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106 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY NUMBER 23
"Well, give me some, then," said the boy.
"Do you want an orange?"
"Well, thank you," he said. He was playing there.
He was scratching about there under a rock, under a
rock at Our Holy Mother, Muxul Vitz. Yes, sir, it
was there!
Ooh, who knows how long he had asked for alms,
begged for tortillas, begged for fruit. He was given
things there by the poor people, whoever was kind.
Whoever was stupid gave him a bawling out.
You see, when he was scratching about under the
rock, the boy discovered a lucky piece, a green ring
for his hand. It was bright gree—n. Ha, the boy left.
He left. He had a house.
The boy's parents, then, had a chest. But it was a
worm-eaten old chest, sir, but it was a big old chest.
When the holy dawn came, then, the next morning,
[the chest] was filled to the top. The following night
there were some pots, too. The next morning they
were brimful. It was a ring, a green ring. In one
night, by the next morning, the poor boy's parents'
old chest was filled with money, ju—st money.
There were pots there, sitting face down. He turned
them up. They were filled to the brim the next
morning. He went to the houses of those who were
his friends. Their chests came [into his home]. He
borrowed them. "Either I will buy them," he said,
"or I will borrow them," he said.
"No, just borrow them," said the ones who were
his friends.
Then they heard about it here in San Cristobal.
They went [to see]. "But where did that lazy Indian
come from? No, he won't win. That money is ours,"
they said. But you can't imagine how many chests,
how many pots, how many houses [full] there were.
He had it by the houseful now.
Then the lords here [in San Cristobal] went to
look.
But you see they went to match the boy's money,
then. God, [their money] didn't reach even half of
his. It was counted up and left. The gentlemen, the
lords, came walking back emptyhanded.
Then reports about it went as far as Mexico City,
reports went everywhere, to the governor in Tuxtla.
Soldiers came. [The boy] became a king. The money,
then, Ooh God, since there didn't used to be trucks,
who knows how the money went. He became a king,
but an Indian king, but a real man when he arrived in
Mexico City. Then the king looked after the Mexicans
there. So they made him a legitimate Zinacantec
Indian king.
Now, if the king hadn't upped and left, if they
hadn't come and taken him away long ago, then
Zinacantan, here, would be sitting on top today and
the Ladinos would be face up. The Ladinos got on
"Bweno 7ak'bon che7e," xi li kreme.
"Mi chalo7 j-p'ejuk naranja?"
"Bweno, kol aval," xi. Te chtajin te sjotz'jon te ta
yolon ton, yolon ton yo7 jch'ul-me7tik Muxul Vitz,
senyor, ja7 tey!
Bweno, jiii, mu jna7tik k'u sjalil 7isk'an ti
limoxnae, 7isk'an ti vaje, sk'an ti Io7bole, te k'u
x7ak'bat yu7un i povre krixchano much'u leke,
much'u sonsoe, 7utel chak' komel.
Bweno, va7i 7un, 7ista ti 7ora 7une, 7a li krem
7une, jun yaxal 7ixtalal skwenta sk'ob solel yo—x ta
j-mek te sjotz'jon ta yolon ton 7un, je7 7ibat ti krem
7une, 7ibat 7un, 7o sna.
Bweno, 7a li kreme che7e, 7o j-p'ej kaxa ti sme7
stote, pero k'a7-kaxa, senyor, pero muk'ta k'a7-kaxa,
7isakub i ch'ul-7osile che7e, jaxal 7isakub, 7oy te yan
p'in, ta jun 7o 7ak'ubal jaxal 7isakub, jun 7ixtalal
yaxal 7ixtalale, naka tak'in 7un, na—ka tak'in ta jun
7ak'ubal li mol kaxa, skaxa ti sme7 stot ti 7a li me7on
kreme, nojem sakub, 7o te p'in te nujajtik, 7ixchotan
jaxal 7isakub, 7ibat ta naetik much'u yamigoe 7ital
skaxa 7ixch'amun. "7O mi ta jman," xi. "7O mi ta
jch'amun," xi.
"Mo7oj, ch'amuno no 7ox," xi li much'u 7amigoe.
7Ora, 7iya7i li Jobel Ii7 7une, 7ibat. "Pero bu to tal
li jun jaragan 7intyo, mo7oj, mu spas kanal, 7a taj
tak'ine ku7untik," xi. Pero mu xana7 xa jay-p'ej kaxa
jay-p'ej p'in jay-p'ej na xa 7oy, ta na xa 7oy.
7Ora, bat li ronetik Ii7e, ba sk'elik 7un.
Bu, ba ko7olajuk xchi7uk i tak'in 7a li kreme
che7e, dyos, mi ja7uk j-7o71ol mu sta, te nitbat komel
7un, yech xva71aj tal li moletike, li ronetik 7une.
7Ora, bat svunal k'al Mejiko, bat svunal skotol ta
j-mek butik 7oy k'al Tuxta ta govyerno, 7ital soltaro,
7ikom ta rey, 7a li tak'ine che7e, jii dyos, komo
mu7yuk to 7ox i karoe jna7tik k'u xi 7ibat i tak'ine,
komo rey 7ikom, pero 7intyo rey, pero yu7un vinik
k'al k'ot ta Mejikoe che7e, ja7 to stuk'ulan i jmejiko
Ie7e, ja7 7ismeltzan 7intyo rey tzinakantan jitimo.
Bweno, 76ra 7un Ie7 7une, 7a ti ma totzuk li reye
che7e ma taluk spojel vo7ne che7e ja7 kajiem tana 7a
li 7a li Tzinakanta Ii7e, 7a li larino javal, 7ikaji li
larinoe, porke yu7un 7ibat i reye, bat ta Mejiko, k'u