suffering that they have caused us. They wanted us to die, that we might be lost, we, their younger brothers. In their hearts[148] they really believe that we have come to be their servants. For these reasons we shall overcome them and teach them a lesson." Thus they spoke.
Then they went toward the foot of the tree called Canté.[149] They were accompanied by their two elder brothers and they were shooting their blowguns. It was not possible to count the birds which sang in the tree, and their elder brothers marveled to see so many birds. There were birds, but not one fell at the foot of the tree.
"Our birds do not fall to the ground. Go and fetch them down," they said to their elder brothers.
"Very well," the latter answered. And then they climbed the tree; but the tree became larger and the trunk swelled. Then Hunbatz and Hunchouén wanted to come down but they could not come down from the top of the tree.
Then they called from the treetop. "What has happened to us, our brothers? Unfortunate we. This tree frightens us only to look at it. Oh, our brothers!" they called from the treetop. And Hunahpú and Xbalanqué answered: "Loosen your breechclouts;[150] tie them below your stomach, leaving the long ends hanging and pull these from behind, and in this way you can walk easily." Thus said the younger brothers.
"Very well," they answered, pulling the ends of their belts back, but instantly these were changed into tails and they took on the appearance of monkeys. Then they hopped over the branches of the trees, among the great woods and little woods, and they buried themselves in the forest, making faces and swinging in the branches of the trees.
In this way Hunbatz and Hunchouén were overcome by Hunahpú and Xbalanqué; and only because of their magic could they have done it.
Then they returned to their home, and when they arrived they spoke to their grandmother and their mother, and said to them: "What could it be, grandmother, that has happened to our elder brothers, that suddenly their faces turned into the faces of animals?" So they said.
"If you have done any harm to your elder brothers, you have hurt me and have filled me with sadness. Do not do such a thing to your brothers, oh, my children," said the old woman to Hunahpú and Xbalanqué.
And they replied to their grandmother:
"Do not grieve, our grandmother. You shall see our brother's faces again; they shall return, but it will be a difficult trial for you, grandmother. Be careful that you do not laugh at them. And now, let us cast our lot," they said.
Immediately they began to play their flutes, playing the song of Hunahpú-Qoy.[151] Then they sang, playing the flute and drum, picking up their flutes and their drum. Afterward they sat down close to their grandmother and continued playing and calling back [their brothers] with music and song, intoning the song, called Hunahpú-Qoy.
At last, Hunbatz and Hunchouén came and began to dance; but when the old woman saw their ugly faces, she began to laugh, unable to control her laughter, and they went away at once and she did not see their faces again.
"Now you see, grandmother! They have gone to the forest. What have you done, grandmother of ours? We may make this trial but four times and only three are left. Let us call them [back
[147] Ca tzih ta ch'uxoc, literally, "that our word and command be fulfilled."
[148] Chi qui qux, literally, "in their hearts."
[149] Canté, yellow wood, Gliricidia sepium. A tree from the roots of which the Maya obtained a substance which yielded a yellow color, according to the Diccionario de Motul. In Yucatán it is known by the name Zac-yab, and in Central America as Madre de cacao. Standley, Flora of Yucatan.
[150] Ch'y quira y vex. Unfasten your trousers, or breechclout; probably a simple loin cloth similar to the maxtatl of the Mexican Indians and the ex of the Maya is meant here.
[151] The monkey of Hunahpú.
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