Mexican Folk Stories: The Rabbit and the Coyote

.

THE RABBIT AND THE COYOTE

. 

Mexican folktale from Galeana, N. L.

. 

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:

. 

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

. 

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:

. 

“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.

. 

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.

. 

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

. 

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

. 

"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?

. 

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

. 

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.

. 

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.

. 

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

. 

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

. 

“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?”

. 

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.

. 

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

.

“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”.

. 

“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”.

. 

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.

.  

. 

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.

. 

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.

.

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

. 

. 

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

. 

Mexican Myths and Legends: The Pakan and the Lintsi

Huastecan (Tének) myth from Tanlajás, San Luis Potosi

Myths and legends from Sonora: The Devil Does a Good Deed

.

THE DEVIL DOES A GOOD DEED

.

Folk story from the State of Sonora

.

One evening, while having dinner with don Evaristo and doña Almanda, I asked our guest if he knew any stories from the state of Sonora. “You see, Emily and I are planning to drive to Sonora for the holidays,” I said.

.
“Now, let me think,” don Evaristo said and thought for a while. “Ah, yes. I’ve just thought of a good one. ‘The Devil Does a Good Deed’, it’s called.”

.
“The Devil.” said Emily, “Are you going to frighten us?”

.
 “Not quite. This story is about an old lady named Eulogia, who lived all alone on a small ranch, in a forgotten corner in the middle of the Sonora desert. Eulogia had very few visitors. Maybe once or twice a year, a muleteer would take a wrong turning and come across the ranch by accident. And these chance visits were the only times Eulogia received any news from the outside world.” Don Evaristo began.

.
 “Her husband had been a member of an infamous gang of bandits, feared throughout the territory. After one particularly dangerous raid against federal troops, the leader of the gang presented Eulogia’s husband with a dramatic painting of a devil. This was his way of thanking Eulogia’s husband for saving his life during the bitter encounter. Though he was not at all happy about the subject of the painting, Eulogia’s husband could not, of course, refuse a gift from his leader and friend. That day, when he arrived home, he placed the picture behind a door, and there it stayed. Even after his death, the picture stayed there; being one of the few things he left his solitary wife to remember him by.

.

“Now, when our story begins, Eulogia was still in good health, though advanced in years. She still kept her own house and did her own housework, and, whenever she went through the door on which the strange painting hung, she used to say, ‘Poor thing! You never see the face of God, do you?’ Then she would take a cloth and gently sweep off the dust from the painting. This daily ritual repeated itself, day after day and year after year. After her husband’s death, she even moved the painting closer to her room, so she would not forget to dust it off.

.
 “All flesh is weak, and so it happened that, strong as she was, one day Eulogia fell ill. Now very old indeed and all alone in the desert, she made up her herbal remedies and tried to take care of herself the best she could. But it was all to no avail. As each day passed, she grew weaker and weaker, until finally, she just lay motionless on bed, unable to move a finger.

.
 “When the devil in the painting saw her sad condition, he materialized, came out of the picture and approached Eulogia’s bed. She knew very well that death was near. ‘Good-bye, old friend,’ she said to the devil. When the devil heard this, he rushed out of the house as fast as he could and ran and ran down the lonely desert road towards the nearest town.

.
 “Once in town, he rushed inside the first church he came to. When the priest saw the devil, he recoiled in horror. ‘What do you want of me?’ he demanded, in a rage. ‘I just want you to come with me and give the last rites to someone who is dying,’ replied the devil.

.
 “The priest found very hard to believe the devil’s words, but the idea of saving a poor soul seemed more important to him than any devil’s trickery. So, he agreed to go with the devil, but not without carefully packing a holy cross, holy water, incense and all the materials he needed for the sacrament.
.

“Priest and devil together hitched the horses to a carriage and hurried off back to Eulogia’s ranch. When they arrived, they found the old lady smiling tranquilly. ‘I’ve just seen a beautiful lady dressed all in white,’ she whispered. ‘She was coming down a long tunnel to meet me and little children with wings were flying all around her.’
.

“The priest then gave the old lady confession, and soon after, Eulogia passed away peacefully, and well accompanied. 
.

“Moments later, the priest asked the devil to leave, but first he remembered to thank him for his good deed. Before they parted, the holy man said to the devil, ‘Tell me, what made you want to save a soul? Why on earth did you do a good deed? Is this a devil’s work?’
.

‘Well, you know, that woman was extraordinarily kind to me. She even saved me from my prison in the picture! Besides, I already have her husband’s soul,’ the devil smiled and vanished. The priest, for his part, went back to the town and to all his priestly duties.
.

“When the authorities and gravediggers came to bury the old lady, they found a strange painting beside her. A painting of a silhouette – the outline of a figure, where the devil’s form had once been...”
.

“How strange, that the devil should do such a kind thing!” Emily exclaimed. “I can’t believe it.”
.

“Neither can I, but who knows? Maybe even bad spirits can do good deeds, from time to time.” Don Evaristo laughed. “And it’s only a story, Emily!”
.

- - - - - -

Folk story 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. 206-207.

.

Myths and legends from the State of Tamaulipas: The ‘Leoncillo’

.

THE ‘LEONCILLO’

.

 Folk story from the Sierra de San Carlos, in Tamaulipas

.

One day, at don Evaristo’s ranch, we all went horseback riding in the distant hills. Don Evaristo was looking for some missing cows. In the afternoon, we found the cows, and the cowboys took them straight back to the corrals. After that, we stopped by a lake to water the horses, and there we saw a strange animal that looked something like a puma. That very same night, after supper, don Evaristo told us a very interesting story about this animal particular.

.

“You know, animals know a lot of things, and maybe more than humans think. Some animals are divine messengers and bring good news; others may announce calamities or evil things to come. Today, we came across one very astute little wild feline known as ‘leoncillo’, or ‘little lion’, although its official name is ‘jaguarundi’. Many people believe it’s a kind of magical animal.”

.

“A magical animal! That sounds interesting!” Emily said.

.

“Magical? In what way?” I asked.

.

“Well, according to local tradition, if a hunter wants to kill a jaguarundi, no matter how many shots he takes, not one will ever hit the target. I have actually heard this from people who have tried it themselves, not just from the legend!

.

“Anyway, even though some people may not believe it, the ‘leoncillo’ is not a bad animal. He just stays alone in the woods, looking for food, and rarely comes near a corral, or attacks goats or cows. No, the ‘leoncillo’ is not like the puma or the wolf, which often kill just for the sake of killing – not because they need food. The ‘leoncillo’ eats hares, rabbits, wild mice, and iguanas; things like that.

.

“But let me tell you something else: whenever you see a ‘leoncillo’ by the road or in an open field, I believe there’s a reason, and he’s usually warning us about something. Perhaps it’s going to rain, or the weather is going to get colder, or you are going to receive some news from a distant relative... The ‘leoncillo’ is a bringer of news. He’s a true friend to us humans.” Don Evaristo concluded.

.

“So, what news was he bringing us today?” I wondered.

.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s going to rain tomorrow,” don Evaristo said.

.

And believe it or not, it did rain the following day! It poured down for hours, after a long season of drought!

- - - - - -

.

Written by Homero Adame and translated by Pat Grounds. Originally published in the English textbook Activate! 2. By Carol Lethaby, Homero Adame, and Pat Grounds. Ediciones Castillo, S.A. de C.V. Monterrey, Mexico. 2003. Pp. 122-123.

Both images were taken from the Internet. The links are a way to thank and give credit to the two sites. Jaguarundi in Costa Rica and Jaguarundi in Animalfarmguyana.

.