for working, trees with trunks of bacon, and talking food that begs to be eaten. As one thief captures Mendrugo's attention with "facts" of Jauja, the other eats food out of the simpleton's stew pot. Some versions leave Mendrugo engrossed in the story, never realizing that Jauja is not a real place or that his food is being taken from under his nose. Other versions end with Mendrugo realizing that the thieves have left him with nothing more than an empty pot. Characters Honziguera - The thief that devises the plan to tell the simpleton the story of the Land of Jauja, and steal his food. Panarizo - The other thief that goes along with Honziguera's plan. Mendrugo - He is the simpleton that takes food to his wife in prison every day. He gets conned by the two thieves during the telling of the "Land of Jauja". Wife of Mendrugo - She is mentioned briefly, but is never shown and does not have a speaking role. She is in jail for procuring. Commedia dell'arte After being trained as a gold beater, Lope de Rueda led a theater troupe using the style and influence of an Italian movement called Commedia dell'arte. He wrote several full length plays using this style, but he is more famous for the short works which he called, pasos. These pasos are characterized as having stock characters, containing every day situations, and broad humor. The pasos were generally performed during the intermission of full length plays, and served as entertainment for all social classes. Stock Characters represented in La tierra de Jauja Bobo, simpleton - This character is usually a servant, the butt of the ridicule, causing enjoyment due to his stupidity and ignorance. Generally, his only goal is to fill his stomach. Gracioso - This character is often seen as a clown or a fool, but is also intelligent and wise. He plays the opposite of the Bobo, and generally gets the upper hand. The Land of Jauja Fictional Jauja Jauja goes by several different names such as Xauja, País de Cucaña, Cockaigne, and others. Jauja is a fictional land somewhere in the Americas. People in Spain, during the 16th and 17th century, would dream about this land where everything is good, much like the way people dream of Atlantis. Many people believed that in this land there was no need to work. The reason