La Prodigiosa Tarde de Baltazar English Translation

The Late Prodigious Baltazar

By Cabriel Carcia Narquez


The cage was Iinished. Baltazar hung it in the eaves, by Iorce oI habit, and when lunch was Iinished, it had already
been decided by everyone that it was the most beautiIul cage in the whole world. So many people came to see it that
there was a large crowd in Iront oI the house, and Baltazar had to take it down and close his carpentry shop.
'You need to shave, said Ursula, his wiIe. 'You look like a Capuchino.
'It`s bad luck to shave aIter lunch, said Baltazar.
He had a two-week beard, short hair, tough and idle like the mane oI a mule, and a general expression oI a
boy. But it was a Ialse expression. In February, he turned 30, and had lived with Ursula Ior Iour, without marrying
or having children, and liIe had given him every reason to be alert, but no reason to be aIraid. He didn`t even know
that, to some people, the cage he`d Iinished making was the most beautiIul oI its kind in the world. To him, who had
been making cages since he was a boy, the new cage just seemed to be harder project than the others.
'Then you should rest a while, said his wiIe. 'With that beard, you can`t be shown in public.
While he was resting, he had to abandon the hammock at various times to show the cage to the neighbors.
Ursula wasn`t paying attention to him anyways. She was upset because her husband had neglected the carpentry
business to dedicate himselI entirely to the cage, and during the two weeks he`d slept little, stumbled and talked
nonsense, and hadn`t thought oI shaving. But her anger had dispersed beIore the cage was Iinished. When Baltazar
awoke Irom his nap, she had ironed his pants and a shirt, and had placed them on a chair beside the hammock and
had taken the cage to the dinner table. She gazed at it in silence.
'How much will you charge Ior it? she asked.
'I don`t know, answered Baltazar. 'I`ll ask Ior thirty pesos to see iI they give me twenty.
'Ask Ior IiIty, said Ursula. 'You stayed up late working on it a lot in the last two weeks. And it`s pretty big.
I think this is the biggest cage I`ve ever seen in my liIe.
Baltazar began to shave.
'You think I could get IiIty Ior it?
'That`s nothing Ior Don Chepe Montiel, and the cage is worth more than that, said Ursula. 'You should ask
Ior sixty.
The house was covered by a suIIocating darkness. It was the Iirst week in April, and the heat seemed more
unbearable because oI the sound oI cicadas. When he had Iinished dressing, Baltazar opened the door to the patio to
bring Iresh air into the house, and a group oI children entered the dining room.
The news had spread. Doctor Octavio Giraldo, an old medic, happy with liIe, but tired oI the proIession,
thought oI Baltazar`s cage while having lunch with his ill wiIe. In the sunroom, where they ate on hot days, there
were a lot oI Ilower pots and two cages with canaries.
His wiIe liked birds, and she liked them so much that she hated cats because they were capable oI eating the
birds. Thinking oI her, Doctor Giraldo went to visit a sick patient that aIternoon, and upon his return, he passed
Baltazar`s house to acquaint himselI with the cage.
There were a lot oI people in the dining room. On display on the table, the enormous dome oI wire, with
three interior Iloors, with special corridors and rooms Ior eating and sleeping, swings in the space reserved Ior
recreation; it seemed like a scale model oI an ice Iactory. The doctor examined it careIully, without touching it,
thinking that the cage was better than its reputation, and much more beautiIul than he had ever dreamed Ior his wiIe.
'This is an adventure oI the imagination, he said. He looked Ior Baltazar in the group, and he added, eyes
Iixed on him in a motherly Iashion, 'You would have been a wonderIul architect.
Baltazar blushed.
'Thank you, he said.
'It`s true, said the doctor. He was Iat, yet smooth and tender, like a woman that was beautiIul in her youth,
and delicate hands. His voice was like a priest speaking Latin.
'You don`t even need to put birds in it, he said, spinning the cage in Iront oI the watchIul crowd, as iI he
were selling it. 'It would be enough to hang it in the trees on its own. He put it back on the table and thought a
moment, looking at the cage, and said:
'Well, I`ll take it.
'It`s sold, said Ursula.
'It`s Ior Don Chepe Montiel`s son, said Baltazar. 'He speciIically ordered it.
The doctor took on a respectable attitude.
'He asked Ior this design?
'No, said Baltazar. 'He said he wanted a large cage, like this, Ior a pair oI jays.
The doctor looked at the cage.
'But this isn`t Ior jays.
'OI course, doctor, said Baltazar, approaching the table. The children surrounded him.
'The measurements were careIully calculated, he said, using his Iinger to show the diIIerent compartments.
Then he struck the dome with his knuckles and the cage was Iilled with deep chords.
'This is the most resistant wire you can Iind, and each joint is welded inside and out, he said.
'This is made Ior a parrot, intervened one oI the children.
'Yes, it is, said Baltazar.
The doctor shook his head.
'Sure, but he didn`t give you the proper model, he said. 'He didn`t give you a precise order, apart Irom the
Iact that it was to be a large cage Ior jays. Is it not so?
'Well, yes. said Baltazar.
'Well, then there`s no problem, said the doctor. 'There is such a thing as a large cage Ior jays and then
there is this cage. There is no evidence that this is the one you were asked to do.
'But it is this same cage, said Baltazar conIusedly. 'I made it Ior that purpose.
The doctor made an impatient gesture.
'You could make another, said Ursula, looking at her husband, and then the doctor. 'You don`t need to
worry.
'I promised to bring it back Ior my wiIe this aIternoon, said the doctor.
'I`m very sorry, Doctor, said Baltazar. 'But I can`t sell something that`s already been sold.
The doctor shrugged. Wiping the sweat Irom his neck with a handkerchieI, he contemplated the cage in
silence, without shiIting his gaze to a deIinite point, as iI he was looking as ship that had leIt the harbor.
'How much did they give you Ior it?
Baltazar looked at Ursula without responding.
'Sixty pesos, she said.
The doctor continued to stare at the cage.
'It`s very beautiIul, he sighed. 'Extremely beautiIul.
Then, moving toward the door, he began to energetically Ian himselI, smiling, and the memory oI the
episode disappeared Irom his memory Iorever.
'Montiel is very rich, she said.
TruthIully, Jose Montiel wasn`t has rich as he seemed, but had been able to become rich. A Iew blocks away,
in a house Iilled with harnesses where one had never heard oI not being able to purchase something, someone
remained indiIIerent to the novelty oI the cage. His wiIe, tortured by her obsession with death, had shut the doors
and windows aIter lunch and Iell asleep Ior two hours with her eyes open in the darkness oI the room, while Jose
Montiel was napping. She was surprised at the sound oI so many voices. She then opened the door oI the room and
saw a crowd oI people in Iront oI the house, and Baltazar with the cage in the middle oI the crowd, dressed in white
and clean shaven, with a properly nave expression with which the poor arrive at the homes oI the rich.
'What a marvelous thing! exclaimed the wiIe oI Jose Montiel, with a radiant expression, leading Baltazar
inside the house. 'I have never seen anything like it in all my liIe, she said and added, annoyed with the crowd at
the door, 'But we`ll bring it inside beIore they convert the room into a gallery.
Baltazar was not a stranger in Jose Montiel`s house. On several distinct occasions, due to his eIIiciency and
good compliance, he had been called upon to do minor carpentry work. But he had never Ielt at ease among the
wealthy. He rarely thought oI them, oI their ugly and diIIicult wives (or women), oI their tremendous surgical
operations, and he always experienced a Ieeling oI pity Irom them. When he entered their homes, he couldn`t move
without dragging his Ieet.
'Is Pepe home? he asked.
He set the cage down on the dining room table.
'He`s at school, said Jose Montiel`s wiIe. 'But he shouldn`t be long, she said, adding, 'Mr. Montiel is
bathing.
In reality, Jose Montiel had not had time to bathe. |An urgent camphor alcohol rub had called him out to see
what was going on.| He was a very careIul man, who slept without an electric Ian to remain aware oI the sounds oI
the house in his sleep.
'Come look at this beautiIul thing! yelled his wiIe.
Jose Montielburly and hairy, with a towel draped around his necklooked out the bedroom window.
'What`s this?
'Pepe`s cage, said Baltazar.
The wiIe looked at him, perplexed.
'Who`s cage?
'Pepe`s, conIirmed Baltazar, then turning to Jose Montiel, 'Pepe asked that I make it.
Nothing happened in that instant, but Baltazar Ielt as iI someone had opened the bathroom door. Jose
Montiel came out oI the bedroom in his underwear.
'Pepe! he yelled.
'He hasn`t arrived yet, murmured his wiIe, paralyzed.
Pepe appeared in the doorway. He was about twelve years old and had the same curly eyelashes and quiet
character as his mother.
'Come here, said Jose Montiel. 'Did you order this cage to be made?
The child lowered his head. Grabbing him by the hair, Jose Montiel Iorced him to look in his eyes.
'Answer me.
The child bit his lip without replying.
'Montiel, whispered his wiIe.
Jose Montiel dropped the boy and turned to Baltazar with an exalted expression.
'I`m very sorry, Baltazar, he said. 'But you should have consulted me beIore proceeding. You can`t
contract with a minor. As he spoke, his Iace recovered its serenity. He liIted the cage without looking at it and said
to Baltazar, 'Take it away and try to sell it to whoever will buy it, he said. 'And above all, please do not argue with
me. He gave Baltazar a pat on the back and explained, 'The doctor has Iorbidden me to get angry.
The child had remained motionless, without blinking, until Baltazar looked at him, perplexed, with the cage
in his hand. Then he emitted a guttural sound, like the whine oI a dog, and threw himselI on the Iloor screaming.
Jose Montiel looked at him impassively, while his mother tried to calm him.
'Don`t help him, he said. 'Let him break his head on the Iloor, and later put salt and lemon on it so it
inIuriates the Ieeling.
The child screamed without crying, while his mother held him by the wrists.
'Leave him, insisted Jose Montiel.
Baltazar observed the child as iI he were observing the agony oI a contagious animal. It was almost Iour in
the aIternoon.
At this house, in her house, Ursula sang a very old song, while cutting an onion into slices.
'Pepe, said Baltazar.
He approached the child, smiling, and handed him the cage. The boy jumped up, embraced the cage, that was
almost as big as he was, and stood staring at Baltazar through the metallic mesh, without knowing what to say. He
hadn`t shed a tear.
'Baltazar, said Montiel, smoothly, 'I already told you to take it.
'Give it back, said the wiIe to the boy.
'Keep it, said Baltazar, then to Jose Montiel, 'AIter all, that`s what I made it Ior.
Jose Montiel Iollowed him out oI the room.
'I don`t care, said Baltazar. 'I did it solely to give it to Pepe. I didn`t think oI charging anything.
When Baltazar made his way through the spectators that blocked the door, Jose Montiel was yelling Irom the
center oI the room. He was pallid and his eye began to widen.
'Idiot! he yelled. 'Take your useless object. The last thing we need is Ior someone to give orders in my
house. Damn!
In the pool hall, they received Baltazar with a satnding ovation. Up until this moment, he thought he`d made
a cage better than the others, that he had to give it to Jose Montiel`s son to stop him Irom crying, and that none oI
these things was special.
But then he realized that all oI this had a certain importance Ior a lot oI people, and he Ielt a little excited.
'So they gave you IiIty pesos Ior the cage.
'Sixty, said Baltazar.
'There is a ray oI hope! someone said. 'You`re the only one who has succeeded in taking a pile oI money
Irom Don Jose Montiel. This is something to celebrate!
They oIIered him a beer, and Baltazar responded with a round Ior everyone. Like the Iirst time he drank, by
nightIall he was completely drunk, and talking oI a Iabulous project oI a thousand cages, selling each Ior sixty
pesos, and aIter a million cages he`d have sixty million pesos.
'There are many things we must sell to the rich beIore they die, he said, blind Irom drunkenness. 'They are
all sick and about to die. How Iucked are they iI they can`t get angry?
During the two hours, the jukebox played its music without end. They drank to Baltazar`s health, to his luck
and Iortune, and Ior the death oI the wealthy, but when the dinner hour came, it leIt the room empty.
Ursula had waited Ior him until eight, with a plate oI Iried meat covered with slices oI onion. Someone had
told her that her husband was in the pool hall, crazy with happiness, buying beers Ior everyone, but she didn`t
believe it because Baltazar never got drunk. When she went to bed, at nearly midnight, Baltazar was in an
illuminated room, where there were little tables with Iour settings with chairs around them, and an open-air dance
Iloor where the birds (stone curlews) wandered. He had a Ilushed Iace with makeup on, and couldn`t walk a step
more, thinking about how he wanted to sleep with two women in the same bed. He`d spent so much he`d had to
leave his watch as payment, with the promise to pay the next day. A moment later, he was sprawled on the street,
and realized they`d removed his shoes, but he reIused to abandon his dream that was so much happier than his liIe.
The women who passed him on their way to Iive o`clock mass didn`t dare to look, thinking he was dead.