ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
moved its arms in the close quarters in which it found 
itself, and was able to seize the knife which it carried, 
in the most approved Bororo fashion, slung across its 
back. Armed with this, it split the jaguar’s belly and 
resumed its daily occupation of jumping from tree to 
tree.” 
I was able to record yet another strange legend on 
the preservation of fire. 
“ An otter,” said the legend, “ in days long gone by, 
had with great difficulty lighted a fire on the bank of a 
river. The sun first came to warm itself by the fire, and 
while the otter had gone on one of its aquatic expeditions, 
the moon arrived too. The sun and moon together, feeling 
in a mischievous mood, put out the fire with water not 
extra clean. Then they ran for all they were worth. The 
otter, feeling cold, came out of the water and, to its 
amazement, found the fire had been extinguished. 
“‘Who did it?’ cried the furious otter, wishing to 
kill whoever had put the fire out. While its anger was 
at its highest, the otter perceived a toad, which was accused 
of extinguishing the fire because its legs were as red 
as fire. 
“‘Do not kill me!’ appealed the toad. ‘Put your 
feet on my belly.’ The request was at once granted. 
The toad opened its mouth wide, and with the pressure 
of the otter’s paws upon its body, a burning coal was 
ejected from its interior anatomy. The otter spared the 
toad’s life in recognition of its services in preserving the 
fire. That is why the otter and the toad have been 
friends ever since.” 
It was not easy to collect legends from the Bororos, 
as only few of them were inclined to speak. The same 
legend I found had many variations, according to the 
more or less imaginative mind of the narrator. 
Here is an extraordinary explanation of the origin of 
lightning. 
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