Hunahpu and Xbalanque Grow

Ratazana comum / Rat (Rattus norvegicus), originally uploaded by Armando Caldas.

From the Popol Vuh:
Remember the young god brothers, Hunahpu and Xbalanque? They set out to make a cornfield for their grandmother and their mother, since their older brothers were now monkeys and couldn't help out anymore. They took gardening equipment, but also their blowguns. Would they work or would they entertain themselves with a lovely day of blowgunning?
Well, as soon as they stuck a hoe into the ground, it magically worked the earth for them. As soon as they took an ax to fell a tree, it magically felled all the trees. The shovel dug up all the brambles. The woods were ready to cultivate.
The boys wanted their grandmother to see them working when she came to bring lunch. So they had a dove go to the top of a tree to signal them with a song. They, of course, spent the morning fooling around with the blowguns. When the signal came, the boys rubbed dirt and debris on themselves. The grandmother saw that they had been working hard. They played it for all it was worth, and rested from their labor when they got home.
Woops! When they returned to the field the next day it had again become a tangled woods. They suspected the animals. They again felled the trees and went home to complain to their grandmother over the hard work. Later they came back to watch over the field at night. Sure enough, the animals came out and called to the trees and brambles to return.
Hunaphu and Xbalanque tried to capture the animals. The puma and jaguar got away. The deer and rabbit, they could only catch by the tails and pull them off (that's why deer and rabbit have small tails). The other animals escaped and the brothers were very angry.
A rat happened by. They caught him, and began to take out their fury on him. They even burned his tail in a fire (so now rats have no hair on their tails). The rat said, "loosen me and I will tell you a secret". Fine. "Your father and uncle, before they met their deaths in Xibalba, hid all their sporting equipment in the attic of your grandmother's house. The ring, gloves and rubber ball are still there, but your grandmother won't tell you because she is afraid of you boys playing ball."
The brothers were thrilled at the news. They plotted to bring the rat home with them and have him go up and get the equipment while they distracted the grandmother by eating dinner. In the shiny bowl of chili sauce, they could see the rat going up and getting what they so wanted. The boys were now ready to play ball.


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