By the time the little girl came out again, Grandfather had a riddle for her:
“When she wears her silvery bonnet,
My lady is passing fair;
But she’s always turning her head about,
Gazing here and there.”
As the child hesitated, Rodrigo pointed to the luminous horizon, and she promptly said: “The Moon.”
“But that’s not playing fair,” protested Rafael.
“Oh, we don’t expect girls to play fair,” laughed his brother.
“But I want to play fair,” urged Pilarica. “And I want to be punished, like Rafael, when I do wrong. Why wasn’t it just as bad in me to disobey Tia Marta and run off with the Alhambra children as it was in Rafael to leave me alone?”
“It’s hard to explain, Sugarplum,” said her father, “but the world expects certain things of a man, courage and faithfulness and honor, and a boy is in training for manhood.”
“And what is a girl in training for?” asked Pilarica.
“To be amiable and charming,” answered Rodrigo promptly.