Freud learned Castilian and read Cervantes' Coloquio de los Perros (The Colloquy of the Dogs) during his adolescence. The two characters in this picaresque novel are two dogs, Berganza and Cipion. In the novel, Berganza tells his life story to Cipion, who acts as listener, asks a few questions to direct the flow of associations, and presents a more objective view of reality than Berganza. Throughout adolescence, Freud and his friend Silberstein played games in which Freud assumed the name Cipion, while Silberstein took the name of Berganza. As late as 1874, during his first year at the University, Freud signed a letter "Dein Getreuster Don Cipion," and in the body of the letter, the phrase "Ich, Don Cipion" appears. Vranich suggests that this adolescent interest and identification with Don Cipion in games bears a striking resemblance to the attitude of the analyst and must have been a contribution to Freud's later development into an analyst.