Mother Corn Guides the Deserted Child to her People

MOTHER CORN ^11a GUIDES THE DESERTED CHILD TO HER PEOPLE ¹²

The people were living at the Place of the Lion (Old Pueblo). The people went south from there and they left a little girl behind

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them. They put a mother corn by her side to guard her. The Corn Mother spoke and said "My little daughter, we are all alone. Don't cry any more; we will follow them and see if we can overtake them. Maybe your mother doesn't love you, for she left you behind." They went up and they followed the tracks of the people. Corn Mother said, "Take care of me, keep tight hold so as not to drop me. If you lose me, where will you go? There will be nobody to guide you." "All right." She put Corn Mother under her dress.

They came to a rocky place on the edge of an arroyo. As she climbed down, she dropped Corn Mother. One grain was knocked out. She picked her up, but Corn Mother could not speak any more. The little girl cried, for Corn Mother could not speak to her any more. "Where shall I go?" she cried, "for Corn Mother does not speak any more. I have killed her." Chipmunk came down; he heard her crying and said to her, "What is the matter? Why are you crying?" "I dropped Corn Mother, and I have killed her; she does not speak to me." "Don't worry, for I will get the grain for you so that she will be able to speak." "This is the place where I dropped her." He climbed down into the crack and came up with the kernel. When he came out he asked her for Corn Mother. She gave her to him and he put the grain back in place. Corn Mother spoke again. "Thank you! Thank you!" said the little girl, "for finding my mother." "Now you must go on your journey. Take care of Corn Mother, keep good hold of her and do not drop her again." They kept on going. The girl asked, "Where are we going?" "We are getting almost to Sandia." They went on until they crossed into Mexico and there they found their people. They got to that place where there was a temple made of Rainbow and Lightning with lions lying side by side. The little girl found her own mother. Her mother did not even remember that she had left a little girl behind her in Old Pueblo.

VARIANT: "TURKEY MOTHER" ⁴

The people were living at the Rito de los Frijoles. They left that place and came to Old Cochiti (on the mesa). They left a girl behind them with the turkeys. She said to the turkeys, "My father and mother do not care for me any more; that is why they have left me all alone." She was Duck (Waiyuc) girl. She did not want to stay alone in that pueblo, and she went on with her turkeys. She came to Jemez. She said, "I will not join this pueblo because my father and mother do not love me. I will stay on the refuse pile." ¹³ She was crying. The people of Jemez saw her and they said, "Poor thing. [paragraph continues]

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Can't we take her into our pueblo with her turkeys?" They took her into their pueblo and she lived there.

Footnotes

77:11a So translated, but the native word throughout is kotona, perfect corn ear.

77:12 Informant 2. See Dumarest, 231. Notes, p. 228.

78:4 Informant 3. Notes, p. 229.

78:13 The Interpreter said, "Like Cinderella."