“If he isn’t trying to gild himself on the inside!” she cried. “Did you ever see such sinful pride!” And then she made him swallow a large piece of red pepper because she was afraid the paint would disagree with him.
The red rooster seemed depressed for a long time after that; but whether it was because of the paint, or the pepper, or being so awfully dressed up, I cannot say. His bill was gilded because he had dipped it in the gold paint, so they gilded his legs to match. Then they tied a white tissue-paper wreath with long streamers around his neck. [p 31] They tied a red one on the little white hen. They tried to decorate the turkey, too, but he was in no mood for it, and gobbled and pecked at them so savagely that Doña Teresa had to tie up his head in a rag!
They stuck some red tissue-paper flowers in Tonto’s wreath, and tied red tissue-paper streamers to the goat’s horns. They put a green ruff around the cat’s neck, and a red one on the dog; but the dog ran at once to the river and waded in and got it all wet, and the color ran out and dyed his coat, and the ruff fell off, before they were even ready to start.
IV
At last a gong sounded from the big house.
The gong was the signal for the procession to start, and the moment they heard it, the people began pouring out of their cabins, and getting their animals together to drive toward the place where the blessing was to be.
[p 32]
Doña Teresa and Tita threw their rebozos over their heads, and Tonio put on his sombrero. Then Doña Teresa untied the turkey’s legs and took him in her arms; and though his head was still tied in the cloth, he gobbled like everything.
Tita took the little white hen on one arm, and her kitten on the other, and Tonio led the donkey, with Jasmin following behind.
They were all ready to start, when Doña Teresa cried out, “Upon my soul! We nearly forgot the goat! Surely she’s needing a blessing as much as the worst of them.”