The man with the big hat

In the old streets of Antigua there is a story about a very small man with a very big hat. He walks at night with four black mules and a silver guitar. He is not tall, but everyone knows him by the hat.

They call him El Sombrerón. He looks for girls with long dark hair and big eyes. When he finds one, he stands under her window and sings. His voice is soft and beautiful, and the girl cannot sleep. She listens all night without knowing why.

After a few nights the girl stops eating. She sits by the window and waits for the music. Her family does not understand what is happening. In the morning they find her hair full of small braids, and nobody in the house remembers making them.

The old solution is always the same. The mother cuts the girl's hair short and burns it. Then she keeps the windows closed for a week. They say the little man waits outside for a while, and then walks away with his mules to look for another street.