'He did not see her at all, O my son, but we told him we had a
beautiful mule, worth any money, which we were anxious to dispose
of, as a donkey suited our purpose better. We are afraid that when
he sees her he will repent his bargain, and if he calls off within
four-and-twenty hours, the exchange is null, and the justicia will
cause us to restore the ass; we have, however, already removed her
to our huerta out of the town, where we have hid her below the
ground. Dios sabe (God knows) how it will turn out.'
When the man and woman saw the lame, foundered, one-eyed creature,
for which and the reckoning they had exchanged their own beautiful
borrico, they stood confounded. It was about ten in the morning,
and they had not altogether recovered from the fumes of the wine of
the preceding night; at last the man, with a frightful oath,
exclaimed to the innkeeper, 'Restore my donkey, you Gypsy villain!'
'It cannot be, brother,' replied the latter, 'your donkey is by
this time three leagues from here: I sold her this morning to a
man I do not know, and I am afraid I shall have a hard bargain with
her, for he only gave two dollars, as she was unsound.
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