Love this...a couple of questions related (maybe?) to translation. When the dogs ''slap'' the moor, are you suggesting they are behaving in a (somewhat) human way, since slapping is done with the palm of the hand (i.e. not with a paw)? Clearly carrying candles around is not ordinary dog behaviour, but anything can happen in a folktale. My feeling is that the dogs act more human as the story progresses, but I realise I could be over-analysing. And finally, any ideas about why the candles? Is it some unexplained dog-ritual (just a surreal detail in the folktale), or do the dogs understandably (in human terms, anyway) just need to have some light for their midnight forensic investigation to locate and remove the spikes?
You're right, the dogs become more and more human-like.
Regarding the “slaps,” the Spanish original indeed uses the word "bofetá" (slap in the face, or slap) and "manotón" (a heavy-handed slap or swipe), which directly implies a human action. Later, the original specifically describes the third dog, Steel, giving a powerful slap ("le zumbó al negro un manotón"—literally "gave the Moor a strong slap") and then running off visibly enough so the guards could follow him back to the inn.
The dogs carrying candles to remove the enchanted spikes is probably some magical agency granted to the dogs by the author. No dog-ritual that i know of!
Love this...a couple of questions related (maybe?) to translation. When the dogs ''slap'' the moor, are you suggesting they are behaving in a (somewhat) human way, since slapping is done with the palm of the hand (i.e. not with a paw)? Clearly carrying candles around is not ordinary dog behaviour, but anything can happen in a folktale. My feeling is that the dogs act more human as the story progresses, but I realise I could be over-analysing. And finally, any ideas about why the candles? Is it some unexplained dog-ritual (just a surreal detail in the folktale), or do the dogs understandably (in human terms, anyway) just need to have some light for their midnight forensic investigation to locate and remove the spikes?
Thanks, Simon!
You're right, the dogs become more and more human-like.
Regarding the “slaps,” the Spanish original indeed uses the word "bofetá" (slap in the face, or slap) and "manotón" (a heavy-handed slap or swipe), which directly implies a human action. Later, the original specifically describes the third dog, Steel, giving a powerful slap ("le zumbó al negro un manotón"—literally "gave the Moor a strong slap") and then running off visibly enough so the guards could follow him back to the inn.
The dogs carrying candles to remove the enchanted spikes is probably some magical agency granted to the dogs by the author. No dog-ritual that i know of!