This is the story of Lazy Peter, a shameless rascal of a fellow who went from village to village making mischief. One day Lazy, Peter learned that a fair was being held in a certain village. He knew that a large crowd of country people would be there selling horses, cows, and other farm animals and that a large amount of money would change hands. Peter, as usual, needed money, but it was not his custom to work for it. So he set out for the village, wearing a red three-cornered hat. The first thing he did was to stop at a stand and leave a big bag of money with the owner, asking him to keep it safely until he returned for it. Peter told the man that when he seturned for the bag of money, one corner of his hat would be turned down, and that was how the owner of the stand would know him. ‘The man promised to do this, and Peter thanked him. Then he went to the drugstore in the village and gave the druggist another bag of money, asking him to keep it until he returned with one corner of his hat turned up. The druggist agreed, and Peter left. He went to the church and asked the priest to keep another bag of money and to retiirn it to him only when he came back with one corer of his hat twisted to the side. The priest said fine, he would do this. Having disposed of three bags of money, Peter went to the edge of the village where the farmers were buying and selling horses and cattle. He stood and watched for a while until he decided that one of the farmers must be very rich indeed, fo# he had sold all of his horses and cows. Moreover, the man seemed to be a miser who was never satisfied but wanted always more and more moncy. This was Peter’s man! He stopped beside him. It was raining; and instead of keeping his hat on to protect his headphe took it off and wrapped it carefully in his cape, as though it were very valuable, It puzzied the farmer to see Peter stand there with the rain falling on his head and his fiat wrapped in his cape. After a while he asked, “Why do you take better care of your hat than of your head?” ! Peter saw that the farmer had swallowed the bait, and smiling to himself, he said that the hat was the most valuable thing in all the world and that was why he took care to protect it from the rain, The farmer's curiosity increased at this reply, and he asked Peter what was so valuable about a red three- cornered hat. Peter told him that the hat worked for him; thanks to it, he never had to work for a living because whenever he put the hat on with one of the corners turned over people just handed him any money he asked for. LAZY PETER AND HIS THREE-CORNERED HAT 837‘The farmer was amazed and very interested in what Peter said. As money-getting was his greatest ambition, he told Peter that he couldn’t believe a word of it until he saw the hat work with his own eyes. Peter assured him that he could do this, for he, Peter, was hungry, and the hat was about to start working, since he had no money with which to buy food. With this, Peter took out his three-comered hat, turned one corner down, put it on his head, and told the farmer to come along and watch the hat work. Peter took the farmer to the stand, The minute the owner looked up, he handed over the bag of money Peter had left with him, The farmer stood with his mouth open in astonishment, He didn’t know what to make of it. But of one thing he was sure—he hhad to have that hat! Peter smiled and asked if he was satisfied, and the farmer said yes, he was. Then he asked Peter if he would sell the hat, This was just what Lazy Peter wanted, but he said no, he was not interested in selling the har because with it, he never had to work and he always had money. The farmer said he thought that was unsound reasoning because thieves could easily steal a hat, and wouldn't it be safer to invest in a farm with cattle? So they talked, and Pever pretended to be impressed with the farmer's arguments. Finally he said yes, that he saw the point, and if the farmer would make him a good offer, he ‘would sell the hat. The farmer, who had made up his mind co have the hat at any price, offered a thousand pesos. Peter laughed aloud and said he could make as much as that by just putting his hat on two or three times. As they continned haggling over the price, the farmer grew more and more determined to worDs have that hat, until, finally, he offered all he had realized from the sale of his horses and cows—ten thousand pesos in gold. Peter still pretended not to be interested, but he chuckled to himself, thinking of the trick he was about to play on the farmer. All right, he said, it was a deal, Then the farmer grew cautious and told Peter that before he handed over the ten thousand pesos, he would like to see the hat work again, Peter said that was fair enough. He put-on the hat with one of the corners turned up and went with the farmer to the drugstore. The moment the druggist saw the tutned-up corner, he handed over the money Peter had left with him. At this the farmer was convinced and very eager to set the hat to work for himself, He.took out a bag, containing ten thousand pesos in gold and was about to hand it to Peter when he had a change of heart and thought better of it. He asked Peter please to excuse him, but he had to see the hat work just once more before he could part with his gold. Peter said that that was fair enough, but now he would have to ask the farmer to give him the fine horse he was riding as well as the ten thousand pesos in gold, The farmer’s interest in the hat revived, and he said it was a bargain! Lazy Peter put on his hat again, doubled over one of the corners, and told the farmer that since he still seemed to have doubts, this time he could watch the hat work in the church. The farmer was delighted with this, his doubts were stilled, and he fairly beamed thinking of all the money he was going to make once that hat was his. They entered the church. The priest was hearing confession, but when he saw Peter 1. sacristy (ek’r¥-s2)- in a church, a room where acted objects are stored. (page 845) unsound (Gn sound’ ad nat fee from faut or weakness: not sensible inaccurate "FO. haggle (n'a) v to argue about terms or pies bargain xNow 338 priceless (prs) a) oo valuable to be measured by price (page 845)with his hat, he said, “Wait here, my son,” and he went to the sacristy" and returned with the bag of money Peter had left with him. Peter thanked the priest, then knelt and asked for a blessing before he left, The farmer had seen everything and was fully convinced of the hat’s magic powers. As soon as they left the church, he gave Peter the ten thousand pesos in gold and told him to take the horse also. Peter tied the bag of pesos to the saddle, gave the hat to the farmer, begging him to take good care of it, spurred his horse, and galloped out of town. ‘As soon as he was alone, the farmer burst out laughing at the thought of the trick he had played on Lazy Peter. A hat such as this was priceless! He coulda’t wait to try it. He put it on with one comer turned up and entered the butcher shop, The butcher looked at the hat, which was very handsome indeed, but said nothing. ‘The farmer turned around, then walked up and down until the butcher asked him what he wanted. The farmer said he was waiting for the bag of money. The butcher laughed aloud and asked if he was crazy. The farmer thought that there must be something wrong with the way he had folded the hat. He took it off and doubled another corner down. But this had no Ricardo E. Alegria born 1921 “Culture is the way mankind expresses itself to live und live collectively... and its || manifested through popular "art..." Puerto Rican Patriot Ricardo Enrique Alegria is 2 leading proponent of Puerto Rican history and effect on the butcher, So he decided to try it out some other place. He went to the mayor of the town, ‘The mayor, to be sure, looked at the hat but did nothing. The farmer grew desperate and decided to go to the druggist who had given Peter a bag of money. He entered and stood with the hat on. The druggist looked at him but did nothing. “The farmer became very nervous. He began to suspect that there was something very wrong, He shouted at the druggist, “Stop looking at me and hand over the bag of money!” ‘The druggist said he owed him nothing, and what bag of money was he talking about, anyway? As the farmer continued to shout about 2 bag of money and a'magic hat, the druggist called the police, When they arrived, he told them that the farmer had gone out of his mind and kept demanding a bag of money, ‘The police questioned the farmes, and he told them about the magic hat he had bought from Lazy Petes. When he heard the story, the druggist explained that Peter had left a bag of money, asking that it be returned when he appeared with a corner of his hat rarned up. ‘The owner of the stand and the priest told the same story. And I am telling you the farmer ‘was so angry that he tore the hat to shreds and walked home, © culture, He led the movement to save and revitalize Old San Juan—the historic neighborhood of the capital of Puerto Rico. Alegria is director of the Center for Advanced Studies of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, Collector of Folk tales Alegria is not only an anthropologist and historian but also an avid collector of folktales. He has written many books and articles on the history and folklore of Puerto Rico. 839