260 Singing Valleys 



heads. One head they threw away; the other, that of the hand- 

 somer twin, they hung on a tree over which grew a gourd vine. 

 It was almost impossible to tell the head from the gourds. 



But not entirely impossible. Xquiq, the daughter of the 

 Master of the Underworld, discovered what she thought was 

 the most beautiful ripe gourd she had ever seen. She reached 

 to pluck it when suddenly it spoke, and spat into her hand. 



In this miraculous fashion the virgin Xquiq conceived, and 

 was with child by the dead. For six months she hid her condi- 

 tion from her father. Then concealment was no longer pos- 

 sible. The Master of the Underworld was enraged against his 

 daughter, and determined to do away with her and her shame. 

 He called for the four owls and bade them carry her away to 

 the upper world to die. When she was dead, the owls were 

 to tear out her heart and bring it back to him in a little vase 

 he gave them. 



The owls picked up Xquiq in their strong beaks and flew 

 with her to a forest in the upper world. They set her down 

 under a tree and took up their places on one of the limbs 

 to watch her die. 



"Look," said Xquiq. "It is going to take me a long time 

 to die. I am strong, and there are plenty of fruits here to 

 eat, and water to drink. You will get very tired sitting there 

 on that branch waiting." Then, cleverly, she bargained with 

 them: "I will make a heart out of the gum of the blood wort. 

 My father will not know it from mine. Carry it back to him 

 in the little vase, and save yourselves a long wait." 



The owls saw the advantage of this and agreed to Xquiq's 

 proposal. They took the vase with the bloodwort heart in it, 

 and flew away. Then Xquiq got up and walked out of the 

 wood. 



There was a house. A woman stood in the doorway, shading 

 her eyes with her hand, watching the flight of the four owls. 

 It was Xmucane. She saw at once the way it was with Xquiq, 

 and kindly asked her to come into her house to rest. 



The princess of the Underworld told her story, and for the 



