EL DIABLO EN LA BOTELLA - ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music] It

was a bright afternoon in San Francisco,

not a single cloud disturbed the blue of the

sky. Kiwi, a sailor native to Hawaii,

stood on one of the most

beautiful hills in the city, gazing at its

magnificent buildings. To the islander, they

seemed like dream palaces, especially one in particular, which resembled

a toy, a

precious jewel. He sighed, thinking how

happy their inhabitants must be, not

having to worry about the future as he did.

The Hawaiian moved a little closer to get a

better look and noticed a man

watching him from behind a window.

But the man immediately disappeared, only to

reappear in front of Kiwi under the frame

of the main door. He very kindly

invited him

inside to see the mansion.

[Music]

Kiwi and the owner of the house toured

the sumptuous residence. The Hawaiian

felt speechless before

such magnificence. While they drank

tea in one of the rooms, his host

assured him that if he truly desired it, he

could have a house just as good or even better, with

the candor that some

people from [the Hawaiian] often possess. From the

Pacific islands, the islander explained that a

man as poor as himself could never

aspire to own such a

magnificent room. However, the

homeowner assured him that there was a way

to fulfill his wish immediately. He

rose from his seat and went

to a piece of furniture from which he extracted a small,

opaque glass bottle with a

long neck and a rounded body. In the center of the bottle

shone a light as bright as

fire, resembling the shadow of a

tiny being among the small flames.

The man then placed the bottle on

the table.

After explaining that he had acquired

the bottle for a certain amount of money, he

recounted that a demon lived inside,

granting wishes to each

new owner. Then the man asked

the islander how much money he would be

willing to give to possess the kiwi. He was

the kind of person who tended to

trust almost everyone, and yet the

homeowner's question

seemed almost mocking. His host

then explained that he could

immediately verify if this was true or not; he

only had to make an offer and

then ask the devil in the bottle

to obtain the amount of money he

had just paid for the enchanted object.

However, he clarified here that once

the payment was made and the wish made, he

could not get rid of the bottle except by

selling it at a lower price.

From the moment of purchase,

the demon would grant all his wishes. He would have to

sell it before he

died; otherwise, he would

become the demon's slave for

all eternity, and his soul would suffer

forever in the flames of hell.

[Music]

Despite the terror the

man's words produced in Kiwi's mind,

his curiosity was greater than his fear, and

he offered the other the only 50 dollars he

possessed. He knew he was risking

both his soul and his fortune, but he

was willing to lose the money in

order to unmask an

insolent charlatan. So, he put his 50 dollars in

coins on the table and immediately asked for

another equal amount. He had

n't even finished uttering his

wish when his jacket pocket

felt heavy again with a new

amount of coins. The other said it was

a shame he had bought it for

so little money, as this could This would

cause him future difficulties. When

terror appeared on the face of the

Hawaiian native, the owner of the house

explained that each new owner should sell

the bottle for a lower price than they

had paid for it, as one never

knew if they might need it again in the future.

In that case, it was advisable not to lose

track of it in order to

buy it back if necessary. However,

having bought it for so little money,

Kiwi risked the bottle becoming so cheap that he

could no longer sell it. With his

usual candor, Kiwi

then suggested that he could give it away, but the

other reminded him that the only way to

get rid of the magical object once

acquired was by selling it. In the end, the

man wished him good luck and

accompanied him to the door.

[Music]

Back on his boat, Kiwi, repentant and

gripped by terror for his impulsiveness,

tried to get rid of the object several

times on the way to the dock, but

invariably the bottle with the

diabolical being inside returned to his pocket.

Desperate, he made one last attempt to

free himself and sold it to an antique dealer

for 100 dollars. But since no one can ever

deceive the devil, and the price of

the bottle was now less than 50

dollars, while Kiwi was climbing the

ladder of the ship, feeling

free and happy with his 100 dollars, a

blow to the back of his neck almost made him

fall into the sea. It was the bottle that was

returning to its one and only true owner,

at least for the moment, that is to say, Kiwi, a

30-year-old native of Hawaii.

[Music]

Once aboard the ship with the dreaded

bottle in his hand and terrified,

Kiwi ran to find Opaca, his friend and

coworker on that shipping line.

After explaining his problem, Opaca

showed no fear after

listening to him and, contrary to what

Opaca had expected, offered to

buy it as soon as the Haitian saw

his dreams realized.

Kiwi seemed a little more animated after

hearing his best friend, but during the

return trip to Hawaii, he couldn't stop

thinking that with the acquisition of the

enchanted bottle he had sealed his

fate forever. That's all he

thought. Beloved island, a

messenger went to find Kiwi at his

humble hut and informed him that his uncle

had His uncle had died nine months earlier, and his

only son had followed him by drowning

three months later.

His relative's representative had been

searching for him for some time to deliver the

immense fortune he had inherited, as

his uncle had no other children.

When Kiwi went to tell the opaque man, he

attributed his good fortune to the bottle and immediately

offered to accompany him to the

lawyer to verify the inheritance. If it was true, there was no

doubt that

the bottle was indeed

fulfilling his wishes, and his

dream house seemed within reach.

Some time later, with the money and

land he had inherited, Kiwi

built his dream house on the

Kona coast, in the mountainous region. The

mansion stood on the mountainside

and was visible from the sea. It was

surrounded by a tropical forest whose

trees reached up to touch the clouds. His

garden bordered the black lava terrain

that descended in cliffs to the

pantheon of the island's ancient kings.

In the beautiful garden, there were flowers of

every color of the rainbow, an orchard

of papayas, and other equally

delicate fruits. The trills of seabirds and

land birds filled it with beautiful

sounds. As for the house, it was

three stories with spacious rooms and

surrounded by expansive verandas that

overlooked the sea from all four cardinal points. The

furniture was of the highest quality and design.

Paintings by famous artists, depicting

seascapes and scenes of beautiful

Hawaiian women, hung on the walls of the rooms.

Channels through which light streamed in

produced striking

contrasts with the shaded areas of

the house.

After showing them their new house,

this team dimmed it, and they sat at a

table on the west veranda in front of a

couple of cold drinks that

Kiwi's Chinese servant had served them. The

friends remained silent,

contemplating the sunset over the sea

until Kiwi asked his

companion if he already believed he had achieved his

dream. Kiwi replied that he couldn't

put it into words. His friend

then brought up the subject of the

bottle, immediately stating that, being a

man of his word, he was willing to

help him get rid of the magical object

by buying it now, and thus also

fulfill his dreams, which consisted of

acquiring a line of

Commercial navigation to do business throughout

the Pacific. No, Paca put two

twenty-dollar bills on the table, but before

closing the deal, he commented that since the

inheritance matter could be the

result of something very natural, he asked his

friend if he would like to see the devil in the

bottle and convince himself.

Kiwi went to get the bottle, returned with

it, and almost humorously exclaimed, "Let's see,

Mr. Devil, let us see you!" Without

more than a second passing, the little

devil emerged from his prison, just long

enough for them to see him, and like a

lizard, he slithered swiftly back

into the bottle. The two friends were

petrified.

When twilight died and

night fell, neither of them had

said another word. Finally, in Cusco, he handed

the bills to his companion, picked up

the bottle, and said in a fearful whisper, "

I am a man of my word," and left. Some time

later, Kiwi learned from his

friend that he too had

fulfilled his dream and had promptly escaped

the bottle. From that day on,

Kiwi began to enjoy his freedom and

his possessions. He made use of every

room in the house and He would walk

his lands very early

one Sunday morning. He decided to go

to the beach. It was a beautiful day,

cloudless. As he descended the

hill, a figure bathing in the

sea took shape as he drew closer. He

knew the beautiful girl

bathing in the sea was named Cocu, the one with

eyes like stars. From the moment he

saw her, his heart soared

as high and as swiftly as a bird. But

he also filled the

young woman's imagination as she listened to Kiwi's voice,

like the foam of the waves caressing the

beach.

In shock, she wondered what was still possible, how she could

abandon her father and mother.

Those chestnut-colored eyes

signified the end of her journey.

[Music]

The fame of Kiwi's wealth had

spread throughout the island, so the

engagement between Ico and Cuba to

announce their wedding took place

quickly. After the

celebratory meal given by the

girl's father, Kiwi returned home

singing and whistling along the way, for

great was the happiness that filled

her heart. Once at the house, Kiwi

prepared to Taking a bath to relax his

nerves and think of his beloved, he entered the

bathroom and let the water run

to fill the tub. The Chinese servant,

always attentive to his master's needs,

stayed near the door and listened to

him whistling and singing,

overwhelmed with joy for his love of Cuba,

until suddenly the singing ceased and

silence heavily filled

the house.

[Music]

As he undressed, Kiwi discovered on

his body a stain like the

shadow of lichen on a rock. He had

seen such stains before. He immediately

knew he had contracted the Chinese disease,

leprosy.

[Music]

Kiwi thought about the bottle. He would have to

buy it again if he intended to

marry Cuba,

so without wasting any time, he told his

girlfriend that he had to leave for

business reasons. The next day he went to Qian,

in search of the opaque. [

Music]

Three days later, he found his friend

on a Maui dock preparing to

embark. The pata advised him, "Here I am going to

look for a man in a maloka, and who,

according to his calculations..." It must be the one who now

possessed the devil in the bottle.

When Kiwi arrived at the street his

friend had indicated, he recognized all the

signs that betrayed the presence of the

magical object: a newly planted garden

surrounding an exquisite mansion in a

poor neighborhood, and electric light shining

in every room. Kiwi

introduced himself to the owner of the house and bluntly

explained the reason for his visit.

The other man was overjoyed at the

possibility of getting rid of the demon

trapped in the bottle, but he told

Kiwi that when the object had come

to him, it had already passed through so many hands

that now it only cost five cents.

He listened anxiously to how he

felt about returning to his

beloved's arms and marrying her as soon as possible, so he

left immediately. It wasn't until

after his wedding to

Cocoa that terror began to invade

Kiwi's soul. The sadness and the abyss of

her husband began to fill

the newlywed with doubts. One night, when the

lovers lay in their bed without touching each other and

in silence,

the husband broke down in tears and told

Cocoa the story of the bottle and his

current situation. She felt she

could never get rid of the diabolical object

since on the island there was no coin

smaller than five cents, but Cocu,

moved by the sacrifice of love

her husband had made, explained that

on other Pacific islands

there were goods that could be

bought for a penny.

So they announced a new

honeymoon and set sail for

Tahiti.

[Music] The

news of the diabolical bottle had

traveled many Pacific islands and

Tahiti was no exception, although it was a

fact that many doubted, giving it the

status of a legend. Cocu and Kiwi,

anxious to be free of the bottle,

tried desperately to sell it,

but people looked at them suspiciously and

acted accordingly. The couple

got used to the Tahitian,

which had similarities to the

Hawaiian, but even so they couldn't find a

buyer. They wandered the streets throughout

the day and returned tired and

sad to their temporary home. At

first, they prayed together to get rid of

the evil and regain God's favor,

but soon they began to fight, and Kiwi began

frequenting the taverns where he met

an old man The boatswain she had

met when he hired himself out as a

sailor on the ships of her island

was bad company. He was

known for his scandals and drunken

binges. He drank as long as he had

money in his pockets and was stubborn and

violent. At the end of almost all his drinking binges,

when the problems started,

Cocu languished and lost all interest

in the matter of the bottle. The pain she

felt for the mistreatment she now

gave her husband seemed enough to make her

forget the other thing. However, her

love for Kiwi had not diminished despite

the course of things. Her same

passionate feeling gave her the strength

to understand that if he had sold

his soul for her, now it would be her turn.

After Kiwi fell into a

deep sleep after one of his drunken

binges, she went to get some

pennies and left the house

in the direction of the beggars' area. She

approached an old man who made her feel

comfortable. She gave him three pennies and

took him to her house so that he could buy

Kiwi the bottle and then

give it to her.

Cocu had gone to bed in the other

room of the temporary dwelling so

that So that her husband wouldn't know of her absence

and would think she was upset with him, she had

n't been able to sleep the rest of the

night thinking about what she had just

done. She was now the owner of the

bottle and would have to get rid of it

without her husband noticing.

When Kiwi woke up the

next morning, she thought she had dreamed about

selling the evil object, but when she went

to the corner where she kept it, she knew it was

n't a dream and went to find

her wife to tell her.

[Music]

For a few days, everything went back to normal,

and the couple found

happiness again in each other's arms.

But qq/ha suffered in silence, and Kiwi

thought she had stopped loving him. She didn't

understand why she wasn't able to

rejoice in her newfound

freedom. Then she deduced that what she

needed from her wife to be

completely happy again was to return to her

beloved island where she would see her family. With

this comfort, Kiwi decided to buy the

return tickets and surprise him

with the two tickets in her hand. Kiwi

slipped into their house without making a sound,

walking on tiptoe to

Surprised, Cocoa heard her sobbing

in the kitchen. He went there with the

same silent demeanor and

discovered his beloved trying to stifle

her tears with her hands over her face,

while the bottle and its demon

rested on the kitchen table. Kiwi

immediately understood the reason for

his wife's sadness and felt so

overwhelmed by her sacrifice that, not knowing

what to do or say, he left the house

as quietly as he had entered.

[Music]

Kiwi had gone to the tavern to find the

old boatswain. They had been

drinking almost nonstop for several hours. Towards the end

of the night, Kiwi, drunk as he was, poured out

all his bitterness

related to the devil in the bottle to the old man.

The boatswain laughed heartily and

preferred to think that Kiwi was trying to

pull his leg with the story of the

bottle rather than believe such a

tale. But the time came to close

the tavern, and the old man insisted on going somewhere else to

continue drinking. When

the young man refused to continue

accompanying him on his escapades, the

boatswain threw down a challenge: "Is it

true that your wife is..." Owner of

a magic bottle, take me to your house and I'll

buy it. Kiwi tried to dissuade him,

reminding him that if he bought it and died

before he could sell it, his soul would

belong to that demon for all

eternity. He insisted that his duty as a

friend was to prevent him from

forgetting the misfortune that

possessing the object could bring him. Kiwi

also reminded him of his own

sufferings. It was all in vain. The old man

wanted to keep drinking, and the

magic bottle would grant him his wish.

[Music]

In the early morning, through the deserted streets

of the city, after saying goodbye to Kiwi

Cocoa, the boatswain walked, stumbling

slightly, with a bottle of

liquor in his right hand and in his

left another of opaque glass,

slender neck and a round belly in the

center of which a light bright like fire could be seen. [

Music]

[Applause]

[Music]