Papas Fritas

Hiya! This story is made by Pintosong. I made this story for school two or three years ago, and I'm rewriting it from memory.

It's about the Aztecs of Mexico, and their relationship with Chihuahuas. It has Nahuatl/Spanish words here and there, so I've put a glossary at the end, along with an index. I've put where I got the translations from.

The Making
A long time ago, in the land and time of the Aztecs, there was a God, Tlepitzalo, God of Animals. He watched over the wild animals of México, how they roamed the gorges and forests, and made sure they could survive in the wild. But there was one problem. The native people, the Aztecs, liked to eat chihuahuas, as they were easy to catch and had a nice taste.

Tlepitzalo had made chihuahuas to be companions of the people, but the people rejected them. He was sad, and sorry for the little creatures. So he made a plan.

The Aztecs knew that the patata plants were poisonous. However, the Goddess of Plants, Huatzinco, had once told Tlepitzalo that the plants grew delicious yellow roots, that were good for eating when cooked. Tlepitzalo created three little chihuahuas, a black, a brown and a white, named Tequitiaya, Iyolo and Zalo, respectively. He told them what to do.

The youngest, Zalo, dug up the patatas with his sharp claws, while Iyolo delicately made a basket. Tlepitzalo placed the patatas in the basket, gave it to Iyolo, and set them on their way.

The Journey
The furry spirit dogs walked in the direction of Tenochtitlan, with the blessing of Tlepitzalo hanging around them, warding off danger. They wove among trees for hours, and eventually found themselves in a dried-up ravine, and stayed in a crevace in the rocky wall until the next day.

They crept through the ravine until the ground levelled out up to the surface. Then swam across a wide river, Iyolo keeping the basket afloat with her nose. It took a long time for her to get out of the river, and it tired her, whereas Tequitiaya and Zalo had gotten out much earlier. Iyolo explained, "I'm too exhausted to hold the basket." The leader, Tequitiaya, looked up at the sky. It was only midday! They had to move on, and there was no place to rest. The chihuahuas climbed up a steepish cliff and slumped, panting, at the top.

When they moved on, with Zalo holding the basket and the other two sniffing the air. Tequitiaya could smell it. Tenochtitlan! "We need to run!" Tequitiaya barked to his companions. Iyolo galloped away, with Tequitiaya on her tail. Zalo stumbled behind with he basket. Before long, Iyolo halted, brown fur bristling. Ahead was a small drop, but the ground was covered with sharp thorns. The chihuahuas didn't know this, but Mixcoatl, the God of Hunting, had placed the obstacle, as he loved to watch the Aztecs hunt the furry animals.

The three dogs carefully climbed down Tequitiaya jumped first, then caught Iyolo on his back. Next, it was Zalo's turn. The young white dog leapt. However, he misjudged his jump, and landed with his hind legs on Tequitiaya's back and the rest on the ground. He winced at the thorns piercing his chin. "Sorry." he mumbled to the black chihuahua, and slid off his back. Picking the basket back up, he followed Iyolo into the thorny forest. He gasped, for, after a while, the thorns had turned into blades of rock. One touch in the stomach could slice it open! The dogs tiptoed around the blades.

Since he was holding the basket, Zalo couldn't see what was directly in front of him. He knew that he shouldn't step, unless he wanted a missing foot, so he shuffled, his paws just skimming the ground. His paw hit the flat side of a stone, and he tripped with a yelp. Thankfully, he wasn't cut, but the three of the four patatas had flown out of the woven basket and landed on the stones. They were cut into pieces. Tequitiaya picked up the fritas of papa and placed them back into the basket with the uncut one, while Iyolo helped Zalo up.

Tequitiaya decided that he would carry the basket on his back, and the dogs continued out of the blade valley.

After they got out, Zalo spotted a small bush. He checked inside, and it seemed to have a hollow middle. The dogs slept until morning came. When it did, they kept moving on, until...

"Tenochtitlan!" Iyolo barked excitedly. Indeed, all dogs could clearly see the beautiful city on the island in the middle of the lake. They ran towards it, yapping with joy, for their journey was over.

The Destination
The dogs carefully ducked their way through the city, making sure no one sure them. They walked past a man who was dragging a cream-furred chihuahua into a cage for later. The dog whined and mouthed to the travellers, ''"Go!" ''Tequitiaya flicked his tail at his two friends, telling them silently to follow him. Once out of sight, he growled quietly, "Once we've done this, that dog will be free. We need to succeed." The other two nodded. At the back of the city was a large clearing, with a platform in the middle. The three chihuahuas bounded onto the box and howled.

The whole city could hear them, and at once ran to the source of the sound, bringing spears and knives. They all gathered around the platform, astounded. The hunters at the front raised their knives, but Tequitiaya spoke, "Stop."

Everyone gasped. The dog just talked! He must be a messenger from the gods. They lowered their weapons. Tequitiaya talked again, "We have been sent by the God Tlepitzalo. We have a message."

"You have hunted us," Iyolo reprimanded the people, "killed us, and eaten us."

Little Zalo padded forward, "Chihuahuas were made to be companions, not food, or game. To show our loyalty, we have brought a gift." Tequitiaya held up the basket, as Zalo added, "The sweet root of patatas."

One of the most respected peoples of Tenochtitlan, Macehuallahtol, who was called Nochtlacaquenyeh, walked forwards and stared into the grass basket. Tequitiaya raised his furry head to the afternoon sky and murmurred, "Please, Xonacatl, kind Goddess of Flames, gift us with fire." The large pile of branches behind them lit up with burning flames. Zalo carefully placed the papas fritas next to the fire, as Nochtlacaquenyeh held up the full patata that didn't get cut by the rocks. It still had the rest of the plant attached. The people grew wary. They had always been poisoned by these plants!

The fritas had grown golden brown, and Iyolo picked them up in her paws and brought them over. Nochtlacaquenyeh heard the people muttering, and said, "You eat them first, to prove they're okay. The chihuahuas nodded and picked up one each in their mouths, chewed and swallowed. The people were amazed. Each grabbed a papa frita, broke it up into pieces, and passed the pieces on to their friends to eat.

Every person let the living prisoner chihuahuas free, and the dogs thanked the spirits, who smiled. The cream-furred dog they saw before insisted on staying with them, wherever they went. And where did they go? The leader of Tenochtitlan, Gayetahtoton, let them stay with him.

The Aztecs respected the chihuahuas, and let them stay in their houses, fed them, and kept them comfortable after that. When the three chihuahuas passed on, they rose to join Tlepitzalo in the forest, and became gods. Tequitiaya was the God of The Mind, Iyolo the Goddess of Kindness, and Zalo became the God of Courage.

And that's the story of Papas Fritas.

Glossary
Papas Fritas - Spanish for "potato chips" Google Translate

Papa Frita - Spanish for "potato chip" Google Translate

Patata - Spanish for "potato" Google Translate

Frita - Spanish for "chip" Google Translate

Tlepitzalo - Nahuatl for "fire is lit" English to Nahuatl

Huatzinco - Nahuatl for "morning" English to Nahuatl

Tequitiaya - Nahuatl for "he was giving them orders" English to Nahuatl

Iyolo - Nahuatl for "her heart" English to Nahuatl

Zalo - Nahuatl for "learn" English to Nahuatl

Mixcoatl - Nahuatl for "cloud serpent" Aztec Gods

Xonacatl - Nahuatl for "onion" English to Nahuatl

Macehuallahtol - Nahuatl for "our language" English to Nahuatl

Nochtlacaquenyeh - Nahuatl mixture of nochtlaca (everybody), quen (like) and yeh (him) English to Nahuatl

Gayetontoton - Nahuatl for "cookies" English to Nahuatl

Index
Nahuatl - language of the Aztecs English to Nahuatl

Tlepitzalo - made-up God of Animals

Huatzinco - made-up Goddess of Plants

Tequitiaya - black spirit chihuahua

Iyolo - brown spirit chihuahua

Zalo - white spirit chihuahua

Tenochtitlan - largest city-state in México; now Mexico City

Mixcoatl - real God of Hunting

Xonacatl - made-up Goddess of Flames

Macehuallahtol - respected man's real name

Nochtlacaquen - respected man's nickname