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CHAPTER 1
Mártara
Told by Gumercinda Campos de Pérez
CARTAGENA, 13 NOVEMBER 1964
http://purl.dlib.indiana.edu/iudl/media/504r56p01v
There was a very proud young woman, but a young woman who had been transformed into a hen. She was, well, enchanted. It was a "live enchantment" (encanto vivo). Then she said she would not marry unless there was a man who would sing a gracia for her. And all the animals had to say a gracia for her so she could see how they did it. She would marry the one who said it the best.
Then Mártara, the hen, brought together all the animals including the dog, the cat, the goat, the donkey, and Joseph Toad. Then they came and held the meeting. They all came to her: the jaguar came to her, the lion came to her, all the wild beasts came to her and she hated all of them. She said, "No, no, no! Jesus! Jesus! You'll scare me and you'll eat me!"
Then one of them came to her and told her how he did it but she didn't like it. Another said it to her and again she didn't like it. Then the bull came. When the bull arrived he told her his gracia. She said, "No, no, no! You'll gore me with your horns." The bull went away.
Soon thereafter the goat came. She said to the goat, "Aha, Uncle Goat, and what do you say? Are you going to sing your gracia for me?" And he said, "Yes." Then she said, "Let me see if I like it."
"Ge-e-e-e-e, ge-e-e-e-e."
And she said, "Jesus! Jesus! You'll scare me and you'll eat me! No, Uncle Goat, you I will not marry."
Then the donkey came and she said to him, "Aha, Uncle Donkey, what are you going to sing for me?" And he said, "Ji ja ji ja ja ji ja."
She said, "Jesus! Jesus! You'll scare me and you'll eat me! Neither will I marry you!"
Then the toad came. When the toad arrived, she said to him, "Aha, Uncle Toad, what are you going to say to me? Are you going to marry me or not?" All the animals laughed at the toad because he was so tiny. He said, "No. Let me think about what I'm going to say." And he left.
Then the dog arrived. Uncle Toad moved away. And when the dog arrived he said to her, "Mártara, I'm going to marry you." And she said, "Perform your gracia for me." When he performed the gracia, "Jau, jau, jau," she said, "Jesus! Jesus! You'll scare me and you'll eat me!"
Then Uncle Toad returned and came close. By now he had studied what he was going to sing to the hen, who is Mártara. He said to her, "I'm the smallest of all the animals but, yes, I think I will be successful in winning the hen. I will, indeed, sing my gracia."
"Aha, Uncle Toad, come on, Uncle Toad, come on!" And she said, "Sing your graciecita to me, Toad."
He says: (sung)
"Mártara Mártara Mártara recundacundara,
The toad charmed all the animals and at once they began to dance. Then Mártara said, "Hold up Uncle Toad's arm. He's the one I'm going to marry. We'll celebrate the wedding." Then all the people came and dressed Joseph Toad for the wedding.
Then they all laughed and brought in a pot in which to boil Uncle Toad. When they placed the pot on the fire and attempted to throw Uncle Toad into it he leapt away and kept them from burning him. When he jumped he immediately fell upon one of his opponents, one of those who were against him. He squirted milk on him (le echo un chirrete de leche), also blinding the others with his squirting.
So, at once they all became blind and Joseph Toad became the husband of the hen called Mártara.
CHAPTER 2
The Little Goat
Told by Gumercinda Campos de Pérez, from Pasacaballos, Cartagena
13 NOVEMBER 1964
http://purl.dlib.indiana.edu/iudl/media/t945742x4r
Once there was a poor boy. This boy had neither father nor mother and lived in a ranchita, a little house, with his sister. They had built their own house and there they were.
Soldiers passed by the house and saw the girl. "What a lovely girl!" they would say.
The Major of these soldiers came by and fell in love with the young girl. When he saw her beautiful hair and in spite of her living in such a humble dwelling, he approached and asked her to give him a drink of water. She didn't want to open the door of the house since her brother had forbidden her doing so. Then she said that she would. He could receive the water through a little door in the wall.
The boy would feed his sister with turtle doves and anything he could find in the surrounding area, fruits and all that. That's what he would give her.
One day the brother left early and when he returned he couldn't find his sister. The army Major had taken her. When the boy arrived he began to weep. He searched here, he searched there, but he could find nothing, not a trace of her. So he began to walk toward the city.
And he went, and he went to the city and found the Major. As soon as the Maj or saw him he told him that his sister was in the city and that he had her in an apartment. Seeing that his sister was well taken care of, he was satisfied and went back to the place from which she had been brought.
When he arrived he found there a magician displaying his powers. Then the magician offered him a piece of meat and the boy ate it. And when he ate the meat he was no longer a human but had been transformed into a goat.
When he was transformed into a goat he didn't lose his memory and went off to the army, that is, to the army camp.
And he arrived weeping and wept more and more. And the goat would roll over and over on the ground and would put its front feet on the Major's chest.
Then the Major patted him, "And this goat, this animal, why does he come to caress me?" Having seen that the animal was so affectionate, he took the goat and tenderly placed it on his shoulder and took it home.
When they arrived to where the wife was, she who was the sister of the boy who had been turned into a goat, he said, "Look at this little goat that came to me. You should have seen how it embraced me and how it showed its fondness for me. Tend to it with care. Take good care of it."
And he began to give her advice on how to take care of the goat. The girl was also happy with the goat. They would buy hay and give it to the goat but it would not eat it. Instead, the little goat was at the table eating their food. She didn't scold him. She would tell her husband that this goat didn't eat hay but rather food from the table. He would set a place at the table and there the goat would eat.
Thus, those of his friends who came to visit got to know this exceptionally intelligent animal.
In the meantime, the housekeeper that she had, a coarse, bozal Negress, took a dislike to the goat because it would eat the best morsels of food. So she took a stick to the goat. The girl told her not to mistreat the animal like that because if she did so they would put her in stocks.
The Negress refrained from beating the goat but bore ill will against the mistress of the house, the goat's sister. This woman would do everything with poor grace and as she saw how the Major adored the girl and the goat she said to her, "My mistress, do you know something? Since you've been living here you haven't gone to see the cistern. If you wish, I'll take you to see it. It's an enchanted cistern. Look, over there are divine things, roses and treasures with all kinds of gems, and all that."
"Yes?"
"Yes, that is a delightful thing that your master has."
"Well, let's go then."
When the girl bent over to look, the woman immediately pushed her and she fell into the cistern. The goat was watching and started to run. The woman covered the cistern and the girl disappeared.
And the goat went to the barracks to look for the Major. When it arrived it at once cried,
"Malena be,
The husband left at once and went directly to the cistern in search of Malena. He had someone uncover the cistern and there he found his wife. She was on the verge of death. He then said that the goat couldn't be an animal, it had to be a person.
Immediately after the girl was pulled out of the cistern the magician appeared. He took a glass of water and by pouring it over the goat transformed it into a person.
When the boy reappeared he immediately grabbed the Negress. He found two mules and he tied one of her legs to one mule and the second to the other. He gave the mules three lashes and they ran through the city and tore the Negress apart. And finally she died, torn into four parts by the mules. The Major brought the girl a doctor who immediately treated her and she didn't die. And the Major remained with her always.
There my story ends.
CHAPTER 3
Of Aunt Vixen with Uncle Jaguar
Told by Gumercinda Campos de Pérez, from Pasacaballos, Cartagena
13 NOVEMBER 1964
http://purl.dlib.indiana.edu/iudl/media/2r7q67kr8w
There was a vixen who was the wife of Jaguar. It came about that she went off with Uncle Rabbit. And in this manner Aunt Vixen betrayed Jaguar. She went off at once with Uncle Rabbit.
Uncle Jaguar said, "No matter where Vixen goes she'll have to pay for this"
Rabbit would make fun of Jaguar. He said, "Well, Vixen, Uncle Jaguar is going to plant a field and we'll eat whatever he grows. I have to trick him in every way so that he sees that although he's big and I'm small, he can't eat me."
Vixen said, "Rabbit! Don't mess around with Uncle Jaguar. Don't you know that he hardly needs to open his mouth and you will disappear?"
Uncle Jaguar planted his field. The field produced corn and watermelon, which Rabbit didn't like. But when the field produced muskmelon, Uncle Rabbit said, "Now, I'll eat."
And off he goes and destroys Uncle Jaguar's fence. And he begins to pull up the watermelons. And Vixen also had her bundle of watermelons and muskmelons. And so we had the big feast of Vixen and Uncle Rabbit.
Of this Jaguar said, "I'll meet them at a crossroads and they'll have to pay, for I won't tolerate what Vixen and Uncle Rabbit have done."
And then it happened that Uncle Jaguar met Uncle Rabbit and immediately after Rabbit saw him he started to roll over and over on the ground.
He rolled there.
He rolled here.
He rolled there.
He rolled here.
He rolled over there.
He rolled here.
Uncle Jaguar said, "Hey, Rabbit, finally I have you in my trap and I'm going to catch you."
Rabbit said, "Oh, Uncle Jaguar! Don't grab me now. Oh, Uncle Jaguar! Wait a minute. I have a terrible stomach ache. Uncle Jaguar, oh, Uncle Jaguar, wait a second. Oh, Uncle Jaguar, look, leave me alone for a minute. Soon we'll face each other like men."
When Rabbit said, "Soon we'll face each other like men," Uncle Jaguar was distracted and looked up toward the sun. As he looked up at the sun Uncle Rabbit moved closer, farted three times, pru, pru, pru, and ran away, having fooled Uncle Jaguar.
And Jaguar said, "Rabbit fooled me again. How will I finally be able to catch him? He got away from me." As Jaguar left he said, "Where will I find him?"
Days went by, many days went by, and finally Jaguar decided to invite all the animals to a party. When he held the party all the animals came but Rabbit. So Jaguar said, "Well, given that Rabbit hasn't come yet I'm going to look for him."
Rabbit was hiding in the bushes. And when Uncle Jaguar left to look for him Rabbit came out of the bushes and started to dance and eat while the party was at its height. When they told him Uncle Jaguar was coming Rabbit said, "I'm leaving straight away for I'm not going to let Jaguar eat me."
When he came back he immediately asked, "Hasn't Rabbit been here?" They answered, "He came and went." And he said, "Where will I catch him? Give me a break! Wherever I find him I'll give him such a blow that it will kill him at once. It'll take only one blow. I'll hit him real hard before he gets a stomach ache."
Aunt Vixen came by and Uncle Jaguar said to himself, "If I don't get ahold of Rabbit I'll take Vixen instead."
When Uncle Jaguar left, Rabbit was coming with his battalion of friends to throw his own party on Jaguar's field. When Rabbit arrived with Aunt Vixen, she sang,
"Elelelelelelelelelele
Rabbit, we are in the field of my husband"
Suddenly they said to her, "There comes Uncle Jaguar."
She cried, "Uncle Jaguar, caray." Then he beat her. When she went under the barbed wire her dress caught so she left the shreds there. And Rabbit stole everything in Jaguar's field and Jaguar couldn't eat him.
That's all.
CHAPTER 4
The Excursion of Rabbit
Told by Gabriel Álvarez Jiménez
CARTAGENA, 6 MARCH 1965 http://purl.dlib.indiana.edu/iudl/media/692t151g56
It once happened that Rabbit and Goat went for an excursion, walking through the mountains. They walked here, they walked there, and the falling night found them deep in the mountains.
And Rabbit said to the goat, "Look Goat, I believe that around here in these mountains there are many jaguars, many fierce animals. So we have to take care of ourselves, so let's climb a tree to sleep in."
They jumped high into a tall tree and arranged themselves to sleep.
Now as it happened, every night under that particular tree there slept a very old jaguar who could hardly walk since he was so old. When Rabbit awoke in the morning and was going to descend the tree, he said, "Caramba, Goat, we're in deep trouble. Down there is a jaguar who seems to be waiting for us."
"Man, Rabbit!" the goat said to him. "What am I going to do now? What are we going to do?"
He said, "Don't worry. Do you remember that farther ahead we found that dead jaguar and chopped off his head? Well then, don't you worry. We'll get out of this predicament in some way."
Then Rabbit noticed that about eight other younger jaguars had come to visit the grandfather. "What's up, grandad? How are you?"
"Oh my son, here I am, not being able to walk with this rheumatism, this old age."
"Caramba!" said Rabbit, "Things are pretty bad. Now there are eight more jaguars."
"This is very bad. They're going to tear us to pieces."
"However, let's do something. Look Goat, bring out the head of the biggest jaguar that I killed yesterday and right away we'll make a sancocho."
At once the jaguars took notice and said, "What! Up there they are making a sancocho of jaguar? This is bad."
Goat went over, put in his hand, took out the head of the jaguar, and said, "This one, Rabbit?"
And he answered, "Not that one, the other, the biggest."
He put the head back in and took the same one out again and asked him, "This other one?"
"No, man! The other, the biggest one."
When he was about to put his hand in the bag again, Goat slipped and fell down from the tree like a bullet. And Goat cried, "Be-e-e."
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Animal Tales from the Caribbean"
by .
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