That memorable night at the beginning of March, Testelín had managed to calm his son's wounded sensitivity. But the buds of May had not yet carpeted the meadows when one day Umbelina startled him by saying worriedly, "Nibardo is missing." "Missing?" stammered Testelín. "What do you mean?" "No one has seen him since early this morning." "What?" Jumping from his seat, the man crossed the room with hurried steps. "Come, Umbelina, I am going to investigate this matter."

The lord of Fontaines headed to the stables, followed by his distressed daughter. Going directly to the last stall, he cast a quick glance and said, "It's what I thought. The roan mare is not here. Where is Luis José?" Then, in a louder and stronger tone, he called for Luis José. "I'm coming, sir!" a strong voice answered from outside. "What do you need, sir? Are you going out on horseback?" "No," shouted Testelín. "I just want to know who has taken the roan mare." "Has the roan mare been taken out?" asked the old man, walking past the father and daughter and looking at the empty stall. "Well, what are we to make of this?" he stammered.

"Let's go, Luis," insisted Testelín sternly, "don't shield the boy. When did he leave and where was he headed?" "What, sir? What are you asking?" replied the old man, leaning against a post and moving some straws with his lame leg. "You know very well what I'm asking. At what time did Nibardo leave the castle?" "Nibardo? Isn't he in his room?" "No, he's not in his room. Nor is the cloak in its stall. Does your lordship think they could be together?" "Yes, I very well believe they could be together. And I also believe you know what time they left together and in which direction they went together." "Soon, sir, you'll say I even know where they are. Surely you don't believe I'm a fortune teller, right?"

"Enough, Luis," shouted Testelín severely. "When did the boy leave?" "Well, your lordship, here is how it went. I was grooming your horse and doing it as usual, carefully. You know it is a good horse, sir, it requires a lot of care. Well, I was grooming it carefully." "Leave my horse and tell me about my son!" interrupted Testelín. "You see, Umbelina, my lady, isn't it difficult to tell your father anything? He wants me to have told him everything before I even started." "Enough, Luis, where is my son now?"

Luis José realized that he had exhausted good Testelín to a critical point. Therefore, very wisely, he called: "Gautier, his lordship is waiting for you, come quickly." Just as a young boy about Nibardo's age was running into the stable, the sound of hooves from a tired horse could be heard in the courtyard. Testelín and Umbelina hurried to the stable door, arriving just in time to see Nibardo dismount and lean against the side of his horse, patting it. "You did well, lady, you did well."

Then, without turning to look, he called, "Luis José, Gautier." The old man and his son stopped at the door, questioning the bustling Tesselín with their gaze. He simply nodded his head.

"Tonight they give her extra care. Do you want?" Nibardo suggested. "The poor thing is tired. Hungry and thirsty. And so am I." Umberina was about to follow him, but Tercelín stopped her with a gesture, murmuring: "Let him enter the castle first. The boy is very tired, he can barely stand. We will talk to him after he has eaten something."

Then turning to Luis and José, he asked, "At what time did the boy leave the castle?" "At dawn, sir, he said he was going to Cîteaux. I'm surprised he has returned. I thought we had another monk in the family." "I will make you a monk for real if you ever let him do again what he has done." "Yes, sir," Luis simply commented and walked away limping. But once inside the barn, Gautier heard him say to himself, "Well, he will be a monk anyway, whether I allow it or you do. Mark my words."

Two hours later, Nibardo stood before his father in the great hall of the castle. Unvelina was seated by the fireplace, engaged in lacework. The little boy had confessed his escape and recounted how Abbot Esteban Harding had allowed him to see Guido, Gerardo, Bernardo, Andrés, and Bartolomé. Then, with a blessing, he had dismissed him, saying fatherly, "You can return when you are a little older."

Unbelina let him tell his story, then overwhelmed him with questions about Bernardo and the others. Nibardo's answers showed that he hadn't studied his siblings very thoroughly, because he couldn't say if they were thinner, fatter, or the same as before. He also couldn't say if they were happier, more serious, or the same. In truth, each answer due to its vagueness provoked a new question, until finally Terzelín observed: "Dear Unvelina, this child was interested in life, not in those who lived it. I think it would be best for today to let him go to bed. He has had two long rides. Without a doubt, he will sleep deeply. And as for you, Nibardo, we will do it tomorrow."

The next morning, the lord of Fonténs spoke very seriously with his only remaining son. He told him many things about life, society, and the duchy. He evoked scenes that would have thrilled any other 12-year-old boy. He promised him many things in the favor of his lord, the duke. But in the end, throughout his speech, he received no response other than this question: "When is one big enough, father?" Tercelín laughed, but he understood that he now had to solve a new problem, the problem of diverting his son and steering his thoughts away from the Cistercian. This problem proved to be such that it pushed his ingenuity to the limit, and even then it remained unsolvable, because Nibardo often said, "I'm bigger."

A manifestation that no one could deny, but it clearly indicated to everyone where his thoughts were headed. Unvelina used to receive that "I am getting bigger" as an "every day and in every way, Nibardo, but you are not big enough yet." After that, for six months, no one heard him say more about his age.

In the castle, they might have suspected something, but they thought that the Cistercian charm would have faded. But the day Nibardo could bravely say, "I am now thirteen years old and heading towards fourteen," he slipped away to the stables. With Zalamarías, he managed to have Luis José, as a birthday gift, saddle his horse for him and allow him to venture into the woods without any accompaniment. The old man needed few compliments. He was invited to say, "At this time of the year, the woods are rejuvenating, especially," he added in a murmur, "those on the side of the Cister. I wish a happy birthday to my future lord, or he will be my future little monk."

Nibardo did not respond. He traveled fifteen miles there and fifteen back, because Esteban Jardín, the abbot, gave him the same kind reception and the same kind of farewell. But in his words, Nibardo perceived this time a more encouraging phrase, because Don Esteban had said to him: "I will receive you when you are a little older." For Nibardo, that was a promise. He felt that he was already a Cistercian. And the words "I will receive you" kept him upright on his mount throughout the tiring return.

When he encountered his father, with an angry countenance, he didn't even think to excuse himself or feel the need to offer an explanation. He simply shouted: "Father, Abbot Stephen says he will accept me when I'm a bit older!" Then Teufelín resigned himself to the inevitable and saw an escape for the question "Am I big enough now?" in entrusting the boy to a priest who took charge of his education. It was the only solution because Nibardo considered those lessons a kind of postulancy, and that feeling kept him in satisfied silence.

When the good priest finally learned that he was educating a future monk and not a future lord, he understood why Nibardo asked him more questions about religious life than about his Latin classes. He also understood why his eyes had a burning light. In 1116, when Nibardo could say, "I am 16 years old, going on 17," he practically sought his father's permission and the acceptance of Stephen Harding. That persistence won over both, and the cheerful teenager rode the 15 miles to Cîteaux. From there, he sent the cloak back to Fontaines, saying, "For you and for me, the getaways are over, lady, I am finally big enough. God bless you."

Father Alfonso Gálvez