blanca

Children's Corner

Once upon a time there was a very happy man. He was the ruler of the world and he had a wife that was very beautiful. Even though she was not as royal as he, he loved her very much. This man was the Sky Lord and his wife was the Earth Mother. Many years went by, and one day they had a beautiful daughter. Her hair was as black as ebony, her mouth was a red as fire and her skin was as white as snow. They decided to call her Ixtaccihuatl (Snow White or Blanca Nieva). One day when Ixtaccihuatl was very young, her Earth Mother died. The Sky Lord was very dark and sad for a long time. A great cloud covered his starry face.

Nevertheless, Sky Lord realized that his lovely daughter needed a mother who was as royal as he. He looked high and low and finally found a lady dressed in iridescent blues and greens like a peacock. This lovely lady lit up his face and made it happy and starry-eyed again. Her name was Returning Beauty.

However, this lovely lady was vain and pompous. She knew she was of royal blood and she was beautiful. She also knew that Ixtaccihuatl was beneath her regal station. Nearby, there was a magic mirror. (We would call the mirror, Lake Texcoco) Returning Beauty would preen in front of the mirror every day.

One day, as she was admiring her glistening clothes, she asked the mirror, "Mirror, who is the most beautiful of all?" She did not really expect an answer, and the mirror said nothing. But Returning Beauty saw the image of Ixtaccihuatl in the mirror. She raged across the sky until she met the Hunter, Orion. He would help her destroy Ixtaccihuatl.

Orion, the Hunter knew about Ixtaccihuatl. He knew that she loved all the animals and protected them. He knew that she fed the people and helped to clothe them. She was a kind and gentle mountain. He promised the Queen that he would take Ixtaccihuatl. He would not promise to kill her. The Queen Returning Beauty assumed nothing. "Bring me her heart when it is finished." She told the Hunter.

Orion told Ixtaccihuatl that the Queen wanted to destroy her. He could do nothing for her but he would let her live. It was up to her to find her own way. Ixtaccihuatl thanked the hunter and covered herself with trees. The Hunter returned to the Queen with Capella (Alpha Aurigae) the treasure chest. In it was the heart of a boar. The Queen was pleased and went her way across the heavens.

It was not long before Ixtaccihuatl discovered Seven Little Mountains filled with treasures around her. Together, they had a happy life. The land prospered.

Many years later, Returning Beauty came upon her magic mirror again. Her clothing was still resplendent, but she was many years older. Again she asked the mirror, "Who is the most beautiful in the kingdom?" Again, without saying a word, the mirror showed the Queen, the image of Ixtaccihuatl. The Queen became very angry. As an old woman, she was able to offer Ixtaccihuatl a rosy, red apple. But this apple was a very bad apple. (In Aztec lore, the apple was a ball of feathers [fire] that fell from the sky) Ixtaccihuatl went to sleep and the country was not happy any more.

As the princess slept, because surely she had not died, a great prince was born. His name was Popocatepetl. Nearby was his white horse, the mountain Nevada de Toluca. Popo fell in love with the beautiful sleeping princess. He wished that he had arrived sooner. Many years he sat by her side, until one day, he decided to smoke and rumble. He saw that it woke up the princess. She coughed up the apple that had clogged her rivers, and when the people looked at the rivers, they found there was gold glittering on the bottom. It was a gift from the princess.

For many years, Popo and Ixtaccihuatl lived happily with the people and the animals. However, one day, Queen Returning Beauty flew by the lake again. The Queen asked the lake the same question and received the same picture in the water. By this time, the Queen was very old and very ugly. She still had beautiful clothes but the people recognized her as the comet that caused many tears in the land. The Queen became very, very angry and brought a great fire wind to the land; she also sent many stars to battle with the land. Popo shot arrows of fire, the Seven small mountains also shot stones and arrows into the skies against the evil Queen. The Queen fled; on her feet were great shoes of iron that burned and burned. Finally, she fell into the Ocean Sea and died. Popo, and Queen Ixtaccihuatl lived happily ever after with the seven small mountains in the magic land of fruit and flowers.