Post by jadedsage on Sept 7, 2004 14:20:44 GMT -5
Posted on Sun, Sep. 05, 2004
an Aztec tale
Once upon a time and long ago, on the banks of the Great Lake in the Valley of Mexico, there lived a young girl named Yoloxochitl, Red Flower. She was daughter of the ruler of the Red Kingdom, where the sun rose each day.
One day the lovely princess, who often was lonely, walked to the banks of the Great Lake. There she stood observing the kingdoms to the north and west and east, where mountains rose into the sky. She smiled, enjoying the beauty of this place and of the day. But in her heart she felt only sadness. She longed for love.
When the princess came upon an abandoned reed boat, she stepped inside and paddled to the middle of the lake. When at long last the peaks of the western White Kingdom began to shimmer under the setting sun, she knew she must head home. But suddenly she heard a beautiful, strong voice coming from the shore.
Without thinking, she paddled toward the sound.
There she saw a handsome young man, a son of the White Kingdom, dressed in a cape of white feathers. As he saw her approach the shore, he stood and bowed.
"I am Tepetl," he said. "Strong Mountain, prince of the White Kingdom."
The two began to talk and the evening quickly passed. When their hands touched briefly, their hearts instantly were touched as well. They looked at each other with love.
"Marry me," Tepetl said. Red Flower, flushed with love, agreed.
Together they climbed toward the White Palace to announce their plan.
To Tepetl's astonishment, his father, the White King, was furious. "You may not have my permission," he told his son. "You should have first introduced this girl to me if you wished to marry her."
Tepetl turned on his father. "I will leave, then," he said, and he and the princess returned to their boat and paddled to the Red Kingdom. Surely Red Flower's father would bless this marriage.
And so they went to see the Red King, but when her father heard that they had decided to marry without the White King's approval, he too refused their request. "Go back to your kingdom," he said to Tepetl, "and leave my daughter alone."
Now Red Flower rebelled. They ran back to the Great Lake, and in their boat, they decided to travel north to the Black Kingdom. "I know the prince there," Tepetl promised his beloved. "The king will welcome us."
When they arrived in the northern kingdom, the Black King, hearing their tale, shook his head. "We are warriors," he told the lovers. "If your fathers do not approve of your marriage, they might make war on us."
The two sadly returned to their boat.
"Let us go to the Blue Kingdom in the south," said Red Flower. There everything was painted the color of an exquisite sky, and the people were known for their hospitality.
They reached the Blue Kingdom at midnight. The Blue King greeted them warmly, but when he heard their tale, he frowned. "You may rest here, of course. But I cannot allow you to live as prince and princess here. My own children would be jealous. Trouble would follow."
Tepetl and Red Flower thanked the Blue King and returned to their boat. For a while they paddled in silence.
"Let me take you to my favorite place," Red Flower said at last, and they paddled toward the east and pulled ashore on the sands of the Red Kingdom.
In the still-dark morning, they climbed the long slope to the far eastern edge of the kingdom. In the gap between two mountains, Red Flower stopped, turned to Tepetl and smiled. "This is my place of peace," she said.
"It is the most beautiful place in the world," Tepetl agreed, as the approaching dawn began to gild the mountain peaks. There they sat to wait for morning. Soon Red Flower lay down to sleep, and Tepetl covered her with his cape. He sat watching over her.
Soon Tepetl noticed clouds rolling in over the lake, and suddenly out of those clouds stepped the great Aztec god, Feathered Serpent. He leaped from the sky, and as he did, he transformed himself into a bronzed warrior dressed in a white feathered headdress. He landed beside Tepetl, and the young man stood and bowed.
"Tepetl," said the god, "I heard your heart aching with pain. What has happened?"
"Please," Tepetl prayed, "make one of our fathers change his mind and invite us to live in his kingdom. We cannot live without each other."
Feathered Serpent cast his eyes down. "I am only a god," he said. "I can do many things, but I cannot change the hearts of men."
Tepetl was silent for a long time, staring down at sleeping Red Flower. "We must be together," he said. "Surely there is some way."
The god smiled sadly. "That is possible," he said solemnly.
And with those words, he stood tall. The feathers of his headdress shivered in the morning wind just as the sun burst into the sky.
Then Feathered Serpent raised his head into the white clouds, and he transformed once more into the magnificent plumage of the green serpent god. With his enormous tail, he pushed off the ground and rose into the clouds, and where once a gap in the mountains had stood, there now rose a new mountain in the shape of a sleeping woman covered in a blanket of snow.
"Ixtaccihuatl," the Aztecs called her, "Reclining Woman."
Beside this mountain rose a volcano, this in the shape of a kneeling man watching over the sleeping woman, holding a volcanic flame of eternal love.
"Popocatepetl," the Aztecs called this volcano, "Smoking Mountain."
And ever since that day, the two have sat side by side, taller and more lasting than any kingdom.
an Aztec tale
Once upon a time and long ago, on the banks of the Great Lake in the Valley of Mexico, there lived a young girl named Yoloxochitl, Red Flower. She was daughter of the ruler of the Red Kingdom, where the sun rose each day.
One day the lovely princess, who often was lonely, walked to the banks of the Great Lake. There she stood observing the kingdoms to the north and west and east, where mountains rose into the sky. She smiled, enjoying the beauty of this place and of the day. But in her heart she felt only sadness. She longed for love.
When the princess came upon an abandoned reed boat, she stepped inside and paddled to the middle of the lake. When at long last the peaks of the western White Kingdom began to shimmer under the setting sun, she knew she must head home. But suddenly she heard a beautiful, strong voice coming from the shore.
Without thinking, she paddled toward the sound.
There she saw a handsome young man, a son of the White Kingdom, dressed in a cape of white feathers. As he saw her approach the shore, he stood and bowed.
"I am Tepetl," he said. "Strong Mountain, prince of the White Kingdom."
The two began to talk and the evening quickly passed. When their hands touched briefly, their hearts instantly were touched as well. They looked at each other with love.
"Marry me," Tepetl said. Red Flower, flushed with love, agreed.
Together they climbed toward the White Palace to announce their plan.
To Tepetl's astonishment, his father, the White King, was furious. "You may not have my permission," he told his son. "You should have first introduced this girl to me if you wished to marry her."
Tepetl turned on his father. "I will leave, then," he said, and he and the princess returned to their boat and paddled to the Red Kingdom. Surely Red Flower's father would bless this marriage.
And so they went to see the Red King, but when her father heard that they had decided to marry without the White King's approval, he too refused their request. "Go back to your kingdom," he said to Tepetl, "and leave my daughter alone."
Now Red Flower rebelled. They ran back to the Great Lake, and in their boat, they decided to travel north to the Black Kingdom. "I know the prince there," Tepetl promised his beloved. "The king will welcome us."
When they arrived in the northern kingdom, the Black King, hearing their tale, shook his head. "We are warriors," he told the lovers. "If your fathers do not approve of your marriage, they might make war on us."
The two sadly returned to their boat.
"Let us go to the Blue Kingdom in the south," said Red Flower. There everything was painted the color of an exquisite sky, and the people were known for their hospitality.
They reached the Blue Kingdom at midnight. The Blue King greeted them warmly, but when he heard their tale, he frowned. "You may rest here, of course. But I cannot allow you to live as prince and princess here. My own children would be jealous. Trouble would follow."
Tepetl and Red Flower thanked the Blue King and returned to their boat. For a while they paddled in silence.
"Let me take you to my favorite place," Red Flower said at last, and they paddled toward the east and pulled ashore on the sands of the Red Kingdom.
In the still-dark morning, they climbed the long slope to the far eastern edge of the kingdom. In the gap between two mountains, Red Flower stopped, turned to Tepetl and smiled. "This is my place of peace," she said.
"It is the most beautiful place in the world," Tepetl agreed, as the approaching dawn began to gild the mountain peaks. There they sat to wait for morning. Soon Red Flower lay down to sleep, and Tepetl covered her with his cape. He sat watching over her.
Soon Tepetl noticed clouds rolling in over the lake, and suddenly out of those clouds stepped the great Aztec god, Feathered Serpent. He leaped from the sky, and as he did, he transformed himself into a bronzed warrior dressed in a white feathered headdress. He landed beside Tepetl, and the young man stood and bowed.
"Tepetl," said the god, "I heard your heart aching with pain. What has happened?"
"Please," Tepetl prayed, "make one of our fathers change his mind and invite us to live in his kingdom. We cannot live without each other."
Feathered Serpent cast his eyes down. "I am only a god," he said. "I can do many things, but I cannot change the hearts of men."
Tepetl was silent for a long time, staring down at sleeping Red Flower. "We must be together," he said. "Surely there is some way."
The god smiled sadly. "That is possible," he said solemnly.
And with those words, he stood tall. The feathers of his headdress shivered in the morning wind just as the sun burst into the sky.
Then Feathered Serpent raised his head into the white clouds, and he transformed once more into the magnificent plumage of the green serpent god. With his enormous tail, he pushed off the ground and rose into the clouds, and where once a gap in the mountains had stood, there now rose a new mountain in the shape of a sleeping woman covered in a blanket of snow.
"Ixtaccihuatl," the Aztecs called her, "Reclining Woman."
Beside this mountain rose a volcano, this in the shape of a kneeling man watching over the sleeping woman, holding a volcanic flame of eternal love.
"Popocatepetl," the Aztecs called this volcano, "Smoking Mountain."
And ever since that day, the two have sat side by side, taller and more lasting than any kingdom.