Then she told him to look in the bedroom and Aureliano Segundo saw the mule. Its skin was clinging to its bones like that of its mistress, but it was just as alive and resolute as she. Petra Cotes had fed it with her wrath, and when there was no more hay or corn or roots, she had given it shelter in her own bedroom and fed it on the percale sheets, the Persian rugs, the plush bedspreads, the velvet drapes, and the canopy embroidered with gold thread and silk tassels on the episcopal bed.
Aureliano Segundo is led by Petra Cotes to check in the bedroom, where he discovers a mule that appears emaciated yet shares a fierce spirit akin to its owner. This striking observation highlights both the mule’s and Petra's endurance despite their dire circumstances.
Petra, resolute and determined, has sustained the mule with her fierce energy. In a desperate act, she resorts to feeding the animal with expensive fabrics from her bedroom, including sheets and rugs, showcasing her attachment and the lengths to which she goes to provide care amidst their struggles.
