The wisdom and artistry of Latin America’s storytellers preserve one of the world’s richest folktale traditions—combining the lore of medieval Europe, the ancient Near East, and pre-Columbian America. Among the essential characters are the quiet man’s wife who knew the Devil’s secrets, the tree daughters who robbed their father’s grave, and the wife in disguise who married her own husband—not to mention the Bear's son, the tricksters Fox and Monkey, the two compadres, and the classic rogue Pedro de Urdemalas.

Gathered from twenty countries, including the United States, the stories are here brought together in a core collection of one hundred tales arranged in the form of a velorio, or wake, the most frequent occasion for public storytelling. The tales are preceded by a selection of early Colonial legends foreshadowing the themes of Latino folklore and are followed by a carefully chosen group of modern Indian myths that replay the basic stories in a contrasting key. Riddles, chain riddles, and folk prayers, part and parcel of the velorio along with folktales, are introduced at appropriate junctures.

The collection is unprecedented in size and scope, and most of the tales have not been translated into English before. The result is the first panoramic anthology of Hispano-American folk narratives in any language—meant to be dipped into at random or read straight through from “Once and twice makes thrice upon a time” to “They were happy as the dickens and ate chickens.”


“A cornucopia of magic and myth. . . . Beware, for the pages of this volume—filled with tricksters, witches, and ghosts—are enchanted!” —Ilan Stavans, Professor of Spanish, Amherst College, and author of On Borrowed Words
Preface xi
Introduction 3
 
PROLOGUE: EARLY COLONIAL LEGENDS 19
1. Montezuma / Mexico (Nahua) 22
        I. The Talking Stone 22
        II. Montezuma’s Wound 25
        III. Eight Omens 26
        IV. The Return of Quetzalcoatl 28
        V. Is It You? 32
2. Legends of the Inca Kings / Peru (Quechua) 34
        I. Mayta Capac 34
        II. The Storm 36
        III. The Vanishing Bride 38
        IV. A Messenger in Black 40
        V. The Oracle at Huamachuco 41
3. Bringing Out the Holy Word / Mexico (Nahua) 42
 
FOLKTALES: A TWENTIETH-CENTURY WAKE 45
Part One 49
4. In the City of Benjamin / Ecuador 49
5. Antuco’s Luck / Chile 51
6. Don Dinero and Doña Fortuna / Dominican Republic 56
7. Mistress Lucía / Mexico 57
8. St. Peter’s Wishes / Cuba 63
9. The Coyote Teodora / Honduras 64
10. Buried Alive / California 65
11. The Three Gowns / Puerto Rico 67
12. The Horse of Seven Colors / Venezuela 72
13. The Cow / New Mexico 78
 
Part Two 81
14. Death and the Doctor / Dominican Republic 81
15. What the Owls Said / Mexico (Mazatec) 82
16. Aunt Misery / Puerto Rico 84
17. Palm-tree Story / Columbia 85
18. Pedro de Urdemalas 88
        I. The Letter Carrier from the Other World / Chile 88
        II. The King’s Pigs / Guatemala 89
        III. The Sack / Chile 89
        IV. Pedro Goes to Heaven / Argentina 92
19. A Voyage to Eternity / Bolivia 94
20. Mother and Daughter / Columbia 98
21. The Bird Sweet Magic / Costa Rica 98
22. Death Comes as a Rooster / Cuba 103
23. The Twelve Truths of the World / New Mexico 104
Folk Prayers 107
 
Part Three 111
24. The Mouse and the Dung Beetle / Colorado 111
25. The Canon and the King’s False Friend / New Mexico 113
26. The Story That Became a Dream / Chile 115
27. St. Theresa and the Lord / Mexico 118
28. Rice from Ashes / Argentina 120
29. Juan María and Juana María / Guatemala 124
30. The Witch Wife / Columbia 126
31. O Wicked World / Argentina 129
32. The Three Sisters / Columbia 130
33. The Count and the Queen / Colorado 134
 
Part Four 137
34. Crystal the Wise / Chile 137
35. Love Like Salt / Mexico 141
36. The Pongo’s Dream / Peru (Quechua) 144
37. The Fox and the Monkey / Bolivia (Aymara) 147
38. The Miser’s Jar / Guatemala (Kekchi Maya) 149
39. Tup and the Ants / Mexico (Yucatec Maya) 152
40. A Master and His Pupil / Guatemala 155
41. The Louse-Drum / Panama 157
42. The Three Dreams / Guatemala 159
43. The Clump of Basil / Puerto Rico 161
Riddles 164
 
Part Five 173
44. The Charcoal Peddler’s Chicken / Puerto Rico 173
45. The Three Counsels / New Mexico 174
46. Seven Blind Queens /  Chile 176
47. The Mad King / Florida 181
48. A Mother’s Curse / Puerto Rico 183
49. The Hermit and the Drunkard / Ecuador 184
50. The Noblewoman’s Daughter and the Charcoal Woman’s Son / Cuba 185
51. The Enchanted Cow / Chile 188
52. Judas’s Ear / New Mexico 192
53. Good Is Repaid with Evil / Venezuela 195
54. The Fisherman’s Daughter / Columbia 196
 
Part Six 201
55. In the Beginning / Mexico (Mazatec) 201
56. How the First People Were Made / Mexico (Zapotec) 202
57. Adam’s Rib / Mexico (Popoluca) 203
58. Adam and Eve and Their Children / New Mexico (Isleta) 203
59. God’s Letter to Noéh / Mexico (Zapotec) 204
60. God Chooses Noah / Mexico (Mixe) 205
61. The Flood / Mexico (Mixe) 207
62. A Prophetic Dream / Mexico (Mazatex 208
63. The White Lily / Ecuador (Quichua) 209
64. The Night in the Stable / Guatemala (Quiché Maya) 209
65. When Morning Came  210
        I. Why Did It Dawn? / Mexico (Nahua) 210
        II. That Was the Principal Day / Mexico (Tzotzil Maya) 211
66. Three Kings / New Mexico (Isleta) 211
67. The Christ Child as Trickster / Ecuador (Quichua) 212
68. Christ Saved by the Firefly / Guatemala (Cakchiquel Maya) 213
69. Christ Betrayed by Snails / Belize (Kekchi Maya) 214
70. Christ Betrayed by the Magpie-jay / Mexico (Tzotzil Maya) 214
71. The Blind Man at the Cross / Mexico (Mazatec) 214
72. The Cricket, the Mole, and the Mouse / Mexico (Mazatec) 216
73. As If with Wings / Mexico (Mazatec) 218
 
Part Seven 219
74. Slowpoke Slaughtered Four / Puerto Rico 219
75. The Price of Heaven and the Rain of Caramels / Mexico 221
76. Pine Cone the Astrologer / Panama 224
77. The Dragon Slayer / Mexico 225
78. Johnny-boy / Nicaragua 229
79. The Rarest Thing / Guatemala 230
80. Prince Simpleheart / Costa Rica 232
81. The Flower of Lily-Lo / Mexico 236
82. My Garden Is Better Than Ever / Mexico (Popoluca) 238
83. Juan Bobo and the Pig / Puerto Rico 239
84.The Parrot Prince / Chile 240
Chain Riddles 245
 
Part Eight 251
85. A Dead Man Speaks / Texas 251
86. The Bear’s Son / Honduras (Lenca) 252
87. Charity / Argentina 259
88. Riches Without Working / Mexico (Nahua) 260
89. Let Somebody Buy You Who Doesn’t Know You / Guatemala 262
90. The Mouse King / Bolivia 264
91. Mariquita Grim and Mariquita Fair / Cuba 266
92. The Compadre’s Dinner / Dominican Republic 270
93. The Hog / Colorado 272
94. Two Sisters / Puerto Rico 272
95. The Ghosts’ Reales / Domincan Republic 274
 
Part Nine 277
96. The Bad Compadre / Guatemala (Cakchiquel Maya) 277
97. Black Chickens / Mexico (Tepecano) 283
98. Doublehead / El Salvador (Pipil) 286
99. Littlebit / Chile 288
100. Rosalie / Mexico (Yucantec Maya) 293
101. A Day Laborer Goes to Work / Mexico (Otomi) 297
102. The Moth / Peru (Quechua) 303
103. The Earth Ate Them / Argentina 304
 
Epilogue: Twentieth-Century Myths 307
104. Why Tobacco Grows Close to Houses / Colombia (Kogi) 310
105. The Buzzard Husband / Mexico (Tzotzil Maya) 310
106. The Dead Wife / Nicaragua (Mískito) 314
107. Romi Kumu Makes the World / Colombia (Barasana) 315
108. She Was Thought and Memory / Colombia (Kogi) 316
109. Was It Not an Illusion? / Colombia (Witoto) 317
110. The Beginning Life of the Hummingbird / Paraguay (Mbyá Guarani) 318
111. Ibis Story / Chile (Yamana) 319
112. The Condor Seeks a Wife / Bolivia (Quechua) 320
113. The Priest’s Son Becomes an Eagle / New Mexico (Zuna) 322
114. The Revolts of the Untensils / Bolivia (Tacana) 325
115. The Origin of Permanent Death / Ecuador (Shuar) 326
 
Notes 329
Register of Tale Types and Selected Motifs 363
Glossary of Native Cultures 369
Bibliography 373
Permissions Acknowledgments 385
Mistress Lucía
 
Very well then. Here was a king who wished to marry the most beautiful woman in the world, and with that in mind he left his kingdom and took to the road. He looked everywhere and tried all the different countries. But although he was shown the prettiest young women, he was quick to see their faults and kept putting off a decision. At last, tired of the traveling and the disappointments, he decided to go home and forget the whole matter.
 
After he had been back awhile, it happened that a peddler arrived in the kingdom selling picture postcards and all kinds of portraits. Down the street he came, wheeling his cart with the little portraits arranged under an open umbrella. And who but the king should be on hand to hear his cry:
 
“Get your portraits! Portraits here! Pretty faces ready to go, some not so pretty, and some so-so. Portraits! Get your portraits!”
 
The king called the man over, took a look at the portraits, and saw one that pleased him. The longer he looked at it, the more he liked it. Unable to take his eyes off it, he asked who the young woman was and where she lived.
 
“Sacred and Royal Majesty,” said the peddler, “she whom you admire in the mistress Lucía, who lives in the town of La Cañada. I must tell you, she’s an orphan, whose brother Juan watches over her closely. In fact he lets her come out on her balcony only one day a year. I myself have never seen her, but those who have spend the entire year waiting for the day to come round again.”
 
Hearing this, and already smitten by the portrait, the king suffered an attack of lovesickness and had to retire to his chambers, where he immediately dispatched messengers to find the young man named Juan and to ask him for the hand of his sister Lucía.
 
When Juan had been brought to the palace and had heard the king’s proposal, he said he had never felt to honored. He would be pleased to allow the marriage. But first he would have to have a private audience with the king. The king drew him aside.
 
“Majesty,” whispered the young man, “I must tell you this not because she’s my sister, but because it’s the honest truth. Beyond mere beauty she has three charms, and no one knows about then but me, and now you: when she brushed her hair, pearls fall to the ground; when she washes her hands, flowers drop from her fingers; and whenever she cries, it rains.”
 
The king, who had never heard such marvels, was now more impatient than before, if that is possible. He ordered a coach to be outfitted and sent Juan with an escort to bring back Lucía at once, while he himself made arrangements for the wedding.
 
And now we will leave this king and turn to the mistress Lucía, shut up in her house and worrying her head over why in the world her brother had been summoned to the palace. She was torturing herself with first one idea and then another when Juan arrived and gave her the news that the king had decided to marry her.
 
Lucía, who was an obedient girl, made no objection to her brother’s plans and even began packing her things. But she did have one requirement: she must be allowed to bring her pet parakeet and her pet mockingbird. And for the occasion she prettied up each of the two cages with a bonnet of ribbons. While she busied herself with this work, one of her servant girls said to her, “Mistress Lucía, you should bring me with you to clean the cages.”
 
“Why not? Go ask your mother for permission.”
 
The girl returned with her mother and said, “I can go if my mother comes too. And she’ll do your laundry, just as always.”
 
“Very well, I’ll ask Juan, and if he says yes, you can both come.”
 
Juan thought, “What could be better?” This way his sister would not be homesick. Besides, there was a brush fire just at that moment and the neighbors needed Juan to help put it out. So he had no choice but to entrust Lucía to the maidservant and her mother. No doubt she would be perfectly safe. And of course he didn’t want to keep the king waiting.
 
Up went the birdcages onto the luggage rack of the carriage. The two servants settled themselves comfortably. And Juan said good-bye to his sister, giving her many good counsels along with his blessing. Her carriage now ready, Lucía fluttered her handkerchief, saying:
 
Good-bye, dear Juan, who mothered and fathered me.
Good-bye, dear chapel, where I said my prayers.
Good-bye dear pebbles, that I used to play with.
Good-bye, dear brook, where I used to bathe.
 
“Hush,” said Juan, “You’re making me weak.” With that the carriage rolled off, Lucía, started to cry, and the heavens, need it be said, opened up and poured.
 
Well, they hadn’t gone far when they came to a deep woods were berries were growing. The old servant woman called out, “Look here! What should it be but strawberries! Mistress Lucía, why don’t we stop and pick these for the king, so we don’t come empty-handed.”
 
“Very well,” said Lucía. She ordered the coachman to stop, and as the three of them were jumping down, the parakeet caught Lucía’s eye and said, “Mama Lucía, being me too.” And Lucía, who could never say no to anyone, took the cage off the road and tied it behind her back.
 
They had just begun picking the strawberries when the woman said, “Mistress Lucía, look! They’re plumper over that way,” and she ran farther into the forest. “Oh, darling! Look! They’re fresher over that way, and more fragrant!” But in her heart she had a deeper plan. As soon as they were far enough from the carriage to be out of sight, the old servant woman took hold of Lucía, wrenched her arms, and slapped her all over. She pulled off Lucía’s outfit and put it on her own daughter. Leaving Lucía with the parakeet and the daughter’s clothes, the two servants ran back to the carriage and shouted to the coachman, “To the palace and hurry!”
 
When they arrived the king was waiting with his entire court. At a glance he could tell that his bride-to-be was no rarity. She didn’t even look like the portrait. He’d been tricked. But what are mere appearances? He consoled himself with the thought of the young woman’s three charms. Anyway, since the king’s word is good for keeps, as people say, he had no choice but to go ahead with the wedding.
 
As the nuptials drew to a close, the king ordered his guards to throw open the doors to a balcony that overlooked the main square. All the king’s subjects were to gather at once to witness a spectacle never before seen in the world. The queen would display her three charms.
 
The square filled up in no time. The king and his court arranged themselves on the balcony. But can you imagine? When the moment arrived for the maidservant to brush her hair, what fell out but lice? She washed her hands, and nothing came off but grime. And when she started to cry, the clouds flew away and hid behind the hills.
 
The king was humiliated. He lashed out at the queen. When she told him she had no idea what he was talking about, he began to suspect Don Juan of treachery. He summoned him to the palace for questioning.
 
At this the alert-minded queen pleaded a migraine and dotted her temples with paper discs soaked in oil of alacrán. No one was to disturb her, and all for the purpose of avoiding Juan, who would naturally recognize her.
 
On arriving at the palace, Juan had to be told that his sister could not see him, and when the king charged him with the crime of fraud he had no defense. After the king had pronounced him guilty, the ministers in council sentenced him to death.
 
The trial was held on the balcony, and the execution and burial took place in the commons just below. The mockingbird, whose cage happened to hang on the balcony, saw it all.
 
And now we must leave the palace and turn to Lucía. The poor dear, she’d been left alone in the woods without the slightest idea where to go. What’s more, it was getting dark, and the father she walked the deeper the forest. Worn out, she sank under a pine tree, ready to spend the night as best she could, when the parakeet said,
 
Dear mama Lucía,
Step it, stretch it!
 
And this gave her a second wind. Suddenly there in front of her was the edge of the woods and in the distance a light.
 
Dear mama Lucía,
Step it, stretch it!
 
And before she knew it she’d arrived at the hut of a woodcutter and his family. Such beauty the poor little family had never seen. The terrified father cried out, “In God’s name, speak! Are you of this life or the next?”
 
“Flesh and blood, but lost in the woods,” came the simple reply, and moved by pity the took her in. The next morning she combed a few pearls from her hair and gave them to the woodcutter’s wife to sell in town, wherever that might be. Believe it or not, the nearest town was the king’s royal seat, and when the wife returned from her errand she brought the news that the king was in need of a seamstress.
 
Following the wife’s directions and with the parakeet’s cage strapped to her back, Lucía set off her town. No sooner had she arrived at the palace than a button popped off the king’s shirt. He demanded a seamstress at once.
 
Lucía presented herself and was led to the king’s balcony. Does it have to be said? The king was entranced. But the first one to speak was the mockingbird:
 
Mistress Lucía, O Mistress Lucía,
Your brother Don Juan was done in,
And his grave lies in the commons.
 
Such news! Lucía burst into tears, and the sky answered with a sudden shower.
 
Yet another interruption. It was the chocolate hour. In came the king’s page with chocolate and muffins on a sterling salver. The king invited Lucía to join him, and when she insisted on first washing her hands, he ordered a basin and a towel of genuine linen with a pictorial border. No sooner had she dipped her hands in the water than the basin was filled with flowers.
 
The king now knew: this was none other than Lucía. “Tell him,” said the parakeet. “Tell what happened,” And she told her story, strawberries and all, whereupon the king gave orders for the old servant woman and her daughter to be hanged by the neck from the uppermost branches of the tallest tree on the highest hill.
 
As for Mistress Lucía, she was wed to the king in a ceremony followed by feasting. As soon as it was over, the doors to the balcony were thrown open and word went out that the queen would exhibit her three charms. The people gathered, this time however with rocks in their hands to stone the queen in case they were cheated again. But it was not to be.
 
Lucía combed her hair with an ivory comb, and so many pearls tumbled forth that the people, forgetting the stones they had brought, scrambled to snap up the pearls.
 
A silver basin with a plunger and fountain came forth on a tray. When Lucía washed her hands so many flowers spilled over the rail of the balcony that women caught them with their aprons and men with their hats.
 
So nothing was left but to see it rain. In a time of such happiness who could cry? But all at once the mockingbird sang its song:
 
Mistress Lucía, O Mistress Lucía,
Your brother Don Juan was done in,
And his grave lies in the commons.
 
At the first word Lucía began to weep. The heavens opened, and immediately the people ran for cover. They ran and couldn’t stop.
 
And here we will leave them wearing out the soles of their shoes.
 
—Mexico / Bárbara (surname not given)
  • WINNER
    New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
JOHN BIERHORST is the author, editor, or translator of more than thirty books on Native American lore, including Latin American Folktales, The Mythology of South America, The Mythology of North America, and The Mythology of Mexico and Central America.

JOHN BIERHORST es el autor de dos libros sobre folklore latinoamericano, The Mythology of South America y The Mythology of Mexico and Central America. Un especialista en los idiomas y las literaturas aztecas, es el traductor de Cantares Mexicanos y el autor de un diccionario nahuatl-ingles. Actualmente es un editor de The Norton Anthology of World Literatura y había recibido subsidios y becas del Americas Society, el National Endowment for the Humanities, y el National Endowment for the Arts. View titles by John Bierhorst

About

The wisdom and artistry of Latin America’s storytellers preserve one of the world’s richest folktale traditions—combining the lore of medieval Europe, the ancient Near East, and pre-Columbian America. Among the essential characters are the quiet man’s wife who knew the Devil’s secrets, the tree daughters who robbed their father’s grave, and the wife in disguise who married her own husband—not to mention the Bear's son, the tricksters Fox and Monkey, the two compadres, and the classic rogue Pedro de Urdemalas.

Gathered from twenty countries, including the United States, the stories are here brought together in a core collection of one hundred tales arranged in the form of a velorio, or wake, the most frequent occasion for public storytelling. The tales are preceded by a selection of early Colonial legends foreshadowing the themes of Latino folklore and are followed by a carefully chosen group of modern Indian myths that replay the basic stories in a contrasting key. Riddles, chain riddles, and folk prayers, part and parcel of the velorio along with folktales, are introduced at appropriate junctures.

The collection is unprecedented in size and scope, and most of the tales have not been translated into English before. The result is the first panoramic anthology of Hispano-American folk narratives in any language—meant to be dipped into at random or read straight through from “Once and twice makes thrice upon a time” to “They were happy as the dickens and ate chickens.”


“A cornucopia of magic and myth. . . . Beware, for the pages of this volume—filled with tricksters, witches, and ghosts—are enchanted!” —Ilan Stavans, Professor of Spanish, Amherst College, and author of On Borrowed Words

Table of Contents

Preface xi
Introduction 3
 
PROLOGUE: EARLY COLONIAL LEGENDS 19
1. Montezuma / Mexico (Nahua) 22
        I. The Talking Stone 22
        II. Montezuma’s Wound 25
        III. Eight Omens 26
        IV. The Return of Quetzalcoatl 28
        V. Is It You? 32
2. Legends of the Inca Kings / Peru (Quechua) 34
        I. Mayta Capac 34
        II. The Storm 36
        III. The Vanishing Bride 38
        IV. A Messenger in Black 40
        V. The Oracle at Huamachuco 41
3. Bringing Out the Holy Word / Mexico (Nahua) 42
 
FOLKTALES: A TWENTIETH-CENTURY WAKE 45
Part One 49
4. In the City of Benjamin / Ecuador 49
5. Antuco’s Luck / Chile 51
6. Don Dinero and Doña Fortuna / Dominican Republic 56
7. Mistress Lucía / Mexico 57
8. St. Peter’s Wishes / Cuba 63
9. The Coyote Teodora / Honduras 64
10. Buried Alive / California 65
11. The Three Gowns / Puerto Rico 67
12. The Horse of Seven Colors / Venezuela 72
13. The Cow / New Mexico 78
 
Part Two 81
14. Death and the Doctor / Dominican Republic 81
15. What the Owls Said / Mexico (Mazatec) 82
16. Aunt Misery / Puerto Rico 84
17. Palm-tree Story / Columbia 85
18. Pedro de Urdemalas 88
        I. The Letter Carrier from the Other World / Chile 88
        II. The King’s Pigs / Guatemala 89
        III. The Sack / Chile 89
        IV. Pedro Goes to Heaven / Argentina 92
19. A Voyage to Eternity / Bolivia 94
20. Mother and Daughter / Columbia 98
21. The Bird Sweet Magic / Costa Rica 98
22. Death Comes as a Rooster / Cuba 103
23. The Twelve Truths of the World / New Mexico 104
Folk Prayers 107
 
Part Three 111
24. The Mouse and the Dung Beetle / Colorado 111
25. The Canon and the King’s False Friend / New Mexico 113
26. The Story That Became a Dream / Chile 115
27. St. Theresa and the Lord / Mexico 118
28. Rice from Ashes / Argentina 120
29. Juan María and Juana María / Guatemala 124
30. The Witch Wife / Columbia 126
31. O Wicked World / Argentina 129
32. The Three Sisters / Columbia 130
33. The Count and the Queen / Colorado 134
 
Part Four 137
34. Crystal the Wise / Chile 137
35. Love Like Salt / Mexico 141
36. The Pongo’s Dream / Peru (Quechua) 144
37. The Fox and the Monkey / Bolivia (Aymara) 147
38. The Miser’s Jar / Guatemala (Kekchi Maya) 149
39. Tup and the Ants / Mexico (Yucatec Maya) 152
40. A Master and His Pupil / Guatemala 155
41. The Louse-Drum / Panama 157
42. The Three Dreams / Guatemala 159
43. The Clump of Basil / Puerto Rico 161
Riddles 164
 
Part Five 173
44. The Charcoal Peddler’s Chicken / Puerto Rico 173
45. The Three Counsels / New Mexico 174
46. Seven Blind Queens /  Chile 176
47. The Mad King / Florida 181
48. A Mother’s Curse / Puerto Rico 183
49. The Hermit and the Drunkard / Ecuador 184
50. The Noblewoman’s Daughter and the Charcoal Woman’s Son / Cuba 185
51. The Enchanted Cow / Chile 188
52. Judas’s Ear / New Mexico 192
53. Good Is Repaid with Evil / Venezuela 195
54. The Fisherman’s Daughter / Columbia 196
 
Part Six 201
55. In the Beginning / Mexico (Mazatec) 201
56. How the First People Were Made / Mexico (Zapotec) 202
57. Adam’s Rib / Mexico (Popoluca) 203
58. Adam and Eve and Their Children / New Mexico (Isleta) 203
59. God’s Letter to Noéh / Mexico (Zapotec) 204
60. God Chooses Noah / Mexico (Mixe) 205
61. The Flood / Mexico (Mixe) 207
62. A Prophetic Dream / Mexico (Mazatex 208
63. The White Lily / Ecuador (Quichua) 209
64. The Night in the Stable / Guatemala (Quiché Maya) 209
65. When Morning Came  210
        I. Why Did It Dawn? / Mexico (Nahua) 210
        II. That Was the Principal Day / Mexico (Tzotzil Maya) 211
66. Three Kings / New Mexico (Isleta) 211
67. The Christ Child as Trickster / Ecuador (Quichua) 212
68. Christ Saved by the Firefly / Guatemala (Cakchiquel Maya) 213
69. Christ Betrayed by Snails / Belize (Kekchi Maya) 214
70. Christ Betrayed by the Magpie-jay / Mexico (Tzotzil Maya) 214
71. The Blind Man at the Cross / Mexico (Mazatec) 214
72. The Cricket, the Mole, and the Mouse / Mexico (Mazatec) 216
73. As If with Wings / Mexico (Mazatec) 218
 
Part Seven 219
74. Slowpoke Slaughtered Four / Puerto Rico 219
75. The Price of Heaven and the Rain of Caramels / Mexico 221
76. Pine Cone the Astrologer / Panama 224
77. The Dragon Slayer / Mexico 225
78. Johnny-boy / Nicaragua 229
79. The Rarest Thing / Guatemala 230
80. Prince Simpleheart / Costa Rica 232
81. The Flower of Lily-Lo / Mexico 236
82. My Garden Is Better Than Ever / Mexico (Popoluca) 238
83. Juan Bobo and the Pig / Puerto Rico 239
84.The Parrot Prince / Chile 240
Chain Riddles 245
 
Part Eight 251
85. A Dead Man Speaks / Texas 251
86. The Bear’s Son / Honduras (Lenca) 252
87. Charity / Argentina 259
88. Riches Without Working / Mexico (Nahua) 260
89. Let Somebody Buy You Who Doesn’t Know You / Guatemala 262
90. The Mouse King / Bolivia 264
91. Mariquita Grim and Mariquita Fair / Cuba 266
92. The Compadre’s Dinner / Dominican Republic 270
93. The Hog / Colorado 272
94. Two Sisters / Puerto Rico 272
95. The Ghosts’ Reales / Domincan Republic 274
 
Part Nine 277
96. The Bad Compadre / Guatemala (Cakchiquel Maya) 277
97. Black Chickens / Mexico (Tepecano) 283
98. Doublehead / El Salvador (Pipil) 286
99. Littlebit / Chile 288
100. Rosalie / Mexico (Yucantec Maya) 293
101. A Day Laborer Goes to Work / Mexico (Otomi) 297
102. The Moth / Peru (Quechua) 303
103. The Earth Ate Them / Argentina 304
 
Epilogue: Twentieth-Century Myths 307
104. Why Tobacco Grows Close to Houses / Colombia (Kogi) 310
105. The Buzzard Husband / Mexico (Tzotzil Maya) 310
106. The Dead Wife / Nicaragua (Mískito) 314
107. Romi Kumu Makes the World / Colombia (Barasana) 315
108. She Was Thought and Memory / Colombia (Kogi) 316
109. Was It Not an Illusion? / Colombia (Witoto) 317
110. The Beginning Life of the Hummingbird / Paraguay (Mbyá Guarani) 318
111. Ibis Story / Chile (Yamana) 319
112. The Condor Seeks a Wife / Bolivia (Quechua) 320
113. The Priest’s Son Becomes an Eagle / New Mexico (Zuna) 322
114. The Revolts of the Untensils / Bolivia (Tacana) 325
115. The Origin of Permanent Death / Ecuador (Shuar) 326
 
Notes 329
Register of Tale Types and Selected Motifs 363
Glossary of Native Cultures 369
Bibliography 373
Permissions Acknowledgments 385

Excerpt

Mistress Lucía
 
Very well then. Here was a king who wished to marry the most beautiful woman in the world, and with that in mind he left his kingdom and took to the road. He looked everywhere and tried all the different countries. But although he was shown the prettiest young women, he was quick to see their faults and kept putting off a decision. At last, tired of the traveling and the disappointments, he decided to go home and forget the whole matter.
 
After he had been back awhile, it happened that a peddler arrived in the kingdom selling picture postcards and all kinds of portraits. Down the street he came, wheeling his cart with the little portraits arranged under an open umbrella. And who but the king should be on hand to hear his cry:
 
“Get your portraits! Portraits here! Pretty faces ready to go, some not so pretty, and some so-so. Portraits! Get your portraits!”
 
The king called the man over, took a look at the portraits, and saw one that pleased him. The longer he looked at it, the more he liked it. Unable to take his eyes off it, he asked who the young woman was and where she lived.
 
“Sacred and Royal Majesty,” said the peddler, “she whom you admire in the mistress Lucía, who lives in the town of La Cañada. I must tell you, she’s an orphan, whose brother Juan watches over her closely. In fact he lets her come out on her balcony only one day a year. I myself have never seen her, but those who have spend the entire year waiting for the day to come round again.”
 
Hearing this, and already smitten by the portrait, the king suffered an attack of lovesickness and had to retire to his chambers, where he immediately dispatched messengers to find the young man named Juan and to ask him for the hand of his sister Lucía.
 
When Juan had been brought to the palace and had heard the king’s proposal, he said he had never felt to honored. He would be pleased to allow the marriage. But first he would have to have a private audience with the king. The king drew him aside.
 
“Majesty,” whispered the young man, “I must tell you this not because she’s my sister, but because it’s the honest truth. Beyond mere beauty she has three charms, and no one knows about then but me, and now you: when she brushed her hair, pearls fall to the ground; when she washes her hands, flowers drop from her fingers; and whenever she cries, it rains.”
 
The king, who had never heard such marvels, was now more impatient than before, if that is possible. He ordered a coach to be outfitted and sent Juan with an escort to bring back Lucía at once, while he himself made arrangements for the wedding.
 
And now we will leave this king and turn to the mistress Lucía, shut up in her house and worrying her head over why in the world her brother had been summoned to the palace. She was torturing herself with first one idea and then another when Juan arrived and gave her the news that the king had decided to marry her.
 
Lucía, who was an obedient girl, made no objection to her brother’s plans and even began packing her things. But she did have one requirement: she must be allowed to bring her pet parakeet and her pet mockingbird. And for the occasion she prettied up each of the two cages with a bonnet of ribbons. While she busied herself with this work, one of her servant girls said to her, “Mistress Lucía, you should bring me with you to clean the cages.”
 
“Why not? Go ask your mother for permission.”
 
The girl returned with her mother and said, “I can go if my mother comes too. And she’ll do your laundry, just as always.”
 
“Very well, I’ll ask Juan, and if he says yes, you can both come.”
 
Juan thought, “What could be better?” This way his sister would not be homesick. Besides, there was a brush fire just at that moment and the neighbors needed Juan to help put it out. So he had no choice but to entrust Lucía to the maidservant and her mother. No doubt she would be perfectly safe. And of course he didn’t want to keep the king waiting.
 
Up went the birdcages onto the luggage rack of the carriage. The two servants settled themselves comfortably. And Juan said good-bye to his sister, giving her many good counsels along with his blessing. Her carriage now ready, Lucía fluttered her handkerchief, saying:
 
Good-bye, dear Juan, who mothered and fathered me.
Good-bye, dear chapel, where I said my prayers.
Good-bye dear pebbles, that I used to play with.
Good-bye, dear brook, where I used to bathe.
 
“Hush,” said Juan, “You’re making me weak.” With that the carriage rolled off, Lucía, started to cry, and the heavens, need it be said, opened up and poured.
 
Well, they hadn’t gone far when they came to a deep woods were berries were growing. The old servant woman called out, “Look here! What should it be but strawberries! Mistress Lucía, why don’t we stop and pick these for the king, so we don’t come empty-handed.”
 
“Very well,” said Lucía. She ordered the coachman to stop, and as the three of them were jumping down, the parakeet caught Lucía’s eye and said, “Mama Lucía, being me too.” And Lucía, who could never say no to anyone, took the cage off the road and tied it behind her back.
 
They had just begun picking the strawberries when the woman said, “Mistress Lucía, look! They’re plumper over that way,” and she ran farther into the forest. “Oh, darling! Look! They’re fresher over that way, and more fragrant!” But in her heart she had a deeper plan. As soon as they were far enough from the carriage to be out of sight, the old servant woman took hold of Lucía, wrenched her arms, and slapped her all over. She pulled off Lucía’s outfit and put it on her own daughter. Leaving Lucía with the parakeet and the daughter’s clothes, the two servants ran back to the carriage and shouted to the coachman, “To the palace and hurry!”
 
When they arrived the king was waiting with his entire court. At a glance he could tell that his bride-to-be was no rarity. She didn’t even look like the portrait. He’d been tricked. But what are mere appearances? He consoled himself with the thought of the young woman’s three charms. Anyway, since the king’s word is good for keeps, as people say, he had no choice but to go ahead with the wedding.
 
As the nuptials drew to a close, the king ordered his guards to throw open the doors to a balcony that overlooked the main square. All the king’s subjects were to gather at once to witness a spectacle never before seen in the world. The queen would display her three charms.
 
The square filled up in no time. The king and his court arranged themselves on the balcony. But can you imagine? When the moment arrived for the maidservant to brush her hair, what fell out but lice? She washed her hands, and nothing came off but grime. And when she started to cry, the clouds flew away and hid behind the hills.
 
The king was humiliated. He lashed out at the queen. When she told him she had no idea what he was talking about, he began to suspect Don Juan of treachery. He summoned him to the palace for questioning.
 
At this the alert-minded queen pleaded a migraine and dotted her temples with paper discs soaked in oil of alacrán. No one was to disturb her, and all for the purpose of avoiding Juan, who would naturally recognize her.
 
On arriving at the palace, Juan had to be told that his sister could not see him, and when the king charged him with the crime of fraud he had no defense. After the king had pronounced him guilty, the ministers in council sentenced him to death.
 
The trial was held on the balcony, and the execution and burial took place in the commons just below. The mockingbird, whose cage happened to hang on the balcony, saw it all.
 
And now we must leave the palace and turn to Lucía. The poor dear, she’d been left alone in the woods without the slightest idea where to go. What’s more, it was getting dark, and the father she walked the deeper the forest. Worn out, she sank under a pine tree, ready to spend the night as best she could, when the parakeet said,
 
Dear mama Lucía,
Step it, stretch it!
 
And this gave her a second wind. Suddenly there in front of her was the edge of the woods and in the distance a light.
 
Dear mama Lucía,
Step it, stretch it!
 
And before she knew it she’d arrived at the hut of a woodcutter and his family. Such beauty the poor little family had never seen. The terrified father cried out, “In God’s name, speak! Are you of this life or the next?”
 
“Flesh and blood, but lost in the woods,” came the simple reply, and moved by pity the took her in. The next morning she combed a few pearls from her hair and gave them to the woodcutter’s wife to sell in town, wherever that might be. Believe it or not, the nearest town was the king’s royal seat, and when the wife returned from her errand she brought the news that the king was in need of a seamstress.
 
Following the wife’s directions and with the parakeet’s cage strapped to her back, Lucía set off her town. No sooner had she arrived at the palace than a button popped off the king’s shirt. He demanded a seamstress at once.
 
Lucía presented herself and was led to the king’s balcony. Does it have to be said? The king was entranced. But the first one to speak was the mockingbird:
 
Mistress Lucía, O Mistress Lucía,
Your brother Don Juan was done in,
And his grave lies in the commons.
 
Such news! Lucía burst into tears, and the sky answered with a sudden shower.
 
Yet another interruption. It was the chocolate hour. In came the king’s page with chocolate and muffins on a sterling salver. The king invited Lucía to join him, and when she insisted on first washing her hands, he ordered a basin and a towel of genuine linen with a pictorial border. No sooner had she dipped her hands in the water than the basin was filled with flowers.
 
The king now knew: this was none other than Lucía. “Tell him,” said the parakeet. “Tell what happened,” And she told her story, strawberries and all, whereupon the king gave orders for the old servant woman and her daughter to be hanged by the neck from the uppermost branches of the tallest tree on the highest hill.
 
As for Mistress Lucía, she was wed to the king in a ceremony followed by feasting. As soon as it was over, the doors to the balcony were thrown open and word went out that the queen would exhibit her three charms. The people gathered, this time however with rocks in their hands to stone the queen in case they were cheated again. But it was not to be.
 
Lucía combed her hair with an ivory comb, and so many pearls tumbled forth that the people, forgetting the stones they had brought, scrambled to snap up the pearls.
 
A silver basin with a plunger and fountain came forth on a tray. When Lucía washed her hands so many flowers spilled over the rail of the balcony that women caught them with their aprons and men with their hats.
 
So nothing was left but to see it rain. In a time of such happiness who could cry? But all at once the mockingbird sang its song:
 
Mistress Lucía, O Mistress Lucía,
Your brother Don Juan was done in,
And his grave lies in the commons.
 
At the first word Lucía began to weep. The heavens opened, and immediately the people ran for cover. They ran and couldn’t stop.
 
And here we will leave them wearing out the soles of their shoes.
 
—Mexico / Bárbara (surname not given)

Awards

  • WINNER
    New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age

Author

JOHN BIERHORST is the author, editor, or translator of more than thirty books on Native American lore, including Latin American Folktales, The Mythology of South America, The Mythology of North America, and The Mythology of Mexico and Central America.

JOHN BIERHORST es el autor de dos libros sobre folklore latinoamericano, The Mythology of South America y The Mythology of Mexico and Central America. Un especialista en los idiomas y las literaturas aztecas, es el traductor de Cantares Mexicanos y el autor de un diccionario nahuatl-ingles. Actualmente es un editor de The Norton Anthology of World Literatura y había recibido subsidios y becas del Americas Society, el National Endowment for the Humanities, y el National Endowment for the Arts. View titles by John Bierhorst