Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

A drawing presenting
Hans Staden

Here we´ll start to publish on Brazilkids a summary on Hans Staden Adventures, based on the text of brazilian writer Monteiro Lobato. Original text is published in Brazil by Braziliense Publishing House.

PART 1

Mrs. Benta sat down in its old chair of cutted legs and began:

- Hans Staden was a young man from Homberg, a small city on Hesse State, in Germany.

Staden had adventurer temperament. He was not happy with the calmness of his native land. He wanted to see world, to travel, to cut the seas and insisted on this, no mattering how hard his father said to it that it would be. One day, he decided to leave Homberg.

- Good bye! I didn´t born for tree. I want to fly, to know world. Good bye! -

His faher said: - So, my son go. All we have a destination in life; if you have to travel, go.

Hans left and went to Bremen and from there to Holland. Over there, on Campon Port, he found some ships that were being prepared with destination to the Portugal Kingdom. He jump in one of them and arrived at Setúbal after four travelling weeks.

- Four weeks! - Pedrinho exclamou. - How slow!
- At that time the trips delayed a lot! Everything depended on the wind and of the climate. What is done today in hours, at the time tooked months.
Hans arrived on Setúbal, spend some time there and later he followed for Lisbon, where he thought about taking one of ships that were going for India. But he did not have much luck. It did not find a ship going for India. Then, it entered as artilleryman in a boat of a Captain, Penteado, who was going for new lands of Brazil. This ship was a commerce ship, but had cannons and orders to attack French ships that this found for the path.
- Why, grandma? - Narizinho asked.
At the time, Portugal and France were in fight on discovering of new lands in 1500 and there was on sea that the accounts were closed. France found that it could explore these lands, but Portugal and Spain found that not, because they had found before. At the time, the land was of who caughts it. France did not agree, and its King at the time, Francisco I, had said in certain occasion:
- "I want that they show the will to me of Adam, who distributed the New World between Spain King and Portugal King, putting me away."
For this reason, Portugal and France fought anywhere they found themselves, even so wasn´t war declared between the two nations. But the ship where our Hans went left of Lisbon, followed for another minor and stopped in the Wood Island, where already it was produced much wine and sugar.
In Funchal, bigger port on the Island, the fleet anchored to receive merchandises. After that, took the route of the coasts of the Berberia.
- Berberia or Barbaria, vovó? - the boy asked. It does not want to mean Barbarians land? - No, my son. It wants to say berberes land, a name given to north of Africa inhabitants. Perhaps the word berbere comes of Barbarian. The dictionaries have doubts the respect.
The ships had been to go to Port Arzilla, city that the Portuguese had taken to berberes and that later they had lost. Captain Penteado knew that there were France ships, in commerce with these people, and treated to give hunting to them. In fact, he found one and immediately attacked it, but the pirate crew had time to run away for land.
The Portuguese ship went back to Wood Island, and the captain ordered the lesser ship to go to Lisbon back, tell to the king what it had to make, once there was a part of the shipment that was of the Spaniard, with who Portugal was not in war.
- And the ship had to go back to Lisbon only to give this message? Imagine that... - How remedy! There wasn´t another way. It was not as today, when radiotelegraphy puts ships in communication between itself and with the well fast land.
The ship was, came back and the King said to tha Captain to follow his trip and left the arrested ship over there, because he would go to study the case. But an enormous storm led the ship four hundred miles from its route, close to Brazil
- How many meters has the mile, vovó? - it inquired Pedrinho.
- Mile varies from country to country. Today the maritime mile of 1852 meters is generalized. Mrs. Benta then continued. -
The ships, then, had gone to the Cabral lands, or Brazil. Sailors saw a lot of fish-flyers. They were risen of the sea to run away to the fish biggest; they flied a good piece and went to fall in the water, very far of its enemies
Finally the ships had arrived at the Equinox, or the Equator line. Arriving there, they had a period of calmness, for great suffering of the sailors with the suffocating heat. Thundered and fell down violent rains; but the calmness came back. Sailors were terrified, because this could be a sad end for all.
Certain night Staden saw something that did not know. Where waves beat there was a shine a blue light. Sailors became happy with this signal, that they called santelmo, and said it was a sign of good climate.
Thus it was. When the day bordered, it cames a favorable wind, that allowed to the ships follow its trip. On January 28 of 1552, had sighted a land tip; and more eight miles, had finally arrived at the Olinda Port, in Brazil, after eighty-eight days of sea
- But what was such light that it shone blue, grandma? - wanted to know Pedrinho and Blessed Dona explained: - It is the fosforescence of certain little animals that are on the water of the sea on billions...
- Grandma, stops a little - said Narizinho. - I want to go inside to bring Emília here. The poor likes so much to hear histories...

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