Around the World: Latin American Folktales: Stories from Hispanic and Indian Traditions by John Bierhorst

Latin American Folktales: Stories from Hispanic and Indian Traditions (Pantheon Fairy Tale & Folklore Library) by John Bierhorst is one of the best collections of Latin American folktales and is still available in print and also in ebook format. This one also has a Register of Tale Types and Selected Motifs in its appendices which is a boon to those looking for similar tale types.

Book description from the publisher:

The wisdom and artistry of Latin America's storytellers preserve one of the world's richest folktale traditions--combining the lore of medieval Europe, the ancient Near East, and pre-Columbian America. Among the essential characters are the quiet man's wife who knew the Devil's secrets, the tree daughters who robbed their father's grave, and the wife in disguise who married her own husband--not to mention the Bear's son, the tricksters Fox and Monkey, the two compadres, and the classic rogue Pedro de Urdemalas.

Gathered from twenty countries, including the United States, the stories are here brought together in a core collection of one hundred tales arranged in the form of a velorio, or wake, the most frequent occasion for public storytelling. The tales are preceded by a selection of early Colonial legends foreshadowing the themes of Latino folklore and are followed by a carefully chosen group of modern Indian myths that replay the basic stories in a contrasting key. Riddles, chain riddles, and folk prayers, part and parcel of the velorio along with folktales, are introduced at appropriate junctures.

The collection is unprecedented in size and scope, and most of the tales have not been translated into English before. The result is the first panoramic anthology of Hispano-American folk narratives in any language--meant to be dipped into at random or read straight through from "Once and twice makes thrice upon a time" to "They were happy as the dickens and ate chickens."

About the Author

John Bierhorst's books on Latin American lore include The Mythology of South America and The Mythology of Mexico and Central America. A specialist in the language and literature of the Aztecs, he is the translator of the Cantares Mexicanos and the author of a Nahuatl-English dictionary. He currently serves as an editor of The Norton Anthology of World Literature an has received grants and fellowships from the Americas Society, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Table of Contents

. Preface. .
. Introduction. 3.
. Prologue: Early Colonial Legends. 19.
1. Montezuma / Nahua (Mexico). 22.
I. The Talking Stone. 22.
II. Montezuma's Wound. 25.
III. Eight Omens. 26.
IV. The Return of Quetzalcoatl. 28.
V. Is It You?. 32.
2. Legends of the Inca Kings / Quechua (Peru). 34.
I. Mayta Capac. 34.
II. The Storm. 36.
III. The Vanishing Bride. 38.
IV. A Messenger in Black. 40.
V. The Oracle at Huamachuco. 41.
3. Bringing Out the Holy Word / Mexico (Nahua). 42.
. Folktales: A Twentieth-Century Wake. 45.
4. In the City of Benjamin / Ecuador. 49.
5. Antuco's Luck / Chile. 51.
6. Don Dinero and Dona Fortuna / Dominican Republic. 56.
7. Mistress Lucia / Mexico. 57.
8. St. Peter's Wishes / Cuba. 63.
9. The Coyote Teodora / Honduras. 64.
10. Buried Alive / California. 65.
11. The Three Gowns / Puerto Rico. 67.
12. The Horse of Seven Colors / Venezuela. 72.
13. The Cow / New Mexico. 78.
14. Death and the Doctor / Dominican Republic. 81.
15. What the Owls Said / Mexico (Mazatec). 82.
16. Aunt Misery / Puerto Rico. 84.
17. Palm-tree Story / Colombia. 85.
18. Pedro de Urdemalas. 88.
I. The Letter Carrier from the Other World / Chile. 88.
II. The King's Pigs / Guatemala. 89.
III. The Sack / Chile. 89.
IV. Pedro Goes to Heaven / Argentina. 92.
19. A Voyage to Eternity / Bolivia. 94.
20. Mother and Daughter / Colombia. 98.
21. The Bird Sweet Magic / Costa Rica. 98.
22. Death Comes as a Rooster / Cuba. 103.
23. The Twelve Truths of the World / New Mexico. 104.
. Folk Prayers. 107.
24. The Mouse and the Dung Beetle / Colorado. 111.
25. The Canon and the King's False Friend / New Mexico. 113.
26. The Story That Became a Dream / Chile. 115.
27. St. Theresa and the Lord / Mexico. 118.
28. Rice from Ashes / Argentina. 120.
29. Juan Maria and Juana Maria / Guatemala. 124.
30. The Witch Wife / Colombia. 126.
31. O Wicked World / Argentina. 129.
32. The Three Sisters / Colombia. 130.
33. The Count and the Queen / Colorado. 134.
34. Crystal the Wise / Chile. 137.
35. Love Like Salt / Mexico. 141.
36. The Pongo's Dream / Peru (Quechua). 144.
37. The Fox and the Monkey / Bolivia (Aymara). 147.
38. The Miser's Jar / Guatemala (Kekchi Maya). 149.
39. Tup and the Ants / Mexico (Yucatec Maya). 152.
40. A Master and His Pupil / Guatemala. 155.
41. The Louse-Drum / Panama. 157.
42. The Three Dreams / Guatemala. 159.
43. The Clump of Basil / Puerto Rico. 161.
. Riddles. 164.
44. The Charcoal Peddler's Chicken / Puerto Rico. 173.
45. The Three Counsels / New Mexico. 174.
46. Seven Blind Queens / Chile. 176.
47. The Mad King / Florida. 181.
48. A Mother's Curse / Puerto Rico. 183.
49. The Hermit and the Drunkard / Ecuador. 184.
50. The Noblewoman's Daughter and the Charcoal Woman's Son / Cuba. 185.
51. The Enchanted Cow / Chile. 188.
52. Judas's Ear / New Mexico. 192.
53. Good Is Repaid with Evil / Venezuela. 195.
54. The Fisherman's Daughter / Colombia. 196.
55. In the Beginning / Mexico (Mazatec). 201.
56. How the First People Were Made / Mexico (Zapotec). 202.
57. Adam's Rib / Mexico (Popoluca). 203.
58. Adam and Eve and Their Children / New Mexico (Isleta). 203.
59. God's Letter to Noeh / Mexico (Zapotec). 204.
60. God Chooses Noah / Mexico (Mixe). 205.
61. The Flood / Mixe (Mexico). 207.
62. A Prophetic Dream / Mexico (Mazatec). 208.
63. The White Lily / Ecuador (Quichua). 209.
64. The Night in the Stable / Guatemala (Quiche Maya). 209.
65. When Morning Came. 210.
I. Why Did It Dawn? / Mexico (Nahua). 210.
II. That Was the Principal Day / Mexico (Tzotzil Maya). 211.
66. Three Kings / New Mexico (Isleta). 211.
67. The Christ Child as Trickster / Ecuador (Quichua). 212.
68. Christ Saved by the Firefly / Cakchiquel Maya (Guatemala). 213.
69. Christ Betrayed by Snails / Belize (Kekchi Maya). 214.
70. Christ Betrayed by the Magpie-jay / Mexico (Tzotzil Maya). 214.
71. The Blind Man at the Cross / Mexico (Mazatec). 214.
72. The Cricket, the Mole, and the Mouse / Mexico (Mazatec). 216.
73. As If with Wings / Mexico (Mazatec). 218.
74. Slowpoke Slaughtered Four / Puerto Rico. 219.
75. The Price of Heaven and the Rain of Caramels / Mexico. 221.
76. Pine Cone the Astrologer / Panama. 224.
77. The Dragon Slayer / Mexico. 225.
78. Johnny-boy / Nicaragua. 229.
79. The Rarest Thing / Guatemala. 230.
80. Prince Simpleheart / Costa Rica. 232.
81. The Flower of Lily-Lo / Mexico. 236.
82. My Garden Is Better Than Ever / Mexico (Popoluca). 238.
83. Juan Bobo and the Pig / Puerto Rico. 239.
84. The Parrot Prince / Chile. 240.
. Chain Riddles. 245.
85. A Dead Man Speaks / Texas. 251.
86. The Bear's Son / Honduras (Lenca). 252.
87. Charity / Argentina. 259.
88. Riches Without Working / Mexico (Nahua). 260.
89. Let Somebody Buy You Who Doesn't Know You / Guatemala. 262.
90. The Mouse King / Bolivia. 264.
91. Mariquita Grim and Mariquita Fair / Cuba. 266.
92. The Compadre's Dinner / Dominican Republic. 270.
93. The Hog / Colorado. 272.
94. Two Sisters / Puerto Rico. 272.
95. The Ghosts' Reales / Dominican Republic. 274.
96. The Bad Compadre / Guatemala (Cakchiquel Maya). 277.
97. Black Chickens / Mexico (Tepecano). 283.
98. Doublehead / El Salvador (Pipil). 286.
99. Littlebit / Chile. 288.
100. Rosalie / Mexico (Yucatec Maya). 293.
101. A Day Laborer Goes to Work / Mexico (Otomi). 297.
102. The Moth / Peru (Quechua). 303.
103. The Earth Ate Them / Argentina. 304.
. Epilogue: Twentieth-Century Myths. 307.
104. Why Tobacco Grows Close to Houses / Kogi (Colombia). 310.
105. The Buzzard Husband / Tzotzil Maya (Mexico). 310.
106. The Dead Wife / Miskito (Nicaragua). 314.
107. Romi Kumu Makes the World / Barasana (Colombia). 315.
108. She Was Thought and Memory / Kogi (Colombia). 316.
109. Was It Not an Illusion? / Witoto (Colombia). 317.
110. The Beginning Life of the Hummingbird / Mbya Guarani (Paraguay). 318.
111. Ibis Story / Yamana (Chile). 319.
112. The Condor Seeks a Wife / Quechua (Bolivia). 320.
113. The Priest's Son Becomes an Eagle / Zuni (New Mexico). 322.
114. The Revolt of the Utensils / Tacana (Bolivia). 325.
115. The Origin of Permanent Death / Shuar (Ecuador). 326.
. Notes. 329.
. Register of Tale Types and Selected Motifs. 363.
. Glossary of Native Cultures. 369.
. Bibliography. 373.
. Permissions Acknowledgments. 385