PARSONS] ISLETA, NEW MEXICO 425 



TALES OF WITCHCRAFT 



33. The Devil's Daughter'^ (L^ekurude'" Berpiu) 



A man and a woman were living at ToailuKai, elk old there; i. e., 

 village. They had a son, Pabii. His father had a grape arbor. The 

 boy used to tend to it. They made lots of wine. He used to drink, 

 and was always drunk. So at last his father thought he woidd destroy 

 the grape \nnes, since his son drank too much. Then, after the vines 

 were destroyed, the boy would go to the village to look for wine and 

 to sell whatever his father had — cattle, horses, goats. His father 

 worried about it and he got sick and died. His mother worried 

 about it and she died. Then Pabu sold everything, land, horses, 

 everytliing for drink, and he became poor, and nobody in the village 

 wanted him around. He had only one little room mth nothing in it 

 but a sheep pelt to lie on. He stayed there three days without food. 

 Then he decided to leave the village. He crossed the river and began 

 to walk out in the bosque (woods). He began to think that if 

 Lfpkurude would come aroimd he would ask him for work. As he was 

 talking to himself, Lfekurude came out of the wood and said, "Owa 

 kulade (boy young), where are you going?" He said he was looking 

 for work. La?kurude asked what he had been thinking about. He 

 said he would tell him the truth, that he had been thinking that if 

 Laekurude would come, he would ask him for work. "Well, young 

 boy, if you want a job, I will give you some work. What can you 

 do?" "I can do anything, sweep, or anything." "All right. You 

 come with me; but before we go, promise me you will do the work I 

 will give you." "Yes, the best I can." "If you do not do what I 

 give you to do, what wiU you pay me?" "I wiU give you my life. 

 And what will you give me if I do the work?" "All that you need 

 in this world." Then they made a contract. Laekurude said, "I 

 have my buggy there. Let's go." 



The buggy was made out of silver and gold, and he had a pair of 

 white horses. "Well, young boy, get in, we'll go." They were fly- 

 ing along, in the air. And the young boy said to Laekurude, "Have 

 you any whiskey (paieu, water burn)?" "Yes. I will give you 

 some." He gave him a bottle. They were going all one day, that 

 was one year, one year of travel in one day. So at last they reached 

 the top of a big mesa, where Lspkurude lived with his wife and three 

 daughters. AMien they got there, he said, "We are home, get down. 

 I will give you a place to stay." They arrived before sunset. He 

 said to him his oldest daughter would come and give him supper. 



IS This was the narrator's own title. 



'• 1/86, burn; kurude, a yellow Hower. The term is translated devil. 



6066°— 32 28 



