Platero y yo by Juan Ramón Jiménez
Platero Platero is a donkey, described by Jiménez as “pequeño, peludo, suave” (small, furry, smooth) and “tan blando por fuera” (so soft to the touch) (p. 2/p. 3).
Amistad (Friendship) “Yo lo dejo ir a su antojo, y él me lleva siempre adonde quiero.” (I let him go wherever he wishes, and always he takes me to where I wish.) (p. 12/p. 13) “sabe [Platero] que me deleita la veredilla que va, entre céspedes, a la Fuenta vieja” ([Platero] knows the little path which brings me such delight, which goes through the meadowland to the Old Fountain) (p. 12/p. 13) “Yo trato a Platero cual si fuese un niño.” (“I treat Platero as if he were a child.”) (p. 12/p. 13)
Alegría (Happiness) “Platero juega con Diana, la bella perra blanca que se parece a la luna creciente, con la vieja cabra gris, con los niños…” (Platero plays with Diana, the beautiful white dog that resembles a crescent moon, with the old gray nanny goat, with the children…) (p. 28/p. 29)
Alegría (Happiness) “Entre los niños, Platero es de juguete. ¡Con qué paciencia sufre sus locuras! ¡Cómo va despacito, deteniéndose, haciéndose el tonto, para que ellos no se caigan! ¡Cómo los asusta, iniciando, de pronto, un trote falso!” (Among the children Platero is as a toy. With what patience does he suffer their pranks! How he goes slowly, stops, plays the fool, so that they will not fall off! How he startles them, starting, quickly, a false trot! ) (p. 28/p. 29)
Bibliography Jiménez, Juan Ramón, Myra Cohn Livingston, Joseph F. Domínguez, and Antonio Frasconi. Platero y yo = Platero and I. New York: Clarion, 1994. Print.