Latin American Folktales (22 page)

52. Judas’s Ear

There was a young wife who had a son. When her husband died she left the boy with his grandmother and went off to see the world. Arriving at the edge of a forest, she changed into men’s clothing and fell in with a couple of hunters who had a camp. They invited her to join them. “Come work with us,” they said. They had no idea she was a woman.

One day when it was the young widow’s turn to stay back and prepare the meal, they warned her, “There’s someone who keeps coming here spilling the food while we’re off hunting. We don’t know who it is.”

“I’ll keep an eye out,” said the widow. When the men had gone, an old woman came into the camp and began knocking over bowls, spilling food left and right. The young widow picked up a club and chased her off. When the two hunters returned, the widow said, “It was an old woman. Just look at the mess she left! When I tried to catch her, she ran down a hole.”

“We’ll have to pull her out, but how?” said one of the men.

“We’ll cut a hide into strips, make a towline,” said the other, “and go down hand over hand.”

But the one who tried it first got cold feet as soon as he reached the bottom of the hole, and he came shinnying back up the rope as fast as his hands and knees would take him. The same thing happened to the second man.

“What did you see down there?” asked the widow.

“A little white light,” said the man. “It scared me out of my wits.”

The widow picked up her club and shinnied down the rope. There was the light. She waited a moment. Nothing happened. She moved forward slowly. What should she find but three shining maidens! As she approached, the maidens drew back in fear. One of them cried out, “Stay where you are! Can’t you see we’re under a spell? We’re prisoners of Judas himself, and his old wife looks after us and brings us food.”

“Stop worrying,” said the widow. “I’ll get you out of here if it costs me my life.”

“And how will you do it, sir? We were kidnapped by Judas, who is king of the underworld, and even though our father is king of the country above, he hasn’t been able to set us free.”

“Come with me,” said the widow. She led the princesses to the towline, and all three of them shinnied to the top. When the two hunters saw the shining princesses, they were smitten. “Who gets which one?” “We’ll decide that later!” And they yanked the rope out of the hole before the princesses’ rescuer could even think of climbing back up.

Down below the widow turned around and saw the old woman coming after her. “Stop, thief! You’ve stolen our princesses!” In reply the widow lifted her club and with one blow reduced the old crone to a pool of blood.

Judas appeared in an instant, snorting and bellowing. “I smell blood! Hand me my meal, or I’ll eat you alive!” The widow brought down her club a second time. Judas dodged, and the blow knocked off one ear. She pulled out her rosary and threw it around his neck. He fell backwards, and the rosary pinned him to the ground.

“Set me free immediately!”

“I’m not the one who’s holding you down,” she replied. “But I can help you if you’ll get me out of here.”

“It’s a promise. King’s honor.”

She took back her rosary, stood on his shoulders, and was just tall enough to crawl out of the hole.

“Now give me back my ear!”

“Not a chance! I’ll keep
that
for good luck.” And she headed straight for the city, still in men’s clothes. Her son, who was living in town with his grandmother, had no idea his mother had arrived. As for the two selfish hunters, they themselves were in the king’s city, now married to the king’s two older daughters and living like princes. And the youngest princess? She could do nothing but wait for her rescuer, hoping that he—as she thought—would arrive before long to ask for her hand.

When the widow got to the palace and asked to see the king, the guards paid no attention to her. The young princess, however, was at the window and saw the one she had been waiting for. She went to the king and announced grandly, “My husband is here. Let him in.”

The king gave the order, and when the widow came before him, still in her manly outfit, the king said, “Is it you, who broke the spell and freed the three princesses?” The hunters, who were now the king’s sons-in-law, were called forward as witnesses. They had no choice but to tell the truth. What else could they say when the widow produced the ear? Then she spoke up, “Your Majesty, I have a son who is flesh of my flesh. Let him be the one to marry the princess.”

“What? A red-blooded man like yourself refusing to marry my daughter? You won her fair and square. She’s yours.”

“Your Majesty, I cannot marry a woman.”

“Why not?”

“Because I am a woman.”

“You, who swung the war club that defeated King Judas?”

“Never mind. I am a woman.”

“Give me your word on pain of death.”

“You have my word.”

“Then bring me your son,” said the king. “He’ll marry the princess, and I’ll make him my heir.”

The widow’s son was brought to the palace at once. The young princess liked him from the first moment, and they were married without delay. The king called the widow to one side, “Madam, shall I have those traitors put to death? The ones who left you in the cave and came rushing to marry my poor daughters?”

“Not at all,” said the widow. “They were disloyal to me, as you say, but they are happily married now. For the princesses’ sake let’s just forget it. After all, the princesses are not to blame.” The king agreed. Then he said to the widow, “Next time there’s a war, I’ll make you captain of all my armies!” And mind you,

This tale will last if it’s true;
If it’s just a tale, it’s through.

New
Mexico
/
Sixto
Chávez

53. Good Is Repaid with Evil

While out walking with his son one day a man saw a snake trying to get into its burrow. A branch had pinned it to the ground and it couldn’t move. The boy started to free it. But the father stopped him and said, “Don’t! Snakes are bad neighbors. One little bite, if it gets the chance, and we’ll be finished.”

The boy paid no attention and gave the snake its freedom, and when the snake rushed at the boy to bite him, the father cried, “Snake, my friend! How can you bite him, when he’s just saved you?”

“Don’t you know?” replied the snake. “I’m repaying good with evil like everyone else. Isn’t that the rule?”

The snake kept insisting. But the boy and his father stood back. A burro was passing by at that moment, and they asked for its judgment. The burro turned to the snake and said, “Bite! Good is repaid with evil. That’s the rule. The same thing happened to me. After I’d worked all my life my master stopped feeding me and turned me out.”

The snake was just ready to bite, when the boy’s father saw a horse coming down the trail. He called to it and asked for its judgment. The horse rendered the same verdict as the burro. And so did a dog who came along later.

The snake was just at the point of biting when the father, who still hadn’t given up, appealed to a fox who happened by. He explained the case in a whisper and said, “Friend fox, be the judge. If you save my son, I’ll reward you with a pair of fat chickens I’ve got at my ranch.”

“Don’t worry,” said the fox. “I’ll be impartial.” And with his well-known gifts of persuasion the fox convinced the snake to drop the matter completely. Inch by inch the snake backed away. “Wonderful,” said the man. “Now let’s be on our way and I’ll pay you what I promised.”

When the man got home, he said to his wife, “If it hadn’t been for our friend the fox, we wouldn’t be alive,” and he told her all that had happened. “I promised our two fattest chickens.”

There was the fox waiting on top of the woodpile. “What? Our two fattest chickens?” The wife reached for a sack, stuffed their meanest dog inside, and handed it over. The fox ran off as fast as it could. And as it took to the road, it kept turning over in its mind, “What they tell you is true. Good is repaid with evil.”

Venezuela

54. The Fisherman’s Daughter

A man and a woman were married, and let me tell you they were poor. Every morning the man went fishing and would come back with no more than enough to get through one more day.

Then one time he pulled up his net and there was nothing at all, not a single fish. He heard a voice from the depths, “Promise to bring me the one who greets you lovingly when you arrive home, and I’ll give you as many fish as you want.”

The man thought, “Couldn’t it mean my little dog, who always runs from the house and jumps up to greet me when I come with my catch?” Three times the voice called from below. Hearing it for the third time, the man said, “Very well, I’ll bring you what you ask. Where shall I find you?”

“Right here!” said the voice. Then he cast his net again, and when he pulled it up it was filled with fish. He went home contented.

When he got within sight of his house, his little daughter ran out to greet him. “Papa, you’re home!” And she gave him a hug.

“Ay!” he said. “If only you knew, you wouldn’t hug me!” He entered the house, and his wife asked, “Why are you crying?”

“If you knew, you wouldn’t ask.” He kept quiet while his wife cooked the fish. When dinner was ready, he said, “I’m not hungry.”

“Tell me why not?”

He repeated, “If you knew, you wouldn’t ask.”

“Tell me!” The husband was crying. Finally he said, “I couldn’t catch a thing. My net was empty, but a voice promised me fish if I’d pay for it with the one who greets me lovingly. And when I got home, who should greet me with a hug but our own little daughter!”

The wife said, “You made a promise. Now you must do what the Lord requires.”

The man had three days to comply. On the third day they dressed their daughter nicely and the father took her to the deep place in the river where he had heard the voice. He called out, “Here’s the treasure you wanted.”

“Bring her to my house in the middle of the river,” came the answer, “and leave her there.”

They went into the water and found a house with chairs and tables and everything else a home should have. The man said, “Daughter, I must leave you now.” She was pleased with what she saw. “Very well,” she said, and he shut the door and went away. Night came.

When it was time to light the lamps, the lamps were lit. At supper-time the supper appeared, at bedtime the hammock was slung. Not a soul could be seen. Then all on their own the lights went out.

When morning came, breakfast appeared, but there was not a living soul. Yet the table was set. That night, when the lights went out again, a man’s voice called to her, “There’s a louse on the top of my head. Come kill it.” The girl got up, found the louse, and began rumpling the man’s hair. “That’s enough! Go back to bed now.” After all, she was still just a child.

On a different night, the man said again, “There’s a louse on my head, come look for it.” She began rumpling his hair, then touched him farther down on his face and felt something strange and woolly. In the dark she could hardly tell what it was.

Another night he said, “In the morning you will find a horse all saddled, waiting for you. You must go to your parents. But don’t let them touch you.”

“As you wish.”

“And here, take this money for your father.”

The next day, when she arrived at her parents’ house, her mother reached out to embrace her, but the girl shrank back. “Get down from your horse and come in,” they said. She answered, “No, I must go back now.” They were astounded to see that she had become a young woman. She handed them the money and rode away.

When she got back, she dismounted. She did not see who led the horse away or who unsaddled it. Night came.

When the lights went out, someone entered her room, just as before, and she began rumpling his hair. “Did you do as I told you?”

“I did. And no one touched me.”

“Good,” he said. “Now on Sunday you’ll go again.” And she did, and all went well. Then one night, when she had begun to rumple his hair, her hand grazed his body and she felt fish scales. “Oh my!” she thought. “He’s a charmed creature!”

He read her thoughts and said, “In the morning you must go to your parents again. But don’t bring anything back with you.”

“As you wish.”

The next day, when she arrived at her parents’ house, she allowed them to embrace her. She went inside, and the three of them sat there eating, smoking, and drinking. As she was about to leave, she said, “Mama, let me have a box of matches and a candle.” She tucked them into her bag and rode off.

That night she rumpled the creature’s hair as usual, and he relaxed into sleep. She waited until his breathing became regular, then said to herself, “Now I will see what he looks like.” She struck a match, and there before her was a man, but only from the waist up. His lower half was a fish. He awoke and gave her a fright, “I’ve caught you, you wretch! I told you not to bring anything from home, and here you are with matches. Your easy days in this house are finished. You’ll soon know what hard labor is. No breakfast tomorrow. Instead there’ll be trousers, a shirt, a hat, sandals, and a machete.”

In the morning she found the clothes laid out on the table. She was given an order: “Put them on. For your disobedience you must go to the king’s palace and ask for work. Take the road on your right.” She did as she was ordered and left the house.

When she came before the king, she saw that he was not an old man but still young. She greeted him, and he answered her tenderly, “What can I do for you?”

“I’m looking for work.”

“My pleasure,” said the king. He could see that she was not a man but a woman in men’s clothing. Everything about her was womanly. She was given a room.

In the morning she asked, “Now what must I do?”

“Pay close attention,” said the king, “I’m going to give you a task. You will find it hard because of the traveling and the long distance. But here it is: I must have a strand of hair from the mother of all the animals.”

She started out, with no idea which way to go. After many hours she met an old woman and a little boy. She herself was headed up the road, the old woman was coming down.

“Where are you headed, my dear?” asked the old woman.

“To get a strand of hair from the mother of all the animals.”

“That isn’t hard. I can help you,” said the woman. “And since I see you are carrying food and water, could you let me have a little for myself and my child?”

“Yes, of course,” she replied. And when they had taken the water and eaten the food, the old woman said, “You see this mountain? When you get to the top you will find the mother of all the animals. A meadow is there. If it’s covered with grass, the mother is asleep. Step on her without fear, and pick one strand. But if the meadow is bare, keep away. It will mean she’s awake.”

When the young woman reached the meadow, it was covered with grass. She picked one strand, rolled it up, and came away.

The king was delighted when he saw what she had brought and began to unroll it. It unrolled and unrolled, making a heap that kept on growing. It had no end. The strand was infinitely long.

“What ever can I pay you?” cried the king.

“It’s up to you.”

He gave her thousands and thousands of pesos. A nice little sum! “Now you’re free to work elsewhere,” he said. And off she went, carrying the money.

On the road she met another old woman. Really the same old woman as before. And she said, “I’m lost! How do I get home to my mother and father?”

“Don’t worry about a thing,” said the little old woman. “Just take this wand and hold it in front of you as you walk along. Whenever you’re lost, say, ‘Little wand, little wand, by the power that’s yours and that God allows you, show me the way to go home.’ It will take you directly.”

And so it did. She pointed it straight ahead until she reached her own house. And there was her mother, happy to see her, and her father, too. Although she was dressed as a man, they knew her face. Her mother complained, “What are these men’s clothes?” She took them off, put on the clothes she had worn before, and was their daughter again. With the money she’d brought they were rich. They set themselves up as storekeepers and had whatever they wanted from that time on.

Colombia