Cra

The Parrot that makes cra cra

Once upon a time, the parrot was not like today and the Indios Guarani called it Curimim, which means child.
Every day, Curimim went hunting in the forest with his father, armed with a bow and arrows that he made himself, using the wood of the trees of the great forest.

Sometimes they went fishing in the rivers that flow through the forest, and Curimim, who was small, caught small fish, while his father, who was big, caught big fish. When they returned to their house of wood and straw, they roasted fish over coals and the whole tribe ate together. If there was a lot, they ate a lot, and if there was little, they ate a little, but everything was always divided equally. But Curimim was terribly greedy and always tried to eat more than the others. It was because of this, they say, that he became a parrot.

One day, as always, Curimim went fishing with his father, while his mother picked fruit in the forest. He liked fruit very much, and sometimes he helped his mother fill the basket, because he knew how to climb trees like no other. That day her mother was really happy because she had found a lot of fresh fruit and as soon as she got home she put it to roast on the embers.
Curimim, who was walking in front of his father, ran back because he had smelled the good smell of roasted fruit, and began to eat it without even asking permission. As he gorged himself on, the hot pulp choked and Curimim coughed harder and harder, until his cough became a hoarse "cra-cra."

The fruit was stuck in his throat and Curimim began to twist his mouth, which turned into a beak, and to stretch his neck, which swelled like a bird's goiter. Finally, when the mouthful went down, Curimim got a terrible itch: his whole body was covered in green feathers and other bright colors! Then he felt very light: he raised his arms, which had become wings, and discovered that he could fly. Curimim had become a parrot.


Then, he spread his colorful wings and went to perch on the top of a tree, making cra-cra with his new hoarse voice.
Someone, however, says they saw him go down and become a child again.
But that's another story...