Tag: 30. Cunning and Deception

Using wit or deceit to achieve goals

The Giant’s Pupil

Manoel, a clever but poor boy raised with the wisdom of a kind giant, wins the heart of a princess through an ingenious riddle. After a journey marked by poisoned bread, a faithful dog, and robbers, Manoel arrives at the palace transformed. His riddle, rooted in his adventures, stumps the princess, earning him her hand and a future worthy of his unique wit and courage.

Source
Tales of Giants from Brazil
by Elsie Spicer Eells
Dodd, Mead and Co. – New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Cunning and Deception: Manoel uses his wit to create a riddle that the princess cannot solve, securing his marriage to her.

Guardian Figures: The giant acts as a mentor to Manoel, teaching him the secrets of the natural world and preparing him for future challenges.

Trials and Tribulations: Manoel faces various challenges on his journey, including poisoned bread, the death of his dog, and encounters with robbers, all of which test his resolve and resourcefulness.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Brazilian peoples

Long years ago there lived a little boy whose name was Manoel. His father and mother were so very poor that they could not afford to send him to school. Because he did not go to school he played all day in the fields on the edge of the forest where the giant lived.

One day Manoel met the giant. The giant lived all alone in the forest, so he was very lonely and wished he had a little boy like Manoel. He loved little Manoel as soon as he saw him, and after that they were together every day.

► Continue reading…

The giant taught Manoel all the secrets of the forests and jungles. He taught him all the secrets of the wind and the rain and the thunder and the lightning. He taught him all the secrets of the beasts and the birds and the serpents.

Manoel grew up a wise lad indeed. His father and mother were very proud of him and so was his kind teacher, the giant.

One day the king’s messenger rode up and down the kingdom with a message from the king’s daughter. The king’s daughter, the beautiful princess of the land, had promised to wed the man who could tell her a riddle she could not guess. All the princes who had sung of love beneath the palace window had been very stupid. The princess wished to marry a man who knew more than she did.

When Manoel heard the words of the messenger he said to his father and mother, “I am going to the palace to tell a riddle to the princess. I am sure I can give her one which she cannot guess.”

“You are an exceedingly clever lad, I know, my son,” replied his mother, “but there will be many princes and handsome cavalheiros at the palace to tell riddles to the princess. What if she will not listen to a lad in shabby clothing!”

“I will make the princess listen to my riddle,” replied Manoel.

“What riddle are you going to ask the princess?” asked Manoel’s father.

“I do not know yet,” replied the lad. “I will make up a riddle on the way to the palace. I am going to start at once.”

The kind giant who had been the lad’s friend gave him his blessing and wished him luck. The lad’s mother prepared a lunch for him to carry with him. His father sat before the door and boasted to all the neighbours that his son was going to wed the king’s daughter. Manoel took his dog with him when he went on his journey, because he wanted some one for company.

Manoel journeyed on and on through the forests and jungles and after a time he had eaten all the lunch his mother had given him when he went from home. When he became hungry he spent his last vintem for some bread from a little venda in the town he passed through. He went on to the forest to eat the bread, and before he tasted of it himself he gave a piece to his dog. The dog died immediately. The bread was poisoned.

Even as Manoel stood by weeping for his faithful dog, three big black buzzards flew down and devoured the dead beast. They fell dead immediately. Just then the lad heard voices, and soon he saw seven horsemen approaching. The men were robbers, and though they had much gold in their pockets they had no food. “I am hungry enough to eat a dead buzzard,” said the captain of the robbers. The robbers greedily seized the three buzzards and devoured them at once. The seven men immediately died from the poison.

“The buzzards stole the body of my dog, so they became mine,” said Manoel. “The seven robbers stole my three buzzards, so they became mine, too.” He took all the gold from the pockets of the seven robbers and dressed himself in the garments of the captain of the robbers because they were finest. He mounted the horse of the captain of the robbers because that was the best horse.

The lad rode on toward the palace of the king. After a time he became thirsty and pushed the horse into a gallop. The horse became covered with sweat, and with the horse’s sweat he quenched his thirst. Soon he arrived at the royal palace.

Dressed in the robber’s fine garments and mounted upon the robber’s fine horse, Manoel had no difficulty in being admitted to the palace. He was taken at once before the princess to tell his riddle.

The princess saw in Manoel’s eyes all the secrets of the forests and jungles which the kind giant had taught him. “Here is a youth who will tell me a riddle which will be worth listening to,” said the princess to herself. All the princes and cavalheiros from all the neighbouring kingdoms had told her such stupid riddles that she had been bored nearly to death. She could always guess the answers, even before she had heard the end of the riddle.

This is the riddle which Manoel told the princess:

“I went away from home with a pocket full;
Soon it became empty;
Again it became full.
I went away from home with a companion;
My pocket-full killed my companion;
My dead companion was the slayer of three;
The three killed seven.
From the seven I chose the best;
I drank water which did not fall from heaven.
And here I stand
Before the loveliest princess in the land.”

The princess listened to the riddle carefully. Then she asked Manoel to say it all over again. The princess thought and thought, but she did not have a good guess as to the answer to the riddle.

No one in all the palace could understand Manoel’s riddle. “You have won my daughter as your bride,” said the king, after he had used all his royal wits to solve the riddle and could not do it.

When Manoel explained his riddle to the princess, she said, “Nossa Senhora herself must have sent you to me. I never could have endured a stupid husband.”

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

The Little Sister of the Giants

Angelita, a beautiful young girl, endures her jealous stepmother’s cruelty after her father’s death. Cast into the jungle, she finds refuge with kind-hearted giants. Her stepmother’s plot to kill her using poisoned slippers succeeds temporarily, but a prince discovers Angelita and revives her. They marry, and Angelita maintains bonds with the giants, who lovingly embrace her new life and family.

Source
Tales of Giants from Brazil
by Elsie Spicer Eells
Dodd, Mead and Co. – New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Mythical Creatures: The giants embody this theme as extraordinary beings with unique qualities.

Cunning and Deception: The stepmother’s plan to rid herself of Angelita highlights deceitful behavior.

Transformation through Love: Angelita’s journey to happiness and love with the prince signifies personal growth and redemption.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Brazilian peoples

Once upon a time there was a little girl who was very beautiful. Her eyes were like the eyes of the gazelle; her hair hid in its soft waves the deep shadows of the night; her smile was like the sunrise. Each year as she grew older she grew also more and more beautiful. Her name was Angelita.

The little girl’s mother was dead, and her father, the image-maker, had married a second time. The step-mother was a woman who was renowned in the city for her great beauty.

► Continue reading…

As her little step-daughter grew more and more lovely each day of her life she soon became jealous of the child. Each night she asked the image-maker, “Who is more beautiful, your wife or your child?”

The image-maker was a wise man and knew all too well his wife’s jealous disposition. He always responded, “You, my wife, are absolutely peerless.”

One day the image-maker suddenly died, and the step-mother and step-daughter were left alone in the world. They both mourned deeply the passing of the kind image-maker.

One day as they were leaning over the balcony two passers-by observed them, and one said to the other, “Do you notice those beautiful women in the balcony? The mother is beautiful, but the daughter is far more beautiful.” The step-mother had always been jealous of the daughter’s loveliness, but now her jealousy was fanned into a burning flame. The wise image-maker was no longer there to tell her that she was peerless.

The next day the mother and daughter again leaned over the balcony. Two soldiers passed by and one said to the other: “Do you observe those two beautiful women in the balcony? The mother is beautiful, but the daughter is far more beautiful.” The step-mother flew into a terrible rage. She now knew that it was true as she had long feared. The girl was more beautiful than she. Her jealousy knew no bounds. She seized her step-daughter roughly and shut her up in a little room in the attic.

The little room in the attic had just one tiny window high up in the wall. The window was shut, but Angelita climbed up to open it in order to get a little air. The next afternoon she grew weary of the confinement of the little room, so she dug a foothold in the wall where she could stand and look out of the window. Her step-mother was leaning over the balcony all alone when two cavalheiros passed by. One said to the other, “Do you observe the beautiful woman in the balcony?” “Yes,” replied the other. “She is a beautiful woman, but the little maid who is kept a prisoner in the attic is far more beautiful.”

The step-mother became desperate. She ordered the old negro servant to carry the girl into the jungle and kill her. “Be sure that you bring back the tip of Angelita’s tongue, so that I may know that you have obeyed my order,” she said.

Angelita was very happy to be taken out of the little attic room, and set out for a walk with the old negro with a light heart. They walked through the city streets and out into the open country. Soon they had reached the deep jungle. “Where are we going?” the girl asked in surprise.

“We are taking a walk for our health, yayazinha,” replied the old negro.

Soon they were so far in the jungle that the path was entirely overgrown. No ray of light penetrated through the deep foliage. Angelita became frightened. “I’ll not go another step if you do not tell me where you are taking me,” she said as she stamped her little foot upon the ground.

The old negro burst into tears and told Angelita all that her step-mother had commanded. “I could not hurt one hair of your lovely head, much less cut off the tip of your little tongue, yayazinha,” sobbed the old man.

Angelita stood still and thought. “Go back to my step-mother,” she said to the old man. “On the way you will see plenty of dogs. Cut off the tip of a little dog’s tongue and carry it home to my step-mother.”

This is what the old negro did. The step-mother believed him and thought that he had slain her step-daughter according to her command.

Angelita, in the meantime, wandered on and on through the jungle. The big snakes glided swiftly out of her path. The monkeys and the parrots chattered to keep her from being lonely. She wandered on and on until finally she came to an enormous palace. The front door was wide open. She went from room to room, but the palace was entirely deserted. There was not a neat, orderly room in the entire palace.

“I can make these lovely rooms neat and clean,” said Angelita. “They surely need some one to do it!” She found a broom and went to work at once. Soon the whole palace was in order once more. Everything was clean and bright.

Just as Angelita was finishing her task she heard a great noise. She looked out of the door, and there were three enormous giants entering the house. She had never dreamed that giants could be so big. She was frightened nearly to death and scrambled under a chair as fast as she could.

When the giants came into the house they were amazed to find everything in such splendid order. “This is a different looking place from what we left,” said the biggest giant.

“What dirty, disorderly giants we have been, living here all by ourselves,” said the middle-sized giant. “I just realize it, now that I see what our house looks like when it is neat and clean.”

“What kind fairy could have done all this work while we were away?” said the littlest giant, who was not little at all, but almost as big as his enormous brothers.

The three giants fell to discussing the question. They could not guess how their house could have been made so clean. Their voices were so very kind, in spite of being so loud and heavy, that Angelita decided she dare come out from under the chair and let them see who had done the work for them. She quickly crawled out from her hiding place.

“What lovely fairy is this?” asked the biggest giant, looking at her kindly. He thought that she really was a fairy.

“This is the loveliest fairy I ever saw in all my life,” said the middle-sized giant.

“How did such a lovely fairy ever happen to find our dirty, disorderly palace?” asked the littlest giant who was not little at all.

Angelita told the three giants her story. Her beauty and her sweet ways completely entranced them.

“Please live with us always here in our palace in the jungle and be our little sister,” said the biggest giant, and the middle-sized giant and the littlest giant, speaking all at once. Their three big deep voices all together made a noise like thunder.

Angelita lived in the palace with the three giants after that. Every day when they went out to hunt she would take the broom and make the palace neat and clean. They called her “little sister” and loved her with all their big giant hearts.

All was well until a little bird went and told Angelita’s step-mother that she was alive and living in the depths of the jungle with the three giants. When the step-mother heard about it she was so angry that she thought she could never be happy as long as Angelita was living in the world. She consulted a wicked witch as soon as she could find her shawl.

The wicked witch gave the step-mother some poisoned slippers. “These will cause the immediate death of any person who puts them on,” said the wicked witch. Then she showed the step-mother just how to reach the palace where Angelita lived in the depths of the jungle with the three giants.

Angelita’s step-mother followed the directions which the witch had given her and easily found the giants’ palace. Angelita was so happy living with the giants and keeping house for them that she had forgotten what fear was like. She was not frightened at all when she heard some one clap hands before the door one day when the giants were away. She went to the door; and, though she was very much surprised to see her step-mother, she invited her into the house. Her step-mother gave her a loving embrace and kissed her upon both cheeks. “Dear child, it is a long time since I have seen you,” she said. “I have brought you a little gift to show you that I have not forgotten you. It is only a poor, mean little gift, but it is the best I could bring.”

Angelita was touched at her step-mother’s gift and accepted it with hearty thanks. As soon as her step-mother had gone she untied the red ribbon around the package and opened it. Inside was a pair of leather slippers. Angelita looked at the little slippers. They were like the slippers which her dear father, the image-maker, had once brought home to her. “How kind it was in my step-mother to bring these slippers to me,” she said as she put them on.

As soon as the slippers were on Angelita’s feet, she fell dead just as the wicked witch had promised the step-mother she would do. Her step-mother was watching through the window, and when she saw Angelita dead she hurried home in joy. “Now I, alone, am the peerless beauty,” she said.

When the three giants came home to dinner they knew at once that there was something wrong. There were dirty tracks on the floor and dirty finger prints upon the door. “Who made these dirty marks?” said the biggest giant.

“What has happened to our dear little sister that she has not cleaned them away?” asked the middle-sized giant.

“I am afraid there is something wrong with little sister,” said the littlest giant who was not little at all.

They clapped their big hands before the door, but no smiling little sister ran to meet them. They entered the big hall of the palace with a bound. There in the middle of the floor lay Angelita, just as she had fallen when she put on the poisoned slippers which her step-mother had given her.

“What evil, has befallen our dear little sister?” said the biggest giant.

“Who could have slain our little sister whom we loved so much?” said the middle-sized giant.

“Who will keep house for us now that our dear little sister is dead?” asked the littlest giant.

Then the biggest giant and the middle-sized giant and the littlest giant all began to sob so loud that it shook the earth. “Our dear little sister is dead! What shall we do! What shall we do!”

The giants could not go into the city to give their little sister Christian burial, but they built a beautiful casket out of silver and carried it to the path which led to the city. Then they hid themselves to watch and make sure that some one found it to carry to the burying place.

Soon a handsome prince passed by on horseback. He noticed the silver casket at once and opened it. The girl whose still form lay inside was the most beautiful maid he had ever gazed upon. “This dead maid is my own true love,” he said and he carried the silver casket home to his own palace.

He commanded that no one should enter the room where he placed the silver casket, and this aroused the curiosity of his little sister at once. At the very first opportunity she slipped into the room. She opened the casket and was surprised to see the beautiful quiet maid. “You are very lovely,” she said to the still form, “all except your slippers. I think they are very ugly.” With these words she pulled off the leather slippers.

Angelita gave a deep sigh, opened her beautiful eyes, and asked for a drink of water.

The little sister called the prince at once. When he saw Angelita was really alive he could hardly believe the good fortune. He asked that the wedding night be celebrated immediately. Angelita begged that she might go back into the deep jungle and invite the three giants to the wedding. The biggest giant, the middle-sized giant, and the littlest giant who was not little at all, came to the wedding feast. After that they visited their little sister often at her new home; and, when she had children of her own, it was the funniest sight one ever saw to see the biggest giant hold the tiny babes upon his knee.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

The Most Beautiful Princess

A prince embarks on a quest to save his ill father but is captured by a giant while chasing a magical hare, later revealed as an enchanted princess. Freed by the princess, the prince fails to save his father and becomes a wandering fisherman. Reunited, they outwit a giant and a mystical fish, proving the princess’s beauty at a royal festa. Her enchantment is broken, leading to a joyful marriage.

Source
Tales of Giants from Brazil
by Elsie Spicer Eells
Dodd, Mead and Co. – New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Quest: The prince embarks on a journey to find a hare to prepare broth for his ailing father.

Cunning and Deception: The prince and princess employ clever strategies to outwit the giant and a mystical fish.

Love and Betrayal: The developing romantic bond between the prince and the princess is central to the story.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Brazilian peoples

Long ago there was a king who was very ill. He wanted a hare killed to make him some broth. His only son, the prince, set out to find one. As the prince walked along the path to the forest a pretty little hare ran out of the hedge and crossed his path. He at once started in pursuit. The hare was a very swift runner. The prince followed her into the deep forest. Suddenly the hare ran into a hole in the ground. The prince kept in sight of her and soon found to his dismay that he was in a big cave. At the rear of the cave there was the most enormous giant he had ever seen in his life.

► Continue reading…

The prince was terribly frightened. “Oh, ho!” said the giant in such a deep savage voice that the cave echoed and re-echoed with his words. “You thought you’d catch my little hare, did you? Well, I’ve caught you instead!”

The giant seized the prince in one of his enormous hands and tossed him lightly into a box at one end of the cave. He put the cover on the box and locked it down with a big key. The prince could get only a tiny bit of air through a little hole in the top, and he thought that he never could live. Hours passed. Sometimes the prince slept, but more often he lay there thinking about his sick father and what he could ever do to get out of the box and back once more to his father’s side.

Suddenly he heard the key turn in the lock. The cover was lifted, and he saw standing before him the most beautiful maiden he had ever seen or dreamed of. “I am the hare you followed into the cave,” said she with a smile. “I am an enchanted princess and, though I have to take the form of a hare in the daytime, at night I am free to resume my own shape. You got into this trouble following me into the cave and I am so sorry for you that I am going to let you out.”

“You are so beautiful that I could stay here for ever and gaze into your lovely eyes,” said the prince.

“You would see only a hare in the daytime,” replied the princess. “It is not always night. Besides, the giant may return at any moment. He just went out on a hunting trip because he thought that you would not make a sufficiently big supper for him. Don’t be foolish. I’ll show you the way out of the cave and then you must hurry home as fast as possible.”

The prince thanked her for all her great kindness to him and acted upon her advice. He went home by the nearest path, but when he reached the palace his father was already dead. The palace was wrapped in mourning.

The prince was so overcome with grief that he felt that he could not keep on living in the palace. After his father’s funeral he went away as a wanderer. He changed clothes with a poor fisherman whom he met by the river, for he did not wish to be recognized as the prince.

Dressed as a poor fisherman he wandered from one kingdom to another. He caught fish for his food, and he soon recognized the fact that the net which the fisherman had given him as part of his outfit was a most wonderful net. The biggest fish in the sea could not break through. “This net must have the special blessing of Nossa Senhora upon it,” said the prince.

In the course of his wanderings the prince arrived at a city where a great festa was being held. The palace was decked with gay banners. Every afternoon the messenger of the king rode up and down the city streets proclaiming, “The princess of our kingdom is the most beautiful princess in all the world.”

The prince remembered the beautiful princess who had let him out of the giant’s cave. “Surely this princess cannot be as beautiful as she,” said the prince. “I am going to see this princess with my own eyes and find out.”

Accordingly the prince went to the palace gate to watch for the princess. Soon she came to the balcony and leaned over the railing. She was very beautiful, but her nose was just a tiny bit crooked. She did not compare at all with the princess of the cave.

“This princess is not by any means the most beautiful one in the world,” said the prince dressed as a fisherman. “I know where there is a princess who is much more beautiful.”

The people standing by heard him. His words were at once reported to the royal guards. They seized him roughly and took him to the king.

“So you are the fisherman who says that my daughter is not the most beautiful princess in the world?” said the king sternly. “You say, I hear, that you know a princess who is much more beautiful. I am a just king or else I should order that you be put to death immediately. As it is, I’ll give you the chance to prove what you say. If you are unable to fulfil your boast and show me this princess who in the opinion of my court is more beautiful than my daughter, you shall lose your life. Remember that you will have to bring her here to my court to have her beauty proven.”

“Thanks, your majesty,” said the prince. “If you will allow me two weeks to fulfil the contract, and if you’ll prepare a festa for the night two weeks hence, I’ll endeavour to present the most beautiful princess in the world to your assembled court.”

The king was astonished at the fisherman’s words, for he had not thought that a poor fisherman like him knew many princesses. However, he allowed him to depart in search of the princess.

Then the prince hurried home and once more walked toward the forest by the same path he had gone the day he went in search of the hare for his father’s broth. He soon found the place where the hare had crossed his path, and he did his best to remember the course they had followed as he pursued her into the forest.

In the forest he saw evidences of what looked like a flood. The water had washed away every trace of the entrance of the cave. He dug and dug at the place where he thought it ought to be. He found nothing which seemed like the cave’s entrance.

He dug and dug at a new place near by and soon he found his way barred by a massive door. The entrance to the cave was securely shut by it. The prince knocked at the door with all his might.

Soon the door was opened a tiny bit and the face of a little old woman looked out. “I am the ama of the princess,” she said. “I think you are the prince she was expecting to return to deliver her from all the terrible calamities which have befallen her.”

“What has happened to my beautiful princess who saved my life?” asked the prince. “I am indeed the prince, but I am surprised that you should recognize me in my fisherman’s garb.”

“The princess told me that I would know you by the smile in your eyes,” replied the old ama. “I did not look at your clothes at all. I looked at your eyes. You have the smile in them though your face is sad. Come into the cave, and I will tell you all that has happened.”

When the prince was inside the cave she hastily barred the door and said, “When the giant returned he was terribly angry at the princess because she had let you escape. He seized her roughly and put her into the box in your place. The princess had thrown away the key to the box when she let you out; and, search as he would, the giant was unable to find it again anywhere. That made him even angrier than before. All day he sits on the top of the chest when the princess is in the form of the hare. At night when he goes away he causes a great river to flow around the entrance to the cave. He has placed a huge fish as guard to the entrance. This fish swims up and down before our door and calls out such vile names at the princess, that, when she is in her own form, she stays in the box and stuffs cotton in her ears. You got here just as the giant had left. The water must have risen as soon as you were inside our door. I hear the fish now.”

Even as she spoke the prince heard the voice of the fish. It said such terrible words that the prince was glad that the princess was in the box with cotton in ears. “You get into the box with the princess,” he said to the ama. “I am a good swimmer and I am going to open the door and swim out. The box is made of wood that will float; so, inside of it, you and the princess will float out to safety.”

“How will you ever swim past this terrible fish?” asked the old ama.

“Do not fear,” replied the prince. “I have with me a net which is so strong that the biggest, fiercest fish in the world cannot break it. I will catch the fish in it. Just wait and you will see. In the meantime take the cotton out of the ears of the princess and tell her that I am here. Quiet her fears and stay in the box for a few moments.”

The old ama got into the box as the prince had commanded. Then he unbarred the great door. The fish swam at him fiercely, but the prince quickly entangled him in his strong net. Holding him fast in the net, the prince swam up to the surface of the water and was soon on the bank of the raging river. Then he killed the fish and scaled it and put the scales in his pocket.

The box had floated up to the surface of the water as the prince had said it would. The prince threw his net over it and drew it to land. The ama and the beautiful princess stepped out. The princess was so lovely that the prince fell upon his knees before her. The sight of her great beauty almost blinded his eyes.

“I knew all the time that you would come back again,” said the princess. “I knew that you would deliver me from my troubles, but you have been a long time getting here.”

The prince told the princess all that had happened to him. “You saved my life from the giant,” said he. “I am very glad to have had an opportunity to save your life for you. Now I must ask you to again save my life.” Then he told about the festa at which he must display the most beautiful princess in the world or forfeit his life.

“I’ll gladly go to the festa with you,” said the princess. “It is fortunate that it is held at night.”

The Princess and her ama travelled quickly with the prince to the kingdom which claimed to possess the most beautiful princess in the world. It was already the night of the appointed festa when they arrived. The king’s army was drawn up to slay the prince. No one dreamed that the poor fisherman would be able to bring any princess at all with him, much less a beautiful one. The prince hid the princess in the box which the old ama carried on top of her head.

When the poor fisherman stood before the king with an old ama standing by his side, a great laugh ran through the king’s court. “We knew that the fisherman would never be able to bring a princess more beautiful than our own lovely princess,” said the courtiers one to another. “But see what he has brought in her place!” Then they laughed and laughed until they could hardly stand.

The king’s soldiers stepped forward to seize the fisherman to put him to death. “Grant me just one moment more of life,” begged the prince.

The king nodded his head and the prince put his hand into the pocket of his fisherman’s coat. He pulled out a handful of silver scales. The most beautiful silvery cloud filled the room.

“Just a moment more,” begged the prince. Then he pulled a handful of golden scales from out his pocket. The most beautiful golden cloud filled the room.

“Please just another little minute,” asked the prince and he pulled out a handful of jewelled scales from his pocket. The most wonderful sparkling cloud of jewels fell about them. As the cloud cleared away there stood the most beautiful princess any one had ever seen or dreamed of between the old ama and the prince in the fisherman clothes.

The soldiers drew back. The king looked at the floor and so did all the courtiers. “You have won your wager,” said the king when he could find his voice. “Our daughter is not the most beautiful princess in the whole world. I see myself that her nose is a tiny bit crooked.”

The prince and princess and the old ama went back to the prince’s own kingdom where the wedding of the prince and princess was celebrated with a great feast. From the moment that the fish scales fell upon the princess her enchantment was broken and she never became a hare again. She and the prince lived together happily in the prince’s palace, and the giant never troubled them again, though they were always careful to keep away from the forest.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

The Deer-Folk

A young man encounters a magical doe who transforms into a woman and becomes his wife. She leads him to visit her family, revealed to be deer who betray and attack him. Using magical seeds and the help of a hummingbird, his grandmother’s dogs, and a tortoise, the young man evades danger. The dogs ultimately rescue him, defeating the treacherous deer and the doe-woman.

Source
Ethnology of the Mayas of
Southern and Central British Honduras
by John Eric Thompson
Field Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Series, Pub.274, Vol.17.2
Chicago, 1930

► Themes of the story

Cunning and Deception: The doe-woman’s betrayal and the deer’s attack on the young man underscore themes of deceit.

Trials and Tribulations: The young man’s challenges in evading the attacking deer and seeking help reflect a series of trials he must overcome.

Guardian Figures: The grandmother’s protective role and her magical dogs serve as guardian figures aiding the protagonist.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Maya people

Once upon a time there was a young fellow who lived with his grandmother. One day he started out to work, and when he reached his milpa he saw a beautiful doe standing in the middle of it; but as he looked at it, it turned into a girl.

The young fellow had been thinking of getting a wife for some time, and as the girl was pretty, he decided to ask her to come and live with him. This he did, and the girl consented.

When they arrived at the hut, the girl would not enter. The boy went in and told his grandmother (chichi) of his discovery.

► Continue reading…

Meanwhile the girl was hungry, so turning herself into a doe she made a good meal of grass and shrubs. When the boy called her in to eat, she had turned back into a girl once again. However, she was not hungry any longer and would not eat the tortillas and frijoles that had been prepared.

After they had been living together some time, the girl suggested that they should visit her relations. Now, her relations were all deer. They decided to make the visit, but before they left, the grandmother gave her grandson three seeds. One was the seed of the cotton tree (yastse), the second of the gourd tree (was), and the third of the quebracho (tsintok). She also set out a calabash of chicha. If that overflowed or turned into wine, it would mean that the boy was in danger, and she would loose the three magic dogs she had, and they would rush to the aid of the boy.

They set out and walked a very long way until they came to a lake. This they crossed and found themselves in a broad savanna, the home of the deer. Then the girl turned back into a doe and summoned her deer relatives, and urged them to attack the boy. On realizing his danger, the boy called out to his grandmother for aid, and remembering the three seeds, he threw down one, the cotton-tree seed. Immediately a huge cotton tree sprang up, into the highest branch of which he climbed. Meanwhile the grandmother paid no attention to his call for help, for she was drunk. Then the deer began to saw down -the tree by rubbing their antlers against it. Crick, crick, crick, went their antlers, as they slowly rubbed down the trunk. The boy was frightened. At last the trunk was almost sawn through; then just as it was about to fall, the boy threw down the calabash seed, and immediately a large calabash tree sprung up beneath him. The enraged deer started to saw this down too. Along came a humming- bird. The boy called it to help him. “What can I do to help you, young man?” Then the boy asked him to go and wake up his grandmother. The humming-bird sped off to her house. When he arrived there, she was lying in a drunken stupor. He called her, but she would not wake up. Then approaching close, he hovered in front of her face and darting in thrust his tongue up the old lady’s nostril. She gave a terrific sneeze, and the humming-bird was blown out through the door and far across the tops of the trees. However, he had done his work well; the grandmother was awakened. Immediately she realized what had happened. The gourd had overflowed with blood, and the floor of the hut was covered with it. She released the three dogs, who rushed off to the boy’s rescue.

Meanwhile the deer had sawn through the gourd tree with their antlers, and were engaged in sawing through the trunk of the quebracho, which had sprung up from the last seed. After a while, however, the deer moved off to rest awhile. Then a tortoise came by, and in response to the boy’s appeal for help, he turned the tree into stone by urinating at its base. When the deer discovered this, they were furious, and set to work with renewed vigor. Just as they were sawing through the last few inches, the dogs arrived, and rushing on the deer slew them all including the traitorous deer- woman. Thus the boy was saved.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

The Magic Flight

A young man seeks fortune but falls for Rosalie, a giant’s magical daughter. To win her, he completes impossible tasks with Rosalie’s help, angering the giant and his wife. They flee, using magic to escape relentless pursuits. Though separated after seven years by his lost memory, Rosalie uses wit and persistence to restore his love, reuniting them in triumph.

Source
Ethnology of the Mayas of
Southern and Central British Honduras
by John Eric Thompson
Field Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Series, Pub.274, Vol.17.2
Chicago, 1930

► Themes of the story

Quest: The protagonist embarks on a journey to earn money and win Rosalie’s hand, facing numerous challenges set by the giant.

Cunning and Deception: Rosalie uses her wit and magical abilities to help the protagonist complete the impossible tasks and outsmart her father.

Love and Betrayal: The love between the protagonist and Rosalie drives the plot, leading to their eventual reunion after overcoming obstacles and a period of separation.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Maya people

Once upon a time a young man started out from home to earn some money. After traveling some time, he came to a hut where there lived a giant with his three daughters. The young man was very attracted by the youngest daughter, and determined to stay there if he could. Accordingly he asked permission of the giant. The giant consented on condition that the young man completed certain tasks that he would set him. “I have always,” said the giant, “had a keen desire to take my bath immediately on getting out of bed instead of having to go all the way down to the lake. Tonight you will bring the lake up to the hut, so that when I get up in the morning I can sit on my bed and dangle my feet in its water. Here is a basket in which you can fetch the water.”

► Continue reading…

The young man was entirely nonplussed, but he decided to consult his sweetheart, the giant’s youngest daughter, whose name was Rosalie. Rosalie told him to go to sleep and not to worry, that she would see to the transfer of the lake. That night when the rest of the household slept, Rosalie went down to the lake, and with her skirt she swept up the water to her father’s bedside.

When the giant awoke, he was very surprised to find the water lapping the leg posts of his bed. Taking a large pot, he threw it into a very deep river, and bid his daughter’s suitor bring it forth. The young man dived in many times, but failed to locate the pot at such a great depth. Then Rosalie came to his rescue. They arranged to go together that night, and Rosalie would dive in. The boy was to call her name when she was at the bottom, otherwise she would be unable to rise again to the surface. This they did, and the following morning the giant found the pot once more in the house.

The next task that the giant set the young man was to make a milpa of a hundred mecates, clear the forest, burn, sow, and at midnight of the same day bring him a load of corn on the cob from the same milpa. The young man set to work at daybreak, but by sunset he had achieved practically nothing. Then Rosalie stretched out her skirt, and promptly all the forest was felled. By magic too she dried the bush, burnt it, sowed the corn, caused it to grow, and gathered the young maize cobs, so that her lover was able at midnight to take the cobs to her father. The giant was now thoroughly annoyed, and consulted with his wife how they could get the best of the presumptuous youth. They decided to give him a trial of horsemanship.

They arranged that the woman should turn herself into a mare, the giant would become the saddle and stirrups, and Rosalie should be turned into the bridle. Rosalie, however, overheard this conversation and warned her lover, bidding him not to spare the mare and the saddle, but to treat carefully the bridle.

Next morning the giant bid the young man go out into the savanna, where he would find a mare already saddled. He was to mount her and bring her back to the house. Meanwhile the giant and his wife and Rosalie took a short cut through the forest, and by the time the young man arrived they had already converted themselves into the mare and its saddle. The boy, who had armed himself with a good stout cudgel, jumped onto the mare’s back and before the mare had a chance to buck, he began to belabor her as hard as he could. The mare, or the old lady, whichever one cares to call her, was so benumbed by the shower of blows that the youth rained on her that she was quite incapable of making any attempt to throw her rider. After a few minutes she sank exhausted to the ground.

The boy returned to the hut, where a little later he was joined by the exhausted and belabored giant and his wife.

The boy had now completed his four tasks, but the giant, going back on his bargain, told him that there were yet other tasks to perform. That night Rosalie and her lover decided to run away, as the giant and his wife would still be suffering from the effects of the thrashing they had received. When all were asleep, Rosalie took a needle, a grain of salt, and a grain of saskab (white earth), and spitting on the floor, stole softly out of the house to meet her lover outside.

At daybreak the giant called to Rosalie to get up. “It’s all right, Tata, I’m getting up, I’m dressing my hair,” replied the spittle, which Rosalie had spat on the floor. The spittle spoke with the voice of Rosalie, so the giant suspected nothing. A little later the giant again called to Rosalie to know if she were not yet dressed. Again the spittle replied that she was dressing her hair. The old lady, however, was suspicious and, going into Rosalie’s room, discovered the trick that had been played on them. By this time the spittle was almost dry and could only reply to her in a whisper.

Then the giant set out in pursuit of the fleeing couple. As the giant was rapidly overtaking them, Rosalie turned herself into an orange tree, and the youth disguised himself as an old man. When the giant reached the spot, he asked the old man if he had seen the fleeing couple.

“No,” replied the youth in his disguise of old man, “but refresh yourself by eating some of these oranges.” The giant did so, and promptly lost all desire to pursue farther the fleeing couple, as the oranges were magical. He returned to his hut and explained to his wife that he was unable to overtake them.

“You are an old fool,” answered the old lady. “The orange tree was Rosalie.” For she, too, was gifted with magical powers.

Again the giant set out in pursuit. When the giant was once more on the point of overtaking them, Rosalie turned the horse on which they were riding into a church, her lover into the sacristan and herself into an image of the Virgin. When the giant reached the spot, he asked the sacristan if he had seen anything of the missing pair. “Hush!” replied the youth in his guise of sacristan, “you must not talk here, the priest is just going to sing mass. Come in and see the beautiful Virgin we have inside.”

The giant then went inside to view the statue of the Virgin, with the result that he lost all interest in the pursuit, and returning once again to his hut, explained to his wife how after seeing the beautiful Virgin he had no further desire to capture his daughter and her abductor.

“You double fool,” cried the old lady, “the Virgin was Rosalie. You are too half-witted to be of any use. I’ll catch them.” Thereupon the old lady set out to overtake them. Rosalie and the youth travelled as fast as they could, but the old lady went faster and gradually overtook them. When she was almost within reaching distance, Rosalie cried out to her lover, “We can’t fool her, we’ll have to use the needle.”

Stooping down, she planted the needle in the ground, and immediately an enormous thicket grew up. For the moment they were out of danger. As the old lady laboriously cut her way through the thicket, the lovers fled on. At last the old lady got clear of the thicket. Once more she set forth in pursuit, gradually overtaking the couple. When once more her mother had nearly reached them, Rosalie threw down the grain of saskab. Immediately a great mountain reared itself aloft. Once more the lovers fled away, as the old lady pantingly toiled toward its summit, then slowly down the far side.

At last she was clear of the mountain and once more catching up on the fleeing lovers. Just as she was on the point of reaching them, Rosalie threw down the grain of salt, and immediately an enormous sea was formed behind them. Rosalie became a sardine, her lover a shark, and the horse a crocodile. The old lady waded into the water, trying to catch the sardine, but the shark drove her off.

“All right,” cried the old lady, trembling with vexation and disappointment, “I bid you remain here in the water seven years.”

At the end of the seven years they were able to come out of the sea, and they returned to the town where dwelt the parents of the youth. Rosalie, however, could not enter the town because she had not been baptized. Accordingly, she sent her lover into the town, bidding him return with half a bottle of holy water, and on no account was he to embrace his grandparents; for in that case he would straight away forget his Rosalie.

The young man reached his home and greeted his grandparents, but he would not permit them to embrace him, much to their consternation. Feeling tired, he resolved to rest awhile before returning to Rosalie with the holy water. Soon he was fast asleep, whereupon his grandmother, bending over him, softly kissed him. Consequently when he awoke, he had no longer any recollection of Rosalie.

For days Rosalie waited outside the town for the return of her lover. At last one morning, seeing a small boy playing on the edge of the town, she summoned him, and persuaded him to fetch her some holy water. The boy did so, upon which Rosalie bathed herself in it and entered the town. There she heard that her lover was on the point of marrying another girl at the behest of his grandparents.

Rosalie proceeded to the home of her former lover, but he failed to recognize her. However, she succeeded in having the marriage postponed three days. Then she prepared a great feast, to which she invited all the elders of the town as well as her former lover. In the center of the table she placed two dolls she had made. One was in the image of her lover, the other had her features.

The guests arrived and sat down to the feast. In the middle of the festival Rosalie suddenly pulled out a lash, and proceeded to lash the doll in the form of her former lover.

“Don’t you remember how you had to fetch the water with the empty basket,” she cried, and “whang” sung the lash. But as the lash struck the doll, the man cried out with pain. Again Rosalie addressed the doll.

“Don’t you remember the pot at the bottom of the river, and how I brought” it up for you?”

Again the whip sung through the air as it descended on the doll’s back. Again the young man gave a shriek of pain. Still the memory of his former love for Rosalie was lost.

“Don’t you remember the milpa you had to make, and the corn on the cob I prepared for you?” Rosalie asked the doll.

“Whang,” sung the whip, as once more it descended on the doll’s back. Once more the youth cried out in agony as he felt the blow that had been given the doll in his likeness. Rosalie then asked the doll if it remembered the seven years in the sea. The whip fell once more on the doll’s back. Again the youth cried out with pain; then the memory of the past returned to him, and forgetting his bride to be, with a cry of joy he threw himself into Rosalie’s arms.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

The Three Wind Gods and Their Mother

A lost man stumbled upon the home of three wind gods, unaware of their identity. Their mother welcomed him, hiding him in a large urn when her giant sons returned. Despite sensing human presence, the wind gods were assured no one was there. Once they slept, their mother freed the man and safely sent him on his way, sparing his life.

Source
Ethnology of the Mayas of
Southern and Central British Honduras
by John Eric Thompson
Field Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Series, Pub.274, Vol.17.2
Chicago, 1930

► Themes of the story

Cunning and Deception: The mother employs cleverness to conceal the man from her sons, ensuring his safety.

Guardian Figures: The mother acts as a protector, safeguarding the man from potential harm by her wind god sons.

Conflict with Nature: The man’s encounter with the wind gods symbolizes a direct interaction with natural forces.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Maya people

A man was lost in the forest. After wandering for some time, he arrived at the home of the three wind gods, but he did not know that they lived there. Their mother welcomed him, and prepared him food.

Later when her three sons were due back, she hid the man in a large pottery urn. When the three wind gods arrived, there was a regular whirlwind. Everything was blown about the hut, the hammocks swung frantically, and there was general confusion.

Gradually the place calmed down once more.

► Continue reading…

“We smell chicosapote (sapodilla),” cried the three sons, for they were giants, and that was the term all giants use to describe human flesh. Their mother, however, assured them that no human was around. After they had eaten, they got into their hammocks. When at last they slept, their mother helped the man out of the urn in which he was hidden, and sent him on his way.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

The Ants and the Milpa

An old man directed his three sons to marry and make milpa (fields). The lazy youngest son, T’up, relied on ants to clear, burn, and plant his milpa after they stole his food. While his hardworking brothers failed due to misunderstanding their tasks, T’up’s immense milpa impressed his skeptical father-in-law. Ultimately, T’up triumphed, was celebrated, and his brothers were expelled for their failure.

Source
Ethnology of the Mayas of
Southern and Central British Honduras
by John Eric Thompson
Field Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Series, Pub.274, Vol.17.2
Chicago, 1930

► Themes of the story

Cunning and Deception: T’up uses his wit to persuade the ants to do his work, showcasing cleverness in achieving his goals.

Trickster: T’up embodies the trickster archetype by outsmarting others to succeed, despite his laziness.

Family Dynamics: The relationships between T’up, his brothers, and their father-in-law highlight familial expectations and judgments based on work ethic and success.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Maya people

There was once an old man with three sons. When they grew up, he told them it was time they got married. Accordingly the eldest took food and, obtaining his father’s blessing, set forth in search of a wife. After a while he met a man who had three grown-up daughters. He married the eldest.

Later the second son arrived and married the second daughter. Lastly the youngest son asked his father for his blessing and, preparing food for the journey, set out too in search of a bride. He fell in with his two elder brothers, and soon married the youngest daughter of the old man.

► Continue reading…

Now T’up (the youngest boy) was very lazy, as his father-in-law soon found out. T’up was always being scolded for being so lazy, and his mother-in-law was always upbraiding her youngest daughter for having such an idle husband.

When the time came to make milpa, the old man called his three sons-in-law together, and told them to go out the next day and make holche. Next morning the three brothers started out to work. They carried tortillas and posol to last them for three days, but T’up only carried a little, for his mother-in-law would not waste corn on so worthless a son-in-law. The two elder sons started to work at one place, but T’up went farther on until he was some way beyond where his brothers had decided to work. He sat down to rest and went fast asleep. Later, when he woke it was quite late in the afternoon, so he decided not to do any work except collect some guano palm leaves to make himself a shelter. After he had eaten some of his tortillas and drunk some of the posol, he went to sleep again.

Next morning when he woke all his tortillas and posol had disappeared. Looking around, he espied a large ant (Spanish sampopo, Maya sai) which was carrying off the last piece of tortilla. He realized then that while he slept the ants had robbed him of his food. He seized the ant and threatened to kill it unless it would lead him to its nest. The ant consented. On arriving at the nest, T’up knocked three times, and the lord of the nest appeared (he was considered to be a snake; see p. 109). “What do you want?” he asked.

“Your people have stolen all my tortillas and posol,” replied T’up. “Either you must return it to me or you must do my work.”

The lord of the nest considered for a few moments, and then agreed to do the work. So T’up instructed him where to make the milpa, and said its size was to be a square league, and returned to his shelter to sleep while the forest was being cleared. All the ants turned out to work that night, and with their huge numbers and powerful jaws they had cut down all the trees and bush at the end of three days.

T’up returned to his father-in-law’s hut. On the way he passed his two brothers, but instead of clearing the forest for the milpa they were busily engaged in making holes in the larger tree-trunks, for they had misunderstood what their father-in-law had said. Whereas he had told them to make holche, that is, cut down swathes in the forest for milpa, they thought he had told them to make hoolche, that is, make holes in the tree-trunks.

When T’up arrived home, his father called out, “Here comes Idle- bones, the last to go and the first to return. Don’t give him anything to eat.” But his wife managed to get some maize, and made him tortillas. Later the other two brothers arrived, and the old man ordered chickens to be cooked for them, as they had worked hard.

Later when he judged the milpas to be dry, the old man sent the three brothers to burn the dry felled bush. The elder brothers were given large supplies of posol and honey, but poor T’up, as he was so lazy, was only given a little of each. The two elder boys collected all the loose rubbish and burnt it, but the column of smoke that rose up to the sky was miserably thin. T’up took his honey and posol to the ants’ nest, and gave it to the lord of the nest on condition he burnt the milpa. Accordingly T’up rested all day, while the ants hurried about their task of burning the milpa. The dense columns of smoke that resulted were so huge that even the sun was hidden. But the old man thought that the smoke of T’up’s milpa was caused by the burning of the milpa of the other two brothers; so when T’up returned he again scolded him.

When all was ready for sowing, the elder brothers took three mules laden with maize seed; T’up took only a quart. The elder brothers sowed a little of the maize in the forest, but most of it they left in the store hut, and the rest they hid in one of the tree-trunks they had hollowed out. T’up took his seed to the ants, but they said it was not enough, for the fire had spread far beyond the cleared area, and the extent to be sown was enormous. T’up then showed them a storehouse where they could get more seed, and when they had started to work, as usual, T’up went to sleep. On the return of the brothers, T’up received his usual contemptuous welcome, while the elder brothers were feasted.

When the corn was in ear, the old man sent his three sons-in-law to their milpas to prepare the young corn in the pib. The elder made a small hole in the ground, into which they put the few small yellow ears that had just managed to survive in the shade of the forest. T’up again summoned the lord of the ants’ nest to his assistance. They brought fifteen loads, made the pib, heated it, and put in the food while T’up slept.

On the following day the old man and his wife, his three daughters and their husbands set out with four mules to bring in the young corn and to eat the pibil. When they arrived at the milpa of the two elder brothers, the father-in-law was very angry, for there was no clearing visible and no corn except the few miserable plants that were growing in the shade of the forest, and they resembled grass rather than corn. Then he espied the heap of rotting corn in the hollow tree. “Well, where is the pib?” cried the old man. When the tiny pib had been uncovered and a mere handful of tamales shown him, the old man was still more furious, and refusing even to speak to the two elder boys, he sneeringly bid T’up show them his milpa. They started off again, T’up leading the way, until they struck the path the ants had made from their nest to the milpa. This path gradually widened as they advanced until it became a wide highway. “Where does this fine road go?” asked the old man, and T’up replied, “To my milpa.” Eventually they reached a huge milpa, the end of which was lost to view in the distance, and T’up indicated that this was his milpa. But the old man, knowing full well T’up’s indolent habits, was incredulous. They ascended a small hill at the edge of the milpa when his mother-in-law inquired where the pib was, thinking thereby to discover if this huge milpa was really the work of her youngest daughter’s husband. “You are standing on it,” replied T’up. “This hill is the pib.” Then the old man said, “You’ve worked enough, let your two brothers uncover the pib.” While they were doing this, the mother-in-law started out to find the extent of the milpa, but it was so immense she got lost. Then T’up summoned his friends, the ants, who, on being informed of the loss of the old lady, began to search through the milpa until they located her. After they had all eaten, the mules were loaded, and they started off home. That night chickens were killed in honor of T’up. As for the other two brothers, they were ordered out of the house, and bidden never to return.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

The Foolish Wife and the Tabai

A man, frustrated by his wife’s laziness, left her cotton to spin while he was away. Instead, she wasted time, burned the cotton, and discovered gold under their fire. Misunderstanding instructions, she foolishly carried their door into the forest while following her husband. After an encounter with tabais, they escaped with wealth stolen from the tree, despite her blunders. Their misadventures reflect humor and luck amidst folly.

Source
Ethnology of the Mayas of
Southern and Central British Honduras
by John Eric Thompson
Field Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Series, Pub.274, Vol.17.2
Chicago, 1930

► Themes of the story

Trickster: The tale features the tabai, a cunning figure who plays a role in the unfolding events.

Cunning and Deception: The wife attempts to deceive her husband about the cotton and later uses cunning to deal with the tabai.

Conflict with Nature: The couple’s journey into the forest and their interactions with the tabai highlight a struggle against natural and supernatural elements.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Maya people

A man had a wife who was always wasting her time, and visiting her neighbors, and consequently did not attend to her work. He was going away on a long journey, and to keep her busy during his absence gave her some cotton to spin. While he was away, his wife did nothing but waste her time. The day before her husband was to return, she realized that the cotton had not been spun. She threw it into the fire saying, “Fire, spin this cotton for me.”

But the fire only burnt it up. Then she took a machete and began to dig in the ground under the fire. She found a heap of gold which the tabai had placed there.

► Continue reading…

The tabai was standing at the back of the house. As there was no wood in the house, she called him, and giving him money told him to go out and cut her some wood. A few minutes after the tabai had gone off her husband arrived. He asked her what she had done with the cotton, and she replied that she had sold it, showing the money she had found. Her husband said that that was not enough, and then she explained that she had given the rest to a man to cut wood.

“I’ll go after him, and get the money back. You stay here and mind the door,” said the husband.

He went away to find the man. After a while the woman said to herself, “I want to see what he is doing, but he told me to mind the door. Oh, I know what I’ll do. I’ll take the door along with me, and in that way I can look after it all right.”

After a while she overtook her husband.

“Why are you carrying that door on your back?” he asked her.

“Well, you told me to look after it, and I thought the best way was to bring it along with me.”

“You are a silly woman,” replied the husband. “When I told you to mind the door, I meant you to see that no one came into the hut to steal anything. Now you have taken away the door, and anyone can go in.”

They wandered through the forest in search of the man until nightfall. When it was dark, they climbed up into a big ceiba tree, and placed the door across the boughs. Soon the tabais, the owners of the ceiba tree, arrived and began to make music. The woman heard the noise and began to dance. Her husband told her not to be so foolish, as the tabais would hear her and come up and kill them. His foolish wife took no notice of what he said until at last the door fell out of the tree onto the heads of the tabais below. They all ran away except one. The man and his wife climbed down from the tree, and the woman called out to the tabai that had remained, “Come here. I have something good for you to eat. Open your mouth,” she said to him. The tabai did so, and the woman thrust a knife into his mouth and cut off his tongue. The tabai ran off. Then the man and his wife went into the ceiba tree, and taking all the clothes and money they wanted, went off home.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

A Sorcery Story

A man discovered his wife was a sorceress who transformed into a mule every Friday. One night, he witnessed her remove her head to transform and rubbed ashes on the severed neck. Unable to reattach her head, she remained a mule, eventually turning into an owl with her head. This explains the owl’s human-like cries and laughter in folklore.

Source
Ethnology of the Mayas of
Southern and Central British Honduras
by John Eric Thompson
Field Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Series, Pub.274, Vol.17.2
Chicago, 1930

► Themes of the story

Cunning and Deception: The wife deceives her husband by secretly transforming into a mule.

Forbidden Knowledge: The husband’s discovery of his wife’s secret sorcery practices.

Illusion vs. Reality: The wife’s outward appearance as a human contrasts with her hidden supernatural activities.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Maya people

A man had a wife who was a sorceress and used to turn herself into a mule. Every Friday she would sit up late spinning cotton, and she used to put a fire under her husband’s hammock so that he wouldn’t wake up with the cold.

The man suspected his wife, so one Friday he kept awake. At midnight his wife put away the cotton she was spinning, and throwing herself on the ground, after first having taken off her head and placed it on the ground, she turned into a mule; then she went off with a number of other mules. The man took some ashes and rubbed them on the severed neck of her head.

► Continue reading…

Just before dawn the mules returned. The woman threw herself onto the ground and changed back into human shape, but she could not fix her head on again because of the ashes. Accordingly she changed back into a mule again and, carrying the head, she followed the man wherever he went. He tried to shake her off, but could not. One day he went into a very thick part of the forest, and there succeeded in losing the mule and her head. The mule and head turned into an owl (buh). That is why the owl hoots, cries, and laughs like a woman.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

The Xtabai

A young man arranged to meet his sweetheart but encountered a xtabai disguised as her. Realizing its true nature when he felt its hollow, bark-like back, he prayed, causing the xtabai to transform into rotten wood, which he burned. Tragically, the real girl fell ill at the same moment and passed away three days later, leaving the man devastated.

Source
Ethnology of the Mayas of
Southern and Central British Honduras
by John Eric Thompson
Field Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Series, Pub.274, Vol.17.2
Chicago, 1930

► Themes of the story

Cunning and Deception: The Xtabai deceives the young man by taking the form of his beloved.

Love and Betrayal: The young man’s love leads him into a perilous situation, resulting in the loss of his true love.

Tragic Love: The story concludes with the untimely death of the young man’s beloved, adding a layer of sorrow to the narrative.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Maya people

A young man had arranged to meet his sweetheart in the forest on the edge of the village. When he arrived at the tryst, he saw what he thought was his sweetheart, but it was a xtabai in her form. He advanced to meet her, but the xtabai walked backwards so as not to show her hollow back, which was like the rough bark of a tree. The youth at last overtook her, and embraced her. He felt her back to be hollow and rough and realized it was not the girl, but a xtabai. He began to pray, and the xtabai turned into a heap of rotten wood. The man made a fire and burned the rotten wood, and so destroyed the xtabai. The girl whom he had gone to visit and whom the xtabai had impersonated took sick at that same moment, and three days later died.

► Continue reading…

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page