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he reached the place where the awful cow was. The
horrible cow was already hu—rtling towards him. It
was a spotted cow, it seems. It had white spots.
Maybe that was the woman's blouse.
Her braids were the horns. It ru—shed towards
the man now to gore him. The man lost no time at
all. In a minute he roped it. The lasso, the rope, it
seems, went around its horns. He caught it. He tied it
up. He tied up its hindlegs. He tied up its forelegs.
He tied up its horns. He bound it ca—refully to a
tree where the man went. "What do you want? Why
do you keep stopping me on the trail? And what
have I done to you?" said the [young] man.
The boy arrived home, "Mother, I left a cow tied
up. When you see that it's grown light—it's the one
that stops me on the trail—wake me up, but only if
it's very early in the morning," he said.
"Okay," said the old woman. "Get up, son! It's
already light," said his mother. He started out. He
came to look.
But there was a great blue-skirted woman. Her
skirt was the same kind as ours, it seems. A blueskirted
woman. She was kneeling there, kneeling
with her legs tied up, her arms tied up. She couldn't
do anything. Her head was bo—wed. She was tied
up well, it seems, where he had left [the cow] tied to
the fence post.
"Forgive me. I won't do it to you. Untie me!
Plea—se, don't you recognize me?" she said to the
boy.
"Oh, you're a human being?' he said. "And how
come last night you barred my way? You stopped
me on the path here. [I mean] you stopped a boy on
the path here, you know," said the boy. He didn't
say it was him. "I'll untie you if you pay [me] a fine
of two hundred and fifty [pesos]," said the boy. "If
you pay [me] a fine of two hundred and fifty [pesos]
I'll untie you, but if not, you can die like this. You'll
pay the punishment. Let the whole town see! Because
you've been getting away with it. You come to
bar people's way. You come to do that. I've just
heard the gossip that you stop people. A friend of
mine told me about it, that you keep stopping him all
the time. One time his hand was hurt. One time his
hip was hurt. One time his pants were ripped. One
time his shirt was torn!" she was told.
"Oh it certainly wasn't me! Who knows what
woman [it was]."
"If you give me two hundred and fifty [pesos] then
I really will untie you, but if not, then rot there with
the rope—the rope you're tied up with," he said.
"Don't do that, sire. Don't do that. Untie me.
Please, sire!" said the woman because she wasn't
from Zinacantan Center, it seems. The woman was
SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY
NUMBER 23
7une, xviloma—j xa la tal ti mu vakax, pinto vakax la
ya7el 7un, 7a li ja7 sak li spintoale, ja7 nan ti sk'u7 ti
7antz 7une.
Va7i 7un, 7a li spech' sjol 7une, ja7 la xxulub 7un,
xviloma—j xa la tal 7un, sk'oj la ti vinik 7une, mu k'u
7o no la xch'ay tyempo ti vinik 7une, j-likel la xxoka,
7i7och 7a li laso, riata ya7el la ta xxulub 7une, stzak
7un, xchuk 7un, 7ixchukbe yok 7ixchukbe sk'ob
7ixchukbe ti xxulube, le—k 7ispech' komel ta te7, ja7
to te yo7 7ibat la ti vinik 7une. "K'usi chak'an, k'usi
ti chamakon 7o ta be ta j-meke, 7i k'usi chakalbe?" xi
la ti vinike.
7A ti krem 7une, k'ot ta sna 7un. "Me7, chukul me
kikta vakax mi sakub 7avil 7une, 7a li ja7 te chismak
ta be, xatijon naka no 7ox batz'i lek sakub ta j-mek
7osil 7un," xi la.
"7Ey," xi la ti me7ele. "Likan me, krem, sak xa
me," xi la ti sme7e. Lik la tal 7un, tal la sk'el 7un.
Buy, yijil jyaxal-tzek 7antz la, ja7 yech yox stzek
chak vo7otikotik ya7el 7une, jyaxal-tzek 7antz 7un,
kejel la te 7un, kejel chukul i yoke, chukul i sk'obe,
mu k'u sta k'u spas, yech niji—1, lek chukul ya7el ti
buy chukul komel ta te7el 7alampre.
Va7i 7un, "7Ak'on tapertonal mu xajpas yech, 7a
li titinon 7abolajan mi mu xavojtikinon?" xut la ti
krem 7une.
"7Aj krixchanoot?" xi la. "71 k'u ma cha7al li
samel chamakon ta be, 7a li chamakon ta be H7 toe,
va7i Ii7 chamak ta be jun kreme," xi la ti kremuk
7une. Muk' la xal ti ja7 7une. "Chajtitin ti mi yu7un
chavak' 7a li dos syentos sinkwenta multae," xi la ti
krem 7une. "Mi chavak' dos syentos sinkwenta
multae, chajtitin, yan ti mi mo7oje, chaman yech,
kastiko chavich', 7ak'o sk'el skotol i Jtek-lum 7une,
porke xakom ta manya xtal 7amak ta be 7a li
krixchano, xtal 7apas yech, 7a li vo7one, ja7 no 7ox ti
Io7il 7ika7i ti yu7un 7o la chamakvan ta bee,
Hslo7iltabe jun kamiko Ie7e la chamakulan ta be ta
j-meke, j-7ech'ele 7iyayij la sk'ob, j-7ech'ele 7iyayij
la yo7, j-7ech'ele jat la svex, j-7ech'ele jat la
skamixa," x7utat la 7un.
"7Aj mu vo7nikon bi 7a, jna7tik buch'u 7antzil."
"Mi chavak' ta dos syentos sinkwenta 7eso si
chajtitin 7un bi 7a, yan ti mi mo7oje, te k'a7an
xchi7uk li riata yavil riata 7a li chukbilot 7oe," xi la
7un.
"Mu xapas yech 7un, to, mu xapas yech 7un,
titino—n, 7abolajan, to!" xi la ti 7antz 7une. Yu7un
mu yu7unuk jjtek-lumuk ya7el 7un, jxam-pilipe ya7el