The Coyote Under the Table/El Coyote Debajo de la Mesa Read Online Free PDF Page A

every day. Each morning the prince carried the new dress to the church in a package. He lit a candle in front of the wooden figure of Saint Mary and said a prayer. He would leave the package in front of the statue, and later that morning the old woman who cleaned the church would dress Santa María in her new garment.
    In the same village there lived a very poor woman who had just one daughter. Like the queen, the poor woman had no husband. And like the queen she was extremely fond of her child. But while the prince dressed in royal finery, the poor girl had to go about in rags.
    One morning when the prince entered the church, he saw the poor girl kneeling before the statue of Saint Mary. Of course, he didn’t want to disturb her, so he sat quietly to wait until she had finished her prayers. But he couldn’t help hearing what the poor girl was saying. “Santa María,” the poor girl prayed, “every time I come here you’re wearing a beautiful new dress. And I’m wearing the same old rags. Please, would you send me just one of your dresses someday, so that I may come to Mass on Sunday looking lovely, like the other girls do?”
    After the girl had left, the prince lit a candle and prayed. He left a new dress for the statue, and then hurried home. He said to the queen, “Mother, have your seamstress make the finest dress she is able to. Send it to the poor girl who lives in the town. And have your goldsmith make a pair of golden slippers for her as well!”
    Of course the queen did as her son wished, and the servants delivered the gifts to the poor girl. “Look!” the girl cried, “my prayers have been answered.” And she hugged and kissed her mother.
    Then she ran next door to show the neighbor girls what she had received. What she didn’t know was that the neighbor girls were greedy, and the sight of the beautiful dress and the golden slippers filled them with envy. They placed a spell on the slippers, so that whoever put them on would fall into a deep, death-like sleep.
    The very next Sunday the poor girl put on her new dress to go to the church and thank Saint Mary. She was about to put on a golden slipper, but then she thought, “These slippers will get dirty as I’m walking to church. I’ll carry them, and put them on after I get there.”
    So she carried her slippers to the church. In the corner, right next to the statue of Saint Mary, she sat down and put one slipper on. She yawned and shook her head because she felt so sleepy. She put on the other slipper and fell into a deep sleep. She slept so soundly that she wasn’t even breathing.
    The priest arrived at the church and found her. “A miracle!” he gasped. “A new statue of the saint has appeared. And how life-like it is in every detail. No human hand could have produced this work of art!”
    The priest placed the new statue in a niche beside the old one and announced to the people that they had been blessed with a miracle.
    Now each morning the prince lit candles in front of both statues, and for each he brought a fresh dress.
    Soon after this, the prince decided it was time to choose a wife. Of course, he did what princes always do when they wish to find a wife. He planned three evenings of dancing at his house and invited everyone from far and near to attend.
    Among the girls who arrived from far away were two who had no fine clothes to wear. But they had come anyway, hoping they might be able to borrow some dresses. As soon as they arrived in the town they went to the church to pray for good luck, and they saw the two elegantly dressed statues.
    â€œLet’s just take the dresses from these statues,” one of the girls said.
    â€œOf course!” said the other. “The saints won’t mind lending us their dresses. Their petticoats are fancier than our dresses anyway. And we’ll have the dresses back before morning.”
    So that evening the two