The Turtle and the Jaguar

Bey, a good Huaroni friend, and better hunter, told me one his grandpa´s stories. 

A tortoise (Geochelone denticulata) comes across a jaguar. The tortoise collapses into its shell.

The jaguar aks the tortoise: “Can I see your head?”

The tortoise responds: “Only if you let me see your tongue.”

The suspicious jaguar insists: “Nooooo…first I want to see you head”.

And so forth.

Finally, a weary jaguar opens its mouth and sticks out its tongue. “After all, what can I lose?” the jaguar thinks.

The tortoise urges the jaguar: “I can’t see it very well, open it wider.” The jaguar obliges, until its mouth is wide open, and its eyes are closed shut.

At that point, the tortoise nimbly walks into the mouth, down the throat, and into the belly (“ la tripa” in Spanish, literally, the innards).

The jaguar, choking, tries to spit the tortoise out. The tortoise safely installed in the “tripa” patiently begins biting his way out. The jaguar rolls and roars in pain. He claws at his own belly, to no avail.

After a long and tortuous agony, the little tortoise calmly walks out of the jaguar´s bloody carcass.

Come listen to the story from Bey in person: a wise, quiet hunter of almost sixty. Visit www.huaorani.com. For a 5-10% chance of spotting jaguar visit www.perunature.com.