From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. Laval
Part 2 – Myths, Traditions, Things (Mitos, Tradiciones, Casos)
049. La Cuca (The Cuca)
(D. Francisco Vásquez, 1911.)
An old lady who lived in Cordillera Province told this story to the grandmother of the boy Vásquez, who [in turn] told me this and many other stories, that there was a monster in Cordillera, half woman, half cow, who always walked with her head covered, in such a way that her face could not be seen. They called her the Cuca. She entered houses, took sleeping people out of their beds and placed them in another faraway site, without causing them any harm.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Cuca – (currency) peseta; (vulgar) pussy; (cockroach) roach; (culinary) cookie
Tapar – (to cover up) to cover, to block, to hide, to fill, to wrap up; (to close) to put the lid on, to put the top on; (to obstruct) to block; (to conceal) to cover up; (dentistry) to fill
Taparse – (to cover yourself) to cover up, to wrap up, to cover; (to become obstructed) to get blocked up
Causar – (to give rise to) to cause, to arouse, to give