Los Indios

The Song of Coquí
Many, many years ago, when the earth was still covered with trees and green and flowering plants, and the animals lived together in peace, the islands of the Caribbean were ruled by la cotorra, the parrot, La Iguaca. Queen Iguaca was a wise and caring ruler, but she was saddened by what she saw in her native island of Puerto Rico.
The animals of Puerto Rico had grown fat andlazy.
Anole the lizard had grown so large, he could no longer climb trees. He could only waddle under the ferns and lie on his back in the shade of a palm.
Boa the snake was as thick as a tree trunk and twice as long. She spent her days coiled around a branch, sleeping or nibbling on sweet, tender leaves.
Sapo Concho, the giant toad, was a big as a bull. And Toro the bull was larger still.
Butthe saddest of all were the tree frogs. Their once-slender bellies had gotten rounder and rounder, till their tiny toes barely touched the ground. Even El Duende, the tiniest of the tree frogs, could no longer hop or climb--he could only roll . . . plop, roll . . . plop, roll . . . plop beneath the ferns.
The island no longer resounded with the song of the birds or the croak of the frogs orwhispered with slithering snakes.
No one had the energy to run and play.
No one wished to sing and dance.
And certainly, no one wanted to work.
The only thing the animals would do was eat and sleep.
Queen Iguaca worried over the fate of her beloved island. She consulted with the Day and the Night, the Moon and the Stars, the Sun and the Clouds. She spoke to the Sea and questioned the Earth. Sheflew from island to island in search of an answer.
At each island, La Iguaca watched the foxes run and the rabbits play.
She listened to the nightingales sing and marveled as the lizards danced.
And she saw the ants and other insects hard at work.
After each flight, the Queen returned home and thought and thought and thought. How could she bring Life back to her island?
Then one day, when theSun was in good cheer and not a Cloud marred the Sky, El Viento spoke to La Iguaca: "Your Majesty, I have the answer for which Her Majesty has searched so far and suffered so long."
"Speak, wise Wind," said the Queen. "What is the answer?"
"Your Majesty must hold a race for all the animals to enter. And to win this race, they each must work hard and exercise to get in shape."
Queen Iguaca staredat the Wind as if it had suggested that the Queen fly upside-down. "But Viento, you cannot be serious! Have you seen Duende and the other tree frogs lately? Or Anole or Boa or Sapo Concho? They can barely move. What makes you think they or any of the other animals would care to enter a race?"
"Because," El Viento replied, "Your Majesty will offer them a premio, a prize they cannot resist."
TheQueen threw back her head and laughed. "What type of premio can entice Anole from under his palm, uncoil Boa from her branch, or budge Sapo Concho from his mud hole? What can possibly tempt the tree frogs away from the ferns?"
The Wind whirled and swirled and whistled around the Queen. Then it died down and whispered in her ear.
La Iguaca fanned her stubby tail. Her short head feathers fluffedup, and her eyes glowed red with excitement. She strutted back and forth, toe over toe, as she thought over El Viento's words.
"Sí," she said with a flap of her wings. "Sí, it might work. We shall do it!"
And so Cotorra La Iguaca, Queen of the Animals, announced to everyone on the island that a race would be held in one month and that the winner would receive a very special prize. But the natureof the prize would remain a secret until the race was won.
"A secret prize!" cried the animals. "A wonderful, special, secret prize!"
Excitement spread through the island. Each animal tried to guess what the prize might be. Anole guessed that the winner would receive daily tummy rubs. Boa thought long, tender vines of seaweed from the bottom of the Sea would be the perfect prize. She had never...