Page:Amazonian Tortoise Myths.djvu/36

— 28 — A month afterwards he came out and took a walk, to look at the remains of the jaguar, and finding the skeleton, he carried away one of the bones, out of which he made a sort of gaita or fife, on which he piped, as he walked about: "Yauareté kaunguéra sereny'my' '!" The bone of the jaguar is my fife.

Now it happened that another jaguar, passing by, heard the sound, and stopped and listened. "Yauareté kaunguéra sereny'my," piped again the jabuti. The jaguar, determined to investigate the matter, followed the tortoise, who presently came to the mouth of his hole.

"U'i yautí!" cried the jaguar, "What is that you are saying?"

"How is that?" asked the tortoise.

"Did I not hear you saying: "Yauareté kaunguéra sereny'my' '!"?

"No," said the tortoise, "I said "Suasú kaunguéra sereny'my' '!" and immediately he entered his hole, from which he piped: "Yauareté kaunguéra sereny'my' '!"

The jaguar,on hearing this, turned towards the hole and said: "I am going to eat you, by and by, jabutí."