dried the tears that ran down her cheeks. Her fondness for dancing was such, that the sound of some shepherd playing his instrument was enough to set her dancing all by herself. In spite of this, when Carnival time or St. John’s Day festivities came round, she announced: “I’m not going to dance any more.” “And why not?” “Because I want to offer this sacrifice to Our Lord.”
II. AFTER THE APPARITIONS 1. Prayers and Sacrifices at the Cabeço My aunt was worn out with having continually to send someone to fetch her children, just to please the people who came asking to speak to them. She therefore handed over the care of the flock to her other son John 15. This decision was very painful to Jacinta for two reasons: firstly, because she had to speak to everyone who came looking for her and, secondly, because she could no longer spend the whole day with me. She had to resign herself, however. To escape from the unwelcome visitors, she and Francisco used to go and hide in a cave hollowed out in the rock 16 on the hillside facing our hamlet. On top of the hill was a windmill. Situated as it is on the eastern slope, this hiding place is so well formed that it afforded them an ideal protection from both the rain and the burning sun, especially since it is sheltered by many oak and olive trees. How many were the prayers and sacrifices that Jacinta offered there to our dear Lord! All over the slope grew innumerable varieties of flowers. Among them were many irises, and Jacinta loved these especially. Every evening she was waiting for me on my way home, holding an iris she had picked for me, or some other flower if there were no irises to be found. It was a real joy for her to pluck off the petals one by one, and strew them over me. 15 16
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John Marto, the brother of Jacinta († 28 April 2000) The hill is called the ‘Cabeço’, and the cave on its slope is known as ‘Loca do Cabeço’