From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. Laval
Part 1 – Magnificent Stories, Stories of Animals, Anecdotes (Cuentos maravillosos, Cuentos de animales, Anécdotas)
014. The Half Chick (El Medio Pollo)
(Told in 1906 by Polonia González, about 50 years old more or less, a native of Colchagua)
Know to tell and tell to know. There was a Hen who had laid a great many eggs and raised a great many chicks; once she laid twenty eggs of which nineteen hatched into chicks, but she became very depressed because she had lost one.
[Nguyen: there was a line in the original text that I do not know how to translate, and so I’ve kept it out of the English version here: “Est’era y esterita para secar peritas; est’era y esterones para secar orejones.” This is probably one of the nonsensical introduction to these folktales.]
So it was. The Hen kept checking back on that egg and learned that it was half empty, then she thought to herself:
If I try once more, at least a half (e.g. abnormal, atypical) chick would come out of it. -And so it was that a half chick hatched from the eggshell.
So it was. The Hen was very loving toward her children; but she loved the Half-Chick more than anyone, because she took pity on him, for each time she saw him it pained her to see that he could not fly, as he had only one little wing, and he could only hop around for he had but one little leg.
The Half-Chick grew up and the Hen was getting old, and could no longer work. Then the Half-Chick said to his mama:
Mama, give me your blessing because I’m going to travel the world and I won’t return until I have [amassed] enough for you to retire.
So it was. The Hen then gave her blessing to the Half-Chick and started to cry, and the Half-Chick started to hop his way around the world for he had but one little leg.
The Half-Chick traveled for many days without finding any work; and one day he was digging through a pile of leaves with his beak when he found a little golden orange, and he almost sh*t himself with delight and hid it underneath his little wing and thought: –If I take this to the King he’d give me lots of grains to bring back to my mama.
[Nguyen: note that I keep the vulgar language to reflect the original storyteller’s intention.]
So it was. He headed to the King’s palace and on the way he ran into a Muleteer who had with him a very large drove of mules and was coming back [in the opposite direction].
The Half-Chick then asked the Muleteer:
Where did you come from, my little Muleteer?
I have turned back -the Muleteer said- because the river has brought a lot of water and I decided to not cross over because the mules could drown if I do so.
Just watch me from where you are -the Half-Chick said to him- I am going to cross to the other side for I have to go meet the King.
Then the Muleteer told him:
Half-Chick, why don’t you take me along, together with my little mules?
That is fine -was what the Half-Chick said to him.
(Métete en mi potito) Get into my little pot
(y tráncate con un palito) And keep it open with a little rod.
And the Muleteer and all of his mules put themselves in the crop of the Half-Chick.
Very well. Then the Half-Chick arrived at the river, which was very wide from so much water that had been brought there, and he stopped at the river bank and began to think: –I cannot fly for I have but one little wing. What do I do? I am going to drink all the water so as to make the river dry and then I can go to the other side.
Then the Half-Chick drank all the water from the river and went over to the other side, and continued traveling for an entire day until he ran into a Tiger who was resting on a rock. The Half-Chick then said to him:
What are you doing there, my Tiger friend?
I have to go to where the King is -was what the Tiger said to him- and I am very tired. Why don’t you take me with you, Half-Chick?
That is fine -was what the Half-Chick said to him.
(Métete en mi potito) Get into my little pot
(y tráncate con un palito) And keep it open with a little rod.
And so then the Tiger put himself in the crop of the Half-Chick.
So it was. Then the Half-Chick was forced to put up with another day of travel, until he ran into a Lion who was lying on his side. Then the Half-Chick said to him:
What are you doing there, my Lion friend?
You have to do something for me, Half-Chick! -was what the Lion said to him.- I am so tired from so much walking and I have to go to the King’s house and I cannot do that anymore. Why don’t you take me with you, Half-Chick?
Very well -was what the Half-Chick said to him.
(Métete en mi potito) Get into my little pot
(y tráncate con un palito) And keep it open with a little rod.
And with trembles the Lion put himself in the crop of the Half-Chick.
The Half-Chick still had to travel for another day, until he ran into a Fox who was asleep under some trees. Then the Half-Chick said to him:
What are you doing there, my Fox friend?
And the Fox said to him:
Here I am, my friend, half way starving to death. I have not had even a cluster of grapes for many days now.
Then the Half-Chick said to her:
I will take you, my friend, to where the King is; maybe he will take pity on you and give you something to eat.
(Métete en mi potito) Get into my little pot
(y tráncate con un palito) And keep it open with a little rod.
So it was. The fox put herself in the crop of the Half-Chick and he continued on his travel until he reached the palace of the King. And when they took him to see the King, the Half-Chick said to him:
My King, my sovereign, I have come here from very far away to bring Your Majesty this golden orange, which is a gift that I have brought here for you.
Very well. Then the King grabbed the orange and told his pages to take the Half-Chick to the hen house so he could be with all his companions, and he ordered them to give him a lot of grains, and also a lot of wheat and corn, so that he could eat to his liking.
And then when they have left the Half-Chick in the hen house, all the roosters, hens and turkeys jumped on him to peck at him and they almost ate him alive. And then the Half-Chick, when he saw himself being bullied and those others wanting to overwhelm him, he went to a corner, pushed a little and so the Fox came out and ate all the roosters and all the hens and all the turkeys, and left not a single one alive, and then the Fox escaped to the Mountains [just beyond the King’s castle]; it was then that the Half-Chick ate all the grains.
So it was. The next day the pages went to the hen house to see if the Half-Chick had woken up, and they were all left in shock when they saw that the Half-Chick had eaten all the fowls, for they did not know that the Fox had eaten them; and then they all hurriedly went to the King and this is what they told him:
Sir, the Half-Chick had eaten all the fowls and did not leave even a single one alive.
Then this is what the King said:
Very well. What should I do with the Half-Chick then? I cannot kill him for he had brought me this gift.
And a page said to him:
If Your Majesty agrees, we’ll leave him in the pasture where all your horses and chariots are, and maybe the horses will kick him to death.
Very well, -was what the King said to them- ; but I forbid you to [directly] kill him.
And so they left him in the pasture.
And then, when the poor Half-Chick saw himself between the hooves of so many beasts, he became very frightened and moved himself closer to a corner, pushed a little and let the Lion out; and then the Lion ate all the horses and did not leave even a single one alive; and then the Lion escaped to the Mountains [just beyond the King’s castle].
So it was. Early in the morning that next day, the pages went over to see if the horses had killed the Half-Chick, and they almost fell on their backs when they saw the Half-Chick perching on a tree singing at the top of his lung, as if mocking them for he had eaten all of the horses. This is what they believed, because they did not know that the Lion had eaten them. And then they went running to the King and told him everything.
Very well. The King was greatly amazed at what he just heard and this is what he told them:
I cannot kill this Half-Chick who had brought me that golden orange as gift. You should know what to do with him, but I forbid you to [directly] kill him.
Very well. Then the senior page said this:
If Your Majesty wants, we can leave this Half-Chick in the pasture where the cows are and there they will surely kill him.
The King did not say anything; and they then left him in the pastures where the cows were.
So it was. The poor Half-Chick was grief-stricken as he was being surrounded by so many cows, and he didn’t know what to do because being greatly frightened he had forgotten that he still had the Tiger in his crop; and then out of sheer fear he let out a fart, and with that the lid opened and the Tiger got out from his crop and turned into a fearsome beast and ate all the cows; and then he escaped to the Mountains [just beyond the King’s castle].
Very early the next day, when the diuca finches had just woken up, the pages went to the pasture where the cows were and they almost died from disbelief when they saw that not a single one was left alive. And if not this, they would have died from rage when they saw the Half-Chick perching on a branch and was laughing at them and singing cucurucú! cucurucú!
So it was. Then they all furiously went to see the King, and this is what they told him:
Sir, you have to kill this Half-Chick, because he is possessed by the devil ; he has eaten all the cows in one night, and if we allow him to live he will eat us all.
Then the King said to them:
How can I kill this Half-Chick when he has brought me such a fine gift? I have already forbidden you all to kill him.
Well then, sir, -said the senior page- we will not kill him; but if Your Majesty is okay with it, we will throw him into the oven so he’d get roasted over the ember, because if not, he is going to eat us all.
Then those brutes threw the Half-Chick into the oven once it had heated up, and the poor thing almost sh*t himself from fear. He moved as close as he could to the mouth of the oven and began to think: –What am I to do now? If I let out a little fart then the wind would fan these flames and I’ll burn to death soon.
The poor thing’s feathers were already singeing.
So it was. The Half-Chick did not remember that he had put the River in his crop; but with the heat from the flames the water began to get agitated and his guts began to make rumbling sounds, and then, to his excitement, he remembered about the River and pushed with all his strengths, and so all the water suddenly rushed out and extinguished the fire.
And as it was also the time that the pages had come to check on him, not even a single one was left alive as they all drowned.
Then the Half-Chick went to see the King and said to him:
All of those wretches who wanted to kill me are dead.
Then the King, being very happy to see the Half-Chick alive, said to him:
I had forbidden my pages from killing you. And what are you going to do now, Half-Chick?
I will go back home if Your Majesty would give me the permission to do so -the Half-Chick told him- because I want to see my mamita, who will need to be taken good care of [for she’s very old now].
The King then ordered the steward to give the Half-Chick all the wheat that was in the granary, which was an awful lot of wheat; and then the Half-Chick pushed once more and the Muleteer with all of his mules came out and loaded up all the wheat.
Very well. When they arrived at his home, the Muleteer and the Half-Chick divided up the wheat between them like brothers would: they separated it into two equal piles and each held on to his part.
Then the Hen was very happy to see her Half-Chick once more, and she never had to work [another day] again.
And here the story ended and the wind carried it away.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Perita – (fruit) little pear; (botany) (Argentina) Roma
Orejón – dried peach, dried apricot
Ponedora – (referring to hens) laying
Sacadora – (player who serves) serving; (sports) server
Sacar – to make
Atingido – (And) (S. Cone) depressed; down-in-the-mouth; (débil) feeble, weak; timid; penniless
Huero – (lacking content) empty, vacuous; (medicine) blighted
Cuando menos – at least
Cascarón – (external covering) shell, eggshell
Cascar – (to smash) to crack, to break, to chip
Querendón – loving, affectionate
Saltito – little hop
Escarbar – (to excavate) to dig (deep), to scratch around in (superficially), to dig up (causing damage); (to remove matter from) to pick (one’s teeth or nose), to clean (one’s ears); (to stir fire) to poke; (to inquire into) to investigate
Cagarse – (to defecate) to shit oneself
Gusto – (sense) taste; (culinary) taste, flavor
Arriero – muleteer, mule driver
Recua – (group of pack animals) drove, train
Animarse – (to resolve) to decide; (to become more cheerful) to cheer up, to liven up, to brighten up
Trancarse – (to suffer from constipation) (southern cone) to be constipated; trancar – (to seal with bars) to bar; (to obstruct the path of) (Andes) to block in, to box in
Buche – (of an animal) crop (of bird), maw; (anatomy) belly; (swallow) mouthful, slug, shot
Topar – (to reach) to run into, to come to; (to consist) to lie
Endilgar – (to force to put up with) to saddle with, to foist on, to land with, to lumber with; (to deliver) to give, to land
Tiritar – to shiver, to tremble
Pila – (receptacle for water) sink, basin (of fountain), fountain (public water source); (heap) pile, stack; (large amount) loads, a ton
Gallinero – (place to keep hens) henhouse, coop
Pavo – turkey; (naive) silly
Picotear – (to hit with its beak) to peck, to peck at; (to snack on) to pick at; (to eat frequently) to nibble
Avasallar – (to subdue) to subjugate; (to dominate) to steamroller, to push around; (to prevail over) to overwhelm
Arrancarse – (to escape) (Chile) to get away, to run away
Claras – egg whites, whites
Cordillera – (geography) mountain range, mountain chain
Potrero – (land) (Latin America) pasture, field; (urban area of waste land) (South America) vacant lot used as a playground
Arrimar – to move closer, to move nearer, to bring closer
Alba – (time of day) dawn, daybreak
Pedo – (flatulence) fart
Asar – (culinary) to roast, to grill
Rescoldo – (cinder) ember
Lueguito – at once, right now, immediately; near, nearby
Chamuscar – (to damage) to scorch (skin, cloth, wood), to singe (hair, feathers), to burn (less superficially)
Alborotarse – (to get agitated) to get worked up, to get excited; (to get unruly) to riot; (to get choppy) to get rough; (to rise up) (Southern Cone) to rear up
Troje – granary, barn
Barbaridad – (too much, used with “una”) a fortune, way too much; (a great many, used with “de”) an awful lot of, lots of