El alacrán de fray Gómez

written by Ricardo Palma
[I] pp. 134 – 142

There was an expression, so the narrator says, that ¡Esto vale tanto como el alacrán de fray Gómez! (135). How did this expression come about? From a miracle-working priest friar named Gómez…

I
He was born religious and worked in a hospital as a youth. But more importantly, he performs miracles and thought nothing about them. For example, a horseback rider fell to the ground, and everyone was already calling for the moribund holy oils to be put on him. Fray Gómez walks over, puts his cord in his mouth, and says three prayers. The man walks away as if nothing had happened. He was to be put on shoulders and paraded about, but he snuck away. As to the validity of the event, Yo ni lo niego ni lo afirmo. Puede que sí y puede que no (137).

In another instance, San Francisco Solano has no appetite. After a while, he says the only thing he would eat was un par de pejerreyes (138), half-jokingly. Fray Gómez has some up his sleeve, which he gives to San Francisco Solano. And it cured his broken appetite.

On his tombstone, it says, fue su vida un continuo milagro (138).

II
A traveling salesman approaches fray Gómez in his room. He says he is a good, hard worker, but lacks money for his business. He comes asking for a loan; with it, his business would prosper. The man’s faith believes that the friar can find him some money, even though the friar is not allowed to have any. The friar takes a scorpion, puts it into paper, and tells the man to sell it. When he does, it emerges with magnificent emeralds and rubies for its eyes. The man sells it for less than offered and gets the money he needs. His business prospers; he buys and returns the scorpion. The fray takes the scorpion and puts it on the window where it continues to walk, as it had before.