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The Stories
1. this story is from the
Amazon
Indians Organization
The
native legend of the pink dolphin as told by Charito Ushiñahua.
The
Legend of the Pink Dolphin
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osita
was a young indigenous girl of 18, who lived in a house near the
banks of the mighty Amazon River. Every day she went to the river
to get water to bring back to her family’s home. One
evening at dusk while fetching water, she departed from her usual
habit and stood on the river bank watching the river current as
the sun set, seemingly hypnotized by the moving water.
Reassured by the calm current and the secluded bank, she
undressed, taking off her dress and dove into the river for a
refreshing swim. The constant stream of the water flowing round
her body distracted hear and she failed to notice another pair of
eyes secretly watching her from the river bank.
Suddenly, she shivered, overcome by the weird feeling that someone
was watching her. A young man standing on the muddy bank,
smiled and stared brazenly at her naked body. She became
embarrassed when she saw he was not averting his eyes but looking
into her eyes as if they knew each other. Spontaneously, as if
controlled by a sinister force, she stood up from the water
exposing her naked body and walked towards him. Her feet
moved in small, constant steps, pulling her towards the man whose
magnetism she could not resist and whose enchantment forced her to
fall into his arms, kissing him.
Rosita whispered to the stranger, “Who are you and where are you
from?” The man replied, “I am a fisherman from the river,”
all the while maintaining eye contact with her. “I would like to
be with you always. What is your answer, my beauty?”
“Yes,” she replied as if hypnotized. They spent the
night together, in passionate embrace, making love the entire
night.
From that night forward, they met every evening at sunset, and
spent the night together under the shinning stars and in the
secrecy of the dark night, making love.
Finally,
her father confronted her about where she was at night.
Although she was a simple and shy girl, she replied bravely to her
father, with the force of a woman in love, “I am in love with a
fisherman. We are both in love and we are going to get married.”
The father never seeing his young daughter react in such a way,
agreed to meet the fisherman and talk with him. Later that
night, the young fisherman came to Rosita's home and asked her
father for permission to marry his daughter. Knowing that his
daughter was in love with the mysterious fisherman, her father
reluctantly agreed and allowed the young fisherman to sleep with
his daughter in their hut.
As time when on, the young fisherman slept with Rosita every
night, but mysteriously left every morning before first light and
returned only after dusk. However one morning, Rosita’s lover
did not leave before sunrise as he always had previously and
remained sleeping in her bed after sunrise. Rosita awoke that
fateful morning, feeling a strange wet body at her side. She
opened her eyes and was shocked at what she saw in her bed and
screamed loudly.
Her father heard her scream and rushed into the room with his
shotgun to help his daughter. Incredibly, there was a pink river
dolphin in Rosita's bed and it was trying to get away, but could
not. Far from the water, the pink dolphin fell to the floor,
helplessly, unable to escape. Shocked, the father reached
for his shotgun and shot the pink dolphin in the head, ending the
dolphin's life.
After
that day, the young fisherman never returned and was never seen
again. Rosita was heart-broken that her lover had abandoned
her. Worse, she soon realized that he had gotten her
pregnant and that she would soon bear the mysterious fisherman's
baby.
Tragedy again struck when Rosita died during child birth. Despite
her best effort, the midwife that attended Rosita could not save
her life. However the baby lived, and to the shock of
everyone, the baby was not human, but instead a baby dolphin.
It seems that, in reality, the mysterious fisherman was not human,
but rather a “Bufeo Colorado,” a pink dolphin who had the
ability to transform himself into a human at night and had seduced
Rosita.
Native girls be advised! If a mysterious and seductive fisherman
appears to you by the river after dusk, do not let yourself be
deceived by his appearance. He is the “Bufeo Colorado,” a
magical being who can transform himself into a human at night and
only wants to steal the heart and soul of an innocent young girl.
The
native legend of the pink dolphin as told by Charito Ushiñahua.
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2. The Saucy Boy
by Hans Christian Andersen
(1835)
Once upon a time there was an old poet, one of those right good old poets.
One evening, as he was sitting at home, there was a terrible storm going on outside; the
rain was pouring down, but the old poet sat comfortably in his chimney-corner, where the
fire was burning and the apples were roasting. “There will not be a dry thread
left on the poor people who are out in this weather,” he said.
“Oh, open the door! I am so cold and wet through,” called a little child
outside. It was crying and knocking at the door, whilst the rain was pouring down and the
wind was rattling all the windows.
“Poor creature!” said the poet, and got up and opened the door. Before him stood
a little boy; he was naked, and the water flowed from his long fair locks. He was
shivering with cold; if he had not been let in, he would certainly have perished in the
storm.
“Poor little thing!” said the poet, and took him by the hand. “Come to me;
I will soon warm you. You shall have some wine and an apple, for you are such a pretty
boy.”
And he was, too. His eyes sparkled like two bright stars, and although the water flowed
down from his fair locks, they still curled quite beautifully.
He looked like a little angel, but was pale with cold, and trembling all over. In his hand
he held a splendid bow, but it had been entirely spoilt by the rain, and the
colors of
the pretty arrows had run into one another by getting wet.
The old man sat down by the fire, and taking the little boy on his knee, wrung the water
out of his locks and warmed his hands in his own.
He then made him some hot spiced wine, which quickly revived him; so that with reddening
cheeks, he sprang upon the floor and danced around the old man.
“You are a merry boy,” said the latter. “What is your name?”
“My name is Cupid,” he answered. “Don't you know me? There lies my bow. I
shoot with that, you know. Look, the weather is getting fine again—the moon is
shining.”
“But your bow is spoilt,” said the old poet.
“That would be unfortunate,” said the little boy, taking it up and looking at
it. “Oh, it's quite dry and isn't damaged at all. The string is quite tight; I'll try
it.” So, drawing it back, he took an arrow, aimed, and shot the good old poet right
in the heart. “Do you see now that my bow was not spoilt?” he said, and, loudly
laughing, ran away. What a naughty boy to shoot the old poet like that, who had taken him
into his warm room, had been so good to him, and had given him the nicest wine and the
best apple!
The good old man lay upon the floor crying; he was really shot in the heart.
“Oh!” he cried, “what a naughty boy this Cupid is! I shall tell all the
good children about this, so that they take care never to play with him, lest he hurt
them.”
And all good children, both girls and boys, whom he told about this, were on their guard
against wicked Cupid; but he deceives them all the same, for he is very deep. When the
students come out of class, he walks beside them with a book under his arm, and wearing a
black coat. They cannot recognize him. And then, if they take him by the arm, believing
him to be a student too, he sticks an arrow into their chest. And when the girls go to
church to be confirmed, he is amongst them too. In fact, he is always after people. He
sits in the large chandelier in the theatre and blazes away, so that people think it is a
lamp; but they soon find out their mistake. He walks about in the castle garden and on the
promenades. Yes, once he shot your father and your mother in the heart too. Just ask them,
and you will hear what they say. Oh! he is a bad boy, this Cupid, and you must
never have anything to do with him, for he is after every one. Just think, he even shot an
arrow at old grandmother; but that was a long time ago. The wound has long been healed,
but such things are never forgotten.
Now you know what a bad boy this wicked Cupid is.
3. The Fairies' Hill: Scotland
from D.L. Ashliman
There is a green hill above Kintraw, known as the Fairies' Hill, of which the
following story is told.
Many years ago, the wife of the farmer at Kintraw fell ill and died, leaving two or three
young children. The Sunday after the funeral the farmer and his servants went to church,
leaving the children at home in charge of the eldest, a girl of about ten years of age. On
the farmer's return the children told him their mother had been to see them, and had
combed their hair and dressed them. As they still persisted in their statement after being
remonstrated with, they were punished for telling what was not true.
The following Sunday the same thing occurred again. The father now told the children, if
their mother came again, they were in inquire of her why she came. Next Sunday, when she
reappeared, the eldest child put her father's question to her, when the mother told them
she had been carried off by the "Good People" (Daione Sìth), and could only get
away for an hour or two on Sundays, and should her coffin be opened it would be found to
contain only a withered leaf.
The farmer, much perplexed, went to the minister for advice, who scoffed at the idea of
any supernatural connection with the children's story, ridiculed the existence of
"Good People," and would not allow the coffin to be opened. The matter was
therefore allowed to rest. But, some little time after, the minister, who had gone to
Lochgilphead for the day, was found lying dead near the Fairies' Hill, a victim, many
people thought, to the indignation of the Fairy world he had laughed at.
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