Mitos y Leyendas: Arrowhead, the Lucky Fool (first part)

• Mitos y Leyendas presents the story of Arrowhead and his two horses.
• Arrowhead was known for not being as intelligent as his other brothers.
• Although he wasn’t as clever as the others, he had a lot of luck on his side.

Arrowhead, the youngest of 11 brothers, wasn’t very bright. His brothers surpassed him in almost everything. One day, their father gathered them all to announce serious news.

The father said to his sons, «In 7 suns, I will leave this world. I will distribute my possessions among each of you.» The young man asked his brother, «Where will these suns come from?»

The brother simply said «from the east», poorly hiding his laughter. Arrowhead pretended to understand to avoid his brother’s mockery and said, «Understood. I will go now. Please, take care of my inheritance if father dies.»

His relative affirmed he would do so. Our protagonist left the forest and ventured into the unknown.

The Acomas

After much walking, he arrived at an Acoma village situated on the edge of a cliff. Here, the leader was Chief Black Cloud. He had a daughter named Yellow Corn who was very beautiful.

Yellow Corn had already rejected many suitors and had exhausted her father’s patience. He then said, «Enough. You have rejected many candidates and cannot stay single your whole life».

Chief Black Cloud added, «The next man who passes by here, rich or poor, smart or dull, I don’t care, you will marry him.» Fortunately, Arrowhead had just arrived at the village.

The moment he set foot and was seen by the Chief, he was greeted, «Oh! Young man, I am Chief Black Cloud, welcome to this village. Would you like to marry my daughter?» «Hello, Village Chief. I came looking for work. If that’s the job you offer, I gladly accept.»

Yellow Corn meets her future husband

Chief Black Cloud invited Arrowhead to his house and introduced him to Yellow Corn as her future husband. She showed her anger and told her father she wouldn’t marry him unless he solved three riddles.

The father and young man agreed. The first riddle was «Where is the beginning of the spring and where its end?» Arrowhead asked for one night to solve it. The chief agreed, but told him he would sleep outside and not in his house.

The chief provided him shelter, and the protagonist had no objection to sleeping on the roof of the house. The night passed and he didn’t think much about the question. The next morning, he heard two birds talking.

«That’s very easy. The spring is a circle. Where it begins, it ends.» Thus, he came up with the first answer, which Yellow Corn accepted as correct.

Second Riddle

The next riddle was «Where was my mother buried and when this happened, which eye shed the first tear on my father’s face?» Again, the young man asked for one night to solve it.

The next morning, the birds again came to the protagonist’s aid. «When Cloud Black’s wife died, they buried her in the right corner of his house, and when the leader cried, it was his right eye that shed the first tear.»

The answer was correct, and Yellow Corn accepted it as correct. It seemed everything was going well. When the time came for the last test, she changed the game.

«The third riddle is not one as such, rather, it’s a task for you. My younger sister, Little Flower, disappeared a long time ago. The mission is for you to find her.»

Final Test

The birds helped Arrowhead once more and told him where the sister was. «The sister is in a giant’s lair.» They also informed him how to rescue her.

The young man met with the father of both women. He was shocked when he heard where Maize Yellow’s sister was. «Then, to rescue her, I need a strong and fast horse.»

The chief asked if he had such an animal, but he said he wasn’t sure and needed to return to where his father was.

Arrowhead then left for his home. When he arrived, his brothers told him that their father had died, but his inheritance had been guarded by one of his brothers. It was 11 mares and 1 horse.

Demon, the horse

The horse was named Demon, and was big, but not enough for the task he needed to do to rescue Maize Yellow’s sister. Nevertheless, the horse whispered something in his ear.

«Right now, I’m not so big, but I can grow. All your mares have foals. Kill them and let me drink their blood. Then, leave, and don’t return until 365 days have passed.»

Arrowhead heeded Demon. Then, he left for the forest for 365 days. The year passed, and he returned. The horse had grown a lot and had strong legs that made noise with just walking. No horse messed with him.

Demon the horse, with his gallop, made storms with his steps, and the earth trembled tremendously. Then, both ventured to rescue Little Flower.

Rescue of Little Flower

Arrowhead and Demon left for the rescue of Little Flower. They found the captor’s lair. Inside the cave, there were many kidnapped maidens.

When they located the little one, Demon stopped so she could get on. Once on him, they quickly escaped from that place. Her father was happy to see her back. A huge celebration was organized.

Everyone danced, and it was even thought that at that moment the wedding would be celebrated, but Yellow Corn made an announcement, «I will not marry until I have a horse as fast as Demon.» Everything stopped at that moment.

What will happen now? Will they get married? Will Arrowhead get another horse? Find out what lies ahead for Arrowhead in the second part of this wonderful narration! Mitos y Leyendas says goodbye for now!