“There is nothing that resigns itself to dying, and error is perhaps that which defends itself from death most fiercely.”

“Since angels are used to flying, they can hardly take a step on earth without stumbling.”

They want to tell Juanito about the boy but his friend is there talking about ruined Spanish castles. Everything about Spain seems in ruins but nobody wants to see it. This boy is like a last effort of that class to carry on the line but he’s dirty and wicked and probably not even related. He’s a last gasp of a dying empire.

They celebrate all of Spain’s famous loses: Trafalgar in 1805, and Callao in 1866. The next scene is the family trying to tame little Pituso after he’s made a mess of everything and broken the heads off the nativity and eaten potato peels.

Like a little king and consort, they sit on bundles filled with gold coins. They are spoiling the boy so much it’s worse for him than living in poverty.