Mexican Folk Stories: The Rabbit and the Coyote

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THE RABBIT AND THE COYOTE

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Mexican folktale from Galeana, N. L.

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There was once an old woman who had a small farm with lettuce, radishes and beets, and there was a bunny that came every night to find something to eat. Tired of it, the old lady put traps, but the bold rabbit was never caught. One day the old lady thought:

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"Next time I will put as bait a glued scarecrow, to see if that scares the rabbit does not come anymore."

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The days passed and the rabbit kept coming to feast at the farm. When he saw the scarecrow, he began to mock it, but as this did not answer, the rabbit said, "Look, monkey, I will beat you up until you plead no more. And so he did, the rabbit started beating it up until he was stuck. That day the old lady was not around, so she did not realize that the rabbit had been caught. However, a hungry coyote was passing by and got him. But the bunny, very clever, said:

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“Please do not eat me, coyote. Look, you see that herd over there? Tell me which goat you like and I’ll bring to you immediately.

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Since this coyote was a bit silly, he believed the bunny. So it happened that when he helped the rabbit free, he ran away as fast as he could and only his ears moving were seen. The coyote waited for the goat, but only waited.

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A couple days later the coyote happened to find the rabbit again and said:

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“I got you again, bunny. The other day you cheated me and now I'm going to eat you”.

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"No, Coyotito, let me explain”, said the rabbit. “I caught the goat as I said I would, but when I went looking for you I did not find you, so I decided to make this chicharrones, from that goat. So here you see me preparing. Hm ... they’re just about ready. Would you like some?

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“All right, the coyote said, let’s eat”.

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With his hand the coyote began to stir the pot where there were supposed to be the chicharrones, but were not such –it was a buzzing hive of bees, producing a noise as if something were frying. In the meantime, the rabbit ran away again as fast as he could, while the foolish coyote realized that he’d been tricked again.

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The following night, the rabbit was eating a radish in the farm of the old lady when the coyote stalked from behind and caught him.

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“Look, tricky rabbit, I’m really starving and there is no choice but to eat you. After all you’ve mocked me twice”.

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When he was about to take a bite, the rabbit said:

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“No, Coyote, don’t be silly. Do you really think you’ll have enough with a little bunny like me? Look, do you see that bag over there? Well, that's a sheep that I caught for you, and if you eat it you'll have plenty for two or three days. What do you think?”

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The coyote got excited and ran to take the bag with the sheep inside, but when he took the first blow he just made a howl of pain. It was a cactus and had thorns! The rabbit had fooled him again.

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Time passed and again the coyote found his enemy, this time on the shore of a lake.

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“Look, wretched rabbit, now I'm going to eat, he said. You’ve tricked me three times and I will not leave without eating you this time”.

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“But Coyotito my friend, before you eat me you should know that I’ve been looking for you because I found a really big cheese, but it fell into the lake and I can’t reach it with my little hand for it’s very short”, explained the rabbit. I was thinking about a solution to get the cheese out of the lake and I think that between the two of us can do it. What do you think, either you hold me until we can retrieve the cheese from the water or I hold you”.

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They were discussing who clutched the hand of whom until he finally agreed. They agreed that the rabbit was going to hold the coyote because the coyote had longer arms and could reach the cheese easily. But what the coyote did not know is that the cheese was actually the full moon reflected in the water. Neither did he suspect the rabbit’s plans. When the coyote was already in the water, the rabbit let go and the poor coyote drowned.

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In many Mexican indigenous stories as well as ethnic groups in the North American desert, there is a series of stories where the protagonists are a rabbit and a coyote, and the winner can be either. Usually, that kind of story has a moral implication, which is a conventional feature on this literary genre.

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In the version we just read, narrated by Milton de la Peña, a student of Geology at Linares, who tells us that it is still popular in the mountainous region of Iturbide, the symbols are the same: a coyote, an animal trickster that usually gets what he wants, whose nature is in folklore dual, because apart from cheating is also a cultural hero, as it provides knowledge of the arts and he did not allowed fire to extinguish, thus protecting the human race. And a rabbit, also in the folklore of some people is a trickster and liar animal, but is equally benefactor, as he brought fire from across the sea for the benefit of mankind, thus demonstrating its dual nature, similar that of his opponent.

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This story was published in Mitos, cuentos y leyendas de Nuevo León, regiones Cítricola y Sur. 2022.

Available in Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/6072930409

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If you're looking for bilingual folk stories, here's a book written by Homero Adame and translated by Dr. Patricia Grounds:

Historias y leyendas de San Miguel de Allende / 

Stories and Legends of San Miguel de Allende

https://www.amazon.com/dp/607297287X

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Mexican myths and legends: John the Bear

JOHN THE BEAR

(Mexican folk story from the Eastern Sierra Madre)

One day, when we were at Don Evaristo’s ranch, we all rode up to the hills on horseback to look for some missing cattle. We spent a whole night in the woods. It was the perfect place to listen to stories, sitting under a starlit sky, eating wild rabbit, roasted slowly over our campfire...

Suddenly, we heard a strange noise. Emily and I immediately reacted and jumped to our feet, but Don Evaristo and the cowboys didn’t seem to pay any attention to the sounds. “I guess it’s a bear,” one of the cowboys commented, quite calmly.

“Yes, it’s a bear,” Don Evaristo replied, “and it’s a pretty big one.”

Emily and I felt really nervous. We have heard hundreds of terrifying stories about dangerous bears and innocent tourists. But Don Evaristo calmed us down, saying the bear would never come near the fire. Sure enough, almost immediately we heard the bear going off into the forest, probably more afraid than we were! Our host was thoughtful for a moment. Then his eyes shone as he remembered a new tale to tell.

“Ah, thank you for reminding me, Brother Bear,” he laughed. “It is time to tell the tale of John the Bear, or Juan Oso. It’s one of the most common tales from the Mexican mountains, and it seems that it came to these lands with the Spanish conquest, for the same story is also told in Spain and other parts of Europe. Homero Adame's legends.

“Not long ago, there was a rumor that a very big bear was wandering around near a small country town by the foothills somewhere in the State of Nuevo Leon. Very few people saw it. Those who did thought it was very strange, because it was not a time of famine, the rains had been good, and there was plenty of food for all the wild animals up in the mountains. ‘What is the bear doing around here?’ they wondered. Of course, they were a little scared at first. But as the days went by, and the bear showed no form of aggression, they gradually lost interest in it, and went about their business as usual.

“One afternoon, however, a rumor that a young girl was missing immediately created a state of alert. ‘Who has kidnapped the girl?’ ‘Where have they taken her?’ ‘Has anyone asked for any money?’ Nobody could give an answer. Finally, the girl’s little brothers, crying desperately, managed to explain: ‘A big bear came and took our sister off to the mountains!’ They cried. Someone saw her going down to the river to do the washing. The boys saw the bear. Later on, when the men searched along the river bank, sure enough, they found the double footprints of a bear and a girl, and a solitary basket full of dirty clothes, still waiting for someone to wash them... The children were telling the truth, it seemed.

“An angry crowd of people noisily followed the footprints well into the mountains, but they found nothing. Not a trace! The trails became hard to follow, and after a couple of river crossings, they finally lost track of the footprints completely. Homero Adame's legends.

“Time passed, and after about three years, the sad event became just a vague memory for most of the village. Just imagine everyone’s surprise when one afternoon, a pretty, young woman appeared in town with a baby in her arms. Of course, it was the same girl, a little older and perhaps wiser, too. The neighbors hurried round to hear her story. She said the great bear captured her and took her to his cave, far off in the mountains. He took very good care of her and fed her well. Although he was very kind to her, she was always afraid of him. What she really hated, was being his prisoner, a helpless captive in the dark, smoky cave. Early in the mornings, the bear used to go out hunting, but whenever he left, he always closed the cave entrance with a very large, heavy rock. There was no escape.

“A few months later, the bear and the girl had a healthy baby boy. The girl loved the baby more each day. But then, so did the bear. One fine day, when the bear went off to hunt, for some reason he forgot to block the entrance to the cave. Maybe he trusted his young ‘wife’ at last. Nevertheless, she seized the opportunity at once and escaped back to her town, taking her darling little baby with her, of course.

“It seemed like a real happy ending. The big bear was never seen in the area again, though some hunters said they often heard a bear crying alone in the mountains at night. The baby grew tall and strong, though a little more hairy than the other village boys. No one knows why, but one day, many years later, when he was a man, Juan Oso disappeared. People say he decided to go back to his real home, high up in the mountains. But nobody can tell if he ever found his loving father — the great bear — still crying for his wife and son in his dark and smoky cave... Folk tale found in Homero Adame's blog.

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Written by Homero Adame and translated by Pat Grounds. Originally published in the English textbook Orbit 3. By Homero Adame, Pat Grounds and Carol Lethaby. Ediciones Castillo, S.A. de C.V. Monterrey, Mexico. 2000. Pp. 67-68.

If you're looking for bilingual folk stories, here's a book written by Homero Adame and translated by Dr. Patricia Grounds:

Historias y leyendas de San Miguel de Allende / 

Stories and Legends of San Miguel de Allende

https://www.amazon.com/dp/607297287X

If you wish to read more Mexican folk stories, follow any of these links:

Mexican legends in English

and

Myths and legends from Mexico

Myths and legends from Tamaulipas: The Deer

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THE DEER

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(Folk story from San Carlos Mountains, in Tamaulipas)

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One afternoon, Emily and I went off horseback riding near the ranch while Don Evaristo was dealing with some other visitors. Suddenly, without warning, we were surprised by a magnificent deer, standing right in the middle of the path in front of us! We stopped in our tracks, and he didn’t move a muscle! Slowly and deliberately, we moved our horses closer and closer to the deer, but apparently neither the horses nor the deer felt at all nervous. Our animals were almost touching noses with the deer, when it finally reacted, and trotted off into the bushes. Emily even managed to get some photos!

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Later that evening, during supper, we told don Evaristo about our encounter with such a magnificent animal. He was all ears. At the end of our tale, doña Almanda said: “I bet it was El Viejo.”

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“El Viejo? Who’s that?” we asked.

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“Oh, it’s a very old deer that’s been around for many years. We see him from time to time, and he’s never afraid of anyone.” She answered. “Evaristo, tell them the story about the magical deer. Remember?” She suggested to her husband.

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“Yes, of course. It’s a very nice story, and we always like to make a connection between this tale and our dear viejo, here on the ranch! You will remember that in universal mythology the deer is an extremely beneficent animal, by all accounts.

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“Now, in the woods and mountains all over Mexico and Central America, you can hear similar stories about a poor hunter who makes the spirit of the woods angry, because he has shot and wounded too many animals. Of course, the story varies, according to the area or the type of landscape, and in many cases the spirit locks the hunter in a cave and won’t let him out until he has cured all the poor animals. I’ve heard this story in the mountains of Puebla and Oaxaca, but this version comes from the Sierra de San Carlos, in the state of Tamaulipas.” Don Evaristo explained.

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“Not so many moons ago, there was a young man who used to go hunting every single afternoon. There was never a day when he didn’t return home with a rabbit, an ocelot, a coyote, a boar or something that used to run on four legs in the forest. He would shoot any animal that crossed his path in the woods. Much more than he could ever eat. But his favorite game of all was the deer. He was a good hunter, but, one day, the hunter himself became the prey!

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“This is what happened: one afternoon, the weather was too bad to go out hunting. Early the next morning, however, he took his rifle and set off for the mountains, where he found a trail that led him deep into a canyon. He crossed the river several times. Always alert -- like the good hunter he was --, he suddenly heard something moving close at hand, and then he saw it. It was the biggest deer he had ever seen in his life!

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“Very quietly and carefully he lifted his rifle and... bang! He shot at the deer. But the deer did not fall to the ground. By no means! Instead, it walked a few paces towards the hunter! The hunter shot again! And again! And he knew for sure he had hit the animal three times! But that brave deer just moved slowly but surely, closer and closer to the hunter! When the deer and the hunter were only about one meter apart, the animal jumped up, leaped over the hunter’s head and disappeared into thin air! The hunter was so scared that he gave up hunting that very moment and never shot another animal again. He realized in a flash that the guardian spirit of the mountains was warning him to stop hunting animals, or face the consequences.”

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“What a beautiful story,” Emily said. “And I agree with the moral: the hunter became greedy, and killed many more animals than he needed for food. When his hunting became an obsession, it became a vice, instead of a natural means of subsistence!”

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“Why do you say that the deer we saw, el viejo, is related to the story?” I asked don Evaristo.

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“Well, it’s just that we have never ever seen such an old deer anywhere else! And there are so many hunters around. But not one of those hunters has ever managed to shoot our dear viejo. But we’re sure he can sense when people are just out in the woods in search of natural beauty and peace of mind, like you two, this afternoon. He has come up to us too, so many times...

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Written by Homero Adame and translated by Pat Grounds. Originally published in the English textbook Orbit 3. By Homero Adame, Pat Grounds and Carol Lethaby. Ediciones Castillo, S.A. de C.V. Monterrey, Mexico. 2000. Pp. 192-193.

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You can find more Mexican folk stories on any of these links:

Leyendas mexicanas en inglés 

and

Mitos y leyendas de México en inglés

If you're looking for bilingual folk stories, here's a book written by Homero Adame and translated by Dr. Patricia Grounds:

Historias y leyendas de San Miguel de Allende / 

Stories and Legends of San Miguel de Allende

https://www.amazon.com/dp/607297287X