding anyone to listenSin hallar quien lo cuartiara
In his tired struggleEn su cansado bregar

Then, desperateEntonces desesperado
One unfortunate afternoonUna tarde desgraciada
To the paymaster of an estateAl pagador de una estancia
Who ambushed in a thicketQue embosco en un fachinal
He snatched the wagesLe arrebato los salarios
And when the traveler resistedY al resistirse el viajero
The misfortune's daggerEl facón del infortunio
Turned him into a criminalLo convirtió en criminal

With his silenced crimeCon su acallado delito
He arrived that night at homeLlegó esa noche a la casa
With suitcases loadedCon las maletas cargadas
With unused little clothesDe ropita sin usar
And in the hollow of his handsY en el hueco de sus manos
Like a sacred treasureComo un sagrado tesoro
For your mother's hungerPara el hambre de tu madre
The providence of breadLa procidencia del pan

For the deed, justicePor el hecho, la justicia
Took action in the caseTomo carta en el caso
And just at dawnY justo a la madrugada
When the world saw you arriveQue el mundo te vio llegar
Like a cornered tigerComo a un tigre acorralado
Defending his lairDefendiendo su guarida
The police killed himLo mató la policía
For not wanting to surrenderAl no quererse entregar

I held him in my armsYo lo tuve entre mis brazos
Almost when he was dyingCasi cuando agonizaba
And in his last breathY en su último suspiro
He asked me in his babblingMe pidió en su balbucear
To save your honorQue para salvar tu honra
To marry your motherMe casará con tu madre
And to raise you as a sonY que te criara como a un hijo
Without telling you the truthSin decirte la verdad

With your unfortunate motherCon tu madre desdichada
We fulfilled the oathCumplimos el juramento
And since then this ranchY desde entonces este rancho
Is the home of the threeEs de los tres el hogar
Where you are growing strongDonde vas creciendo fuerte
Under the protection of my armsAl amparo de mis brazos
And my name and my surnameY mi nombre y mi apellido
Is my greatest assetEs mi mayor capital

The child raised his headAlzo el niño la cabeza
After hearing the taleDespués de escuchar el cuento
And embracing him tightlyY abrazándolo con fuerza
With his ten years of ageQue sus diez años le dan
He shouted with joyGrito lleno de alegría
Don't cry anymore, mommyNo llores más mamita
At school they didn't knowEn la escuela no sabían
That I had two dadsQue yo tuve dos papas