Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2) / A Record of Five Years' Exploration Among the Tribes of the Western Sierra Madre; In the Tierra Caliente of Tepic and Jalisco; and Among the Tarascos of Michoacan

by Carl Lumholtz

The Giants, the Crow, and the Blackbird

The Crow, who is very knowing, told the following story to the Parrot, who told it to the pagans:

The Blackbird and the Crow, long, long ago, saw a contest between two giants, who made a bet as to which of them could throw a stone farthest. The stakes were four deer. One giant, called Gōlí, carried a bird in his hand and threw it instead of the stone; so he won; then he returned to where the Blackbird and the Crow were standing. The Blackbird said to the Crow, “They will not do us any harm until they stoop to pick up a stone.” But the Crow replied, “Maybe they bring the stone in their hands.” So they flew away, and while they were flying the Crow said, “I am going to the mountain to look for my wife and my son. They went away and have been lost for six days.”