CABRAKAN the giant was slain by the twin brothers and the manner of his
killing was thus:
After the death of Cakix and the turning to stone of Zipacna, Cabrakan
kept close to the stony land, but one day venturing over the mountains
where lived the crag men, he came upon a herd of goats that had wandered
out of the way, and gathering them into a corral formed of his legs as
he sat upon the ground, he swallowed them one by one, as a child
swallows berries. The goatherd saw him from the shelter of a tree, where
he hid himself when he first set eyes on Cabrakan. On the next day the
giant came again to the same place where he had fared so well, and
seeing a house a little way off went there and made a meal of the
cattle, leaving the man of the house in sorry case. The third day he
ventured farther, sitting down at noon by the side of a village and
picking up and eating such living creatures as he chanced to see, much
as an ant-eater picks up ants. Nor was there aught to hinder him, for
the people fled to the woods when they heard the earth tremble under his
tread. So, soon, the tale of how Cabrakan was robbing men came to the
ears of the twin brothers, and they swore to stay his high hand
forevermore.
Now Cabrakan knew of the manner in which Cakix had been laid low and
knew also how Zipacna had met his end, so by neither of these ways was
it possible to destroy him. He had also pondered in his slow way, laying
half-plans to slay the twin brothers did he ever lay hands on them.
Cabrakan was the mightiest of giants and vain of his strength, and in
that vanity lay his weakness.
One day there came a mighty storm and a turmoil of wind and water, of
thunder and lightning, so that the trees of the forest were laid low and
the rocks uprooted, while the thunderings of the sea-waves shook the
very barancas. Black were the heavens and clouds flew fast and low, so
that Cabrakan in his long life had seen nothing like it, and his heart
failed him. Nor did he rise all that day from the shelter of the
mountain where he had cast himself on the ground, until the black had
changed to gray and the wind was abated. But when the clouds had passed
and the sky was again moonlit, he saw on a hilltop a little way off the
twin brothers, Hunapu and Balanque. While the storm had raged they were
sheltered in a cave, and from it they had seen Cabrakan as he ran before
the storm to seek the shelter of the mountain. To their ears, when there
were wind lulls, came the sound of mighty whimpering and wailing from
the giant, by which they knew that his heart was far from stout.
Seeing the twin brothers, Cabrakan rose to his feet and asked them what
they did there, and would have said more had he not suddenly found his
mind a blank. So he fell back on his chant, though there was a quaver in
his voice because of the fear in him that had not yet died, the fear of
the storm:
“I am Cabrakan,
Cabrakan who shakes the earth,
Cabrakan who shakes the sky,
I am Cabrakan,
Master of men!”
When he had made an end of his song Hunapu spoke and said, boldly
enough: “It is well, Cabrakan. Strong thou art, but so also are we
strong. Have you not seen how with our breaths we laid low the trees of
the forest? Saw ye not how we blew and the rocks were uprooted? How,
also, the skies were darkened? But that was a small matter, for there
are things to be done, and in this upsetting of the world my brother
alone worked. Now must two of us work, so prepare yourself well, O
Cabrakan, lest a giant be blown over the edge of the world where is
neither resting-place nor foothold. A trifling matter indeed was the
storm.”
Hearing that, a deep misgiving was in the heart of Cabrakan. He rubbed
his eyes and looked with astonishment at the twin brothers, so slight of
build, so ruddy and fair, and seeing them and remembering the storm he
could find no words.
Then said Balanque, as had been before agreed between the brothers, and
speaking as if in deep thought: “Perhaps it might be better if Cabrakan
joined us. It is true that he, the earth-shaker, is after all but weak,
but if he be taught to eat of cooked flesh in the manner of men, it may
be that he too may grow strong as we are.”
Hearing that, the giant pricked up his ears, thinking, in the dull
manner of giants, that if he did but play a little to mislead the twin
brothers he might persuade them to let him eat of cooked meats, when,
his strength becoming greater, he might rid the earth of two who had
raised so mighty and fearful a storm. Perchance then, thought he, I
shall rule the land alone. So he said, cunningly: “Let me try my
strength against yours awhile, and if I be found weak, then cook me the
food that men eat, so that I may become strong and thus your useful
slave.”
At that the twin brothers pretended to consult a little, Hunapu acting
as if he wished to raise another whirlwind, Balanque as if soothing him,
while Cabrakan stood watching them, a heavy fear in his bones.
“Let Cabrakan,” said Hunapu presently, “overturn and pluck out the
entrails of this mountain to prove himself.” Having so said, he turned
aside, but after a moment added, as if his mind had changed on the
matter: “Yet how does it matter? We need no Cabrakan to aid us. Perhaps
it were better that I cast it over with a breath, even though Cabrakan
be blown like a leaf over the edge of the world.”
Now though the world in which the giant lived was rocky and bare, yet it
looked fair to him and he had no mind to be cast into nothingness. So he
made his face fierce and told Hunapu that he was willing to prove his
strength. Hunapu, still playing a part, looked scornfully at the giant
as he said: “It is after all but a child’s matter, but if the mountain
be overturned, then shall the food of men be yours and your body made
strong and your wits sharpened.”
Cabrakan lost no more time but raised his shoulders and put forth his
arms as one about to wrestle. “Let none meddle with me,” he said, “and
before the day breaks I shall pluck out the mountain by its roots.” So,
a mountain of flesh against the moonlit sky, he strode in five great
strides to the side of the mountain and flung his arms about it. First
he made a shift to pluck it straight from the earth, his feet set wide
apart, his muscles strained and knotted. Again he strove to overturn it,
now with shoulder fast-braced against the sheer rock, his legs like
towers. That failing, he strove furiously, now battering like a madman,
now pressing and stamping, so that there was a trembling all about like
an earthquake. So great was his strength that the side of the mountain
broke open and a clear stream gushed forth, the water twisting and
turning along the plain like a silver snake. All that night and morning
he wrestled with the mountain and as the day wore on he grew tired and
weary, but there was no result of his labours except the tumbling stream
and two great holes in the black living rock at the foot of the mountain
where his feet had pushed. But where his arms had encircled, the
mountain was worn smooth and bare, the very rock was polished and shone
in the sunlight. Grunting and groaning Cabrakan toiled, until at length,
seeing that he had grown too weak for mischief, Hunapu called on him to
rest awhile.
“Hold thee a little,” he said. “This eating of the goats and the cattle
of men will make no living thing strong. A heart thou lackest. Like an
arrowless quiver or a stringless bow art thou. In the food of men alone
is strength, O Cabrakan, so that must we eat, and the meal being done
things of worth may be seen.”
Well pleased to hear that, the weary giant cast himself down on the
ground and rubbed his palms one against another to ease them, but as he
lay there resting many a look he gave at the motionless mountain, the
glistening head of which he had tried in vain to tear from the sky. Also
most heartily he wished that the thing was at an end, or that the twin
brothers had stayed away from that place.
Balanque kindled a fire and Hunapu shot an eagle and slowly they roasted
the bird, the smell of it pleasing the giant vastly, for he had never
tasted cooked meat, nor indeed knew any method of preparing it.
Now in that land there grows a sort of mountain-laurel bearing a red
berry within a pod, and its power is such that whoso eats of it will
waste away as the morning mist passes before the warming sun. Many of
these berries Hunapu took and placed in the flesh of the roasted eagle,
for certain it was that neither Balanque nor his brother could leave
that place with the giant unslain. So the roasted eagle with the berries
in it they gave to Cabrakan, who swallowed it at a single gulp.
At first he felt strong as ten giants and leaped to his feet, minded to
pluck the mountain from the earth and cast it on the twin brothers.
Fiercely he gripped, so fiercely that the top of the mountain opened and
steam came forth and a black smoke rose in the air, spreading in the
form of a vast tree; so vast it was, that it formed a cloud that veiled
the sun so that the light sickened for a time and a pale yellow touched
all things. From the top of the mountain there gushed forth hot lava
that glowed as it spread; that came faster soon, in roaring masses. But
Cabrakan rapidly waxed weak with the poison of the berries, so weak that
he clung for support to the mountain he would have plucked forth. And as
his strength waned, the malice within him grew, and dark were the looks,
evil the eye he cast on the twin brothers.
But his day was done and his course was run. Soon his eyes grew dim and
in very weariness his head fell against the brow of the mountain. Fast
and deep for a while came his breath, his chest heaving like a sullen
sea when the storm has died. Then his strength fell away altogether and
he sank to the earth and the lava covered him.
So came to an end Cabrakan, the earth-shaker and master of men, and thus
did the twin brothers finish that which they had set out to do.
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