"But faith and reason say so too, dear Nela. Your imagination makes you believe a number of foolish things, but by degrees I will show you your errors, and you will have true and right ideas about everything in this world and the other."
"Aye, aye! I know, lessons at three for a penny!—And you wanted to make me believe that the sun stands still and the earth spins round and round it! How can you know, you who cannot see. Merciful Heaven! May I die on the spot, if the earth is not as steady as a rock and the sun running on. Señorito mio, I do not set up for learning, but I have spent many hours of the day and night in looking at the sky, and I know how the machine works.—The earth is below and full of islands, some large and some small. The sun comes up on this side and goes down out there. It is God Almighty's palace."
"Foolish child!"
"But why not? Ah! you have never seen a fine day and clear sky; why, child, you could fancy blessing was dropping down from it. I do not think there could be wicked people—nobody could be wicked—if they would only turn up their faces and see the great eye that looks down upon us."
"Your religion is full of superstition, my little Nela. I will teach you something better."
"Nobody has taught me anything," said María very simply. "But I myself, whoever may object, have found out in my own head a great many ideas that comfort me, and so when a good idea occurs to me, I say: 'Of course, it must be so; it cannot be otherwise.' At night, when I am alone at home, I wonder what will become of us when we die, and I think how much the Holy Virgin loves us."
"Yes, she is our loving Mother."
"And I look up at the sky and I feel her close over my head, just as when you go up to any one, you feel the warmth of their breath. She looks at us night and day through all the lovely things there are in the world—do not laugh at me."
"Those lovely things...?"
"Are her eyes, of course. Oh! you would understand it if you had eyes yourself. You have not seen a white cloud, a tree, a flower, running water, a little child, a little lamb, the sparkling dew, the moon sailing across the sky, and the stars, which are the eyes of the good men who are dead...."