The Lion, the Cacomistle, and the Vixen |
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Translated by Kaitlin Earley and Trevor Evans
At the edge of a town called Tepeoztotlan, surrounded by hulls, there was a valley where various animals lived. Found among them are coyotes, badgers, cacomistles, wolves, a fox, wildcats, and other animals that had a lion for a boss. All these animals had stealing as an occupation. The lion gave them his orders. To some he ordered that they were to bring sheep, like the wolves, and the coyotes carried pigs, the cacomistles with hens, and the badger with fruit. These animals loved the lion. They brought him food so that he didn't eat them and by doing so the animal no longer had to work, since he had told them he would eat anyone who disobeyed.
And one day, they left like always and already on their way, two cacomistles separated from the others and went together.
These animals that are always smiling and very playful, followed their path and began to converse in their language. They were passing through where the fruit trees are, and then, the dumbest one said to the other:
“While we are here, we will eat fruit.”
“He is going to kill us.”
“No, he won’t.”
“ Really? You don't think so?”
“But who will kill us?”
“At times, one barely wants to take something, and then they want to kill us, and if they kill us, they parade us through town asking for alms.”
“But what is it?”
“From what I see, you have never been dead… Be still! Who knows who is coming!”
“No one is coming, who do you want to come?”
“Honestly, I got scared.”
So as soon as they finished eating, they left, and continued their path, and the bigger one said to the other:
“Guess where we’re going?”
“I don’t know where you’re taking me.”
“Now, we’re going to Tepemotltita.”
But they didn’t know that behind the mountain, a dog was listening to them quietly, and said:
“I have already heard where they have to go, now I have to wait for them, I will spy on them in my house, they’re going to steal my hens. They won't accomplish their quest. I'll spy on them tonight.”
He went home, ate, and later went to tell the other dogs:
“I come to invite you to help me catch two cacomistles that I know are coming to steal tonight.”
“Good, we will be there, wait for us.”
The dog went home to sleep and laid to rest.
The cacomistles went along their path, talking as usual.
“You’ve already heard, we have to go to Tepemiltitla, there I saw, when I went to eat guavas, that there are really good, fat chickens, nowhere else have I seen chickens like those. Now, we have arrived, who is entering first, you or me?”
“However you want!”
“Do you know how to catch a little chicken?”
“No.”
“Have you ever seen how they sleep?”
“I’ve never seen them.”
“Listen to what I am going to tell you; learn, you never know when something might happen to you. When the chickens sleep, they place their heads under their wings. Once you have entered, and are inside the coop, little by little, slowly, and affectionately touch it from behind on the shoulder and it’ll wake up and take the head out. As soon as it takes it out... grab it by the neck and start running with it while I wait for you here. Afterwards, I am going to bring one.”
The other cacomistle entered while he climbed up the sapote tree; not much further away from it he watched while the other entered the coop; then the dog sniffed him and began to bark; then the other dogs arrived and circled the pen; and the dogs said to him:
“Get out, thief cacomistle! Here, we’ll give you what you deserve! We'll see how you take chickens! Get out, right here we are going to tear you apart with our teeth!”
The cacomistle didn’t believe what the dog was saying. He was still listening to the sleeping chickens snore. A chicken was dreaming and said something to the others, and the others answered in dreams, and one of them said to the others:
“Look! Here comes the sparrow hawk, circling us.”
To which the cacomistle replied:
“It is not the sparrow hawk circling you, but I, the cacomistle, who comes to greet you. It has been a long time since I greeted you.”
And very affectionately, in the back, he touched it. Then, the chicken awakened and began to scream terrified, and the others began to flap, frightened, and all began to fall from the poles in the pen, and they yelled to one another.:
“Wake up! Wake up! Who knows what animal already took a chick!”
The rooster strolled proudly through the middle, stopped the chest, and sang:
“Cock-a-doodle-doo.”
And in his song, he said to the cacomistle:
“Cock-a-doodle-doo! You have already taken one of my hens!”
And addressing his wife, he said:
“When he comes again, he will deal with me!”
“He just came, and you did nothing to him.”
“Shut your mouth!”
And he kicked her and said:
“Now, go to sleep!, I tell you, cluck cluck cluck... cluck cluck cluck...I am strong like no other! I am fearless! Here, or anywhere they want!”
While the roster talked with the hens, the dogs in the corral had already killed that one cacomistle.
And the other one, that was up in the sapote tree, when he saw the dogs finished killing that cacomistle, ran down the sapote tree, and went to warn the lion. He told him:
“I have returned, but they killed the other one who went with me.”
Then the lion told him:
“Now, because you left, you too have to die.”
The cacomistle said:
“Well, lion, summon all the others, or a few of the other animals, and do as they say.”
He then talked with the other animals, and so they gathered, and in his presence, they bowed, and he told them:
“The cacomistle has to die.”
Then, the vixen asked:
“Why should he die?”
“For having killed the other cacomistle.”
And the other animals answered, and said:
“It’s okay for the cacomistle to die; but let the vixen take his statement, if he is guilty, he will have to die.”
The lion:
“Let the vixen take his statement.”
The vixen, after he took the statement, said:
“If you really didn't kill him, let yourself fall from the top of that boulder.”
“Okay.”
So, he went around the boulder, to get up, and let the lion with his mouth open. While the cacomistle fled with the vixen, the lion was furious that these animals had outwitted him.
Then, he told the rest of the animals:
“When you find this vixen and the cacomistle, hang them in a big tree, so they will learn to obey their boss.”
Now, they are looking for them, in order to teach them a lesson.
At the edge of a town called Tepeoztotlan, surrounded by hulls, there was a valley where various animals lived. Found among them are coyotes, badgers, cacomistles, wolves, a fox, wildcats, and other animals that had a lion for a boss. All these animals had stealing as an occupation. The lion gave them his orders. To some he ordered that they were to bring sheep, like the wolves, and the coyotes carried pigs, the cacomistles with hens, and the badger with fruit. These animals loved the lion. They brought him food so that he didn't eat them and by doing so the animal no longer had to work, since he had told them he would eat anyone who disobeyed.
And one day, they left like always and already on their way, two cacomistles separated from the others and went together.
These animals that are always smiling and very playful, followed their path and began to converse in their language. They were passing through where the fruit trees are, and then, the dumbest one said to the other:
“While we are here, we will eat fruit.”
“He is going to kill us.”
“No, he won’t.”
“ Really? You don't think so?”
“But who will kill us?”
“At times, one barely wants to take something, and then they want to kill us, and if they kill us, they parade us through town asking for alms.”
“But what is it?”
“From what I see, you have never been dead… Be still! Who knows who is coming!”
“No one is coming, who do you want to come?”
“Honestly, I got scared.”
So as soon as they finished eating, they left, and continued their path, and the bigger one said to the other:
“Guess where we’re going?”
“I don’t know where you’re taking me.”
“Now, we’re going to Tepemotltita.”
But they didn’t know that behind the mountain, a dog was listening to them quietly, and said:
“I have already heard where they have to go, now I have to wait for them, I will spy on them in my house, they’re going to steal my hens. They won't accomplish their quest. I'll spy on them tonight.”
He went home, ate, and later went to tell the other dogs:
“I come to invite you to help me catch two cacomistles that I know are coming to steal tonight.”
“Good, we will be there, wait for us.”
The dog went home to sleep and laid to rest.
The cacomistles went along their path, talking as usual.
“You’ve already heard, we have to go to Tepemiltitla, there I saw, when I went to eat guavas, that there are really good, fat chickens, nowhere else have I seen chickens like those. Now, we have arrived, who is entering first, you or me?”
“However you want!”
“Do you know how to catch a little chicken?”
“No.”
“Have you ever seen how they sleep?”
“I’ve never seen them.”
“Listen to what I am going to tell you; learn, you never know when something might happen to you. When the chickens sleep, they place their heads under their wings. Once you have entered, and are inside the coop, little by little, slowly, and affectionately touch it from behind on the shoulder and it’ll wake up and take the head out. As soon as it takes it out... grab it by the neck and start running with it while I wait for you here. Afterwards, I am going to bring one.”
The other cacomistle entered while he climbed up the sapote tree; not much further away from it he watched while the other entered the coop; then the dog sniffed him and began to bark; then the other dogs arrived and circled the pen; and the dogs said to him:
“Get out, thief cacomistle! Here, we’ll give you what you deserve! We'll see how you take chickens! Get out, right here we are going to tear you apart with our teeth!”
The cacomistle didn’t believe what the dog was saying. He was still listening to the sleeping chickens snore. A chicken was dreaming and said something to the others, and the others answered in dreams, and one of them said to the others:
“Look! Here comes the sparrow hawk, circling us.”
To which the cacomistle replied:
“It is not the sparrow hawk circling you, but I, the cacomistle, who comes to greet you. It has been a long time since I greeted you.”
And very affectionately, in the back, he touched it. Then, the chicken awakened and began to scream terrified, and the others began to flap, frightened, and all began to fall from the poles in the pen, and they yelled to one another.:
“Wake up! Wake up! Who knows what animal already took a chick!”
The rooster strolled proudly through the middle, stopped the chest, and sang:
“Cock-a-doodle-doo.”
And in his song, he said to the cacomistle:
“Cock-a-doodle-doo! You have already taken one of my hens!”
And addressing his wife, he said:
“When he comes again, he will deal with me!”
“He just came, and you did nothing to him.”
“Shut your mouth!”
And he kicked her and said:
“Now, go to sleep!, I tell you, cluck cluck cluck... cluck cluck cluck...I am strong like no other! I am fearless! Here, or anywhere they want!”
While the roster talked with the hens, the dogs in the corral had already killed that one cacomistle.
And the other one, that was up in the sapote tree, when he saw the dogs finished killing that cacomistle, ran down the sapote tree, and went to warn the lion. He told him:
“I have returned, but they killed the other one who went with me.”
Then the lion told him:
“Now, because you left, you too have to die.”
The cacomistle said:
“Well, lion, summon all the others, or a few of the other animals, and do as they say.”
He then talked with the other animals, and so they gathered, and in his presence, they bowed, and he told them:
“The cacomistle has to die.”
Then, the vixen asked:
“Why should he die?”
“For having killed the other cacomistle.”
And the other animals answered, and said:
“It’s okay for the cacomistle to die; but let the vixen take his statement, if he is guilty, he will have to die.”
The lion:
“Let the vixen take his statement.”
The vixen, after he took the statement, said:
“If you really didn't kill him, let yourself fall from the top of that boulder.”
“Okay.”
So, he went around the boulder, to get up, and let the lion with his mouth open. While the cacomistle fled with the vixen, the lion was furious that these animals had outwitted him.
Then, he told the rest of the animals:
“When you find this vixen and the cacomistle, hang them in a big tree, so they will learn to obey their boss.”
Now, they are looking for them, in order to teach them a lesson.