Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 1 1883.djvu/263

Rh Among other pranks, they throw stones at the dogs and cause them to howl. Their touch produces sickness, especially chills and fever. It is best, therefore, not to attempt to catch them.

Of similar malevolent disposition is the Chan Pal, Little Boy, who lurks in the woods and is alleged to bring the small pox into the villages.

Others are merely teasing in character, and not positively harmful. Thus there is the X bolon thoroch who lives in the house with the family, and repeats at night the various sounds of domestic labour which have been made during the day. The word thoroch is applied to the sound caused by the native spindle revolving in its shaft; holon is "nine," a number used to express the superlative degree in certain phrases; while the initial X shows that the imp is of the feminine gender. The name therefore signifies "the female imp who magnifies the sound of the spindle." Other such household imps are the Bokol Wotoch, Stir-the-House, who creeps under the floors and makes a noise like beating a cake to scare the inmates; the Yancopek, Pitcher-Imp, who crawls into jars and jugs; and the Way cot, Witch-bird, who lurks on or behind walls and drops stones on passers by.

The female sex is further represented in the Maya folk-lore by a personage who has a curious similarity to legendary ladies of the old world, sirens, mermaids, the Lorelei, and others. She is called X tabai, the (female) Deceiver. Her home is under shady bowers in the forests, and there the ardent hunter suddenly espies her, clothed, and combing with a large comb (X ache) her long and beautiful hair. As he approaches she turns and flees, but not with discouraging haste, rather in such a manner and with such backward glances as to invite pursuit. He soon overtakes her, but just as he clasps her beauteous form in his strong embrace, her body changes into a thorny bush, and her feet become claws like those of a wild fowl. Torn and bleeding he turns sadly homeward, and soon succumbs to an attack of fever with delirium.

Another very similar creature is X Thoh Chaltun, Miss Pound-the-Stones. She slily waits around the villages, and when she sees some attractive youth she awakes his attention by tapping on the stones, or in default of these on an empty jar which she carries for the purpose. Does the foolish youth respond to the seductive invitation she coyly