rompiéndomela por muchas partes, y me quebró los dientes, sin los cuales hasta hoy día me quedé. Desde aquella hora quise mal al mal ciego. Aunque me quería y regalaba y me curaba, bien vi que se había holgado del cruel castigo. Me lavó con vino las roturas, que con los pedazos del jarro me había hecho, y sonriéndose decía:
     -¿Qué te parece, Lázaro? Lo que te enfermó te sana y da salud,¹² y otros donaires que mi gusto no lo eran.
     Ya que estuve medio bueno de mi negra trepa y cardenales, considerando que a pocos golpes tales el cruel ciego ahorraría de mí, quise yo ahorrar de él. Mas no lo hice tan presto por hacerlo más a mi salvo y provecho. Y aunque yo quisiera asentar mi corazón y perdonarle el jarrazo, no daba lugar el maltratamiento, que el mal ciego desde allí adelante me hacía. Sin causa ni razón me hería, dándome coscorrones y repelándome. Y si alguno le decía porqué me trataba tan mal, luego contaba el cuento del jarro, diciendo:

     -¿Pensarais que este mi mozo es algún inocente? Pues oíd si el demonio ensayara otra tal hazaña.
     Santiguándose los que lo oían, decían:
     -¡Mira quién pensara de un muchacho tan pequeño tal ruindad!
     Y reían mucho el artífico, y le decían:
     -Castigadlo, castigadlo, que de Dios lo hubierais.
      Y él, con aquello, nunca otra cosa hacía.
     Y en esto, yo siempre le llevaba por los peores caminos, y adrede, por hacerle mal y daño. Si había piedras, por ellas, si lodo, por lo más alto, que aunque yo no iba por lo más enjuto, me holgaba a mí de quebrar un ojo por quebrar dos al que ninguno tenía.¹³ Con esto siempre con el cabo alto del tiento me atentaba el colodrillo, el cual siempre traía lleno de tolondrones y pelado de sus manos. Aunque yo juraba no lo hacer con malicia, sino por no hallar mejor camino, no me aprovechaba ni me creía, mas tal era el sentido y el grandísimo entendimiento del traidor.
     Y porque vea Vuestra Merced a cuánto se extendía el ingenio de

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and broke out the teeth which I remain without to this day. From that hour I wished evil upon the evil blind man. Although he liked me and took care of me and cured me, I saw that he had taken pleasure in the cruel punishment. He washed the abrasions pieces of the jar had made, and smiling said:

     "What do you think, Lázaro? That which made you fall ill, heals you and gives you health,"¹² and other witticisms that weren't to my liking.
     After I had half-recovered from my terrible bruises and welts, I was thinking that by means of a few such blows the cruel blind man would be delivered from me, while I wished to be delivered from him. But I couldn't do it fast enough for the sake of my own salvation and benefit. And, although in my heart I might have wanted to settle things and pardon him for the jar, I couldn't accept the evil blind man's bad treatment done to me from that day forward. Without cause or reason he hurt me, giving me bumps on the head and pulling my hair.  And if someone said something to him about treating me so poorly, he told the story of the jar, saying:
    "I wonder if you were thinking my servant is guileless? Well, listen to whether the demon will practice another such deed."
     Crossing themselves, those who listened, said:
     "Look who would think of such vileness from a boy so small!"
     And they laughed and laughed at the trick and told him:
     "Punish him, punish him, and from God will you be rewarded."
     And, with that, he never did other.
    And for this, I always took him by the worst roads, deliberately, to abuse and hurt him. If there were rocks, through them, if mud, the deepest, although I didn't go through the driest part myself, I was delighted to put one eye out in order to put two out in he who had not any.¹³ With the end of his cane he always directed me by tapping me on the back of the head and it was always full of bumps and laid bare by his hands. Although I swore I didn't do it out of spite, but only by not finding a better road, it didn't do me any good, nor did he believe me, such was the good sense and great understanding of that traitor.

     And thus that Your Grace might see the extent of the ingenuity of this