“Yes, I have some nice meat in a jar which I will give you, but if I do, you must promise to eat it with your eyes shut.”

They were very hungry, so they gave the required promise, and Ca Boo-Ug gave them the meat.  All kept their eyes shut except one, a little baby, and like all babies, he was very curious and wanted to see what was going on.  So he opened one eye and peeped at a bone which he had in his hand, then he called out:—­

“Oh, see what I have found!  Here is the little finger of my brother, Ca Matsin!”

Then all the monkeys looked, and when they found that Ca Boo-Ug had killed a member of their tribe they were very angry, and looked for Ca Boo-Ug, in order to kill him.  But they could not find him, for as soon as he saw what had happened he had hidden under a piece of cocoanut shell which was lying on the ground.

The chief monkey sat upon the cocoanut shell, while he was planning with his companions how they should catch Ca Boo-Ug, but of course he did not know where he was, so he called out:  “Where’s Ca Boo-Ug?  Where’s Ca Boo-Ug?”

Ca Boo-Ug was so tickled when he heard the monkey ask where he was that he giggled.  The monkeys heard him, and looked all around for him, but could not find him.  Then they called out:  “Where’s Ca Boo-Ug?  Where’s Ca Boo-Ug?” This time Ca Boo-Ug laughed out loud, and the monkeys found him.  Then they began to plan how they should punish him.

“Let’s put him into a rice mortar and pound him to death,” said one.  “Aha!” said Ca Boo-Ug, “that’s nothing!  My mother beat me so much when I was little that now my back is so strong that nothing can break it.”

When the monkeys found out that Ca Boo-Ug was not afraid of being pounded in a rice mortar, they determined to try something else.

“Let’s make a fire on his back and burn him up,” suggested another.  “Oh, ho!” laughed Ca Boo-Ug, “that’s nothing.  I should think that you could tell by the color of my shell that I have had a fire lighted on my back many times.  In fact, I like it, as I am always so cold.”

So the monkeys decided that they would punish Ca Boo-Ug by throwing him into the pond and drowning him.

“Boo-hoo!” cried Ca Boo-Ug, “don’t do that!  You will surely kill me.  Please don’t do that!  Boo-hoo!  Boo-hoo!”

Of course when the monkeys found that Ca Boo-Ug did not wish to be thrown into the pond, they thought they had found just the way to kill him.  So, in spite of his struggles, they picked him up and threw him far out into the pond.

To their surprise and chagrin, Ca Boo-Ug stuck his head out of the water and laughed at them, and then turned around and swam off.

When the monkeys saw how they had been deceived, they were very much disappointed, and began to plan how they could catch Ca Boo-Ug again.  So they called to a big fish, named Botete, that lived in the pond: 

“Botete!  Drink all you can of the water in the pond and help us find the bag of gold that we hid in it.  If you will help us find it, you shall have half of the gold.”