The Coyote Under the Table/El Coyote Debajo de la Mesa

 

 

 

FOLKTALES TOLD IN
SPANISH AND ENGLISH BY

JOE HAYES

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANTONIO CASTRO L.

 

 

 

FOLKTALES TOLD IN
SPANISH AND ENGLISH BY

JOE HAYES

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANTONIO CASTRO L.

 

The Coyote Under the Table / El coyote debajo de la mesa
Folktales told in Spanish and English
Text in English and Spanish copyright © 2011 by Joe Hayes.
Illustrations © 2011 by Antonio Castro L.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in case of brief quotations for reviews. For information, write Cinco Puntos Press, 701 Texas, El Paso, TX 79901 or call at (915) 838-1625.

First Edition
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hayes, Joe.

The
coyote under the table = El coyote debajo de la mesa : folktales told in Spanish and English / by Joe Hayes ; illustrations by Antonio Castro L. -- 1st ed.

v. cm.

Summary:
A collection of ten classic tales from Northern New Mexico retold in Spanish and English.

Contents:
If I were an eagle — What am I thinking — How to grow boiled beans — The coyote under the table — The golden slippers — Caught on a nail — The man who couldn't stop dancing — Gato pinto (The spotted cat) — The little snake — The magic ring.

ISBN 978-1-935955-06-1 (Paper)

ISBN 978-1-935955-21-4 (Hardback)

1.
Tales—New Mexico. [1. Folklore—New Mexico. 2. Spanish language materials—Bilingual.] I. Castro López, Antonio, ill. II. Title. III. Title: Coyote debajo de la mesa.

PZ74.1.H32 2011

398.209789—dc23

2011011430

B
OOK AND COVER DESIGN BY
A
NTONIO
C
ASTRO
H.

I
F I
W
ERE AN
E
AGLE

S
I YO FUERA ÁGUILA

W
HAT
A
M
I T
HINKING?

¿Q
UÉ ESTOY PENSANDO?

T
HE
G
OLDEN
S
LIPPERS

Z
APATILLAS DE ORO

C
AUGHT
O
N
A N
AIL

E
NGANCHADO EN UN CLAVO

H
OW
T
O
G
ROW
B
OILED
B
EANS

C
ÓMO SEMBRAR FRIJOLES COCIDOS

T
HE
C
OYOTE
U
NDER
T
HE
T
ABLE

E
L COYOTE DEBAJO DE LA MESA

T
HE
T
ALE OF THE
S
POTTED
C
AT

E
L CUENTO DEL GATO PINTO

T
HE
L
ITTLE
S
NAKE

L
A SERPIENTITA

T
HE
M
AGIC
R
ING

E
L ANILLO DE VIRTUD

T
HE
M
AN
W
HO
C
OULDN'T
S
TOP
D
ANCING

E
L HOMBRE QUE NO PODÍA DEJAR DE BAILAR

N
OTES
T
O
R
EADERS
A
ND
S
TORYTELLERS

O
THER
B
OOKS BY
J
OE
H
AYES FROM
C
INCO
P
UNTOS
P
RESS

To all the parents and grandparents who carried these stories in their memories across oceans and continents and passed them along to new generations. And to the scholars who saved them from being forgotten in this modern age. And, finally, to all who breathe new life into old stories by sharing them.

 

H
ere is a story about a poor orphan boy. He had no family at all—no father or mother, no sister or brother, not even any cousins who could help him in this world.

In order to survive, the boy began to work as a blacksmith's assistant. But the blacksmith worked him very hard and paid him very little. So one day when the blacksmith was away from the forge, the boy made himself a long knife out of steel. He sharpened the knife until it could cut through oaken wood as if it were butter, and then he set out into the world with the knife in his belt.

The boy hadn't traveled far when he heard voices arguing up ahead of him. He rounded a bend in the road to see a lion, an eagle and a tiny ant shouting at the top of their voices and making angry gestures at one another. Near them lay a dead deer.

“
Animalitos
,” the boy called out, “what can be making you so angry?”

“This deer belongs to me,” the eagle cried. “I spotted it from high in the air and began to chase it.”

The lion interrupted him. “But you were able to do nothing to it. I ran it down and caught it. The deer is mine.”

The ant chirped, “It's mine! It's mine! See. It's lying on top of my house. It's mine!”

The boy drew his sharp knife. “I can settle this argument,” he told the animals.

First, the boy cut the soft flesh away from the deer's bones. He gave it to the eagle. “You have no teeth,” he said to the eagle. “You can eat this soft meat.”

Next, he gave the lion the big bones with meat clinging to them. “With your teeth and strong jaws you can gnaw these bones and crack them open. That will give you plenty to eat.”

Finally he gave the small bones to the ant. “You're tiny. You can climb inside these bones and find all the food you need.”

The animals thanked the boy for solving their problem. Then the lion pulled out one of his claws. “Take this claw,” he told the boy. “If you ever find yourself wishing you were a lion, just say, ‘If I were a lion.' You'll become a lion.”

“Thank you,” the boy told the lion. “That will be very helpful. But how do I become a person again?”

“Say, ‘If I were a person,'” the lion told him.

Then the eagle pulled a feather from his wing and gave it to the boy. “If you wish to become an eagle, say, ‘If I were an eagle.' You'll be an eagle.”

The ant pulled one of the tiny feelers from her head. “If you want to be an ant, say, ‘If I were an ant.' You'll be an ant.”

The boy thanked the animals and left them to enjoy their meal. He walked on down the road. Soon he saw a group of evil-looking men riding up the road toward him. Guns and swords bristled from their belts. He knew it was a band of robbers.

At first, the boy thought he'd better turn and run. But if the robbers saw him they could easily chase him down on their horses. Then he remembered the gifts he had received from the animals. He said, “
If I were an ant…
”

The boy became a tiny ant and the robbers rode right past without even seeing him. When he thought it would be safe, the boy said, “If I were a person.” He became a person again.

But one of the robbers happened to turn and look back up the road. He saw the boy and gave a shout. They all came charging toward the boy on their horses. Quickly the boy pulled out the eagle feather. “
If I were an eagle
,” he said and became an eagle. He flew away from the robbers.