The Dee Dot's Travel to Mexico for our next story
 MYTHS AND STORIES

The Smiling Rabbit

    An old man and his wife lived in a little house made of straw.
They were very poor and all they owned were a rabbit and a young jaguar.
When the old couple used up their last ear of corn, they decided to eat the rabbit and started heating water to cook him.
 When he saw that, the jaguar said to the rabbit:
 
  "You won't get out of this one. The old people are going to eat you and they will give me a piece."
  
 "No, my jaguar friend," said the rabbit  "the old folk are heating water to make hot chocolate for breakfast."

    "That's not true, they are heating the water to cook you."

The Rabbit looked at him and smiled.
    "Not at all and what is more, I can prove it. Get into my cage and you'll see; they'll give you the first chocolate.

    The trusting jaguar went into the cage, the rabbit closed it and ran off.

 A long time went by and the jaguar tired of waiting for the old people to bring him his chocolate, then he realized that the rabbit had tricked him so he broke the cage and went after him.

    After walking and walking, he found the rabbit in a cave of the kind they call sahkaberas (these are caves where people mine the white earth).
 He was very angry and he showed his teeth as he said:

    "I caught you, rabbit! I'm going to eat you."
The rabbit answered him straight away.

    "What's the matter, my friend, what are you talking about? I don't think I know you. Now I  have lived here for a long time and as you can see I am very busy? Can't you see my house is falling down."

    The jaguar frowned, "Oh so you are not the rabbit who tricked me?"

    "Of course not! But please help me. Lean against this wall while I go get a log to hold it up and keep it from falling. whatever you do don't  let go or it might crush you.

 So the jaguar stood on his hind legs and held up the wall.

    A long time went by and the jaguar was tired and then once more he realized that he had been tricked again. Once more he took off after the deceitful rabbit, even angrier than the time before.

    This time he found him hanging from an elastic vine that made him go up and down.
The rabbit was so happy thinking of how he had fooled the jaguar that he didn't notice when the jaguar took a great leap, pulled on the vine with all his strength and then suddenly let go.
 The rabbit went up and up through the air holding his belly and laughing, and finally he reached the moon.

That is why on nights when the moon is full and red you can still see the rabbit bending over holding his stomach with laughter.

The Korean's also have a story of how the rabbit landed on the moon.


    Source: CONAFE, Así cuentan y juegan en el Mayab, Mexico, 1993.

    This story is from the state of Yucatán, one of the places inhabited by the Mayan Indians.
To this day, Mexican children see a rabbit in the moon, though children of other cultures believe there is a man there, or that the moon is made of cheese.

Costa Rica

Province of Puntarenas, South Eastern Tropical Pacific

 As the America's come in two seperate land area's (North America and South America)  joined in the middle by Central America.  I think it is best to look at them individually with the hope that I can find really interesting topics for each of them.

So here we are "Welcome to Central America!"

Do sing along with these tiny songs whilst Dr. Dodiddily and the Dee Dot's find some nice things especially for you.

CUBA WILD ISLAND OF THE CARIBBEAN

Central America

Fun for all the children of the world with Dr. Dodiddily and the Dee Dot's

 A little bit about myself and my Sisters

                               

Kath, (far left) Sylvia, blonde (middle) Dorothy (me far right) Amy (Toni, in front)

     Dr. Dodiddily is one of four sisters. First there is my sister Sylvia, she is the eldest and the smallest. Then there is my sister Toni(Amy) she is two years younger than Sylvia, Toni lives in Kent. The next one born in 1944 was Dorothy, yes my lovelies this is my real name. I am three years younger than Toni. One more to come and that is my sister Kathleen, she is the baby of the family and she is  four years younger then myself. 

     We couldn never hand our cloths down to each other, we were all very different sizes, and anyone coming after me wouldn't have been able to wear anything I was such a tom-boy and thing were worn out long before Kath could have them.

     This is a very old picture of the four of us taken in Coed Poeth in North Wales, way back in 1952/3.                Gosh I am an Ancient Dragon, aren't I ! xxx.       

                                   

This is myself and my sisters in 1979 just 26 years later, we are with our mother who like myself was called Dorothy. We are from left to right  Sylvia, Toni, My Mum, Dorothy (me) Kathleen.

Jayden, Noah Rhys, Brodie Leigh with Diddily in the background you can just see my grey hair.

The legend of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl

The most popular legend about Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl comes from the ancient Náhuas. As it comes from an oral tradition, there are many versions of the same story. There are also poems and songs telling this beautiful story.

Many years before Cortés came to Mexico, the Aztecs lived in Tenochtitlán, today's Mexico City. The chief of the Aztecs was a famous Emperor, who was loved by all the natives. The Emperor and his wife, the Empress, were very worried because they had no children. One day the Empress said to the Emperor that she was going to give birth to a child. A baby girl was born and she was as beautiful as her mother. They called her Iztaccíhuatl, which in Náhuatl means "white lady".

All the natives loved Izta and her parents prepared her to be the Empress of the Aztecs. When she grew up, she fell in love with a captain of a tribe, his name was Popoca. One day, a war broke out and the warriors had to go south to fight the enemy. The Emperor told Popoca that he had to bring the head of the enemy chief back from the war, so he could marry his daughter.

After several months of combat, a warrior who hated Popoca sent a false message to the Emperor. The message said that his army had won the war, but that Popoca had died in battle. The Emperor was very sad when he heard the news, and when Izta heard she could not stop crying. She refused to go out and did not eat any more. A few days later, she became ill and she died of sadness.

When the Emperor was preparing Izta's funeral, Popoca and his warriors arrived victorious from war. The Emperor was taken aback when he saw Popoca, and he told him that other warriors had announced his death. Then, he told him that Izta had died.

Popoca was very sad. He took Izta's body and left the town. He walked a long way until he arrived at some mountains where he ordered his warriors to build a funeral table with flowers and he put Izta lying on top. Then he kneeled down to watch over Izta and died of sadness too.

The Gods were touched by Popoca's sacrifice and turned the tables and the bodies into great volcanoes. The biggest volcano is Popocatépetl, which in Náhuatl means "smoking mountain". He sometimes throws out smoke, showing that he is still watching over Iztaccíhuatl, who sleeps by his side.

Another tale is much like the one before. Some warriors who did not want Popoca to be with Izta, since they liked her themselves, sent a message to the emperor saying that Popoca died. Izta was very sad. She then died of sadness. When Popoca returned he heard about Izta's death. He was also very sad. He went out of town with Izta's body and ordered his soldiers to make a mound for him and Izta. He put Izta's body on one mound and got onto the other with a smoking torch. He stays there forever looking after Izta. Over time dirt, snow, rocks, and Mother Nature covered them turning them into great mountains. Popoca's torch is still smoking as a reminder of what happened.

An amazing story you must agree. xxx Thank you Dee Dot's.