The Stockings of the Flamingos, by Horacio Quiroga 🧦🦩🦎

Las medias de los flamengos – de Cuentos de la selva de Horacio Quiroga – 1918 – Translated from Spanish into English by Enzo Martinelli – The stockings of the flamingos – Jungle Tales

©️ Enzo Martinelli 2023

Once upon a time the vipers gave a great dance. They invited the frogs and toads, the flamingos, the yacaré caiman and the fish. The fish, as they do not walk, could not dance; but the dance being on the river bank, the fish were leaning out on the sand, and clapped their tails.

The caimans, to adorn themselves well, had put a necklace of bananas around their necks, and smoked Paraguayan cigars. The toads had glued fish scales all over their bodies, and walked wiggling, as if they were swimming. And every time they passed very seriously along the river bank, the fish shouted mockingly at them.

The frogs had perfumed their whole bodies, and walked on two feet. In addition, each one carried a swinging firefly hanging like a lantern.

But the most beautiful were the vipers. All of them, without exception, were dressed in ballerina costumes of the same color as each snake. The colored vipers wore a colored tulle skirt; the green ones, a green tulle one; the yellow ones, a yellow tulle one; and the yararás, a gray tulle skirt painted with stripes of brick dust and ashes, because that is the color of the yararás.

And the most splendid of all were the coral vipers, who were dressed in very long red, white and black gauze, and danced like serpentines. When the vipers danced and twirled on the tip of their tails, all the guests applauded like crazy.

Only the flamingos, who then had white legs, and have now as before a very thick and crooked nose, only the flamingos were sad, because as they have very little intelligence, they had not known how to adorn themselves. They envied everyone’s costume, and especially that of the coral vipers. Every time a viper passed in front of them, flirting and making the serpentine gauzes undulate, the flamingos died of envy.

One flamingo then said:

-I know what we are going to do. We are going to wear red, white and black stockings, and the coral vipers are going to fall in love with us.

And they all took flight together, crossed the river and went to knock on a warehouse in the village.

-So-so-so!” they struck with their paws.

-Who is it?” answered the grocer.

–We are the flamingos. Do you have red, white and black stockings?

-No, we don’t,” answered the grocer.

-Are you crazy? You won’t find stockings like that anywhere.

The flamingos then went to another store.

-Do you have red, white and black stockings?

The grocer answered:

-I beg your pardon? Colored, white and black? There are no stockings like that anywhere. You’re crazy. Who are you?

-We are the flamingos,” they answered.

And the man said:

-Then you are for sure crazy flamingos.

Then they went to another store.

So – so – so! – Do you have red, white and black stockings?

The grocer shouted:

-What color – colored, white and black? Only big-nosed birds like you would order stockings like that. Go away at once!

And the man chased them away with the broom.

The flamingos went through all the stores in this way, and from everywhere they were thrown out as madmen.

Then an armadillo who had gone to the river to drink water, wanted to make fun of the flamingos and said to them, making a big greeting:

-Good evening, gentlemen flamingos! I know what you are looking for. You won’t find socks like that in any store. Maybe there are some in Buenos Aires, but you will have to order them by parcel post. My sister-in-law, the owl, has stockings like that. Ask for them, and she will give you the colored, black and white stockings.

The flamingos thanked her, and flew away to the owl’s cave. And they said to her:

-Good evening, owl! We have come to ask you for the red, white and black stockings. Today is the great snake dance, and if we wear those stockings, the coral snakes will fall in love with us.

–With pleasure! – replied the owl. – Wait a second, and I’ll be right back.

And flying away, he left the flamingos alone, and soon returned with the stockings. But they were not stockings, but the skins of coral vipers, beautiful skins just taken from the vipers that the owl had hunted.

-Here are the stockings,” said the owl. -Don’t worry about anything, but only one thing: dance all night long, dance without stopping for a moment, dance sideways, upside down, upside down, as you like, but don’t stop for a moment, because instead of dancing you will cry.

But the flamingos, because they are so silly, did not quite understand what great danger there was for them in that, and mad with joy they put on the skins of the coral vipers like stockings, putting their legs inside the skins, which were like tubes. And very happy they flew off to the dance.

When they saw the flamingos with their beautiful stockings, everyone was envious. The vipers wanted to dance only with them, and as the flamingos did not stop moving their legs for a moment, the vipers were unable to dance with them.