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

Preface xi
Introduction 3

PROLOGUE: EARLY COLONIAL LEGENDS 19
1. Montezuma / Mexico (Nahua) 22
I. The Talking Stone 22
II. Montezuma’s Wound 25
III. Eight Omens 26
IV. The Return of Quetzalcoatl 28
V. Is It You? 32
2. Legends of the Inca Kings / Peru (Quechua) 34
I. Mayta Capac 34
II. The Storm 36
III. The Vanishing Bride 38
IV. A Messenger in Black 40
V. The Oracle at Huamachuco 41
3. Bringing Out the Holy Word / Mexico (Nahua) 42

FOLKTALES: A TWENTIETH-CENTURY WAKE 45
Part One 49
4. In the City of Benjamin / Ecuador 49
5. Antuco’s Luck / Chile 51
6. Don Dinero and Doña Fortuna / Dominican Republic 56
7. Mistress Lucía / Mexico 57
8. St. Peter’s Wishes / Cuba 63
9. The Coyote Teodora / Honduras 64
10. Buried Alive / California 65
11. The Three Gowns / Puerto Rico 67
12. The Horse of Seven Colors / Venezuela 72
13. The Cow / New Mexico 78

Part Two 81
14. Death and the Doctor / Dominican Republic 81
15. What the Owls Said / Mexico (Mazatec) 82
16. Aunt Misery / Puerto Rico 84
17. Palm-tree Story / Columbia 85
18. Pedro de Urdemalas 88
I. The Letter Carrier from the Other World / Chile 88
II. The King’s Pigs / Guatemala 89
III. The Sack / Chile 89
IV. Pedro Goes to Heaven / Argentina 92
19. A Voyage to Eternity / Bolivia 94
20. Mother and Daughter / Columbia 98
21. The Bird Sweet Magic / Costa Rica 98
22. Death Comes as a Rooster / Cuba 103
23. The Twelve Truths of the World / New Mexico 104
Folk Prayers 107

Part Three 111
24. The Mouse and the Dung Beetle / Colorado 111
25. The Canon and the King’s False Friend / New Mexico 113
26. The Story That Became a Dream / Chile 115
27. St. Theresa and the Lord / Mexico 118
28. Rice from Ashes / Argentina 120
29. Juan María and Juana María / Guatemala 124
30. The Witch Wife / Columbia 126
31. O Wicked World / Argentina 129
32. The Three Sisters / Columbia 130
33. The Count and the Queen / Colorado 134

Part Four 137
34. Crystal the Wise / Chile 137
35. Love Like Salt / Mexico 141
36. The Pongo’s Dream / Peru (Quechua) 144
37. The Fox and the Monkey / Bolivia (Aymara) 147
38. The Miser’s Jar / Guatemala (Kekchi Maya) 149
39. Tup and the Ants / Mexico (Yucatec Maya) 152
40. A Master and His Pupil / Guatemala 155
41. The Louse-Drum / Panama 157
42. The Three Dreams / Guatemala 159
43. The Clump of Basil / Puerto Rico 161
Riddles 164

Part Five 173
44. The Charcoal Peddler’s Chicken / Puerto Rico 173
45. The Three Counsels / New Mexico 174
46. Seven Blind Queens / Chile 176
47. The Mad King / Florida 181
48. A Mother’s Curse / Puerto Rico 183
49. The Hermit and the Drunkard / Ecuador 184
50. The Noblewoman’s Daughter and the Charcoal Woman’s Son / Cuba 185
51. The Enchanted Cow / Chile 188
52. Judas’s Ear / New Mexico 192
53. Good Is Repaid with Evil / Venezuela 195
54. The Fisherman’s Daughter / Columbia 196

Part Six 201
55. In the Beginning / Mexico (Mazatec) 201
56. How the First People Were Made / Mexico (Zapotec) 202
57. Adam’s Rib / Mexico (Popoluca) 203
58. Adam and Eve and Their Children / New Mexico (Isleta) 203
59. God’s Letter to Noéh / Mexico (Zapotec) 204
60. God Chooses Noah / Mexico (Mixe) 205
61. The Flood / Mexico (Mixe) 207
62. A Prophetic Dream / Mexico (Mazatex 208
63. The White Lily / Ecuador (Quichua) 209
64. The Night in the Stable / Guatemala (Quiché Maya) 209
65. When Morning Came 210
I. Why Did It Dawn? / Mexico (Nahua) 210
II. That Was the Principal Day / Mexico (Tzotzil Maya) 211
66. Three Kings / New Mexico (Isleta) 211
67. The Christ Child as Trickster / Ecuador (Quichua) 212
68. Christ Saved by the Firefly / Guatemala (Cakchiquel Maya) 213
69. Christ Betrayed by Snails / Belize (Kekchi Maya) 214
70. Christ Betrayed by the Magpie-jay / Mexico (Tzotzil Maya) 214
71. The Blind Man at the Cross / Mexico (Mazatec) 214
72. The Cricket, the Mole, and the Mouse / Mexico (Mazatec) 216
73. As If with Wings / Mexico (Mazatec) 218

Part Seven 219
74. Slowpoke Slaughtered Four / Puerto Rico 219
75. The Price of Heaven and the Rain of Caramels / Mexico 221
76. Pine Cone the Astrologer / Panama 224
77. The Dragon Slayer / Mexico 225
78. Johnny-boy / Nicaragua 229
79. The Rarest Thing / Guatemala 230
80. Prince Simpleheart / Costa Rica 232
81. The Flower of Lily-Lo / Mexico 236
82. My Garden Is Better Than Ever / Mexico (Popoluca) 238
83. Juan Bobo and the Pig / Puerto Rico 239
[...] Parrot Prince / Chile 240
Chain Riddles 245

Part Eight 251
85. A Dead Man Speaks / Texas 251
86. The Bear’s Son / Honduras (Lenca) 252
87. Charity / Argentina 259
88. Riches Without Working / Mexico (Nahua) 260
89. Let Somebody Buy You Who Doesn’t Know You / Guatemala 262
90. The Mouse King / Bolivia 264
91. Mariquita Grim and Mariquita Fair / Cuba 266
92. The Compadre’s Dinner / Dominican Republic 270
93. The Hog / Colorado 272
94. Two Sisters / Puerto Rico 272
95. The Ghosts’ Reales / Domincan Republic 274

Part Nine 277
96. The Bad Compadre / Guatemala (Cakchiquel Maya) 277
97. Black Chickens / Mexico (Tepecano) 283
98. Doublehead / El Salvador (Pipil) 286
99. Littlebit / Chile 288
100. Rosalie / Mexico (Yucantec Maya) 293
101. A Day Laborer Goes to Work / Mexico (Otomi) 297
102. The Moth / Peru (Quechua) 303
103. The Earth Ate Them / Argentina 304

Epilogue: Twentieth-Century Myths 307
104. Why Tobacco Grows Close to Houses / Colombia (Kogi) 310
105. The Buzzard Husband / Mexico (Tzotzil Maya) 310
106. The Dead Wife / Nicaragua (Mískito) 314
107. Romi Kumu Makes the World / Colombia (Barasana) 315
108. She Was Thought and Memory / Colombia (Kogi) 316
109. Was It Not an Illusion? / Colombia (Witoto) 317
110. The Beginning Life of the Hummingbird / Paraguay (Mbyá Guarani) 318
111. Ibis Story / Chile (Yamana) 319
112. The Condor Seeks a Wife / Bolivia (Quechua) 320
113. The Priest’s Son Becomes an Eagle / New Mexico (Zuna) 322
114. The Revolts of the Untensils / Bolivia (Tacana) 325
115. The Origin of Permanent Death / Ecuador (Shuar) 326

Notes 329
Register of Tale Types and Selected Motifs 363
Glossary of Native Cultures 369
Bibliography 373
Permissions Acknowledgments 385