Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/483

Rh Before going to the castle, the king had taken the precaution to have the great cellars filled with every kind of edible,—corn, rice, frijoles, wine, cheese, ham,—and also huge chicken-coops, filled with fine fat chickens.

Here, after seeing that the two women could not suffer for want of food, he left them and returned to his own palace.

In the course of time, a son was born to the queen, whom she named Gaitagileno; and day by day he grew more sprightly and beautiful; and it was soon made clear to the mother and grandmother that he was a boy of remarkable intellectual strength. But ere long, like the birds, he wanted his liberty, and could not believe that the world was no larger than the limits of the castle.

When he attained the age of seven years, he took two ropes and, with the cunning ingenuity of a boy, lassoed the water-spouts in the court, to the house. There were other spouts that opened out upon the street.

Gaitagileno climbed up on the first lasso, and from there he went over the top of the house, and then lassoed the front water-spout, from which he made his descent to the ground, and escaped from the castle.

After this, he ran with all his might along the highways and country roads, asking every one he met if he could point out to him the way to the king's palace.

As might be expected, the shock was so great to his mother that she came near dying of grief for her lost boy, and so continuous was her weeping that she became blind.

Gaitagileno had heard that the king was his father, so he was willing to risk and suffer a great deal that he might be the means of finally releasing his mother from her long imprisonment.

After a perilous journey, footsore and weary, he at last reached the king's palace. He knocked violently on the door, and when it was opened to him, the servants refused to admit one so poorly dressed, for he was attired completely in coarse brown clothing. The doors closed on the poor boy, but he was undaunted, and again began knocking. On opening the door again, they told him the king