| HOW COULD SHE GIVE THEM UP? |
How could she give them up? How could she take them to Juan to be sold? No, no! She must keep them. She must keep them and dance every day to their rippling music.
But Juan had given her money, for which she had promised to bring him the castanets. And it would never do to give Juan her own instead, for that would be cheating.
But there were other lovely souvenirs in her chest at home. Perhaps Juan would as soon have one of these!
Pilar went home, and once again she knelt down beside the wooden chest. Out came each precious souvenir. Which should she take to Juan in place of the castanets?
If those souvenirs could have spoken, what strangely wonderful stories they could have told!
Pretend, for fun, that they can speak, and let us listen to their ancient voices.
The Sharp Knife From Toledo
"I am a knife—a very sharp knife. I was made in Toledo, which is said to be the oldest town in Spain.
"Toledo sits proudly upon a granite throne, like some weatherbeaten queen. The River Tagus (tā´gŭs) laps about her feet as though to wash away the dust of ages.