1. The firsttime I heardabout little Mitli Iwas7 years oldandI was sneakingthe tangerinesfrom
the altar on the day of the dead;whenmy grandmotherdiscoveredme,she toldme thatif she
continuedtosteal foodfromthe deadMitli wouldappearat nightandsteal my toysas
revenge.Of course Ididnot knowwhoMitli wasor whyshe wantedtoget back at me so my
grandmotherhadto explainittome patiently:
Mitli wasthe daughterof the lordsof Mictlan.Noone was certainabouthis birth:some said
that he had beenbornof the thoughtsof hisparents,othersthathad flourishedjustasthe
flowerof Cempeluchich,andotherssaidthatinfact Mitli had formedfromthe mixture of
mandarindropswiththe earth;outside asit wasthe truthis that her parentslovedand
consentedbecause she washisonlydaughter.Mitli hadgothisparentstogive himtwo
playmates:A small pinkbowlercalledCoyolli andatwo-coloredxoloitzcuintle namedYohualli.
As itis imaginedbothMitli andhisnew friendswent crazyat the Mictlan.The puppyran
aroundhere and there amongthe nine levelsnibblingeverythingandeveryone,notevenThe
Lord of Deathwassavedfrom a bite inthe chamorro; fact that made himveryangry I must
clarify.Yohualli,forhispart,distractedall the otherdogsthatcrossedthe river,tickledthem
withtheirlittle fingersuntiltheyfinallyturnedthe ghostsontheirbacks.Mitli lookedatthem
amusedfromthe shore despite the annoyance of theirparents.Overtime andaftersomany
mischief carriedoutbythe three,the Lord andthe Ladyof Deathdecidedtoput orderinthe
Mictlanand gave Mitli a guardianwhowouldbe incharge of discipliningherandher
companionswhennecessary.Hisguardianwasnothingmore andnothinglessthanMazatzin,
the spiritof a deer-man.
At firstitwas difficultforeveryonebecause none of themwere accustomedtoreceiving
reprimandsfromanyone buttheymanagedtomake a good teamand the Mictlanwas once
againthe place of peace and tranquilitythatwasalways.The parentsof Mitli were surprised
by itand decidedtoknowitssecretsentto call to Mazatzin.
"How didyouconvince ourlittle Mitli tobehave?"How didyougetyourpeersto leave their
mischief behind? - askedthe parents-
-Mr. and Mrs. Theystill playpranks,butnot inthisworld.I have promisedthateverytime the
portal openswiththe landof the livingtheywill be able tomake theirownwiththe boysand
girlswhoeat our food.Asyouknow,there are fewerandfewerwhole dishesto bringdown
here,since mostfruits,breadsandsweetsare nibbledbysmall humans.
The Death Lords smiledastheyimaginedMitli wreakinghavoconthe livingworld,thanked
Mazatzin forhistenacity,andretreatedtohispalace.
2. I remainedthoughtful andaskedmygrandmotherwhytheytookthe foodinsteadof eatingit
sittingbythe altar. She answeredme:
"Couldyoueat the potof whole mole,bread,atole,tamales,pumpkin,sweets,sweetpotato
and coffee alone?"
-Do not
"Well,they,too,are notselfishaswe are the living.Theyshare everything.Have youseen
whatthe antsdo everyday?
"Lookingforfoodto take home?"
"Exactly,the ghostsdo the same.Theycome on the day of the deadandtake foodto Mictlan.
Theykeepitinspecial claypotsand lastsuntil the nextyear.
"Andit doesnotend?"
"No,because there are manydeadand theirfamiliesleavefoodformore thantwo,besides
theyeatlessthan usbecause theyare alreadydead,sillygirl.Now goforsome tangerinesto
the marketto replace whatyouhave stolenfromthe altar, if youdo not Mitli,Coyolli and
Yohualli will come tobotheryouandMazatzinwill notstopthembecause youdeserve it.
I ran to Luisito'spostwithoutthinkingtwice andusedmySundaynotonlyto buy mandarins,I
alsoboughtsweetsof more,a necklace of greenstonesforMitli anda few piecesof meatfor
Coyolli andYohualli,MazatzinIgota small basketof wildmushrooms.Ireallyhopedthatthis
wouldbe enoughtopreventthemfromgettingmadat me.I returnedhome andput
everythingonthe altar;andlate in the eveningIhelpedmydadtolightthe candlesandmake
the way withthe flowersof cemeteries,thenIwenttosleep.
A strange noise woke me upat dawn,I got upwithoutmakinga soundand woke up my
grandmother.She motionedforme tobe silent,andwe begantowalkon tiptoe tothe room,
where the altarwas.
There wasMitli!was a little girl maybe alittle tallerthanthe chaneques,hadbrownskinand
blackhair and the collarthat hung
