{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_24714/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_24714","id":"gutenberg_24714","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24714","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Children's Myths, Fairy Tales, etc.","Fairy tales -- Brazil","Folklore -- Brazil"],"text":"E-text prepared by Sankar Viswanathan, Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, and\nthe Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team\n(https://www.pgdp.net)\n\n\n\nNote: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this\n      file which includes the original illustrations.\n      See 24714-h.htm or 24714-h.zip:\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/7/1/24714/24714-h/24714-h.htm)\n      or\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/7/1/24714/24714-h.zip)\n\n\n\n\n\nFAIRY TALES FROM BRAZIL\n\nHow and Why Tales from Brazilian Folk-Lore\n\nby\n\nELSIE SPICER EELLS\n\nWith Illustrations by Helen M. Barton\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis special edition is published by arrangement with the\npublisher of the regular edition, Dodd, Mead & Company.\n\nCadmus Books\nE. M. Hale and Company\nChicago\n\nCopyright, 1917,\nby Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc.\n\n\n\n\n\nACKNOWLEDGMENT\n\n\nThanks are due to the publishers of _Little Folks_,\n_Kindergarten-Primary Magazine_, _Everyland_, _Mayflower and Story\nTellers' Magazine_ for the privilege of reprinting stories which they\nhave published.\n\nELSIE SPICER EELLS\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nIt is late afternoon in my Brazilian garden. The dazzling blue of sea\nand sky which characterises a tropical noonday has become subdued and\nalready roseate tints are beginning to prepare the glory of the sunset\nhour. A lizard crawls lazily up the whitewashed wall. The song of the\n_sabia_, that wonderful Brazilian thrush, sounds from the royal palm\ntree. The air is heavy with the perfume of the orange blossom. There\nis no long twilight in the tropics. Night will leap down suddenly upon\nmy Brazilian garden from out of the glory of the sunset sky.\n\nTheresa, the _ama_, stands before us on the terrace under the mango\ntrees, and we, her _yayazinhas_ and _yoyozinhos_, know that the story\nhour has come. Theresa, daughter of the mud huts under the palm trees,\n_ama_ in the _sobrado_ of the foreign _senhora_, is a royal queen of\nstory land. For her the beasts break silence and talk like humans. For\nher all the magic wonders of her tales stand forth as living truth.\nHer lithe body sways backwards and forwards to the rhythm of her words\nas she unfolds her tales to us. She is a picture to remember as she\nstands under the mango trees on our terrace. Her spotless white\n\"_camiza_\" is decorated with beautiful pillow lace, her own handiwork.\nHer skirt of stiffly starched cotton is red and purple in colour. A\ncrimson flowered folded shawl hangs over her right shoulder and great\nstrings of beads ornament the ebony of her neck and arms. To sit at\nthe feet of Theresa, the _ama_, is to enter the gate of story land.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n       PREFACE\n\nI.     HOW NIGHT CAME\n\nII.    HOW THE RABBIT LOST HIS TAIL\n\nIII.   HOW THE TOAD GOT HIS BRUISES\n\nIV.    HOW THE TIGER GOT HIS STRIPES\n\nV.     WHY THE LAMB IS MEEK\n\nVI.    WHY THE TIGER AND THE STAG FEAR EACH OTHER\n\nVII.   HOW THE SPECKLED HEN GOT HER SPECKLES\n\nVIII.  HOW THE MONKEY BECAME A TRICKSTER\n\nIX.    HOW THE MONKEY AND THE GOAT EARNED THEIR REPUTATIONS\n\nX.     HOW THE MONKEY GOT A DRINK WHEN HE WAS THIRSTY\n\nXI.    HOW THE MONKEY GOT FOOD WHEN HE WAS HUNGRY\n\nXII.   WHY THE BANANAS BELONG TO THE MONKEY\n\nXIII.  HOW THE MONKEY ESCAPED BEING EATEN\n\nXIV.   WHY THE MONKEY STILL HAS A TAIL\n\nXV.    HOW BLACK BECAME WHITE\n\nXVI.   HOW THE PIGEON BECAME A TAME BIRD\n\nXVII.  WHY THE SEA MOANS\n\nXVIII. HOW THE BRAZILIAN BEETLES GOT THEIR GORGEOUS COATS\n\n\n\n\nI\n\nHow Night Came\n\n\nYears and years ago at the very beginning of time, when the world had\njust been made, there was no night. It was day all the time. No one\nhad ever heard of sunrise or sunset, starlight or moonbeams. There\nwere no night birds, nor night beasts, nor night flowers. There were\nno lengthening shadows, nor soft night air, heavy with perfume.\n\nIn those days the daughter of the GREAT SEA SERPENT, who dwelt in the\ndepths of the seas, married one of the sons of the great earth race\nknown as MAN. She left her home among the shades of the deep seas and\ncame to dwell with her husband in the land of daylight. Her eyes grew\nweary of the bright sunlight and her beauty faded. Her husband watched\nher with sad eyes, but he did not know what to do to help her.\n\n\"O, if night would only come,\" she moaned as she tossed about wearily\non her couch. \"Here it is always day, but in my father's kingdom there\nare many shadows. O, for a little of the darkness of night!\"\n\nHer husband listened to her moanings. \"What is night?\" he asked her.\n\"Tell me about it and perhaps I can get a little of it for you.\"\n\n\"Night,\" said the daughter of the GREAT SEA SERPENT, \"is the name we\ngive to the heavy shadows which darken my father's kingdom in the\ndepths of the seas. I love the sunlight of your earth land, but I grow\nvery weary of it. If we could have only a little of the darkness of my\nfather's kingdom to rest our eyes part of the time.\"\n\nHer husband at once called his three most faithful slaves. \"I am about\nto send you on a journey,\" he told them. \"You are to go to the kingdom\nof the GREAT SEA SERPENT who dwells in the depths of the seas and ask\nhim to give you some of the darkness of night that his daughter may\nnot die here amid the sunlight of our earth land.\"\n\nThe three slaves set forth for the kingdom of the GREAT SEA SERPENT.\nAfter a long dangerous journey they arrived at his home in the depths\nof the seas and asked him to give them some of the shadows of night\nto carry back to the earth land. The GREAT SEA SERPENT gave them a big\nbag full at once. It was securely fastened and the GREAT SEA SERPENT\nwarned them not to open it until they were once more in the presence\nof his daughter, their mistress.\n\nThe three slaves started out, bearing the big bag full of night upon\ntheir heads. Soon they heard strange sounds within the bag. It was the\nsound of the voices of all the night beasts, all the night birds, and\nall the night insects. If you have ever heard the night chorus from\nthe jungles on the banks of the rivers you will know how it sounded.\nThe three slaves had never heard sounds like those in all their lives.\nThey were terribly frightened.\n\n\"Let us drop the bag full of night right here where we are and run\naway as fast as we can,\" said the first slave.\n\n\"We shall perish. We shall perish, anyway, whatever we do,\" cried the\nsecond slave.\n\n\"Whether we perish or not I am going to open the bag and see what\nmakes all those terrible sounds,\" said the third slave.\n\nAccordingly they laid the bag on the ground and opened it. Out rushed\nall the night beasts and all the night birds and all the night insects\nand out rushed the great black cloud of night. The slaves were more\nfrightened than ever at the darkness and escaped to the jungle.\n\nThe daughter of the GREAT SEA SERPENT was waiting anxiously for the\nreturn of the slaves with the bag full of night. Ever since they had\nstarted out on their journey she had looked for their return, shading\nher eyes with her hand and gazing away off at the horizon, hoping with\nall her heart that they would hasten to bring the night. In that\nposition she was standing under a royal palm tree, when the three\nslaves opened the bag and let night escape. \"Night comes. Night comes\nat last,\" she cried, as she saw the clouds of night upon the horizon.\nThen she closed her eyes and went to sleep there under the royal palm\ntree.\n\nWhen she awoke she felt greatly refreshed. She was once more the happy\nprincess who had left her father's kingdom in the depths of the great\nseas to come to the earth land. She was now ready to see the day\nagain. She looked up at the bright star shining above the royal palm\ntree and said, \"O, bright beautiful star, henceforth you shall be\ncalled the morning star and you shall herald the approach of day. You\nshall reign queen of the sky at this hour.\"\n\nThen she called all the birds about her and said to them, \"O,\nwonderful, sweet singing birds, henceforth I command you to sing your\nsweetest songs at this hour to herald the approach of day.\" The cock\nwas standing by her side. \"You,\" she said to him, \"shall be appointed\nthe watchman of the night. Your voice shall mark the watches of the\nnight and shall warn the others that the _madrugada_ comes.\" To this\nvery day in Brazil we call the early morning the _madrugada_. The cock\nannounces its approach to the waiting birds. The birds sing their\nsweetest songs at that hour and the morning star reigns in the sky as\nqueen of the _madrugada_.\n\nWhen it was daylight again the three slaves crept home through the\nforests and jungles with their empty bag.\n\n\"O, faithless slaves,\" said their master, \"why did you not obey the\nvoice of the GREAT SEA SERPENT and open the bag only in the presence\nof his daughter, your mistress? Because of your disobedience I shall\nchange you into monkeys. Henceforth you shall live in the trees. Your\nlips shall always bear the mark of the sealing wax which sealed the\nbag full of night.\"\n\nTo this very day one sees the mark upon the monkeys' lips, where they\nbit off the wax which sealed the bag; and in Brazil night leaps out\nquickly upon the earth just as it leapt quickly out of the bag in\nthose days at the beginning of time. And all the night beasts and\nnight birds and night insects give a sunset chorus in the jungles at\nnightfall.\n\n\n\n\nII\n\nHow the Rabbit Lost His Tail\n\n\nOnce upon a time, ages and ages ago, the rabbit had a long tail, but\nthe cat had none. She looked with envious eyes at the one which the\nrabbit had. It was exactly the sort of a tail she longed to have.\n\nThe rabbit was always a thoughtless careless little beast. One day he\nwent to sleep with his beautiful long tail hanging straight out behind\nhim. Along came Mistress Puss carrying a sharp knife, and with one\nblow she cut off Mr. Rabbit's tail. Mistress Puss was very spry and\nshe had the tail nearly sewed on to her own body before Mr. Rabbit\nsaw what she was doing.\n\n\"Don't you think it looks better on me than it did on you?\" asked\nMistress Puss.\n\n\"It surely is very becoming to you,\" replied the generous unselfish\nrabbit. \"It was a little too long for me anyway and I'll tell you what\nI'll do. I'll let you keep it if you will give me that sharp knife in\nexchange for it.\"\n\nThe cat gave Mr. Rabbit the knife and he started out into the deep\nforest with it. \"I've lost my tail but I've gained a knife,\" said he;\n\"I'll get a new tail or something else just as good.\"\n\nMr. Rabbit hopped along through the forest for a long time and at last\nhe came to a little old man who was busily engaged in making baskets.\nHe was making the baskets out of rushes and he was biting them off\nwith his teeth. He looked up and spied Mr. Rabbit with the knife in\nhis mouth.\n\n\"O, please, Mr. Rabbit,\" said he, \"will you not be so kind as to let\nme borrow that sharp knife you are carrying? It is very hard work to\nbite the rushes off with my teeth.\"\n\nMr. Rabbit let him take the knife. He started to cut off the rushes\nwith it, when _snap_ went the knife! It broke into halves.\n\n\"O, dear! O, dear!\" cried Mr. Rabbit. \"What shall I do! What shall I\ndo! You have broken my nice new knife.\"\n\nThe little old man said that he was very sorry and that he did not\nmean to do it.\n\nThen Mr. Rabbit said, \"A broken knife is of no use to me but perhaps\nyou can use it, even if it is broken. I'll tell you what I'll do.\nI'll let you keep the knife if you will give me one of your baskets in\nexchange for it.\"\n\nThe little old man gave Mr. Rabbit a basket and he started on through\nthe deep forest with it. \"I lost my tail but I gained a knife. I've\nlost my knife but I've gained a basket,\" said he. \"I'll get a new tail\nor something else just as good.\"\n\nMr. Rabbit hopped along through the deep forest for a long time until\nat last he came to a clearing. Here there was an old woman busily\nengaged in picking lettuce. When she had gathered it she put it into\nher apron. She looked up and spied Mr. Rabbit hopping along with his\nbasket.\n\n\"O, please, Mr. Rabbit,\" said she, \"will you not be so kind as to let\nme borrow that nice basket you are carrying?\"\n\nMr. Rabbit let her take the basket. She began to put her lettuce into\nit when out fell the bottom of the basket.\n\n\"O, dear! O, dear!\" cried Mr. Rabbit. \"What shall I do! What shall I\ndo! You have broken the bottom out of my nice new basket.\"\n\nThe old woman said that she was very sorry and that she did not mean\nto do it.\n\nThen said Mr. Rabbit, \"I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll let you keep\nthat broken basket if you will give me some of your lettuce.\"\n\nThe old woman gave Mr. Rabbit some lettuce and he hopped along with\nit, saying, \"I lost my tail but I gained a knife. I lost my knife but\nI gained a basket. I lost my basket but I gained some lettuce.\"\n\nThe rabbit was getting very hungry and how nice the lettuce smelled!\nHe took a bite. It was just the very best thing he had ever tasted in\nall his life. \"I don't care if I did lose my tail,\" said he, \"I've\nfound something I like very much better.\"\n\nFrom that day to this no rabbit has ever had a tail. Neither has there\never been a rabbit who cared because he had no tail. From that time to\nthis there has never been a rabbit who did not like lettuce to eat and\nwho was not perfectly happy and contented if there was plenty of it.\n\n\n\n\nIII\n\nHow the Toad Got His Bruises\n\n\nOnce upon a time, ages and ages ago, the toad had a smooth skin. In\nthose days he was a great gad about. He never could be found in his\nown house. If any one had a party he was sure to go, no matter how far\naway from home it was held, or how long it took to get there.\n\nOne day the toad received an invitation to attend a party in the sky.\n\"You never can get to this party,\" said his friend, the armadillo.\n\"You know how slowly you travel here upon earth.\"\n\n\"Wait and see whether or not I go to the party,\" said the toad.\n\nNot far from the toad's house there lived a big black buzzard. No one\nliked the buzzard. He was very unpopular with all the birds and\nbeasts. The toad hopped over to the buzzard's house. The buzzard was\noutside the door making music on his violin.\n\n\"Good morning, Friend Buzzard,\" said the toad. \"Are you going to\nattend the party in the sky?\"\n\nThe buzzard replied that he was planning to go.\n\n\"That is good,\" said the toad. \"May I have the pleasure of your\ncompany for the trip?\"\n\nThe buzzard was delighted to have the toad seek his company. It was a\nnew experience.\n\n\"I'll be charmed to go to the party with you,\" replied the buzzard.\n\"What time shall we start?\"\n\n\"We'll start at four o'clock,\" said the toad. \"Come to my house and\nwe'll go on from there. Be sure to bring your violin with you.\"\n\nPromptly at four o'clock the buzzard arrived at the toad's house. He\nhad his violin with him, of course, because the toad had asked him to\nbring it.\n\n\"I'm not quite ready to go,\" the toad called out. \"Just leave your\nviolin there by the door and step inside. It will take me only a\nminute to finish my toilet.\"\n\nThe buzzard laid his violin carefully outside the door and went inside\nthe toad's house. The toad jumped through the window and hid himself\ninside the violin.\n\nThe buzzard waited and waited for the toad to get ready but he did not\nhear a word from the toad. Finally he got tired of waiting. He picked\nup his violin and started.\n\nWhen he arrived at the party he was a trifle late but he explained how\nhe had waited for the toad.\n\n\"How foolish to wait a minute for the toad,\" said his hosts. \"How\ncould the toad ever get to a party in the sky? We just asked him as a\njoke because he is such a great gad about. Lay down your violin and\ncome to the feast.\"\n\nThe buzzard laid down his violin. As soon as there was no one looking,\nout hopped the toad. He was laughing from ear to ear. \"So they\nthought I would not come to the party! What a joke! How surprised they\nwill be to see me here!\" he said.\n\nThere was nobody at the feast who was as gay as the toad. When the\nbuzzard asked how he arrived he said: \"I'll tell you some other day.\"\nThen he went on eating and dancing.\n\nThe buzzard did not have a very good time at the party. He decided\nthat he would go home early. He went away without saying good-bye to\nhis hosts and without taking his violin with him.\n\nAt the end of the party the toad hopped inside the violin and waited\nand waited for the buzzard to take him home. Nobody picked up the\nviolin and the toad began to be very much worried. He almost wished\nhe had not come.\n\nAfter a while the falcon noticed the violin. \"That violin belongs to\nthe buzzard. He must have forgotten to take it home. I'll carry it\nback for him,\" he said.\n\nThe falcon flew towards earth with the violin. The toad shook about\nterribly inside of the violin. He got very tired. The falcon got\ntired, too.\n\n\"I'm not going to carry this heavy old violin of the buzzard's another\nminute,\" said the falcon. \"I was foolish to offer to carry it in the\nfirst place. The buzzard is no friend of mine.\"\n\nHe let the violin fall. Down, down toward earth it fell.\n\n\"O, little stones, O, little stones, get out of my way,\" called the\ntoad as he fell. The little stones had deaf ears. They did not get\nout of the way.\n\nWhen the toad crawled out of the wrecked violin he was so covered with\nbruises that he could hardly hop home.\n\nThe buzzard never knew what became of his violin or why the toad had\nlost his good looks. To this very day the toad shows his bruises. And\nhe is entirely cured of being a gad about.\n\n\n\n\nIV\n\nHow the Tiger Got His Stripes\n\n\nOnce upon a time, ages and ages ago, so long ago that the tiger had no\nstripes upon his back and the rabbit still had his tail, there was a\ntiger who had a farm. The farm was very much overgrown with underbrush\nand the owner sought a workman to clear the ground for him to plant.\n\nThe tiger called all the beasts together and said to them when they\nhad assembled, \"I need a good workman at once to clear my farm of the\nunderbrush. To the one of you who will do this work I offer an ox in\npayment.\"\n\nThe monkey was the first one to step forward and apply for the\nposition. The tiger tried him for a little while but he was not a good\nworkman at all. He did not work steadily enough to accomplish\nanything. The tiger discharged him very soon and he did not pay him.\n\nThen the tiger hired the goat to do the work. The goat worked\nfaithfully enough but he did not have the brains to do the work well.\nHe would clear a little of the farm in one place and then he would go\naway and work on another part of it. He never finished anything\nneatly. The tiger discharged him very soon without paying him.\n\nNext the tiger tried the armadillo. The armadillo was very strong and\nhe did the work well. The trouble with him was that he had such an\nappetite. There were a great many ants about the place and the\narmadillo could never pass by a sweet tender juicy ant without\nstopping to eat it. It was lunch time all day long with him. The tiger\ndischarged him and sent him away without paying him anything.\n\nAt last the rabbit applied for the position. The tiger laughed at him\nand said, \"Why, little rabbit, you are too small to do the work. The\nmonkey, the goat, and the armadillo have all failed to give\nsatisfaction. Of course a little beast like you will fail too.\"\n\nHowever, there were no other beasts who applied for the position so\nthe tiger sent for the rabbit and told him that he would try him for a\nlittle while.\n\nThe rabbit worked faithfully and well, and soon he had cleared a\nlarge portion of the ground. The next day he worked just as well. The\ntiger thought that he had been very lucky to hire the rabbit. He got\ntired staying around to watch the rabbit work. The rabbit seemed to\nknow just how to do the work anyway, without orders, so the tiger\ndecided to go away on a hunting trip. He left his son to watch the\nrabbit.\n\nAfter the tiger had gone away the rabbit said to the tiger's son, \"The\nox which your father is going to give me is marked with a white spot\non his left ear and another on his right side, isn't he?\"\n\n\"O, no,\" replied the tiger's son. \"He is red all over with just a tiny\nwhite spot on his right ear.\"\n\nThe rabbit worked for a while longer and then he said, \"The ox which\nyour father is going to give me is kept by the river, isn't he?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" replied the tiger's son.\n\nThe rabbit had made a plan to go and get the ox without waiting to\nfinish his work. Just as he started off he saw the tiger returning.\nThe tiger noticed that the rabbit had not worked so well when he was\naway. After that he stayed and watched the rabbit until the whole farm\nwas cleared. Then the tiger gave the rabbit the ox as he had promised.\n\n\"You must kill this ox,\" he said to the rabbit, \"in a place where\nthere are neither flies nor mosquitoes.\"\n\nThe rabbit went away with the ox. After he had gone for some distance\nhe thought he would kill him. He heard a cock, however, crowing in\nthe distance and he knew that there must be a farm yard near. There\nwould be flies of course. He went on farther and again he thought that\nhe would kill the ox. The ground looked moist and damp and so did the\nleaves on the bushes. Since the rabbit thought there would be\nmosquitoes there he decided not to kill the ox. He went on and on and\nfinally he came to a high place where there was a strong breeze\nblowing. \"There are no mosquitoes here,\" he said to himself. \"The\nplace is so far removed from any habitation that there are no flies,\neither.\" He decided to kill the ox.\n\nJust as he was ready to eat the ox, along came the tiger. \"O, rabbit,\nyou have been such a good friend of mine,\" said the tiger, \"and now I\nam so very, very hungry that all my ribs show, as you yourself can\nsee. Will you not be a good kind rabbit and give me a piece of your\nox?\"\n\nThe rabbit gave the tiger a piece of the ox. The tiger devoured it in\nthe twinkling of an eye. Then he leaned back and said, \"Is that all\nyou are going to give me to eat?\"\n\nThe tiger looked so big and savage that the rabbit did not dare refuse\nto give him any more of the ox. The tiger ate and ate and ate until he\nhad devoured that entire ox. The rabbit had been able to get only a\ntiny morsel of it. He was very, very angry at the tiger.\n\nOne day not long after the rabbit went to a place not far from the\ntiger's house and began cutting down big staves of wood. The tiger\nsoon happened along and asked him what he was doing.\n\n\"I'm getting ready to build a stockade around myself,\" replied the\nrabbit. \"Haven't you heard the orders?\" The tiger said that he hadn't\nheard any orders.\n\n\"That is very strange,\" said the rabbit. \"The order has gone forth\nthat every beast shall fortify himself by building a stockade around\nhimself. All the beasts are doing it.\"\n\nThe tiger became very much alarmed. \"O, dear! O, dear! What shall I\ndo,\" he cried. \"I don't know how to build a stockade. I never could do\nit in the world. O, good rabbit! O, kind rabbit! You are such, a very\ngood friend of mine. Couldn't you, as a great favour, because of our\nlong friendship, build a stockade about me before you build one\naround yourself?\"\n\nThe rabbit replied that he could not think of risking his own life by\nbuilding the tiger's fortifications first. Finally, however, he\nconsented to do it.\n\nThe rabbit cut down great quantities of long sharp sticks. He set them\nfirmly in the ground about the tiger. He fastened others securely over\nthe top until the tiger was completely shut in by strong bars. Then he\nwent away and left the tiger.\n\nThe tiger waited and waited for something to happen to show him the\nneed of the fortifications. Nothing at all happened.\n\nHe got very hungry and thirsty. After a while the monkey passed that\nway.\n\nThe tiger called out, \"O, monkey, has the danger passed?\"\n\nThe monkey did not know what danger the tiger meant, but he replied,\n\"Yes.\"\n\nThen the tiger said, \"O, monkey, O, good, kind monkey, will you not\nplease be so kind as to help me out of my stockade?\"\n\n\"Let the one who got you in there help you out,\" replied the monkey\nand he went on his way.\n\nAlong came the goat and the tiger called out, \"O, goat, has the danger\npassed?\"\n\nThe goat did not know anything about any danger, but he replied,\n\"Yes.\"\n\nThen the tiger said, \"O, goat, O, good kind goat, please be so kind as\nto help me out of my stockade.\"\n\n\"Let the one who got you in there help you out,\" replied the goat as\nhe went on his way.\n\nAlong came the armadillo and the tiger called out, \"O, armadillo, has\nthe danger passed?\"\n\nThe armadillo had not heard of any danger, but he replied that it had\npassed.\n\nThen the tiger said, \"O, armadillo, O, good, kind armadillo, you have\nalways been such a good friend and neighbour. Please help me now to\nget out of my stockade.\"\n\n\"Let the one who got you in there help you out,\" replied the armadillo\nas he went on his way.\n\nThe tiger jumped and jumped with all his force at the top of the\nstockade, but he could not break through. He jumped and jumped with\nall his might at the front side of the stockade, but he could not\nbreak through. He thought that never in the world would he be able to\nbreak out. He rested for a little while and as he rested he thought.\nHe thought how bright the sun was shining outside. He thought what\ngood hunting there was in the jungle. He thought how cool the water\nwas at the spring. Once more he jumped and jumped with all his might\nat the back side of the stockade. At last he broke through. He did not\nget through, however, without getting bad cuts on both his sides from\nthe sharp edges of the staves. Until this day the tiger has stripes on\nboth his sides.\n\n\n\n\nV\n\nWhy the Lamb Is Meek\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a little lamb frisking gaily about the\npasture. The bright sunshine and the soft breezes made him very happy.\nHe had just finished a hearty meal and that made him happy too. He was\nthe very happiest little lamb in all the world and he thought that he\nwas the most wonderful little lamb.\n\nA big toad sat on the ground and watched him. After a while the toad\nsaid: \"O, little lamb, how are you feeling today?\"\n\nThe lamb replied that he had never felt better in all his life.\n\n\"Even though you are feeling very strong I can pull you into the sea,\"\nsaid the toad.\n\nThe little lamb laughed and laughed until he rolled over on the\nground.\n\n\"Just take hold of this rope and I'll show you how easy it is to pull\nyou into the sea,\" said the toad.\n\nThe lamb took hold of the rope. Then the toad said, \"Please wait a\nminute while I get a good long distance away from you. I can pull\nbetter when I'm not too near you.\"\n\nThe lamb waited and the toad hopped down to the sea. He hopped up into\na tree which hung over the water's edge and from there he hopped on to\nthe whale's back. He fastened the end of the rope around the whale\nand then he called out to the lamb: \"All ready. Now we'll see how hard\nyou can pull.\"\n\nWhen the whale felt the lamb pulling at the rope he swam away from the\nshore. No matter how hard the lamb pulled or how much force he exerted\nit did not do one bit of good. He was dragged down to the water's edge\nas easily as could be.\n\n\"I give up,\" said the lamb as he reached the water's edge.\n\nAfter that, although the sunshine was just as bright as ever, any one\nwho watched that little lamb could see that he was a little more meek.\n\nOne day not long afterwards the sunshine was again very bright and the\nlittle lamb was again feeling frisky. He was so happy and gay that he\nhad forgotten all about how the toad had pulled him down to the water\nuntil the toad spoke to him. Then he remembered.\n\n\"O, little lamb, how are you feeling today?\" asked the toad. The\nlittle lamb replied that he was very well.\n\n\"Let us run a race,\" said the toad, \"I think I can beat you.\"\n\n\"You may be strong enough to pull me into the sea,\" said the lamb,\n\"but surely I can run faster than you. I've watched you hopping about\nmy pasture. You can't run fast at all. However, I'll gladly run a race\nwith you to prove what I say.\"\n\nThe toad set a goal and told the lamb to call out every little while\nduring the race so he could see how much farther ahead the lamb was.\nThen the toad and the lamb started.\n\nThe toad had assembled all his brothers and his sisters and his\ncousins and his uncles and his aunts before the race and had stationed\nthem at various points along the path of the race. He had told them\nthat whenever any of them should hear the lamb calling out, \"Laculay,\nlaculay, laculay,\" the toad which was nearest should answer,\n\"Gulugubango, bango lay.\"\n\nThe lamb ran and ran as fast as he could. Then he remembered his\npromise and called out, \"Laculay, laculay, laculay.\" He expected to\nhear the toad answer from a long, long distance behind him. He was\nmuch surprised to hear some one near him answer, \"Gulugubango, bango\nlay.\" After that he ran faster than ever.\n\nAfter running on for some distance farther the lamb again called out,\n\"Laculay, laculay, laculay.\" Again he heard the answer at only a short\ndistance away, \"Gulugubango, bango lay.\" He ran and ran until his\nlittle heart was beating so fast that it seemed as if it would burst.\nAt last he arrived at the goal of the race which the toad had set and\nthere sat the toad's brother who looked so much like him that the lamb\ncouldn't tell them apart. The lamb went back to his pasture very\nmeekly and quietly. He acknowledged that he had been beaten in the\nrace.\n\nThe next morning the toad said to him, \"Even though you did not run\nfast enough to win the race, still you are a very fast runner. I have\ntold the daughter of the king about you and I have said to her that\nsome day she shall see me riding on your back with a bridle in your\nmouth as if you were my horse.\"\n\nThe lamb was very angry. \"Perhaps you are strong enough to pull me\ninto the sea, and perhaps you can beat me when we run a race,\" said\nthe lamb, \"but never, never in the world will I be your horse.\"\n\nTime passed and the sunshine was very bright and the soft, gentle\nbreezes were very sweet. The lamb was so happy again that he forgot\nall about how the toad had pulled him into the sea, and how the toad\nhad beaten him at running the race. He was very sorry for the toad\nwhen he saw him all humped up in a disconsolate little heap one day.\n\"O, poor toad, are you sick?\" he asked. \"Isn't there something I can\ndo to help you?\"\n\nThe toad told him how very sick he was. \"There is something you could\ndo to help me,\" he said, \"but I don't believe that you are quite\nstrong enough or can travel quite fast enough.\"\n\nThe lamb took a deep breath and blew out his chest. \"I'll show you,\"\nhe said. \"Just tell me what it is.\"\n\nThe toad replied that he had promised to be at a party that afternoon\nat the house of the king's daughter and he did not see how he could\npossibly get there unless some one would carry him.\n\n\"Jump on my back,\" said the lamb. \"I'll carry you.\"\n\nThe toad shook about on the lamb's back after they had started so that\nit seemed as if he would surely fall off. After a little he said, \"I\ncan not possibly stand riding like this. It jars all my sore spots.\nI'll have to get off.\" He tried it a little while longer and shook\nabout worse than ever. Then he said, \"Do you know, I think I could\nendure this painful ride a little better if only I had something to\nhold myself by? Do you mind if I take a piece of grass and put it in\nyour mouth? I can hold on to that when I shake about and my sore spots\nwill not hurt so much.\"\n\nThe lamb let the toad put a piece of grass in his mouth.\n\nAfter a while the toad asked for a little stick. \"The flies and\nmosquitoes annoy me terribly,\" he said. \"If only I had a little stick\nI could wave it about over my head and frighten them away. It is very\nbad for any one in my weak, nervous condition to be bothered by flies\nand mosquitoes.\" The lamb let the toad have a little stick to wave\nover his head.\n\nAt last the lamb and the toad drew near to the palace of the king. The\nking's daughter was leaning out of the window watching for them. The\ntoad dug his feet into the lamb's sides, pulled hard on the piece of\nthe grass in the lamb's mouth and waved the little stick about over\nthe lamb's head. \"Go on, horse,\" he said and the king's daughter heard\nhim. She laughed and laughed, and when all the rest of the people in\nthe palace saw the toad arriving mounted on the lamb's back and\ndriving him like a horse they laughed too. The lamb went meekly home\nto his pasture and from that day to this when one wishes to speak of\nmeekness one says \"as meek as a lamb.\"\n\n\n\n\nVI\n\nWhy the Tiger and the Stag\n\nFear Each Other\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a large handsome stag with great branching\nhorns. One day he said to himself, \"I am tired of having no home of my\nown, and of just living anywhere. I shall build me a house.\" He\nsearched on every hill, in every valley, by every stream, and under\nall the trees for a suitable place. At last he found one that was just\nright. It was not too high, nor too low, not too near a stream and not\ntoo far away from one, not under too thick trees and not away from the\ntrees out under the hot sun. \"I am going to build my house here,\" he\nsaid, and he began to clear a place for it at once. He worked all day\nand did not go away until night.\n\nNow in that same country there lived a large handsome tiger, with\nsharp, sharp teeth and bright, cruel eyes. One day the tiger said to\nhimself, \"I am tired of having no home of my own,--of just living\naround anywhere! I shall build me a house.\" Accordingly the tiger\nsearched for a place to build his house. He searched on every hill, in\nevery valley, by every stream, and under all the trees. At last he\nfound a place which was just right. It was not too high nor too low,\nnot too near a stream and not too far away from one, not under too\nthick trees and yet not away from the trees out in the hot sun. The\ntiger said to himself, \"I am going to build my house here. The place\nis all ready for me for there isn't very much underbrush here.\" He\nbegan at once and finished clearing the place. Then it became daylight\nand he went away.\n\nAt daylight the stag came back to do more work on his new house.\n\"H'm,\" he said when he looked at the clearing. \"Somebody is helping\nme. The place is cleared and ready for me to build the foundation.\"\n\nHe began to work at once and worked all day. At night when the\nfoundation was laid, he went away.\n\nAt night the tiger came to work at his new house. \"H'm,\" he said when\nhe looked at it. \"Somebody is helping me. The foundations of my house\nare all laid.\" He began to work at once and built the sides of the\nhouse. He worked all night and went away at daybreak, leaving the\nhouse with the sides completed. There was a big door and a funny\nlittle window in the side.\n\nAt daybreak the stag came back to work on his house. When he saw it he\nrubbed his eyes for he thought that he must be dreaming. The sides of\nthe house were completed with a big door and a funny little window.\n\"Somebody must surely be helping me,\" he said to himself as he began\nto work to put on the roof. He worked hard all day and when the sun\nwent down, there was a roof of dried grass on the house. \"I can sleep\nin my own house to-night,\" he said. He made his bed in the corner and\nsoon was sound asleep.\n\nAt night the tiger came back to work on his new house. When he saw it\nhe rubbed his eyes for he thought that he must be dreaming. There was\na roof of dried grass on the house.\n\n\"Somebody must surely be helping me,\" he said to himself as he entered\nthe door. The first thing he saw when he entered the door was the stag\nsound asleep in his bed in the corner. \"Who are you and what are you\ndoing in my house?\" he said in his deepest voice.\n\nThe stag woke up with a start. \"Who are you and what are you doing in\nmy house?\" said the stag in his deepest voice.\n\n\"It is not your house. It is mine. I built it myself,\" said the\ntiger.\n\n\"It is my house,\" said the stag. \"I built it myself.\"\n\n\"I made the clearing for the house,\" said the tiger, \"I built the\nsides and made the door and window.\"\n\n\"I started the clearing,\" said the stag. \"I laid the foundations and\nput on the roof of dried grass.\"\n\nThe stag and the tiger quarrelled all night about whose house it was.\nAt daybreak they decided that they would live together there.\n\nThe next night the tiger said to the stag, \"I'm going hunting. Get the\nwater and have the wood ready for the fire. I shall be almost famished\nwhen I return.\"\n\nThe stag got the wood and water ready. After a while the tiger came\nback. He brought home for dinner a great handsome stag. The stag had\nno appetite at all and he didn't sleep a wink that night.\n\nThe next day the stag said that he was going hunting. He told the\ntiger to have the wood and water ready when he got back. The tiger got\nthe wood and water ready. By and by the stag came back bringing with\nhim the body of a great tiger.\n\n\"I am nearly famished,\" said the stag. \"Let's have dinner right away.\"\nThe tiger hadn't any appetite at all and he could not eat a mouthful.\n\nThat night neither the tiger nor the stag could sleep a wink. The\ntiger was afraid the stag would kill him if he shut his eyes for a\nminute, and the stag was afraid the tiger would kill him if he slept\nor even pretended to be asleep. Accordingly he kept wide awake too.\n\nToward morning the stag got very cramped from keeping in one position\nso long. He moved his head slightly. In doing this his horns struck\nagainst the roof of the house. It made a terrible noise. The tiger\nthought that the stag was about to spring upon him and kill him. He\nmade a leap for the door and ran out of it as fast as he could. He ran\nand ran until he was far, far away from the house with the roof of\ndried grass.\n\nThe stag thought that the tiger was about to spring upon him and kill\nhim. He, too, made a leap for the door and ran and ran until he was\nfar, far away from the house with the roof of dried grass. The tiger\nand the stag are still running away from each other until this very\nday.\n\nThe house with the roof of dried grass waited and waited there in the\nplace which was neither too high nor too low, too near the river nor\ntoo far away, not under too thick trees nor out in the hot sun. It\nwaited and waited until it go so tired it fell down in a heap.\n\n\n\n\nVII\n\nHow the Speckled Hen Got\n\nHer Speckles\n\n\nOnce upon a time, ages and ages ago, there was a little white hen. One\nday she was busily engaged in scratching the soil to find worms and\ninsects for her breakfast. As she worked she sang over and over again\nher little crooning song, \"Quirrichi, quirrichi, quirrichi.\" Suddenly\nshe noticed a tiny piece of paper lying on the ground. \"Quirrichi,\nquirrichi, what luck!\" she said to herself. \"This must be a letter.\nOne time when the king, the great ruler of our country, held his court\nin the meadow close by, many people brought him letters and laid them\nat his feet. Now I, too, even I, the little white hen, have a letter.\nI am going to carry my letter to the king.\"\n\nThe next morning the little white hen started bravely out on her long\njourney. She carried the letter very carefully in her little brown\nbasket. It was a long distance to the royal palace where the king\nlived. The little white hen had never been so far from home in all her\nlife.\n\nAfter a while she met a friendly fox. Foxes and little white hens are\nnot usually very good friends, you know, but this fox was a friend of\nthe little white hen. Once upon a time she had helped the fox to\nescape from a trap and the fox had never forgotten her kindness to\nhim.\n\n\"O, little white hen, where are you going?\" asked the fox.\n\n\"Quirrichi, quirrichi,\" replied the little white hen, \"I am going to\nthe royal palace to carry a letter to the king.\"\n\n\"Indeed, little white hen,\" said the fox, \"I should like to go with\nyou. Give me your permission to accompany you on your journey.\"\n\n\"I shall be glad to have you go with me,\" said the little white hen.\n\"It is a very long journey to the royal palace where the king lives.\nWouldn't you like me to carry you in my little brown basket?\"\n\nThe fox climbed into the little brown basket. After the little white\nhen had gone on for some distance farther she met a river. Once upon a\ntime the little white hen had done the river a kindness. He had, with\ngreat difficulty, thrown some ugly worms upon the bank and he was\nafraid they would crawl back in again. The little white hen had eaten\nthem for him. Always after that the river had been her friend.\n\n\"O, little white hen, where are you going?\" the river called out as\nsoon as he saw her.\n\n\"Quirrichi, quirrichi, I am going to the royal palace to carry a\nletter to the king,\" replied the little white hen.\n\n\"O, little white hen, may I go with you?\" asked the river.\n\nThe little white hen told the river that he might go with her and\nasked him to ride in the little brown basket. So the river climbed\ninto the little brown basket.\n\nAfter the little white hen had journeyed along for a time she came to\na fire. Once upon a time, when the fire had been dying the little\nwhite hen had brought some dried grass. The grass had given the fire\nnew life and always after that he had been the friend of the little\nwhite hen.\n\n\"O, little white hen, where are you going?\" the fire asked.\n\n\"Quirrichi, quirrichi, I am going to the royal palace to carry a\nletter to the king,\" replied the little white hen.\n\n\"O, little white hen, may I go with you?\" asked the fire. \"I have\nnever been to the royal palace and I have never had even a peep at the\nking.\"\n\nThe little white hen told the fire that he might go with her and asked\nhim to climb into the little brown basket. By this time the little\nbrown basket was so full, that, try as they might, they couldn't make\nroom for the fire. At last they thought of a plan. The fire changed\nhimself into ashes and then there was room for him to get into the\nbasket.\n\nThe little white hen journeyed on and on, and finally she arrived at\nthe royal palace.\n\n\"Who are you and what are you carrying in your little brown basket?\"\nasked the royal doorkeeper when he opened the door.\n\n\"I am the little white hen and I am carrying a letter to the king,\"\nreplied the little white hen. She didn't say a word about the fox and\nthe river and the fire which she had in her little brown basket. She\nwas so frightened before the great royal doorkeeper of the palace that\nshe could hardly find her voice at all.\n\nThe royal doorkeeper invited the little white hen to enter the palace\nand he led her to the royal throne where the king was sitting. The\nlittle white hen bowed very low before the king--so low, in fact, that\nit mussed up all her feathers.\n\n\"Who are you and what is your business?\" asked the king in his big,\ndeep, kingly voice.\n\n\"Quirrichi, quirrichi, I am the little white hen,\" replied the little\nwhite hen in her low, frightened, little voice. \"I have come to bring\nmy letter to your royal majesty.\" She handed the king the piece of\npaper which had remained all this time at the bottom of the little\nbrown basket. There were marks of dirt upon it where the friendly\nfox's feet had rested. It was damp where the river had lain. It had\ntiny holes in it where the fire had sat after he had turned himself\ninto hot ashes.\n\n\"What do you mean by bringing me this dirty piece of paper?\" shouted\nthe king in his biggest, deepest, gruffest voice. \"I am highly\noffended. I always knew that hens were stupid little creatures but you\nare quite the stupidest little hen I ever saw in all my life.\"\n\n\"Here,\" and he turned to one of the attendants standing by the throne,\n\"take this stupid, little white hen and throw her out into the royal\npoultry yard. I think we will have her for dinner to-morrow.\"\n\nThe little white hen was roughly seized by the tallest royal attendant\nand carried down the back stairs, through the back gate, out into the\nroyal poultry yard. She still clung to the little brown basket which\nshe had brought with her on her long journey to the royal palace and\nthrough all the sad experiences she had met there.\n\nWhen the little white hen reached the royal poultry yard all the royal\nfowls flew at her. Some plucked at her rumpled white feathers. Others\ntried to pick out her eyes. One pulled off the cover of the little\nbrown basket.\n\nOut sprang the fox from the little brown basket and in the twinkling\nof an eye he fell upon the fowls of the royal poultry yard. Not a\nsingle fowl was left alive.\n\nThere was such a great commotion that the king, the queen, the royal\nattendants and all the royal servants of the palace came rushing out\nto see what was the matter. The fox had already taken to his heels and\nthe little white hen lost no time in running away too. She did not,\nhowever, forget to take her little brown basket with her.\n\nThe royal household all ran after her in swift pursuit. They had\nalmost caught her when the river suddenly sprang out of the little\nbrown basket and flowed between the little white hen and her royal\npursuers. They couldn't get across without canoes.\n\nWhile they were getting the canoes and climbing into them the little\nwhite hen had time to run a long way. She had almost reached a thick\nforest where she could easily hide herself when the royal pursuers\nagain drew near. Then the fire which had changed itself into hot ashes\njumped out of the little brown basket. It immediately became dark, so\ndark that the royal household could not even see each other's faces\nand, of course, they could not see in which direction the little\nwhite hen was running. There was nothing for them to do but to return\nto the royal palace and live on beef and mutton.\n\nThe fire which had turned itself into ashes sprang out of the little\nbrown basket so suddenly that it scattered ashes all over the little\nwhite hen. From that day she was always speckled where the ashes fell\nupon her. The chickens of the little white hen (who was now a little\nspeckled hen) were all speckled too. So were their chickens and their\nchickens and their chickens' chickens, even down to this very day.\nWhenever you see a speckled hen you may know that she is descended\nfrom the little white hen who carried a letter to the king, and who,\nin her adventures, became the first speckled hen.\n\n\n\n\nVIII\n\nHow the Monkey Became a\n\nTrickster\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a beautiful garden in which grew all sorts\nof fruits. Many beasts lived in the garden and they were permitted to\neat of the fruits whenever they wished. But they were asked to observe\none rule. They must make a low, polite bow to the fruit tree, call it\nby its name, and say, \"Please give me a taste of your fruit.\" They had\nto be very careful to remember the tree's correct name and not to\nforget to say \"please.\" It was also very important that they should\nremember not to be greedy. They must always leave plenty of fruit for\nthe other beasts who might pass that way, and plenty to adorn the tree\nitself and to furnish seed so that other trees might grow. If they\nwished to eat figs they had to say, \"O, fig tree, O, fig tree, please\ngive me a taste of your fruit;\" or, if they wished to eat oranges they\nhad to say, \"O, orange tree, O, orange tree, please give me a taste of\nyour fruit.\"\n\nIn one corner of the garden grew the most splendid tree of all. It was\ntall and beautiful and the rosy-cheeked fruit upon its wide spreading\nbranches looked wonderfully tempting. No beast had ever tasted of that\nfruit, for no beast could ever remember its name.\n\nIn a tiny house near the edge of the garden dwelt a little old woman\nwho knew the names of all the fruit trees which grew in the garden.\nThe beasts often went to her and asked the name of the wonderful fruit\ntree, but the tree was so far distant from the tiny house of the\nlittle old woman that no beast could ever remember the long, hard name\nby the time he reached the fruit tree.\n\nAt last the monkey thought of a trick. Perhaps you do not know it, but\nthe monkey can play the guitar. He always played when the beasts\ngathered together in the garden to dance. The monkey went to the tiny\nhouse of the little old woman, carrying his guitar under his arm. When\nshe told him the long hard name of the wonderful fruit tree he made up\na little tune to it, all his own, and sang it over and over again all\nthe way from the tiny house of the little old woman to the corner of\nthe garden where the wonderful fruit tree grew. When any of the other\nbeasts met him and asked him what new song he was singing to his\nguitar, he said never a word. He marched straight on, playing his\nlittle tune over and over again on his guitar and singing softly the\nlong hard name.\n\nAt last he reached the corner of the garden where the wonderful fruit\ntree grew. He had never seen it look so beautiful. The rosy-cheeked\nfruit glowed in the bright sunlight. The monkey could hardly wait to\nmake his bow, say the long hard name over twice and ask for the fruit\nwith a \"please.\" What a beautiful colour and what a delicious odour\nthat fruit had! The monkey had never in all his life been so near to\nanything which smelled so good. He took a big bite. What a face he\nmade! That beautiful sweet smelling fruit was bitter and sour, and it\nhad a nasty taste. He threw it away from him as far as he could.\n\nThe monkey never forgot the tree's long hard name and the little tune\nhe had sung. Nor did he forget how the fruit tasted. He never took a\nbite of it again; but, after that, his favourite trick was to treat\nthe other beasts to the wonderful fruit just to see them make faces\nwhen they tasted it.\n\n\n\n\nIX\n\nHow the Monkey and the Goat\n\nEarned Their Reputations\n\n\nOnce upon a time the tiger sent an invitation to the goat asking the\ngoat to accompany him on a visit. The goat promptly accepted the\ninvitation and at the appointed day they started on their journey to\nthe house of the tiger's friend. On the way there they came to a\ndangerous marsh. The tiger was afraid to cross it, but he pretended to\nbe very brave. He said to the goat: \"Friend Goat, how very pale you\nlook when you think about crossing the marsh. Don't be afraid. Just go\nahead.\"\n\nThe goat assured the tiger that he was no coward. He thrust out his\nchest and marched along toward the marsh like a brave soldier. As\nsoon, however, as he stepped into the marsh, he fell into the mud and\nbarely got through it alive. The tiger went around the marsh and\nwalked on dry ground.\n\nAfter the tiger and the goat had come together again they came to some\nbanana trees. The tiger said to the goat: \"Friend Goat, aren't you\nhungry? Let us stop here and eat some bananas. You climb up and pluck\nthe bananas. Give me the ripe ones, and keep the green ones yourself.\"\nThe goat climbed up and picked the bananas. He gave the ripe ones to\nthe tiger and the tiger had a good meal. The goat went hungry.\n\nThe tiger and the goat walked along and after going for some distance\nthey saw a cobra lying in the path. \"Friend Goat,\" said the tiger,\n\"here you have the opportunity to procure a beautiful necklace for\nyour daughter, free of cost. Just pick it up and it is yours.\" The\ngoat started forward to pick up the snake, but the tiger told him to\nlet it alone if he did not want to be killed.\n\nWhen the tiger and the goat arrived at the house of the tiger's friend\nit was very late. They soon went to bed in hammocks hung close\ntogether. At midnight the tiger rose quietly, walked on tip toe to the\ndoor, opened it, and went out. He hurried to the place where the sheep\nwere kept, killed the fattest lamb of the flock, and had a feast. Then\nhe went back to the hammock, wiped the blood on the goat, and went to\nsleep.\n\nEarly the next morning the host discovered that one of his lambs was\nmissing. He hastened to the room where the tiger and the goat were\nsleeping and accused the tiger of having killed the lamb. The tiger\nlooked up at him with an innocent expression and asked, \"Do you see\nany blood on me?\" There was no blood on the tiger, but the host looked\ninto the next hammock and saw the goat all covered with blood. \"I know\nnow who killed my fattest lamb,\" he said, and he gave the goat such a\nbeating that the poor goat barely escaped with his life. From that day\nto this when one speaks of a person who has been easily imposed upon\nhe calls him \"the goat.\"\n\nThings happened very differently with the monkey. One day not long\nafterward the tiger invited the monkey to accompany him when he went\nto visit his friend. The monkey accepted, and the tiger and the monkey\nset out on the journey. When they came to the marsh the tiger said to\nthe monkey, \"Friend Monkey, how very pale you look when you think\nabout crossing the marsh. Don't be afraid. Just go ahead.\"\n\n\"You go ahead yourself,\" replied the monkey. The tiger went through\nthe marsh and fell into the mud so that he was barely able to get out\nagain. The monkey went around the marsh and walked on dry ground.\n\nAfter a while the tiger and the monkey came to the banana trees.\n\"Friend Monkey,\" said the tiger, \"aren't you hungry? Let us stop here\nand eat some bananas. You climb up and pluck the bananas. Give the\nripe ones to me and you may keep the green ones for yourself.\" The\nmonkey climbed up and picked the bananas but he ate all the ripe ones\nhimself and threw the green ones down to the tiger. The tiger was\nforced to go hungry but the monkey had a good meal.\n\nFinally the tiger and the monkey came to a cobra lying in the path.\n\"Friend Monkey,\" said the tiger, \"here you have the opportunity to\nprocure a beautiful necklace for your daughter, free of cost. Pick it\nup and it is yours.\"\n\n\"Pick it up yourself,\" replied the monkey.\n\nWhen the tiger and the monkey arrived at the house of the tiger's\nfriend it was very late. They went to bed in hammocks hung up close\ntogether. The monkey had seen enough of the tiger that day to make him\ndecide that he had better sleep with one eye open. Accordingly he\npretended he was asleep, but he was really awake. At midnight he saw\nthe tiger crawl quietly out of his hammock, walk on tip toe to the\ndoor, open it gently, and go out. The monkey decided to watch and see\nwhat happened when the tiger came back.\n\nThe tiger went to the place where the sheep were kept, killed the\nfattest lamb of the flock and had a feast. When he came back he tried\nto wipe the lamb's blood on the monkey. The monkey saw him and gave\nhim a push so that he spilled the blood all over himself and his own\nhammock. Not a single drop went on the monkey.\n\nEarly the next morning when the host missed one of his lambs he came\nto the room where his guests were sleeping. He saw the tiger all\ncovered with blood and he cried, \"O ho, I have at last caught the one\nwho kills my lambs.\" Then he gave the tiger such a beating that he\nbarely escaped with his life. It was all he could do to crawl home\nagain.\n\n\n\n\nX\n\nHow the Monkey Got a Drink\n\nWhen He Was Thirsty\n\n\nOnce upon a time the monkey made the tiger very angry. This is how it\nhappened. The monkey was seated high up among the leafy branches of a\nmango tree playing upon his guitar. The tiger passed that way and lay\ndown under the tree to rest. Just to tease him the monkey played and\nsang this little song:\n\n    \"_Tango ti tar, tango ti tar,\n    The tiger's bones are in my guitar.\n    Tee hee, Tee hee._\"\n\nThe tiger was very angry. \"Just wait until I catch you, Mr. Monkey,\"\nhe said. \"Then I'll show you a trick or two with bones.\"\n\nThe monkey leaped from one tree to another keeping himself so well hid\nby the foliage that the tiger could not see him. Then he came down out\nof the trees and hid himself in a hole in the ground. When the tiger\ncame near he again played and sang his little song:\n\n    \"_Tango ti tar, tango ti tar,\n    The tiger's bones are in my guitar.\n    Tee hee, Tee hee._\"\n\nThe tiger put his paw into the hole and caught the monkey's leg. \"Oh,\nho, Mr. Tiger!\" said the monkey. \"You think that you have caught my\nleg but what you really have is just a little stick. Oh, ho! Oh, ho!\"\nThen the tiger let go of the monkey's leg.\n\nThe monkey crawled farther back into the hole in the ground where the\ntiger's paw could not reach him. Then he said: \"Thank you so much, Mr.\nTiger, for letting go of my leg. It really was my leg, you know.\"\nAgain he played and sang his little song:\n\n    \"_Tango ti tar, tango ti tar,\n    The tiger's bones are in my guitar.\n    Tee hee, Tee hee._\"\n\nThe tiger was angrier than ever. He waited and waited for the monkey\nto come out of the hole in the ground but the monkey did not come. He\nhad discovered another way out and once more from the high tree tops\nhe sang down to the waiting tiger:\n\n    \"_Tango ti tar, tango ti tar,\n    The tiger's bones are in my guitar.\n    Tee hee, Tee hee._\"\n\nThere had been a great drought in the land and there was only one\nwatering place where the beasts could drink. The tiger knew that the\nmonkey would have to go there when he was thirsty so he decided to\nwait for him and catch him when he came to drink.\n\nWhen the monkey went to the watering place to get a drink he found the\ntiger there waiting for him. He ran away as fast as the wind for he\nwas really very much afraid of the tiger.\n\nHe waited and waited until he thought he should die of thirst, but the\ntiger did not go away from the watering place for a single minute. At\nlast the monkey thought of a trick by which he would be able to get a\ndrink.\n\nHe lay down by the side of the pathway as if he were dead. After a\nwhile an old woman came along the path carrying a dish of honey in a\nbasket upon her head. She saw the monkey lying there by the path and,\nthinking that he was dead, she picked him up and put him into the\nbasket with the dish of honey. When the monkey saw that it was honey\nin the dish he was very happy. He opened the dish and covered himself\nall over with the soft sticky honey. Then as the old woman walked\nunder the trees he lightly sprang out of the basket into the trees.\nThe old woman did not miss him until she got home and found only part\nof her dish of honey in the basket. \"Why, I thought I had brought\nhome a dead monkey in my basket,\" she said to her children. \"Now\nthere is no monkey here and my dish is only half full of honey. The\nmonkey must have been playing one of his tricks.\"\n\nThe monkey had, in the meantime, stuck leaves from the trees into the\nhoney all over his body so that he was completely disguised. His own\nmother would never have recognised him. He looked something like a\nporcupine; but instead of sharp quills there were green leaves\nsticking out all over him. In this fashion he went to the drinking\nplace and the tiger did not recognise him. He took a long, deep drink.\nHe was so thirsty and the water tasted so good that he stayed in the\ndrinking place too long. The leaves came out of the honey which had\nheld them and the tiger saw that it was really the monkey. The monkey\nwas barely able to escape.\n\nHe was so badly frightened that he waited and waited a long, long time\nbefore he again went to the drinking place. At last he got so thirsty\nthat he couldn't wait any longer. He went to the resin tree and\ncovered himself with resin. Then he stuck leaves into the resin and\nagain went to the drinking place.\n\nThe tiger saw him, but as the tiger expected to see the leaves come\noff just as soon as the monkey got into the water, he thought he would\nwait and catch him in his bare skin. This time the leaves did not come\noff, for the resin held them fast and was not in the least affected by\nthe water. The tiger thought that it was not the monkey and that he\nmust have made a mistake. The monkey drank all he wished and then\nstrolled away leisurely without the tiger's attacking him. He used the\nresin and leaves every time he wanted a drink after that. He kept up\nthe trick until the rainy season arrived and he could find plenty of\nwater in other places than the big drinking place.\n\n\n\n\nXI\n\nHow the Monkey Got Food\n\nWhen He Was Hungry\n\n\nOnce upon a time the monkey was hungry. He wanted to make some\nporridge, but he did not have any money to buy meal to make the\nporridge. So he went to the house of the hen to borrow some meal. The\nhen gave him some meal.\n\n\"Come to my house to-morrow at one o'clock,\" he said to the hen, \"I'll\npay back the meal then.\"\n\nThen the monkey went to the house of the fox and said, \"O, friend fox,\nplease lend me some meal. Come to my house to-morrow at two o'clock\nand I'll pay you then.\" The fox gave him some meal.\n\nThen the monkey went to the house of the dog and said, \"O, friend dog,\nplease lend me some meal. Come to my house to-morrow at three o'clock\nand I'll pay you back then.\" The dog gave him some meal.\n\nThen the monkey went to the house of the tiger and said, \"O, friend\ntiger, please lend me some meal. Come to my house to-morrow at four\no'clock and I'll pay you back then.\" The tiger gave the monkey some\nmeal.\n\nThe monkey went home and made a great pot of porridge. He feasted and\nfeasted until he couldn't eat any more, but there was still plenty of\nporridge left in the pot. Then the monkey made his bed and took care\nto fix it high up from the floor.\n\nThe next day, at midday, he ate some more of the porridge. Then he\nbound a cloth about his head and went to bed pretending that he was\nsick.\n\nAt one o'clock the hen came and knocked at the door. The monkey in a\nlow, weak voice asked her to enter. He told her how very sick he was\nand the hen was very sorry for him.\n\nAt two o'clock the fox came and knocked at the door. The hen was\nfrightened almost to death. \"Never mind,\" said the monkey, \"you can\nhide here under my bed.\"\n\nThe hen hid under the monkey's bed and the monkey in a weak, low voice\ninvited the fox to enter. The monkey told the fox how very ill he was\nand the fox was very sorry for him.\n\nAt three o'clock the dog came and knocked at the door. The fox was\nfrightened almost to death. \"Never mind,\" said the monkey; \"hide here\nunder my bed and everything will be all right.\"\n\nThe fox hid under the monkey's bed and the monkey, in a low, weak\nvoice, invited the dog to enter. The monkey told the dog how very sick\nhe was and the dog was very sorry for him.\n\nAt four the tiger came and knocked at the door. The dog was frightened\nalmost to death. \"Never mind,\" said the monkey. \"Hide here under my\nbed and everything will be all right.\"\n\nThe dog hid under the monkey's bed. Then the monkey invited the tiger\nto enter. He told, the tiger how very sick he was but the tiger was\nnot at all sorry for him. He sprang at the bed, demanding in a loud,\nfierce voice that the monkey pay back the meal at once, as he had\npromised to do. The monkey escaped to the tree tops, but the bed broke\ndown under the tiger's weight.\n\nThen the fox ate up the hen and the dog ate up the fox and the tiger\nate up the dog. The tiger is still trying to catch the monkey.\n\n\n\n\nXII\n\nWhy the Bananas Belong to\n\nthe Monkey\n\n\nPerhaps you do not know it, but the monkeys think that all the bananas\nbelong to them. When Brazilian children eat bananas they say, \"I am a\nmonkey.\" I once knew a little boy in Brazil who was very, very fond of\nbananas. He always said, \"I am _very much_ of a monkey.\" If you are\nfond of bananas the Brazilian children would tell you that you are a\nmonkey, too. This is the story they tell to show us how it all came\nabout.\n\nOnce upon a time when the world had just been made and there was only\none kind of banana, but very many kinds of monkeys, there was a little\nold woman who had a big garden full of banana trees. It was very\ndifficult for the old woman to gather the bananas herself, so she made\na bargain with the largest monkey. She told him that if he would\ngather the bunches of bananas for her she would give him half of them.\nThe monkey gathered the bananas. When he took his half he gave the\nlittle old woman the bananas which grow at the bottom of the bunch and\nare small and wrinkled. The nice big fat ones he kept for himself and\ncarried them home to let them ripen in the dark.\n\nThe little old woman was very angry. She lay awake all night trying to\nthink of some way by which she could get even with the monkey. At\nlast she thought of a trick.\n\nThe next morning she made an image of wax which looked just like a\nlittle black boy. Then she placed a large flat basket on the top of\nthe image's head and in the basket she placed the best ripe bananas\nshe could find. They certainly looked very tempting.\n\nAfter a little while the biggest monkey passed that way. He saw the\nimage of wax and thought that it was a boy peddling bananas. He had\noften pushed over boy banana peddlers, upset their baskets and then\nhad run away with the bananas. This morning he was feeling very\ngood-natured so he thought that he would first try asking politely for\nthe bananas.\n\n\"O, peddler boy, peddler boy,\" he said to him, \"please give me a\nbanana.\" The image of wax answered never a word.\n\nAgain the monkey said, this time in a little louder voice, \"O, peddler\nboy, peddler boy, please give me a banana, just one little, ripe\nlittle, sweet little banana.\" The image of wax answered never a word.\n\nThen the monkey called out in his loudest voice, \"O, peddler boy,\npeddler boy, if you don't give me a banana I'll give you such a push\nthat it will upset all of your bananas.\" The image of wax was silent.\n\nThe monkey ran toward the image of wax and struck it hard with his\nhand. His hand remained firmly embedded in the wax.\n\n\"O, peddler boy, peddler boy, let go my hand,\" the monkey called out.\n\"Let go my hand and give me a banana or else I'll give you a hard,\nhard blow with my other hand.\" The image of wax did not let go.\n\nThe monkey gave the image a hard, hard blow with his other hand. The\nother hand remained firmly embedded in the wax.\n\nThen the monkey called out, \"O, peddler boy, peddler boy, let go my\ntwo hands. Let go my two hands and give me a banana or else I will\ngive you a kick with my foot.\" The image of wax did not let go.\n\nThe monkey gave the image a kick with his foot and his foot remained\nstuck fast in the wax.\n\n\"O, peddler boy, peddler boy,\" the monkey cried, \"let go my foot. Let\ngo my two hands and my foot and give me a banana or else I'll give\nyou a kick with my other foot.\" The image of wax did not let go.\n\nThen the monkey who was now very angry, gave the image of wax a kick\nwith his foot and his foot remained stuck fast in the wax.\n\nThe monkey shouted, \"O, peddler boy, peddler boy, let go my foot. Let\ngo my two feet and my two hands and give me a banana or else I'll give\nyou a push with my body.\" The image of wax did not let go.\n\nThe monkey gave the image of wax a push with his body. His body\nremained caught fast in the wax.\n\n\"O, peddler boy, peddler boy,\" the monkey shouted, \"let go my body!\nLet go my body and my two feet and my two hands or I'll call all the\nother monkeys to help me!\" The image of wax did not let go.\n\nThen the monkey made such an uproar with his cries and shouts that\nvery soon monkeys came running from all directions. There were big\nmonkeys and little monkeys and middle-sized monkeys. A whole army of\nmonkeys had come to the aid of the biggest monkey.\n\nIt was the very littlest monkey who thought of a plan to help the\nbiggest monkey out of his plight. The monkeys were to climb up into\nthe biggest tree and pile themselves one on top of another until they\nmade a pyramid of monkeys. The monkey with the very loudest voice of\nall was to be on top and he was to shout his very loudest to the sun\nand ask the sun to come and help the biggest monkey out of his\ndreadful difficulty.\n\nThis is what all the big-sized, little-sized, middle-sized monkeys\ndid. The monkey with the loudest voice on top of the pyramid made the\nsun hear. The sun came at once.\n\nThe sun poured his hottest rays down upon the wax. After a while the\nwax began to melt. The monkey was at last able to pull out one of his\nhands. The sun poured down more of his hottest rays and soon the\nmonkey was able to pull out his two hands. Then he could pull out one\nfoot, then another, and in a little while his body, too. At last he\nwas free.\n\nWhen the little old woman saw what had happened she was very much\ndiscouraged about raising bananas. She decided to move to another\npart of the world where she raised cabbages instead of bananas. The\nmonkeys were left in possession of the big garden full of banana\ntrees. From that day to this the monkeys have thought that they own\nall the bananas.\n\n\n\n\nXIII\n\nHow the Monkey Escaped\n\nBeing Eaten\n\n\nOnce upon a time, ages and ages ago, people ate fruits and nuts. Then\nthere came a time when the fruits and nuts became scarce. People had\nto eat meat. So they began killing the various beasts to see which\nones were the best to eat. They skinned them and cut them in pieces\nand cooked them over the fire. Some of the beasts were good to eat and\nothers were not good at all.\n\nThe ox was found to be very good, and so was the sheep, and the\narmadillo. Then one day a man thought that he would try to eat the\nmonkey.\n\nThe monkey was playing his guitar. \"Lee, lee, lee, lee, lee lay, lee\nlay, lee ray, lee ray.\" The man came close to him and said, \"Come\nhere, little monkey, and let me hear your music. I enjoy it very\nmuch.\" All the time the man was coming closer and closer to the\nmonkey. Just as he was about to stretch out his hand and seize the\nmonkey, the monkey gave a sudden leap to the tree and hurried away to\nthe tree top.\n\nAfter that every time the man heard the monkey play the guitar he\nwould come near and try to catch him. The monkey grew afraid of the\nman, so afraid that he gave up playing his guitar at all. For a long,\nlong time he did not play upon it. One day he felt that he just _must_\nhave some music. He hid in a hole in the ground and there he played\nupon his guitar. He did not think that the man would hear him, but the\nman had very sharp ears. When he got through playing he started to\ncome out of the hole in the ground. There was the man waiting for him!\nHe crawled quickly back,--so far back that the man could not catch\nhim. The monkey waited and waited for the man to go away, but the man\ndid not go away.\n\nAfter a while the man became thirsty and went to get a drink. He left\nhis little boy in his place to watch for the monkey. After the man had\ngone away the monkey called out to the little boy, \"O, little boy, O,\nlittle boy, don't you wish that you could see the monkey dance?\"\n\nThe little boy replied that he wished he could.\n\n\"Just put your eyes down to the door of my little cave, and I'll let\nyou see the monkey dance, little boy,\" said the monkey.\n\nThe little boy put his eyes down close to the hole in the ground. No\nsooner had he done so than the monkey threw dirt into the little boy's\neyes. When the little boy was rubbing his eyes to get the dirt out of\nthem the monkey made a sudden dash out of the cave and escaped to the\ntree tops. When the man returned the little boy did not dare to tell\nhim that the monkey had escaped. The man waited and waited and waited\nthere by the hole in the ground. At last he became tired of waiting\nand went away.\n\nAfter that the man tried harder than ever to catch the monkey. If he\nhad not had the good luck to catch the monkey napping one day there is\nno knowing when he would have got his hands upon him. One day,\nhowever, he caught the monkey napping. He shut him up in a box and\ncarried him home to the children for supper.\n\nThe man put a big dish full of water over the fire ready to cook the\nmonkey. Then he went away to collect more fuel for the fire. The\nmonkey and his guitar were shut up in the box, and there, inside the\nbox, the monkey played on his guitar. \"Lee, lee, lee, lee, lee lay,\nlee lay, lee ray, lee ray.\" The children came crowding close to the\nbox.\n\n\"O, children, O, children,\" said the monkey, \"don't you wish that you\ncould see the monkey dance?\"\n\nThe children replied that they wished they could.\n\n\"This box is so small that there is not room enough for me to dance\nhere,\" said the monkey. \"Just let me out and I'll show you how well I\ncan dance.\"\n\nThe children opened the box and let the monkey out into the room. The\nmonkey played on his guitar, \"Lee, lee, lee, lee, lee lay, lee lay,\nlee ray, lee ray,\" and he danced about the room. Then he said, \"O,\nchildren! O, children! You have nothing at all cooking in that pot\nover the fire. Let us put something into the pot to cook.\"\n\nThe children thought that it would not be polite to tell the monkey\nwhat the pot of water was waiting for, so they let the monkey fill\nthe pot as he liked. He put into it some little dry sticks and an\nempty cocoanut shell. Then he said, \"O, children, O, children, I\ncannot dance any more. It is so hot here in this room.\"\n\nThe children begged him to dance some more.\n\n\"If you will open the door a little bit so that I can have more air to\nbreathe I'll show you a new dance,\" said the monkey.\n\nThe children opened the door. The monkey danced over to the door and\nout of the door away to the tree top. That was the last they ever saw\nof him. He moved to another part of the country after that experience.\n\nWhen the man came home with fuel for the fire the children did not\ndare to tell him that the monkey had escaped. They let him think that\nthe sticks and the cocoanut shell in the pot was the monkey. He built\na big roaring fire under the pot and soon it was boiling merrily.\nAfter the pot had boiled a while he called the children to come to\nsupper with him. The children let him taste first. He fished a hard\nstick out of the pot and bit into it. \"This is not the monkey's leg.\nIt is just a dry stick,\" he said, as he made a wry face. Then he\nfished the empty cocoanut shell out of the pot. \"That is not the\nmonkey's head,\" he said as he tasted it, \"That is just an empty\ncocoanut shell.\" He couldn't find a single trace of the monkey in that\nmonkey stew. He never wished to make a monkey stew again.\n\n\n\n\nXIV\n\nWhy the Monkey Still Has\n\na Tail\n\n\nOnce upon a time the monkey and the rabbit made a contract. The monkey\nwas to kill all the butterflies and the rabbit was to kill all the\nsnakes.\n\nOne day the rabbit was taking a nap when the monkey passed that way.\nThe monkey thought that he would play a trick on the rabbit so he\npulled the rabbit's ears, pretending that he thought they were\nbutterflies. The rabbit awoke very angry at the monkey and he plotted\nhow he might revenge himself on the monkey.\n\nThe rabbit and the armadillo are very good friends. The armadillo is\nvery, very strong, you know, so it was he whom the rabbit asked to\nhelp him.\n\nOne day the rabbit caught the monkey napping. He had watched and\nwaited a long, long time to catch the monkey napping, but at last he\nsucceeded. Even the monkey sometimes takes a nap. The rabbit called\nthe armadillo at once and together they rolled a big stone upon the\nmonkey's tail. The monkey pulled so hard to get his tail out from\nunder the stone that it broke off. The cat, who at that time had no\ntail of her own, spied the tail and ran away with it. The monkey was\nvery angry at the rabbit. \"O, we thought it was just a snake lying\nthere,\" said the rabbit. \"When you pulled my ears, you know, you\nthought they were butterflies.\"\n\nThat did not help the monkey to feel any better. How was he to live\nwithout his tail! How could he climb without it! He simply had to have\nit back so he at once set out to find the cat.\n\nAt last he found the cat and said to her, \"O, kind cat, please give me\nback my tail.\"\n\n\"I will give it to you,\" replied the cat, \"if you will get me some\nmilk.\"\n\n\"Where shall I get the milk?\" asked the monkey.\n\n\"Go ask the cow for some,\" replied the cat.\n\nThe monkey went to the cow and said, \"O, kind cow, please give me some\nmilk that I may give the milk to the cat so that the cat will give\nback my tail to me.\"\n\n\"I will give you the milk,\" replied the cow, \"if you will get me some\ngrass.\"\n\n\"Where shall I get the grass?\" asked the monkey.\n\n\"Go ask the farmer,\" responded the cow.\n\nThe monkey went to the farmer and said, \"O, kind farmer, please give\nme some grass that I may give the grass to the cow so that the cow\nwill give me some milk so that I may give the milk to the cat so that\nthe cat will give back my tail to me.\"\n\nThe farmer said, \"I will give you some grass if you will give me some\nrain.\"\n\n\"Where shall I get the rain?\" asked the monkey.\n\n\"Go ask the clouds,\" responded the farmer.\n\nThe monkey went to the clouds and said, \"O, kind clouds, please send\nme down some rain that I may give the rain to the farmer so that the\nfarmer will give me some grass so that I may give the grass to the cow\nso that the cow will give me some milk so that I may give the milk to\nthe cat so that the cat will give me back my tail.\"\n\n\"I will give you some rain,\" replied the clouds, \"if you will get me\nsome fog.\"\n\n\"Where shall I get the fog?\" asked the monkey.\n\n\"Go ask the rivers,\" replied the clouds.\n\nThe monkey went to the river and said, \"O, kind river, please give me\na fog that I may give the fog to the clouds so that the clouds will\ngive some rain so that I may give the rain to the farmer so that the\nfarmer will give me some grass so that I may give the grass to the cow\nso that the cow will give me some milk so that I may give the milk to\nthe cat so that the cat will give me back my tail.\"\n\n\"I will give you a fog,\" replied the river, \"if you will find a new\nspring to feed me.\"\n\n\"Where shall I find a spring?\" asked the monkey.\n\n\"Go search for one among the rocks upon the hillside,\" replied the\nriver.\n\nThen the monkey climbed up the steep hill and searched and searched\namong the rocks until at last he found a little spring to feed the\nriver. He brought the spring to the river and the river gave him a\nfog. He took the fog to the clouds and the clouds gave him rain. He\ntook the rain to the farmer and the farmer gave him grass. He took the\ngrass to the cow and the cow gave him milk. He took the milk to the\ncat and the cat gave him back his tail. The monkey was so glad to have\nhis tail again that he danced and danced with glee. Ever since that\ntime the monkey has been very careful to guard his tail. He still has\none and he is still happy because of it.\n\n\n\n\nXV\n\nHow Black Became White\n\n\nOne often hears the saying that one cannot make black white or white\nblack. I said something about it once upon a time to my Brazilian\n_ama_ and she stared at me in surprise. \"O, yes, one can,\" she said.\n\"It happened once and no one can ever tell but that it may happen\nagain. Perhaps the _Senhora_ has not heard the story?\" I begged her to\ntell me the story and this is the tale:\n\nOnce upon a time there was a little old woman who lived all alone with\nher little black son who was just as black as black can be. The little\nold woman had not always lived alone with the little black boy. She\nhad once been the mother of three beautiful daughters, the very\nloveliest maidens in all the country round. They were so handsome that\nthey attracted the attention of the wicked fairy who lived in an\nenchanted castle nearby, and this fairy had been very jealous of them.\nBy the aid of magic she tied them up in sacks which could be opened\nonly by burning the sacks over a fire built from magic wood. The\nlittle old woman and her little black son searched long and diligently\nfor magic wood, but they were never able to find any.\n\nIt was a terrible thing to have one's daughters shut up in magic\nsacks. The little old woman had grown bent and weak and cross in her\nsearch to find the magic wood. If it had not been for the little\nblack boy she would have given up entirely. The little black boy was\nalways gay and cheerful and always sure that some day they would\nsucceed in finding the magic wood.\n\nOne day the little old woman took her big water jar upon her head and\ncarried it down to the stream to fill. It was so very heavy when she\nhad filled it with water that she could not lift it to her head even\nwith the help of the little black boy. Three fine looking\n_cavalheiros_ happened to be passing on horseback. She sent the little\nblack boy to ask them if they would help her. They said they couldn't\npossibly stop. The little old woman was very angry. She did not know\nthat they were on their way to the magic castle and _couldn't_ stop.\nThe same wicked fairy who had shut the little old woman's beautiful\ndaughters up in the sacks, was leading them on.\n\nIf the little old woman had known all about the three _cavalheiros_\nshe would not have been angry. She would have wanted to help them\ninstead. The three _cavalheiros_ were very good and very wise, so they\nmanaged to get along very well. As soon as they reached the enchanted\ncastle the fairy showed them to their beds. She had marked each bed\nwith a candle. No one before had ever been wise enough to blow out\nthese candles. These _cavalheiros_ blew out the candles and that took\naway the fairy's power over them. They were able to escape from the\npalace. When the wicked fairy came to put them in her magic sacks she\nfound the beds empty.\n\nThe three _cavalheiros_ took their horses and rode back by the same\nroad by which they had come. They stopped at a little shop on a corner\nwhich was kept by a good fairy and bought one _vintem's_ worth of\nashes, one _vintem's_ worth of salt and one _vintem's_ worth of pins.\n\nAfter a while the three _cavalheiros_ approached the house of the\nlittle old woman and the little black boy. The little old woman was\nstill angry because they had refused to stop and help her lift her\nwater jar to her head. When she saw them coming she threw stones at\nthem. Of course that was a very stupid thing to do.\n\nWhen the three _cavalheiros_ saw what was happening they were greatly\nsurprised. They had forgotten all about the little black boy and the\nlittle old woman whom he had asked them to help. When they saw her\ncoming with the stones they thought that she must be a wicked fairy in\nthe form of a little old woman.\n\nThe _cavalheiro_ who had one _vintem's_ worth of ashes in his pocket\nthrew the ashes at her. It became night. The little old woman came on\nwith her stones just the same.\n\nThe _cavalheiro_ who had one _vintem's_ worth of salt in his pocket\nthrew the salt at her. Immediately a sea of salt water appeared\nbetween the three _cavalheiros_ and the little old woman. The little\nold woman came on with her stones just the same.\n\nThe _cavalheiro_ who had one _vintem's_ worth of pins in his pocket\nthrew the pins at her. Immediately a high, thorny hedge sprang out of\nthe ground between the little old woman and the three _cavalheiros_.\n\nThe little old woman was too angry to think clearly. If she had not\nbeen so angry she would have known at once that this must be magic\nwood. The little black boy, however, had his wits about him. He\nhastened to gather the branches even though the thorns tore his hands.\nSoon he had brought together a great pile of wood like the piles which\nthey make in the streets to burn on a _festa_ night.\n\nThe little old woman saw what he was doing and ran to get the magic\nsacks in which her daughters were imprisoned. They laid the sacks on\ntop of the pile of magic wood and lighted the fire. There was a great\nnoise like thunder. Out of the three magic sacks there sprang three\nbeautiful maidens who had been preserved alive in the sacks by a\nmiracle of _Nossa Senhora_.\n\nThe little old woman and her three beautiful daughters turned to thank\nthe little black boy for what he had done. The little black boy was no\nlonger black. He had been turned white.\n\nThe three _cavalheiros_ married the three beautiful maidens and the\nlittle boy who was now white, grew up to be the greatest _cavalheiro_\nof them all.\n\n\n\n\nXVI\n\nHow the Pigeon Became a\n\nTame Bird\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a father with three sons who had reached\nthe age when they must go out into the world to earn their own living.\nWhen the time for parting came he gave to each of them a large melon\nwith the advice that they open the melons only at a place where there\nwas water nearby.\n\nThe three brothers set out from their father's house, each taking a\ndifferent path. As soon as the eldest son was out of sight of the\nhouse he opened his melon. A beautiful maiden sprang out of the melon\nsaying, \"Give me water or give me milk.\" There was no water nearby and\nneither did the young man have any milk to give her. She fell down\ndead.\n\nThe second son left his father's house by a path which led over a\nsteep hill. The large melon was heavy to carry and in a little while\nhe became very tired and thirsty. He saw no water nearby and feared\nthat there was no possibility of finding any soon, so he thought he\nwould open the melon and use it to quench his thirst. Accordingly he\nopened his melon. To his great surprise, a beautiful maiden sprang\nforth saying, \"Give me water or give me milk.\" Of course he had\nneither to give her and she fell down dead.\n\nThe third son also travelled by a path which led over a steep hill.\nHe, too, became very tired and thirsty and he often thought how much\nhe would like to open his melon. However, he remembered his father's\nadvice to open it only where there was water nearby. So he travelled\non and on hoping to find a spring of water on the hillside. He did not\nhave the good fortune to pass near a spring either going up the hill\nor coming down on the opposite side. At the foot of the hill there was\na town and in the centre of the town there was a fountain. The young\nman hurried straight to the fountain and took a long refreshing drink.\nThen he opened his melon. A beautiful maiden sprang forth saying,\n\"Give me water or give me milk.\" The young man gave her a drink of\nwater. Then he helped her to a hiding place among the thick branches\nof the tree which grew beside the fountain and went away in search of\nfood.\n\nSoon a little black servant girl came to the fountain to fill a big\nwater jar which she carried on her head. The maiden in the tree above\nthe fountain peeped out through the branches. When the little black\nservant girl bent over the water to fill her jar she saw the\nreflection of a charming face in the water. \"How beautiful I have\nbecome,\" she said to herself. \"How ridiculous that any one as\nbeautiful as I am should carry water on her head.\" She threw her water\njar upon the ground in disdain and it broke into a thousand pieces.\n\nWhen the little maid reached home with neither water nor water jar her\nmistress punished her severely and sent her again to the fountain\nwith a new water jar to fill. This time the maiden in the tree gave a\nlittle silvery laugh when the black servant girl bent over the water.\nThe little maid looked up and spied her in the tree. \"O, it is you, is\nit, who are responsible for my beating?\" she said. She pulled a pin\nout of her camisa and, reaching up, she stuck it savagely into the\nbeautiful maiden in the tree. Then a strange thing happened. There was\nno longer any beautiful maiden in the tree. There was just a pigeon\nthere.\n\nAt that moment the young man came back to the tree with the food he\nhad procured. When the little black maid heard his footsteps she was\nfrightened nearly to death. She hid herself quickly among the thick\nbranches of the tree. The young man was very much surprised to find a\nlittle black maid in the tree in the place of the beautiful maiden he\nhad left there. \"What has happened to you during my absence\" he asked\nin horror as soon as he saw her. \"The sun has burned my complexion.\nThat is all. It is nothing. I shall be myself again when I get away\nfrom this hot place,\" the little maid replied.\n\nThe young man married the little black maid and took her away out of\nsunny places hoping that she would soon be again the beautiful maiden\nshe was when he left her by the fountain in search of food. But she\nalways remained black.\n\nYears passed and the young man became very rich. He lived in a\nbeautiful mansion. All around the house there was a wonderful garden\nfull of lovely flowers and splendid trees where birds loved to sing\nsweet songs and build their nests. In spite of his beautiful home the\nyoung man was not very happy. It was a great trial to have a wife who\nwas so black. He often walked up and down the paths in his garden at\nthe close of the day and thought about how beautiful his wife had been\nthe first time he ever saw her. As he walked in the garden there was\nalways a pigeon which followed him about. It flew about his head in a\nway that annoyed him, so one day when his wife was sick and asked for\na pigeon to be roasted for her dinner he commanded that this\nparticular pigeon should be killed.\n\nWhen the cook was preparing the pigeon for her mistress to eat for\ndinner she noticed a black speck on the pigeon's breast. She thought\nthat it was a speck of dirt and tried to brush it away. To her\nsurprise she could not brush it off easily because it was a pin firmly\nembedded in the pigeon's breast. She pulled and pulled but could not\npull it out so she sent for her master to come and see what he could\ndo to remove it. He at once pulled out the pin and then a wonderful\nthing happened. The pigeon was transformed into a beautiful maiden. He\nat once recognised her as the same lovely maiden who had sprung forth\nfrom his melon by the fountain and whom he had left hidden in the\ntree.\n\nWhen the young man's black wife learned that her husband had found the\nbeautiful maiden again after all these years she confessed her deceit\nand soon died. The young man married the beautiful maiden who was\nstill just as beautiful as she was the first time he saw her. They\nwere very happy together but the wife never forgot about the time she\nhad been a pigeon.\n\nUp to that time pigeons had been wild birds who built their nests in\nthe deep forest. The wife often wished that they would build their\nnests in her beautiful garden so she had little bird houses built and\nset up there.\n\nOne day a pigeon, bolder than the rest, flew through the garden and\nspied the little bird houses. He moved his family there at once and\ntold the other pigeons that there were other houses there for them\ntoo. The other pigeons were timid and so they waited to see what\nterrible calamity might happen to the bold pigeon and his family, but\nnot a single unpleasant thing occurred. They were just as happy as\nhappy could be in their new home.\n\nAfter a while other pigeon families moved into the garden and were\nhappy too. Thus it came about that after years and years the pigeons\nno longer build their nests in the deep forest, but they always make\ntheir homes near the homes of men. The pigeons, themselves, do not\nknow how it all came about, but the beautiful woman who was once a\npigeon, when she had children of her own, told them about it, and they\ntold their children. Thus it happens that the mothers in Brazil tell\ntheir children this story about the pigeon.\n\n\n\n\nXVII\n\nWhy the Sea Moans\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a little princess who lived in a\nmagnificent royal palace. All around the palace there was a beautiful\ngarden full of lovely flowers and rare shrubs and trees. The part of\nthe garden which the princess liked most of all was a corner of it\nwhich ran down to the sea. She was a very lonely little princess and\nshe loved to sit and watch the changing beauty of the sea. The name of\nthe little princess was Dionysia and it often seemed to her that the\nsea said, as it rushed against the shore, \"Di-o-ny-si-a,\nDi-o-ny-si-a.\"\n\nOne day when the little princess was sitting all alone by the sea she\nsaid to herself, \"O! I am so lonely. I do so wish that I had somebody\nto play with. When I ride out in the royal chariot I see little girls\nwho have other little boys and girls to play with them. Because I am\nthe royal princess I never have anybody to play with me. If I have to\nbe the royal princess and not play with other children I do think I\nmight have some sort of live thing to play with me.\"\n\nThen a most remarkable thing happened. The sea said very slowly and\ndistinctly and over and over again so there couldn't be any mistake\nabout it, \"Di-o-ny-si-a, Di-o-ny-si-a.\"\n\nThe little princess walked up close to the sea, just as close as she\ndared to go without danger of getting her royal shoes and stockings\nwet. Straight out of the biggest wave of all there came a sea serpent\nto meet her. She knew that it was a sea serpent from the pictures in\nher royal story books even though she had never seen a sea serpent\nbefore, but somehow this sea serpent looked different than the\npictures. Instead of being a fierce monster it looked kind and gentle\nand good. She held out her arms to it right away.\n\n\"Come play with me,\" said Dionysia.\n\n\"I am Labismena and I have come to play with you,\" replied the sea\nserpent.\n\nAfter that the little princess was very much happier. The sea serpent\ncame out of the sea to play with her every day when she was alone. If\nany one else came near Labismena would disappear into the sea so no\none but Dionysia ever saw her.\n\nThe years passed rapidly and each year the little princess grew to be\na larger and larger princess. At last she was sixteen years old and a\nvery grown-up princess indeed. She still enjoyed her old playmate,\nLabismena, and they were often together on the seashore.\n\nOne day when they were walking up and down together beside the sea the\nsea serpent looked at Dionysia with sad eyes and said, \"I too have\nbeen growing older all these years, dear Dionysia. Now the time has\ncome that we can no longer play together. I shall never come out of\nthe sea to play with you any more, but I shall never forget you and I\nshall always be your friend. I hope that you will never have any\ntrouble, but if you ever should, call my name and I will come to help\nyou.\" Then the sea serpent disappeared into the sea.\n\nAbout this time the wife of a neighbouring king died and as she lay\nupon her death bed she gave the king a jewelled ring. \"When the time\ncomes when you wish to wed again,\" she said, \"I ask you to marry a\nprincess upon whose finger this ring shall be neither too tight nor\ntoo loose.\"\n\nAfter a while the king began to look about for a princess to be his\nbride. He visited many royal palaces and tried the ring upon the\nfinger of many royal princesses. Upon some the ring was too tight and\nupon others it was too loose. There was no princess whose finger it\nfitted perfectly.\n\nAt last in his search the king came to the royal palace where the\nprincess Dionysia lived. The princess had dreams of her own of a young\nand charming prince who would some day come to wed her, so she was not\npleased at all. The king was old and no longer handsome, and when he\ntried the ring upon Dionysia's finger she hoped with all her heart\nthat it would not fit. It fitted perfectly.\n\nThe princess Dionysia was frightened nearly to death. \"Will I really\nhave to marry him?\" she asked her royal father. Her father told her\nwhat a very wealthy king he was with a great kingdom and a wonderful\nroyal palace ever so much more wonderful and grand than the palace\nthe princess Dionysia had always had for her home. Her father had no\npatience at all with her for not being happy about it. \"You ought to\nconsider yourself the most fortunate princess in all the world,\" he\nsaid.\n\nDionysia spent her days and nights weeping. Her father was afraid that\nshe would grow so thin that the ring would no longer fit her finger,\nso he hastened the plans for the wedding.\n\nOne day Dionysia walked up and down beside the sea, crying as if her\nheart would break. All at once she stopped crying. \"How stupid I have\nbeen,\" she said. \"My old playmate Labismena told me that if ever I was\nin trouble she would come back and help me. With all my silly crying I\nhad forgotten about it.\"\n\nDionysia walked up close to the sea and called softly, \"Labismena,\nLabismena.\" Out of the sea came the sea serpent just as she used to\ncome. The princess told the sea serpent all about the dreadful trouble\nwhich was threatening to spoil her life.\n\n\"Have no fear,\" said Labismena, \"tell your father that you will marry\nthe king when the king presents you with a dress the colour of the\nfields and all their flowers and that you will not marry him until he\ngives it to you.\" Then the sea serpent disappeared again into the sea.\n\nDionysia sent word through her father to her royal suitor that she\nwould wed him only when he procured her a dress the colour of the\nfields and all their flowers. The king was very much in love with\nDionysia, so he was secretly filled with joy at this request. He\nsearched everywhere for a dress the colour of the fields and all their\nflowers. It was a very difficult thing to find but at last he procured\none. He sent it to Dionysia at once.\n\nWhen Dionysia saw that the king had really found the dress for her she\nwas filled with grief. She thought that there was no escape and that\nshe would have to marry the king after all. As soon as she could get\naway from the palace without being noticed she ran down to the sea and\nagain called, \"Labismena, Labismena.\"\n\nThe sea serpent at once came out of the sea. \"Do not fear,\" she said\nto Dionysia. \"Go back and say that you will not wed the king until he\ngives you a dress the colour of the sea and all its fishes.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this new request of Dionysia's he was rather\ndiscouraged. However he searched for the dress and, at last, after\nexpending a great sum of money, he procured such a gown.\n\nWhen Dionysia saw that a dress the colour of the sea and all its\nfishes had been found for her she again went to seek counsel from her\nold playmate. \"Do not be afraid,\" Labismena again said to her. \"This\ntime you must ask the king to get you a dress the colour of the sky\nand all its stars. You may also tell him that this is the last present\nyou will ask him to make you.\"\n\nWhen the king heard about the demand for a dress the colour of the sky\nand all its stars he was completely disheartened, but when he heard\nthat Dionysia had promised that this would be the last present she\nwould ask he decided that it might be a good investment after all. He\nset out to procure the dress with all possible speed. At last he found\none.\n\nWhen Dionysia saw the dress the colour of the sky and all its stars\nshe thought that this time there was no escape from marrying the king.\nShe called the sea serpent with an anxious heart for she was afraid\nthat now even Labismena could do nothing to help her.\n\nLabismena came out of the sea in answer to her call.\n\n\"Go home to the palace and get your dress the colour of the field and\nall its flowers,\" said the sea serpent, \"and your dress the colour of\nthe sea and all its fishes, and your dress the colour of the sky and\nall its stars. Then hurry back here to the sea for I have been\npreparing a surprise for you.\"\n\nAll the time the king had been procuring the wonderful gowns for\nDionysia the sea serpent had been building a ship for her. When\nDionysia returned from the royal palace with her lovely dresses all\ncarefully packed in a box there was a queer little boat awaiting her.\nIt was not at all like any other boat she had ever seen and she was\nalmost afraid to get into it when Labismena asked her to try it. \"This\nlittle ship which I have built for you,\" said Labismena, \"will carry\nyou far away over the sea to the kingdom of a prince who is the most\ncharming prince in all the world. When you see him you will want to\nmarry him above all others.\"\n\n\"O, Labismena! How can I ever thank you for all you have done for\nme?\" cried Dionysia.\n\n\"You can do the greatest thing in the world for me,\" said Labismena;\n\"though I have never told you and I do not believe that you have ever\nsuspected it, I am really an enchanted princess. I shall have to\nremain in the form of a sea serpent until the happiest maiden in all\nthe world, at the hour of her greatest happiness, calls my name three\ntimes. You will be the very happiest girl in all the world on the day\nof your marriage, and if you will remember to call my name three times\nthen you will break my enchantment and I shall once more be a lovely\nprincess instead of a sea serpent.\"\n\nDionysia promised her friend that she would remember to do this. The\nsea serpent asked her to promise three times to make sure. When\nDionysia had promised three times and again embraced her old playmate\nand thanked her for all that she had done she sailed away in the\nlittle ship. The sea serpent disappeared into the sea.\n\nDionysia sailed and sailed in the little ship and at last it bore her\nto a lovely island. She thought that she had reached her destination,\nso she stepped out of the boat not forgetting to take her box of\ndresses with her. As soon as she was out of the boat it sailed away.\n\"Now what shall I ever do?\" said Dionysia. \"The ship has gone away and\nleft me and how shall I ever earn my living? I have never done\nanything useful in all my life.\"\n\nDionysia surely had to do something to earn her living immediately, so\nshe at once set out to see what she could find to do. She went from\nhouse to house asking for food and work. At last she came to the royal\npalace. Here at the royal palace they told her that they had great\nneed of a maid to take care of the hens. Dionysia thought that this\nwas something which she could do, so she accepted the position at\nonce. It was, of course, very different work from being a princess in\na royal palace but it provided her with food and shelter, and when\nDionysia thought of having to marry the old king she was never sorry\nthat she had left home.\n\nTime passed and at last there was a great feast day celebrated in the\ncity. Everybody in the palace went except the little maid who minded\nthe hens. After everybody had gone away Dionysia decided that she\nwould go to the _festa_ too. She combed her hair and put on her gown\nwhich was the colour of the fields and all their flowers. In this\nwonderful gown she was sure nobody would ever guess that she was the\nlittle maid who had been left at home to mind the hens. She did want\nto go to the _festa_! She hurried there as fast as she could and\narrived just in time for the dances.\n\nEverybody at the _festa_ noticed the beautiful maiden in her gown the\ncolour of the fields and all their flowers. The prince fell madly in\nlove with her. Nobody had ever seen her before and nobody could find\nout who the beautiful stranger was or where she came from. Before the\n_festa_ was over Dionysia slipped away, and, when the rest of the\nroyal household returned home there was the little maid minding the\nhens just as they had left her.\n\nThe second day of the _festa_ everybody went early except the little\nmaid who looked after the hens. When the others had gone she put on\nher dress the colour of the sea and all its fishes and went to the\n_festa_. She attracted even more attention than she had the day\nbefore.\n\nWhen the _festa_ was over and the royal household had returned to the\nroyal palace, the prince remarked to his mother, \"Don't you think that\nthe beautiful stranger at the _festa_ looks like the little maid who\nminds our hens?\"\n\n\"What nonsense,\" replied his mother. \"How could the little maid who\nminds our hens ever get such wonderful gowns to wear?\" Just to make\nsure, however, the prince told the royal councillor to find out if\nthe little maid who minds the royal hens had been to the _festa_. All\nthe servants told about leaving her at home with the hens and coming\nback and finding her just as they had left her.\n\n\"Whoever the beautiful stranger at the _festa_ may be,\" said the\nprince, \"she is the one above all others whom I want for my wife. I\nshall find her some way.\"\n\nThe third day of the _festa_ Dionysia went attired in her gown the\ncolour of the sky and all its stars. The prince fell more madly in\nlove with her than ever. He could not get her to tell him who she was\nor where she lived but he gave her a beautiful jewel.\n\nWhen the prince returned home he would not eat any food. He grew thin\nand pale. Every one around the palace tried his best to invent some\ndish which would tempt the prince's appetite.\n\nFinally the little maid who took care of the hens said that she\nthought she could prepare a dish which the prince would eat.\n\nAccordingly she made a dish of broth for the prince and in the bottom\nof the dish she dropped the jewel which the prince had given her.\n\nWhen the broth was set before the prince he was about to send it away\nuntouched, just as he did everything else, but the sparkling jewel\nattracted his attention.\n\n\"Who made this dish of broth?\" he asked as soon as he could speak.\n\n\"It was made by the little maid who minds the hens,\" replied his\nmother.\n\n\"Send for the little maid to come to me at once,\" cried the prince. \"I\nknew that the beautiful stranger at the _festa_ looked like our little\nmaid who minds the hens.\"\n\nThe prince married Dionysia the very next day and Dionysia was the\nvery happiest girl in all the world, for from the first moment that\nshe had seen the prince, she had known that he was the one above all\nothers whom she wished to marry.\n\nAlas! In Dionysia's excitement she forgot all about calling the name\nof her old playmate, Labismena, at the hour of her marriage as she had\npromised to do. She thought of nothing but the prince.\n\nThere was no escape for Labismena. She had to remain in the form of a\nsea serpent because of Dionysia's neglect. She had lost her chance to\ncome out of the sea and become a lovely princess herself and find a\ncharming prince of her own. For this reason her sad moan is heard in\nthe sea until this very day. Perhaps you have noticed it.\n\nYou will often hear the call come from the sea as it breaks against\nthe shore, \"Dionysia, Di-o-ny-si-a.\" No wonder that the sea moans. It\nis enough to make a sea serpent sad to be forgotten by the very person\none has done most to help.\n\n\n\n\nXVIII\n\nHow the Brazilian Beetles Got\n\nTheir Gorgeous Coats\n\n\nIn Brazil the beetles have such beautifully coloured, hard-shelled\ncoats upon their backs that they are often set in pins and necklaces\nlike precious stones. Once upon a time, years and years ago, they had\nordinary plain brown coats. This is how it happened that the Brazilian\nbeetle earned a new coat.\n\nOne day a little brown beetle was crawling along a wall when a big\ngrey rat ran out of a hole in the wall and looked down scornfully at\nthe little beetle. \"O ho!\" he said to the beetle, \"how slowly you\ncrawl along. You'll never get anywhere in the world. Just look at me\nand see how fast I can run.\"\n\nThe big grey rat ran to the end of the wall, wheeled around, and came\nback to the place where the little beetle was slowly crawling along at\nonly a tiny distance from where the rat had left her.\n\n\"Don't you wish that you could run like that?\" said the big grey rat\nto the little brown beetle.\n\n\"You are surely a fast runner,\" replied the little brown beetle\npolitely. Her mother had taught her always to be polite and had often\nsaid to her that a really polite beetle never boasts about her own\naccomplishments. The little brown beetle never boasted a single boast\nabout the things she could do. She just went on slowly crawling along\nthe wall.\n\nA bright green and gold parrot in the mango tree over the wall had\nheard the conversation. \"How would you like to race with the beetle?\"\nhe asked the big grey rat. \"I live next door to the tailor bird,\" he\nadded, \"and just to make the race exciting I'll offer a bright\ncoloured coat as a prize to the one who wins the race. You may choose\nfor it any colour you like and I'll have it made to order.\"\n\n\"I'd like a yellow coat with stripes like the tiger's,\" said the big\ngrey rat, looking over his shoulder at his gaunt grey sides as if he\nwere already admiring his new coat.\n\n\"I'd like a beautiful, bright coloured new coat, too,\" said the little\nbrown beetle.\n\nThe big grey rat laughed long and loud until his gaunt grey sides were\nshaking. \"Why, you talk just as if you thought you had a chance to win\nthe race,\" he said, when he could speak.\n\nThe bright green and gold parrot set the royal palm tree at the top of\nthe cliff as the goal of the race. He gave the signal to start and\nthen he flew away to the royal palm tree to watch for the end of the\nrace.\n\nThe big grey rat ran as fast as he could. Then he thought how very\ntired he was getting. \"What's the use of hurrying?\" he said to\nhimself. \"The little brown beetle can not possibly win. If I were\nracing with somebody who could really run it would be very different.\"\nThen he started to run more slowly but every time his heart beat it\nsaid, \"Hurry up! Hurry up!\" The big grey rat decided that it was best\nto obey the little voice in his heart so he hurried just as fast as he\ncould.\n\nWhen he reached the royal palm tree at the top of the cliff he could\nhardly believe his eyes. He thought he must be having a bad dream.\nThere was the little brown beetle sitting quietly beside the bright\ngreen and gold parrot. The big grey rat had never been so surprised in\nall his life. \"How did you ever manage to run fast enough to get here\nso soon?\" he asked the little brown beetle as soon as he could catch\nhis breath.\n\nThe little brown beetle drew out the tiny wings from her sides.\n\"Nobody said anything about having to run to win the race,\" she\nreplied, \"so I flew instead.\"\n\n\"I did not know that you could fly,\" said the big grey rat in a\nsubdued little voice.\n\n\"After this,\" said the bright green and gold parrot, \"never judge any\none by his looks alone. You never can tell how often or where you may\nfind concealed wings. You have lost the prize.\"\n\nUntil this day, even in Brazil where the flowers and birds and beasts\nand insects have such gorgeous colouring, the rat wears a plain dull\ngrey coat.\n\nThen the parrot turned to the little brown beetle who was waiting\nquietly at his side. \"What colour do you want your new coat to be?\" he\nasked.\n\nThe little brown beetle looked up at the bright green and gold parrot,\nat the green and gold palm trees above their heads, at the green\nmangoes with golden flushes on their cheeks lying on the ground under\nthe mango trees, at the golden sunshine upon the distant green hills.\n\"I choose a coat of green and gold,\" she said.\n\nFrom that day to this the Brazilian beetle has worn a coat of green\nwith golden lights upon it.\n\nFor years and years the Brazilian beetles were all very proud to wear\ngreen and gold coats like that of the beetle who raced with the rat.\n\nThen, once upon a time, it happened that there was a little beetle who\ngrew discontented with her coat of green and gold. She looked up at\nthe blue sky and out at the blue sea and wished that she had a blue\ncoat instead. She talked about it so much that finally her mother took\nher to the parrot who lived next to the tailor bird.\n\n\"You may change your coat for a blue one,\" said the parrot, \"but if\nyou change you'll have to give up something.\"\n\n\"Oh, I'll gladly give up anything if only I may have a blue coat\ninstead of a green and gold one,\" said the discontented little beetle.\n\nWhen she received her new coat she thought it was very beautiful. It\nwas a lovely shade of blue and it had silvery white lights upon it\nlike the light of the stars. When she put it on, however, she\ndiscovered that it was not hard like the green and gold one. From that\nday to this the blue beetles' coats have not been hard and firm. That\nis the reason why the jewellers have difficulty in using them in pins\nand necklaces like other beetles.\n\nFrom the moment that the little beetle put on her new blue coat she\nnever grew again. From that day to this the blue beetles have been\nmuch smaller than the green and gold ones.\n\nWhen the Brazilians made their flag they took for it a square of green\nthe colour of the green beetle's coat. Within this square they placed\na diamond of gold like the golden lights which play upon the green\nbeetle's back. Then, within the diamond, they drew a circle to\nrepresent the round earth and they coloured it blue like the coat of\nthe blue beetle. Upon the blue circle they placed stars of silvery\nwhite like the silvery white lights on the back of the blue beetle.\nAbout the blue circle of the earth which they thus pictured they drew\na band of white, and upon this band they wrote the motto of their\ncountry, \"_Ordem e Progresso_, order and progress.\"","title":"Fairy Tales from Brazil: How and Why Tales from Brazilian Folk-Lore","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":21674}