Chapter 7 father and son

Author: Calvino Translated by: Ruan Yifeng In our area, there are very few bulls.There were no pastures for grazing, no large fields to plow, only some fruit trees and scattered patches of land so hard that a hoe could break them.Bulls and cows are by no means suitable here; they are too large and gentle for our deep and narrow valley country.Animals suitable for climbing among the rocks here must be lean, soft-boned animals, such as mules and goats. The Scalasas bull was the only one in the valley; he was not unsuitable, for he was small and strong enough for a load, and he was stronger and more docile than any mule.It's called Motebello.The Scalasas and Sons depended on it for a living, delivering sacks of grain to the mill, palm fronds to the exporter, and manure to the syndicate.

One day Motebello was trudging along, with panniers full of loads, olive wood to sell to customers in town.It has a ring pierced through its black and soft nostrils, and a rope hangs on the ring, almost hanging down to the ground. The other end of the rope is held in Naning's shaking hands. He is Baptistin Scalasas His son is as thin as his father (in fact, Scalasas is a nickname, which means "grape shelf").They were an odd couple: the short-legged bull with the broad, low, toad-like belly, carefully carrying his load; and the Scalasas, with his long face, short red hair bristling upright, and his wrist cut short With every step he kicked, his knees swayed twice as much as others. When the strong wind blew, his trousers bulged like a sail, as if there was nothing inside.

This morning, spring is in the air: a morning every year that suddenly reminds people to rediscover feelings that have been lost for months.Motebello, who is usually obedient, is also restless now.Before going out, Naning went to the cowshed to pick it up, but found that it was not there; it ran into the field, got lost, and its eyeballs kept wandering.At this moment, Motebello often walked for a while and stopped for a while, raised the nostril that was pierced with a ring, let out a low growl, and sucked in the air.At this time, Nanning would pull the rope and grunt in a language that only cows could understand.

It seems that Motebello has something on his mind; he had a dream last night in which he left the cowshed and got lost in the field early in the morning: something in the dream came from another animal he had already seen. The thing of the forgotten world; that world has the broad prairie, and the prairie is full of cows, beyond counting, and they come calling towards it.It saw itself, too, in the midst of the cows, running around them as if looking for something.But it was pulled back, and there was a red hook in its flesh that kept it out of the cows.Now Motebello felt the pain of the red hook as he staggered forward.

Along the way, they encountered little boys in white jumpers with gold armbands and little girls dressed like brides; today was the day they received communion for the first time.Whenever Nanning saw them, the depths of his consciousness would become dark, it was a kind of anger and hatred that had been accumulated for years.Perhaps it was because he knew his children would never be blessed with white jumpers like this when they took First Communion.They must be worth a lot of money!A furious thought seized him, and his child must be satisfied.He seemed to have seen his youngest son in a white sailor suit with gold-rimmed bands around his arms, and his youngest daughter in a long skirt that dragged on the floor and a veil, standing together in the shadowy church where the candlelight was flickering. inside.

The bull snorted.It still couldn't forget its dream. It saw those cows moving fast, as if they had already run out of the range of its memory, and it desperately chased after them.Suddenly, another huge bull appeared among the cows standing on the hillside; it was red all over, like the mark of the wound, and its horns were like two scythes reaching to the sky. It roared and rushed towards Motebello . In the small square in front of the church, the children receiving communion watched the excitement around the bull. "A cow! A cow!" they cried.Here, cattle are not easy to see.The bold ones even stretched out their hands to touch its belly, while the sensible ones yelled: "This is a steer! Look, this is a steer!" Nanin scolded and waved his fists to drive them away.Seeing that he was so thin and sloppy, these children made fun of him and called out his nickname: "Grape shelf! Grape shelf!"

Nanning felt that his anger and resentment over the years were getting stronger and more painful.He remembered that when he first received communion as a child, some children who dressed in this way made fun of it, not to him, but to his father, who also said he was thin and sloppy, as he himself heard now.Though the years passed, his violent sense of shame at the thought of his father watching the children dance around him, step on rose petals in line, and yell "grape racks" was still as sharp.That disgrace had stayed with him all his life, made him hate every look, every laugh.It was all his father's fault; what had he inherited from him but slovenliness, dullness, and the clumsy manners of his emaciated frame?He suddenly realized that he hated his father for the shame he had brought upon him as a child, for the shame and embarrassment his whole life had caused him.Then he was afraid again, whether his own children would be ashamed of him, as he was of his father, and one day they would look at him with the same loathing he now looked at his father.He made up his mind: "I'll buy them a new suit myself for their first Communion, in fine flannel. A white linen hat to go with it, and a nice tie. My wife has to pick out a new wool dress too, big enough for her to wear when she's pregnant. We'll be walking together, all dressed up, to this church square. And get ice cream from the ice cream truck ’” But even if they bought ice cream, even if they went out into the street in their best clothes, he still had a craving he didn’t know how to satisfy, a desire to do something—like spend money and show off—if only it could Make up for that shame that has been with him since childhood.

When he got home, he led the bull back to the barn and unloaded the rack.Then he went to dinner, where his wife and children and old Baptistine were already drinking bean soup at the table.Old "grape stand" Baptistine was picking up the pods from his palm, sucking them out, and throwing the empty pods away.Nanning didn't listen to what they were saying. "Kids have to go to church," he said.His wife looked up at him with a weary face, her hair still uncombed. "Where's the money to buy them clothes?" "They must have beautiful new clothes," Naning went on, without looking at her at all. "White sailor suits with gold armbands for boys, and bridal dresses for girls, with tulips and white gauze."

His wife and his father looked at him with their mouths open. "Where's the money?" they repeated. "My own suit is a fine white flannel suit." Naning continued, "Your suit is a woolen suit, which is big enough for you to wear when you are pregnant." Suddenly his wife understood. "Ah! You found a buyer for the Gushe land." It was a little piece of land they had inherited, all stones and shrubs, which brought them nothing but taxes.Nanning was very angry at them thinking like that; he continued to say those ridiculous things in a rage. "No, I didn't find a buyer. But we still have to buy all those new clothes," he insisted stubbornly, keeping his eyes on his plate.But everyone else is now hopeful; if someone actually wants to buy the Gushe land, then these are all possible.

"When I get the land money," said Baptistine Sr., "I'll be able to do the hernia operation." Nanning developed a strong resentment towards him. "Hope it kills you, you and your damned hernia!" Everyone else is looking at him now, wondering if he's crazy. Meanwhile, in the bullpen, the bull Motebello broke free from the ropes, pushed through the fence and charged into the field.Suddenly it rushed into the house again, stopped, and let out a long, hopeless wail.Cursing, Nanning stood up and drove it back to the cowshed. When he re-entered, everyone kept their mouths shut, even the children.After a while, the little boy asked, "Dad, when will you buy me a sailor suit?"

Nanning raised his eyes and looked at him, the eyes were exactly the same as those of his father Baptistine. "Never!" he growled. He slammed the door shut and went to bed.