THE CASCARONE BALL
“THE old white hen has stolen her nest, and Donna Maria says we must go and hunt for the eggs this morning,” said Shecol to Yappa one day.
“All right,” said Yappa. “But why doesn’t Donna Maria let that hen have some littlechickens? We have brought her so many eggs lately.”
“Don’t you know why Donna Maria wants so many eggs these days?” asked Shecol.
“No,” said Yappa.
“Why, we are going to have a cascarone ball here next week,” said Shecol.
“Oh, goody!” said Yappa, clapping her hands.
They started off on a run and hunted everywhere for the nests,—down under the bushes, around the sheds, and out in the garden. At last, when they had given up in despair and were running home through the orchard, the old white hen jumped up with a startled cackle. She was almost under their feet.
“Be careful, Yappa. You will step on the nest,” said Shecol.
The children stopped short and began to peep about in the long grass. Soon they saw a little hollow with eleven eggs in it. Shecol had brought a basket with him, and they put the eggs into that and then carried them back carefully to the house.
That evening the Indians all gathered at Oshda’s house. Putsha brought out a basket filled with eggs. Putsha took one and said, “Watch me, Shecol and Yappa, so that you can do it, too.”
She made a hole in each end of the egg; then she put her mouth to one hole and blew all the inside part of the egg out into a dish.
While Putsha was blowing the egg, Colla ran up to the Robles’ house. Soon she came back carrying a large bowl of perfumed water in her hands. Putsha put the eggshell into the bowl, and the perfumed water ran into the shell through the holes in the ends. When it was partly full, Putsha lifted the egg out and dropped some melted wax on each of the holes in the ends. In a few minutes the wax hardened, and Yappa held in her hand what seemed to be an egg. But it was really an eggshell half filled with perfumed water.
“Won’t the people smell sweet when they get these eggs broken on their heads!” said Yappa.
Putsha, Colla, and the children worked hard that evening before they had all the eggs blown and filled.
The next night Putsha brought out another basket of eggs, but instead of perfumed water to fill them with, Donna Maria sent a basket of gold and silver paper, cut into tiny bits. The paper was a brittle, crackly kind that glistened in the light. Some of these eggs they colored red, some blue, some red and yellow, and some were spotted.
After the eggs were ready, the cooking began, and for two or three days the Indian women were busy at that. The Robles had invited all their friends from San José, and from all the country around. They knew that their guests would be very hungry after riding so far.
Let’s go to meet them“Let’s go to meet them.”
“Let’s go to meet them.”
“Let’s go to meet them.”
The ball was to be on Wednesday evening, Wednesday morning Shecol heard a great noise of shouting and laughing toward the south.
“They’re coming, Yappa. Let’s go to meet them,” he called.
When the children had run out a little way, they could see some people coming—about twenty-five in the party. These were the Spanish guests and their Indian servants. They were having great fun, for the men were fine riders. They could bend down from their saddles and pick flowers from the ground as they galloped past.
“I wonder what they are doing when they ride up against each other,” said Yappa. As they came nearer she saw that they were smearing each other’s faces with bright colors. Such looking people as they were! But as that was all part of the fun, no one cared.
The Robles family took their friends inside the house to wash their faces, while some of the Indian servants came to where Oshda lived.
“Oh, grandpa, here’s Yisoo’s son,” called Yappa to Docas as one of the Indians stopped at their door.
Yappa could not stay to listen to what they said, for she had to hurry and help her mother with supper. The long tables were set out in an arbor near the house.
In the evening came the ball, for which thelargest room in the house had been cleared. Yappa and Shecol climbed up outside one of the windows where they could see everything that went on.
As soon as the people began to gather, came the fun of smashing the eggs on each other’s heads. Don Secundini Robles was standing in the crowd talking to one of his friends from San José, when Donna Maria came up behind him and smashed an eggshell filled with perfumed water on his head. Then she jumped back among the crowd before he could turn round to see who did it.
Every one laughed, for the scented water was running down all over his face and dripping off the end of his nose. Soon the guests looked as if they had silver and gold hair, so many of the paper cascarones had been broken on their heads.
By and by all the eggs were gone. Donna Maria saw Shecol sitting in the window.
“Run and get some napkins and some water,” she called to him.
“Come, Yappa,” he said, jumping down from the window and holding up his arms to help his sister. They ran to the kitchen and came back loaded. Putsha helped them carry in the pails of water.
As soon as the guests inside saw the water, they gave a shout. They dipped the napkins inthe water and began to slap each other with the wet napkins.
Antonio, one of the men, slipped out and came back with a glass tumbler, and after that when any one slapped him with a napkin he threw a tumbler of water at him. By and by he threw a tumbler of water squarely in the face of Pedro. Pedro seized the bucket of water and threw the whole of it over Antonio. Everybody in the room laughed at Pedro and Antonio, and the water-throwing stopped.
By this time every one was tired, so they rested a little. Then the musicians started to play, and the real dance began.
Putsha and Shecol and Yappa went to bed soon after the dancing began, but the Spaniards danced until morning.