That reminds me of the story of the mejicano who had a tejano as a guest at his rancho just north of Todos Santos in the Baja, and was determined to impress him.
He took the tejano riding to the top of a hill overlooking the ranch house, and pointed, saying "Mira, Se¤or - Mi rancho extends to those hills there, more than ten kilometros!". The tejano smiled and said "Ah, amigo, mi rancho in Tejas is two hundred kilometros across, at the narrow part."
They rode along the ridge some, until they came in sight of a herd of the host's cattle, whereupon he exclaimed "Mira, Se¤or - Mis vacas, more than three hundred!". The tejano smiled and said "Ah, amigo, my smallest herd has five times that many."
They rode some more, down to where the mejicano kept his prize bull, for which he had paid mucha lana to import direct from Europa, and of which he was very proud. A massive square specimen, with a look of fire and virility in its eyes. The host glowed with pride while explaining that this bull had sired a hundred calves. But the tejano smiled and said "Ah, amigo, my best bull is ... oh, about this much higher and about this much wider, and has sired six hundred calves.'
Well, the whole day went on like that - everything in Tejas was bigger and better, or so the mexicano was told. He was a proud man, but a thorough gentleman, so while affected by these revelations he did not feel free to question the veracity of his guest's account. Deciding to make the best of it, he led the tejano down the trail to the beach, to observe the view of the sunset and the sea and enjoy the fresh air. This was the time of the tortuga, when the sea-turtles come to the beach to deposit their eggs, and before long they came upon a magnificent specimen - three hundred pounds, five feet long and three feet wide - digging a great hole in the sand. The tejano, eyes widening, exclaimed "What's that?!"
The mejicano smiled big and said "Es cucaracha. ¨Bonita, verdad?" |