tales

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Qui no cull un fesol no sopa quan vol 'Who does not pick a bean does not choose when to have dinner'

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Al poble de Font-fubí, de l'Alt Penedès, hi havia un casinyot anomenat el Romeu de Santa Maria. L'amo tenia un minyó que l'ajudava a conrear la terra. Un dia, l'amo digué al servent que collís de terra un fesol que hi havia. La mongeta semblà poca cosa al minyó, i no la collí perquè cregué que no valia la pena d'ajupir-se; l'amo, però, la va collir i la va sembrar. De la petita mongeta, en nasqué una gemada mongetera. El Romeu sembrà totes les mongetes d'aquella mongetera, i, durant diversos anys, va fer el mateix, o sia, sembrar tantes mongetes com collia. Al darrer any de la sembra, va fer una enorme collita de mongetes. L'any següent, la collita es perdé, i el Romeu vengué la vella collita a preu molt alt, i amb aquella transacció obtingué un cabal tan important que el convertí en un dels primers hisendars penedesencs. El Romeu cridà el minyó que no volgué collir un fesol, li retragué la seva desobediència i li explicà que tota la seva riquesa li venia d'aquella mongeta que ell no havia volgut collir, i, per malversador i poc estalviador, el va acomiadar de casa seva i li va dir la frase que ha estat proverbial: - Qui no cull un fesol no sopa quan vol.

(Amades, 1982, I:1138).

'Who does not pick a bean does not choose when to have dinner

At the village called Font-rubí, at the region of Alt Penedès, there was a shanty named Romeu de Santa Maria. The owner had a lad who helped him to farm the lands. One day, the owner told the servant to pick a bean that was on the floor. The bean seemed trivial to the lad, who did not pick it because he considered it was not worth to bend down for it. The owner, though, picked it and sowed it. From the small bean, a lush bean grew.

Romeu sowed all the beans from that plant and did the same during several years, in other words, he sowed as many beans as he picked. The following year, the harvest was lost, so Romeu sold the old harvest at a very high price and got such an important fortune with that transaction that he became one of the first landowners at Penedès. Romeu called the lad who rejected to pick one bean, reproached his disobedience, and explained to him that all his wealth came from that bean he rejected to pick. He fired him for being an embezzler and so little thrifty, and told him the sentence that has become proverbial: “Who does not pick a bean does not choose when to have dinner”.'

Si t'encerto t'endevino 'If I guess you I get you right'

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La tradició ens parla d'un metge molt famós que com més malalts visitava més complexa veia la ciència mèdica; cada dia se sentia més ignorant en l'art de medicar. Convençut que els malalts es guarien sols i que l'acció del metge era nul·la, un dia redactà quatre mil receptes dels tipus més variats i diversos, una per a cada un dels quatre mil mals que segons les quatre mil opinions dels seus mestres podien existir, i les posà totes dintre la cartera. En visitar un pacient el subjectava a un estret interrogatori per donar a la visita el màxim to de serietat, després obria la cartera i li allargava la primera recepta que li venia a mà mentre deia: - Si t'encerto, t'endevino. I la tradició afegeix que, malalt que visitava, malalt que guaria. (Amades, 1982, I:1120).

'If I guess you I get you right

Tradition tells us about a well known doctor who the more ill people he visited, the more complex he saw the medical science; every day he felt more ignorant on the art of medicating. Convinced that the patients were healing alone and that his action was useless, one day he wrote four thousand receipts of the most varied kinds, one for each of the four thousand illnesses that could exist according to the four thousand opinions of his masters, and put them all inside his bag. When visiting a patient, that underwent a strict interrogation to give to the visit the most serious tone. Then he opened the bag, passed the first receipt he found over to the patient while he said: -If I guess you, I get you right. And the tradition tells that patient that he visited, patient that was healed.’

(Amades, 1982, I:1120)