Friday, July 1, 2011

"The Old Ranch."

Ricardo Guiraldes. Pp. 176-181.

Summary: An implacable drought. Three months of it. The owner of the ranch, Don Rufino, takes a statue of the virgin, ties it up on a post in the dry fields and intends to leave it there until the drought is broken. He is angry at the Virgin for allowing the suffering of the animals and the people.

And then the storm comes. When it is at its height Don Rufino and his family in their ranch house say the rosary in thanks to the Virgin who is once again superior to all the other saints who had been prayed to to end the drought.

Comment: Of course, this was at a time and among a people who saw the images of saints and the Virgin and Christ as real presences in the lives of the impoverished people. RayS.

Spanish Stories and Tales. Ed. By Harriet de OnĂ­s. The Pocket Library, 1956.

No comments:

Post a Comment