This text, in the Nahuatl language of Northern Oaxaca, tells the story of a lazy boy[1] who, with the help of various animals he has aided when they were in trouble, is able to accomplish a series of impossible tasks and so triumph over his harder-working brothers. It combines a number of traditional motifs, which show up in folklore since ancient Greek times at least, with a surprise ending. It was told in February, 1998.
001
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Oyekaj they.were eyin three in the iknimej, siblings omen two tekipanojkej workers iwan and se one tlatziwke. lazy(one) Oyajkej they.went otekipanotoj they.went.to.work omowikakej, they.went.together iwan and oajsikej they.arrived iwan with.him inpatrón, their.boss in the omen two in the ikniwan his.siblings otekipanojkej, they.worked iwan and nekáj that tlatziwke lazy(one) mach not okineke he.wanted tekipanos. he.will.work Iwan and komo how tlatziwke lazy(one) amo not moesoj good.at tekipanoa, he.works yej he okimotetemilij he.was.filled.with miek much pan, bread okimolwij he.thought tla if amo not kinekis he.will.want tekipanos he.will.work siera even yejón that kikuas. he.will.eat.it There were three brothers, two that were hard workers, and one lazy one. They went together to work, and arrived with their boss, and the two brothers really worked, but the lazy boy didn’t want to work. And since he was no good at working, he took along a lot of bread, thinking that if he wasn’t going to want to work at least he’d have something to eat.
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002
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Oajsito he.arrived se one lojar, place in the tlatziwke lazy(one) mach not okinekke he.wanted tekipanos he.will.work mejor better okochke he.slept itlampa below se one iksotl, iczote.tree iwan and opéj he.began temiki he.dreams asta until mokuijkui. he.moves.around(sleeping) Opéj he.began kitemiki he.dreams.it okiyawalojkej they.surrounded.him sekimej several askamej ants iwan and okinekiaj they.wanted kitzopitianij, they.were.going.to.sting.him pero but yej he okinxakualilij he.ground.for.them sekin a.bit pan bread para for ma that kikuakan they.should.eat.it iwan and ijkón thus mach not ok still okitzopitijkej. they.stung.him In the ompa, then oonewak he.left nejnemi he.walks iwan and okonitajsik he.found.it se one in the tzojma buzzard kokoxke sick ya already miktok, he.is.dying iwan and ompa there yowalaya he.already.was.coming in the koyotl coyote okinekia he.wanted kikuani. he.would.have.eaten.it Iwan and komo how in the tlatziwke lazy(one) okitkik he.carried.it.on.back in the pan, bread okilwij he.told.him in the koyotl: coyote They got to a place to work, but the lazy boy didn’t want to work. Instead, he went to sleep underneath an iczote tree. He began to dream, and to move around in his sleep. He dreamt that he was surrounded by ants who wanted to bite him. But he ground up some of his bread for them to eat, and so they didn’t bite him. Then, he walked on further and found a buzzard which was sick, in fact at the point of death. There was also a coyote there, which wanted to eat the buzzard. And since the lazy boy had his bread with him, he said to the coyote:
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003
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—¡Amo not tikuas you.will.eat.it in the yin this tzojma, buzzard yin this moyolkuis, he.will.revive in the axan now kokoxke! sick —Don’t eat this buzzard. He’s going to revive; he’s just sick right now.
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004
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In the koyotl coyote okijtoj: he.said The coyote said:
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005
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—Wel much nitiojsiwi, I.am.hungry ¿tlan what nikuas? I.will.eat.it —I am really hungry. So what am I going to eat?
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006
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Iwan and in the tlatziwke lazy(one) okinankilij: he.answered.him The lazy boy answered him,
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007
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—Nian here nikpia I.have nopan my.bread ma that nimitzmaka I.give.you xikua. eat.it —I’ve got some bread here; I’ll give it to you to eat.
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008
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In the ompa, later ok still ewatok, he.is.seated okitlamakak he.fed.him in the yon that koyotl coyote iwan and satepan afterwards oyajke. he.left Iwan and in the tlatziwke lazy(one) okajkokke he.raised.it in the tzojma buzzard okiwikak he.carried.it okipajtito, he.went.to.cure.him iwan and ijkuak when opajtik he.healed opatlanke he.flew oyáj. he.left So the lazy boy, still seated there, fed the coyote, which, after it had eaten, left. The lazy boy picked up the buzzard and took it off to treat it. And when the buzzard was healed it flew away.
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009
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In the ompa, later sejpa again oajsito he.arrived inawak with ikniwan his.siblings katlej those.that tekipanojkej workers iwan and okilwij he.told.him in the inpatrón: their.boss Then the lazy boy arrived with his hard-working brothers, and he said to the boss:
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010
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—¿Kox if tinechmakas you.will.give.me tekitl? work —Can you give me work?
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011
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Iwan and in the patrón boss okinankilij: he.answered.him The boss answered:
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012
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—¿Ken how amo? not ¿Tlan what tikchiwa? you.make.it ¿Tlan what timoesoj? you.are.good.at —Of course! What can you do? What are you good at?
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013
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Iwan and tlatziwke lazy(one) okinankilij: he.answered.him The lazy boy answered:
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014
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—Nochi all nimoesoj. I.am.good.at —I’m good at everything.
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015
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—Xitlaxawa plow(you) kiné then —okijtoj he.said in the patrón. boss —Do some plowing, then, —said the boss.
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016
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Iwan and in the ompa later in the tlatziwke lazy(one) okualijtoj: he.answered And the lazy boy replied:
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017
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—¡Ah, oh mach not nimoesoj! I.am.good.at —Oh, I’m not any good at that!
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018
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—¿Tonses then tlan what tikchiwas? you.will.make.it —okijtoj he.said in the patrón—. boss Mejor better san only xikintlatlamakati you.go.along.feeding.them nekatej those mokniwan your.siblings kan where tekipanoaj. they.work —What should you do then? —asked the boss. —You’d better just take their food to your brothers over there where they’re working.
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019
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Ompa then kiné, then san only konintlatlamaka he.goes.along.feeding.them iwan and kitlani, he.gains pero but in the ikniwan his.siblings owalkualankej they.got.mad porke because in the inmikni their.sibling tlatziwke lazy(one) san only yon that kichiwa he.makes iwan and kitlani, he.gains iwan and kuale well tlakua. he.eats So, the lazy boy just carried the food and earned a good wage, but his brothers were angry because their lazy brother, even though that was all he did, was earning and eating well.
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020
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In the ompa, later okitlatlalwijkej they.incited.him in the inpatrón their.boss mach not ma that kiyektlamaka he.feeds.him.well in the inmikni their.sibling tlatziwke lazy(one) porke because mach not kineki he.wants tekipanos. he.will.work Satepan afterwards in the patrón boss okilwij he.told.him in the tlatziwke lazy(one) tlan what kijtaaj they.say in the ikniwan his.siblings katlej those.that tekipanojkej. workers So they convinced the boss not to feed the lazy boy well any more, because he didn’t want to work. The boss told the lazy boy what his hard-working brothers had said.
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021
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Oksemi again ijkuak when okinmitajsik he.found.them okintlamakato, he.went.to.feed.them ompón there opéj he.began kinmilwia: he.says.to.them So the next time he took their food to them, he started telling them:
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022
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—Oh, oh antontojtin you.pl.are.stupid namejwan you.pl nian here ankuajtokej you.pl.are.eating.it etl beans iwan and tlaxkale, tortilla nej I iwan and nopatrón my.boss tikkuaj we.eat.it kuajkuale the.best tlakuale. food —You guys are pretty stupid, just eating tortillas and beans, while my boss and I eat the best of food.
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023
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Iwan and in the ompa, then okachi more okinkualanij he.angered.them in the ikniwan. his.siblings Iwan and okilwijkej they.told.him in the inpatrón their.boss ma that kiteriajti he.gives.him.a.job ma that tekipano, he.should.work iwan and tla if tekipanoa, he.works tonses then ok still ompa there ma that yeto he/it.should.be iwan and tla if amo, not ma that kiyolopacho. he.should.send.him.away Okimakakej they.gave.him kiné well se one weyi big tlale earth ma that kixawa. he.plows.it Iwan and ijkuak when owaltiotlakik, it.got.late in the patrón boss okilwij he.told.him in the tlatziwke: lazy(one) That got his brothers really angry, of course. They told the boss to give him a task to make him work, and if he would work, then he could keep his job, but if not, he should fire him. So they gave him a field to plow. And in the afternoon the boss said to the lazy boy:
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024
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—¡Axan now tej you mach not tikochis, you.will.sleep titekipanos you.will.work ik around ne, there titlaxawas; you.will.plow iwan and tla if amo not otitlaxawke you.plowed yin this yuale, night nimitzyolopachos! I.will.send.you.away —You’re not going to sleep this time! You’re going to plow that field over there, and if you don’t do it tonight, I’m going to fire you!
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025
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In the ompa, then in the tlatziwke lazy(one) ik around ne there oyáj he.went omotlalito he.went.and.sat moyolkokoa. he.is.sad Iwan and ijkuakón then okonitajsikej they.came.to.meet.him in the askamej ants iwan and okitlajtlanijkej: they.asked.him The lazy boy went off and sat down despondently. But immediately the ants came and asked him:
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026
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—¿Tlan what timochiwa? it.happens.to.you —What’s the matter?
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027
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—Oh, oh pos well nitlanemilia. I.am.worried Nopatrón my.boss nechyolopachoa, he.sends.me.away kineki he.wants ma that nitlaxawa I.plow yin this tanto so.much san only axan now se one yuale. night —Oh, well, I’m worried. My boss wants to fire me; he says I have to plow this whole field and he wants it done tonight.
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028
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In the askamej ants okualijtojkej: they.immediately.answered The ants answered:
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029
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—Tej you otitechiknomaj you.had.compassion.on.us otitechtliokolij you.gave.it.to.us in the pan. bread Tla if tikneki you.want tej you nepa over.there ximoteka lie.down xikochi, go.to.sleep iwan and tejwan we ma that titekipanokan. we.should.work —You had mercy on us and gave us your bread. If you would like, go lie down over there and sleep, and we’ll get to work.
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030
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Komo how in the yonmej those askamej ants wel much tlamoloniaj they.loosen.the.earth iwan and ken how oyekaj they.were miekej, many otlamolonijkej they.loosened.the.earth weyi big pedaso. piece Nijkuak when otlaneske it.dawned omotak it.saw.itself weyi big in the otlaxawke he.plowed in the tlatziwke. lazy(one) Iwan and in the patrón boss mach not ok still itlaj something okijtoj. he.said And since ants can loosen dirt and there were a lot of them, they loosened up the earth a lot. And by dawn, the lazy boy had plenty of land plowed up. And his boss couldn’t say anything.
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031
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Pero but in the ikniwan his.siblings oksemi again okitlatlalwijkej they.incited.him in the inpatrón their.boss para for ma that kiteriajti. he.gives.him.a.job In the ompa, then okitlalijkej they.placed.it ma that kintemoti he.should.look.for tochinmej rabbits para for kinkuaskej they.will.eat.them in the tlajko half tonale, day iwan and okinawatijkej they.ordered.him ma that kinwalinwika he.should.bring.them kaxtole fifteen tochinmej rabbits para for kajxilis. it.will.be.enough Melajka truly otlanemilij, he.worried iwan and okimolwij he.thought kenin how kinmajsis he.will.find.them in the achonmej, that.amount iwan and tla if amo not okinmajsik he.found.them kiyolopachoskej. they.will.send.him.away Oonewak he.left kiné well tlanemilijtiw, he.goes.worrying pero but okonnamikke he.met in the koyotl coyote iwan and okitlajtlanij he.asked.him in the tlatziwke: lazy(one) But his brothers once again advised the boss to give their brother another task. Then they ordered him to go hunt rabbits to eat for dinner at noon the next day, and they told him to bring fifteen of them so there would be enough. He was very worried, and wondered how he could find that many, realizing that if he couldn’t he would be fired. He went out downcast, but he met the coyote, who asked him:
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032
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—¿Kan where tiawi you.go iwan and tlanik why wel too.much timoyolkokoa? you.are.sad —Where are you going and why are you so sad?
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033
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In the ompa, then in the tlatziwke lazy(one) okilwij: he.told.him And the lazy boy told him:
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034
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—Es it.is ke that onechnawatijkej they.commanded.me ma that nikinwika I.take.them kaxtole fifteen tochinmej rabbits axan now niman right.away para for kinkuaskej, they.will.eat.them iwan and tla if amo not nikinwikas I.will.take.them nechyolopachoskej. they.will.send.me.away —The thing is that they sent me to hunt fifteen rabbits for dinner right now, and if I don’t bring them to them they will fire me.
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035
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In the koyotl coyote niman soon okinankilij: he.answered.him The coyote immediately answered:
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036
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—Nijkuak when onitiojsi, I.was.hungry tej you otinechtliokolij you.gave.me mopantzin, your.bread[diminutive] axan now ma that nimitzpalewi. I.should.help.you Ne there katej there.is miekej many tochinmej, rabbits mach not owij difficult nikinkitzkis, I.will.catch.them nian here xinechchia. wait.for.me —When I was hungry, you gave me your bread. Now I will help you. There are lots of rabbits over there. I will catch them; wait for me here.
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037
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Oyáj he.left in the koyotl, coyote iwan and opéj he.began kinkitzkia he.catches.them in the tochinmej, rabbits iwan and asta until opanok it.passed de of kaxtole fifteen porke because in the koyotl coyote mach not moesoj good.at tlatzintoka. he.figures.accounts So the coyote went, and started catching the rabbits, and he even caught more than fifteen, because coyotes aren’t very good at math.
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038
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Oajsito he.arrived in the inawak before in the ipatrón his.boss okinmaktilij, he.turned.over.to.them iwan and yej he sa only otlajtlachixke. he.was.surprised Iwan and ompa later okilwijkej they.told.him in the tlatziwke: lazy(one) The lazy boy brought the rabbits and gave them to his boss, and he was amazed. Then they said to the lazy boy:
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039
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—Weno good ¿n the tej you ken how tikchiwa? you.make.it Ma that tiktakan we.should.see kox if melawak truly timoesoj you.are.good.at de of nochi. all Nikpia I.have se one tentzonlamaj old.nanny.goat ya already wejkawitl it’s.been.a.long.time mach not ok still kinpia she.has.them ikonewan, her.offspring tla if para for mostla tomorrow tlanesis it.will.dawn ya already kipia she.has se one in the ikone, her.offspring tej you timokawas you.will.stay de of patrón boss iwan and nej I sa only nipaxialos. I.will.walk.around Pero but in the tla if otlaneske it.dawned in the tentzonlamaj old.nanny.goat amo not kipia she.has in the ikone, her.offspring titekipanos you.will.work nonawak before.me iktlanke forever iwan and mach not ok still nimitztlaxtlawis. I.will.pay.you —Well, how do you do it? We’re going to find out if you really are good at everything. I have an old nanny goat who has gone barren since some time back. If by tomorrow at dawn she has a kid, you can take my place as boss and I’ll go travelling. But if by dawn the nanny goat doesn’t have a kid, you’ll have to work for me permanently with no wages from now on.
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040
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In the ompa, then in the tlatziwke lazy(one) oksemi again opéj he.began tlanemilia, he.worries pero but niman right.away oonkisako he.appeared in the tzojma buzzard iwan and okilwij: he.told.him Then the lazy boy began to be very worried again, but right away the buzzard came and said to him:
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041
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—¿Tlan what tikchiwa you.make.it nian? here —What are you doing here?
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042
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Yej he okilwij: he.told.him He told him:
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043
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—Oh, oh nopatrón my.boss melajka truly nechmajmawtia, he.scares.me axan now onechilwij he.said.to.me kineki he.wants kitas he.will.see itentzonlamaj his.old.nanny.goat ya already ma that kipia she.has se one in the ikone her.offspring iwan and san only para for mostla tomorrow tlanesis, it.will.dawn iwan and tla if amo, not nimokawas I.will.remain inawak before.him/her nitekipanos I.will.work iktlanke forever iwan and mach not ok still nextlaxtlawis. he.will.pay.me —Oh, my boss is trying to frighten me. Now he’s telling me that he wants to see his nanny goat have a kid by tomorrow, and if I can’t show it to him, I’ll be his slave forever.
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044
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In the ompa, then in the tzojma buzzard okijtoj: he.said Then the buzzard told him:
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045
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—¡Amo not xitlanemili! you.worry Tej you otinechpalewij you.helped.me ijkuak when ya already meroj merely nechkuani he.was.going.to.eat.me in the koyotl, coyote tla if amo not por because.of tej you yetoskia it.were yonechkuaj; he.already.ate.me axan now ma that nimomakuepa I.pay.back mowan. with.you Ne there onikitak I.saw.it meroj merely pilwajtok she.is.giving.birth se one tentzon, nanny.goat ma that niknotzati I.go.bring.it in the ikone her.offspring iwan and tej you nian here ximokawa stay(you) xikochto. keep.sleeping(you) Oyáj he.left in the tzojma buzzard iwan and okikualwikak he.brought.it se one in the tentzonkonetl. kid —Don’t you worry. You helped me when the coyote was going to eat me; if it weren’t for you he would have eaten me. Now it’s my turn to help you. There’s a nanny goat giving birth over there; I’ll bring her kid, and you stay here and sleep. So the buzzard took off and brought back the kid.
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046
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Otlaneske it.dawned in the tlatziwke lazy(one) okilwij he.told.him in the ipatrón: his.boss At dawn, the lazy boy told his boss:
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047
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—Ya already kajki he/it.is tlan what otiknekia. you.wanted Nian here kaj he/it.is in the tentzonkonetl kid ya already chichitok. he.is.suckling —Here’s what you asked for. Here’s the kid, and it’s already suckling.
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048
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In the patrón boss okinankilij: he.answered.him The boss told him:
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049
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—¡Ni nor modo, way yotinechtlanke! you.already.beat.me Axan now tej you xikita you.see nochi, all akin who amo not kineki he.wants tekipanos he.will.work xikyolopacho. send.him.away —Oh, well, you’ve beaten me. Now you take charge of everything, and if someone doesn’t want to work, you fire him.
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050
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In the ompa, then in the tlatziwke lazy(one) okijtoj: he.said Then the lazy man said:
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051
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—Amo not xitlanemili, you.worry nej I ya already nikmati I.see ken how nikchiwas I.will.do.it para for ma that mochiwa it.should.happen in the tekitl. work —Don’t worry, I know how to make sure the work gets done.
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052
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Ijkón thus okijtoj he.said in the tlatziwke lazy(one) porke because okipalewiayaj they.helped.him in the yolkamej. animals Iwan and ijkuak when oyáj he.left in the ipatrón his.boss iwan and omokaj he.remained iselti, alone melajka truly opakke he.rejoiced iwan and asta until sa only tekitl much okinnekatoktiaya he.mistreated.them in the ikniwan. his.siblings The lazy boy said this, because he had the animals to help him. And when the boss went away and he was left in charge, he began to mistreat his brothers badly.
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053
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Pero but in the ompa, then owalijsak he.woke.up.right.away de of oteemiktoka, he.was.dreaming iwan and okintlatewak he.saw.them ya already kiyawalojtokej they.have.him.surrounded sekimej some yolkamej; animals ya already ipan on.him yomotlalij he.already.sat.down se one in the tzojma buzzard iwan and ya already kiijnektok he.is.sniffing.him se one in the koyotl. coyote Pero but oijsak he.woke.up sa only por because yokitzopitijtokan they.were.already.stinging.him sekimej some askamej, ants owalmejtewak he.suddenly.got.up sa very tekitl much omomajmawtij he.got.scared iwan and oyáj he.left omotlaloj he.ran okintokak he.followed.them in the ikniwan his.siblings sa very tetenke, swollen iwan and asta until okiske it.went.out in the itlatzijkayo. his.laziness 
But at that point he woke up from his dream, and suddenly realized that he was surrounded by animals. A buzzard was roosting on him, a coyote was sniffing at him, and he’d woken up because he was being bitten all over by ants. He jumped up, very frightened, and ran off after his brothers, his body all swollen from the bites. He even had his laziness scared out of him.
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The story was told in 1998 by Eleuterio González Tejeda
Transcription and analysis by Arnulfo Prado B.
Illustrations: Cathy Marlett
[1]The age and gender of the “lazy one” and the siblings are never actually specified. Such details as the kinds of work they are set, and their relationships with the boss, indicate that they are males, and are consistent with their being young adults, perhaps in their late teens, with the lazy one the youngest of the three. If a woman had been in mind, it would have been necessary to state this specifically, perhaps using the word tlatzijkasiwatl ‘lazy woman’ instead of tlatziwke ‘lazy one’.
© 2008 Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C.
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