Don Quixote — Chapter 103 in Spanish
By Miguel de Cervantes
Amaneció el día que se siguió a la noche de la ronda del gobernador, la cual el maestresala pasó sin dormir, ocupado el pensamiento en el rostro, brío y belleza de la disfrazada doncella; y el mayordomo ocupó lo que della faltaba en escribir a sus señores lo que Sancho Panza hacía y decía, tan admirado de sus hechos como de sus dichos: porque andaban mezcladas sus palabras y sus acciones, con asomos discretos y tontos. Day came after the night of the governor's round; a night which the head-carver passed without sleeping, so were his thoughts of the face and air and beauty of the disguised damsel, while the majordomo spent what was left of it in writing an account to his lord and lady of all Sancho said and did, being as much amazed at his sayings as at his doings, for there was a mixture of shrewdness and simplicity in all his words and deeds. Levantóse, en fin, el señor gobernador, y, por orden del doctor Pedro Recio, le hicieron desayunar con un poco de conserva y cuatro tragos de agua fría, cosa que la trocara Sancho con un pedazo de pan y un racimo de uvas; pero, viendo que aquello era más fuerza que voluntad, pasó por ello, con harto dolor de su alma y fatiga de su estómago, haciéndole creer Pedro Recio que los manjares pocos y delicados avivaban el ingenio, que era lo que más convenía a las personas constituidas en mandos y en oficios graves, donde se han de aprovechar no tanto de las fuerzas corporales como de las del entendimiento. The senor governor got up, and by Doctor Pedro Recio's directions they made him break his fast on a little conserve and four sups of cold water, which Sancho would have readily exchanged for a piece of bread and a bunch of grapes; but seeing there was no help for it, he submitted with no little sorrow of heart and discomfort of stomach; Pedro Recio having persuaded him that light and delicate diet enlivened the wits, and that was what was most essential for persons placed in command and in responsible situations, where they have to employ not only the bodily powers but those of the mind also.
Con esta sofistería padecía hambre Sancho, y tal, que en su secreto maldecía el gobierno y aun a quien se le había dado; pero, con su hambre y con su conserva, se puso a juzgar aquel día, y lo primero que se le ofreció fue una pregunta que un forastero le hizo, estando presentes a todo el mayordomo y los demás acólitos, que fue: — Señor, un caudaloso río dividía dos términos de un mismo señorío (y esté vuestra merced atento, porque el caso es de importancia y algo dificultoso). By means of this sophistry Sancho was made to endure hunger, and hunger so keen that in his heart he cursed the government, and even him who had given it to him; however, with his hunger and his conserve he undertook to deliver judgments that day, and the first thing that came before him was a question that was submitted to him by a stranger, in the presence of the majordomo and the other attendants, and it was in these words: "Senor, a large river separated two districts of one and the same lordship--will your worship please to pay attention, for the case is an important and a rather knotty one? Digo, pues, que sobre este río estaba una puente, y al cabo della, una horca y una como casa de audiencia, en la cual de ordinario había cuatro jueces que juzgaban la ley que puso el dueño del río, de la puente y del señorío, que era en esta forma: "Si alguno pasare por esta puente de una parte a otra, ha de jurar primero adónde y a qué va; y si jurare verdad, déjenle pasar; y si dijere mentira, muera por ello ahorcado en la horca que allí se muestra, sin remisión alguna". Well then, on this river there was a bridge, and at one end of it a gallows, and a sort of tribunal, where four judges commonly sat to administer the law which the lord of river, bridge and the lordship had enacted, and which was to this effect, 'If anyone crosses by this bridge from one side to the other he shall declare on oath where he is going to and with what object; and if he swears truly, he shall be allowed to pass, but if falsely, he shall be put to death for it by hanging on the gallows erected there, without any remission.' Sabida esta ley y la rigurosa condición della, pasaban muchos, y luego en lo que juraban se echaba de ver que decían verdad, y los jueces los dejaban pasar libremente. Though the law and its severe penalty were known, many persons crossed, but in their declarations it was easy to see at once they were telling the truth, and the judges let them pass free. Sucedió, pues, que, tomando juramento a un hombre, juró y dijo que para el juramento que hacía, que iba a morir en aquella horca que allí estaba, y no a otra cosa. It happened, however, that one man, when they came to take his declaration, swore and said that by the oath he took he was going to die upon that gallows that stood there, and nothing else. Repararon los jueces en el juramento y dijeron: ''Si a este hombre le dejamos pasar libremente, mintió en su juramento, y, conforme a la ley, debe morir; y si le ahorcamos, él juró que iba a morir en aquella horca, y, habiendo jurado verdad, por la misma ley debe ser libre''. The judges held a consultation over the oath, and they said, 'If we let this man pass free he has sworn falsely, and by the law he ought to die; but if we hang him, as he swore he was going to die on that gallows, and therefore swore the truth, by the same law he ought to go free.' Se pregunta a vuestra merced, señor gobernador, ¿qué han de hacer los jueces con este hombre? It is asked of your worship, senor governor, what are the judges to do with this man? Y, habiendo tenido noticia del agudo y elevado entendimiento de vuestra merced, me enviaron a mí a que suplicase a vuestra merced de su parte diese su parecer en tan intricado y dudoso caso. For they are still in doubt and perplexity; and having heard of your worship's acute and exalted intellect, they have sent me to entreat your worship on their behalf to give your opinion on this very intricate and puzzling case."
— Por cierto que esos señores jueces que a mí os envían lo pudieran haber escusado, porque yo soy un hombre que tengo más de mostrenco que de agudo; pero, con todo eso, repetidme otra vez el negocio de modo que yo le entienda: quizá podría ser que diese en el hito. To this Sancho made answer, "Indeed those gentlemen the judges that send you to me might have spared themselves the trouble, for I have more of the obtuse than the acute in me; but repeat the case over again, so that I may understand it, and then perhaps I may be able to hit the point."
Volvió otra y otra vez el preguntante a referir lo que primero había dicho, y Sancho dijo: The querist repeated again and again what he had said before, and then Sancho said, "It seems to me I can set the matter right in a moment, and in this way; the man swears that he is going to die upon the gallows; but if he dies upon it, he has sworn the truth, and by the law enacted deserves to go free and pass over the bridge; but if they don't hang him, then he has sworn falsely, and by the same law deserves to be hanged."