Page:Iracéma, the honey-lips (1886).djvu/25

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
IRAÇÉMA.
11

The Christian felt the justice of her complaint and his own ingratitude.

"Daughter of Araken ! No one hurt thy guest. It was a longing to see his friends which made him leave the prairies of the Tabajáras. He did not take the Return Gift, but he carries in his heart the memory of Iraçéma."

"If the memory of Iraçéma dwelt in the heart of the stranger, it would not suffer him to depart. The wind blows not away the sand of the desert when the sand has drank deep of the water of rain."

And the virgin sighed.

"The pale-faced warrior should wait till Cauby returns from hunting. The brother of Iraçéma has quick ears. He can hear the Boicininga[1] amidst all the noises of the forest. He has the eyes of the Oitibó,[2] which sees best in the dark. Cauby will guide him to the banks of the river of the herons."

"How long will it be before the brother of Iraçéma returns to the wigwam of Araken?"

"The rising sun will bring the warrior Cauby to the plains of the Ipú."

"Thy guest will wait, daughter of Araken ; but if the returning sun bring not the brother of Iraçéma, it will take the pale-faced warrior to the Taba of the Pytiguáras."

And Martim returned to the cabin of the Pagé. The white hammock, perfumed by Iraçéma with Beijoim,[3] gave the guest a calm and sweet sleep. The Christian was lullabied to sleep by the murmurs of the forest and the low tender song of the Indian maid.

  1. ↑ Boicininga, rattlesnake.
  2. ↑ Oitibó, a night-bird of the owl family.
  3. ↑ Benzoin, in the original Beijoim or Beijuim, an odoriferous drug
This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.