Epilogue
T
he moon rises over a girl and her father as they walk on a path down a mountain. The girl points to the moon, and her father’s eyes follow. Their heads tilt to the right. There, there it is, the girl says. The rabbit in the moon.
In Yucuyoo, an old woman with two long braids watches the sky, humming as she takes down clothes from the line. An old man in a palm hat walks to her and puts his arm to her back. He points to a tree branch where a heron, glowing white in the moonlight, is spreading its wings. It rises up and flies across the cornfield.
By a small house, the heron alights on a tree branch. It listens to the song of a boy who sits on the stoop, a guitar on his knees. He strums and sings and watches the heron watching him.
The moonlight bathes them all tonight, its invisible threads moving over them, moving between them, moving inside them.
G
LOSSARY
S
PANISH
E
NGLISH
¿A
QUÉ HORA REGRESAS?
(ah KAY OH-rah rrray-GRES-ahs)
What time will you be back?
A
BUELITA
(ah-bway-LEE-tah)
Grandmother
A
BUELO
(ah-BWAY-lo)
Grandfather
A
DIÓS
(ah-dee-OHS)
Goodbye
A
DOBE
(ah-DOH-bay)
A material for building houses, made of clay, mud, straw, stones, and corncobs
¡Á
NIMO!
(AH-nee-moh)
Have courage! Cheer up!
B
AÑO DE
T
EMAZCAL
(BAHN-yoh day tay-mahs-CAHL)
An herbal steambath dating to pre-Hispanic times
B
UENAS NOCHES
(BWAY-nahs NOH-chess)
Good night
B
UENAS TARDES
(BWAY-nahs TAR-dess)
Hello/good afternoon
B
UENOS DÍAS
(BWAY-nohs DEE-ahs)
Hello/good morning
B
URRO
(BOO-rrro)
Donkey
C
ARRIZO
(ka-RRREE-soh)
A bamboo-like reed that is a healing plant
C
HILE
(CHEE-lay)
Hot chile pepper
C
HIVO
(CHEE-voh)
Goat
C
OMAL
(coh-MAHL)
Clay plate for cooking over a fire
C
OPAL
(coh-PAHL)
Sacred incense made from tree sap
D
OMICILIO
C
ONOCIDO
(doh-mee-SEE-lee-oh coh-noh-SEE-doh)
“Address Known”—In some small villages, there are no street names or numbers. The mail carrier knows where everyone in the village lives.
D
ON
(Dohn)
Mr. (a title of respect)
D
OÑA
(DOHN-yah)
Mrs. (a title of respect)
E
SPÉRATE
(ay-SPAIR-ah-tay)
Wait
F
IESTA
(fee-ESS-tah)
Party
G
RACIAS
(GRAH-see-ahs)
Thank you
G
UAPA
(GWAH-pah)
Beautiful
H
ASTA LUEGO
(AHS-tah loo-AY-goh)
See you later
H
IERBA AMARGA
(YAIR-bah ah-MAR-gah)
Bitter herb
H
IERBA BUENA
(YAIR-bah BWAY-nah)
Good herb (in the mint family)
H
OLA
(OH-lah)
Hi
H
UELE DE
N
OCHE
(WAY-lay day NOH-chay)
“Smells at Night”—a tree with flowers that are fragrant at night
H
UESERO
(way-SAIR-o)
Bone doctor
H
UIPIL
(wee-PEEL)
Traditional woven or embroidered shirt or dress
L
IMPIA
(LEEM-pee-ah)
A spiritual cleaning with fresh herbs and flowers
L
ORO
(LOH-roh)
Parrot
M
ACHETE
(mah-CHEH-tay)
Long knife used for work in the fields
M
AL AIRE
(mahl AH-ee-ray)
Evil air; a sickness
M
ETATE
(meh-TAH-tay)
Grinding stone
M
EZCAL
(mess-KAHL)
Liquor made from maguey cactus
M
I AMOR
(mee ah-MORRR)
My love (affectionate term like “honey”)
M
I VIDA
(mee VEE-dah)
My life (affectionate term like “honey”)
M
IRA
(MEE-rah)
Look
M’
HIJA
(MEE-ha)
My daughter (affectionate term)
M
UCHACHA
(moo-CHAH-chah)
Maid, servant
M
UY BIEN
(MOOY bee-EN)
Very good
N
AGUAL
(NAH-wahl)
Someone who can transform into an animal
O
AXACA
(wah-HA-kah)
A city and state in southern Mexico
P
ETATE
(peh-TAH-tay)
Woven palm mat
P
IRÚL
(pee-ROOL)
A healing plant
P
ITAYA
(pee-TY-ah)
A cactus fruit, red on the inside, with thorns on the skin
¿Q
UÉ DECIDISTE?
(KAY deh-see-DEES-tay)
What did you decide?
Q
UESADILLA
(kay-sah-DEE-yah)
Tortilla with melted cheese
R
UDA
(RRROO-dah)
A strong-smelling herb used fresh in
limpias
S
AUCO
(SAH-oo-koh)
A healing plant
S
EÑORA
(sen-YOH-rah)
Lady/Mrs.
S
EÑORITA
(sen-yor-EE-tah)
Miss
S
OMBRERO
(som-BRAIR-oh)
Woven palm hat
T
AMAL
(tah-MAHL)
Cornmeal, chiles, cheese, and meat wrapped in a banana leaf or corn husk
T
ORTILLA
(tor-TEE-yah)
Flat, circular bread made from cornmeal and water
Y
A, VÁMONOS
(YAH VAH-moh-nos)
Let’s go
Y
O SOLO Y MI ALMA
(YOH SOH-loh ee mee AHL-mah)
Just me and my soul
M
IXTECO
E
NGLISH
People speak different kinds of Mixteco from region to region and even from village to village. So if you ever meet people who speak Mixteco, you’ll notice that they might have different ways of saying things, depending on where they’re from.
Mixteco is a tonal language. This means, for example, that a word can change meanings depending on whether your voice goes up or down or stays at a middle tone on each syllable. Here is a simplified pronunciation guide that doesn’t indicate syllable accents or tones.
I
TA
(ee-tah)
Flower
I
TA TIKUVA
(ee-tah tee-koo-vah)
Butterfly flower
I
TA TINDOO
(ee-tah teen-dohh)
A healing plant (
sauco
in Spanish)
I
YO VA’A NII
(ee-zhoh vah-ah neee)
I’m fine
N
AJA IYO NUU?
(nah-hah ee-zhoh noooo)
How are you?
N
A KA’AN NO’O ÑUU SAVI?
(na kah-ahn noh-oh nyoooo sah-vee)
Do you speak Mixteco?
N
ANA
(nah-nah)
Mother
N
KU TA’A VINI
(nkoo tah-ah vee-nee)
Thank you
Ñ
UU SAVI
(nyoooo sah-vee)
Mixteco (literally, “the Place of Water”)
T
A’NU
(tah-noo)
Grandfather
T
ON KUAA
(ton kwaah)
Good evening
Y
UKU NUXI
(yoo-koo noo-she)
Sap herb
Y
UKU KUAA
(yoo-koo kwaah)
Night herb
Y
UKU TAXINI
(yoo-koo tah-shee-nee)
A healing herb (
pericón
in Spanish)
Y
UKU TUCHI
(yoo-koo too-chee)
Bitter herb (
hierba amarga
in Spanish)
Y
UCUYOO
(yoo-koo yohoh)
Hill of the moon
OTHER YEARLING BOOKS YOU WILL ENJOY
THE FIRE-EATERS,
David Almond
SKELLIG,
David Almond
BINDI BABES,
Narinder Dhami
SWEET THANG,
Allison Whittenberg
ISABEL OF THE WHALES,
Hester Velmans
BEFIDDLED,
Pedro de Alcantara
AUTUMN STREET,
Lois Lowry
THE EGYPT GAME,
Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Published by Yearling, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books a division of Random House, Inc., New York
Copyright © 2006 by Laura Resau
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law. For information address Delacorte Press.
Yearling and the jumping horse design are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Visit us on the Web!
www.randomhouse.com/kids
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at
www.randomhouse.com/teachers
eISBN: 978-0-375-84927-5
v3.0