Perusina, Perusino, and the Great Chaos with Pachamama

Perusina, Perusino, and the Great Chaos with Pachamama

It was a clear, starry night in the Andes, and Perusina and Perusino lay in their hut, snuggled in warm alpaca blankets. But suddenly, the earth trembled a little – not strong enough to cause fear, but just enough to make Perusino tumble out of bed. "Ouch! Who pushed me?!" he exclaimed indignantly, looking at Perusina, who shrugged innocently.

Then a shimmering figure emerged from the ground – a tall woman with hair of flowing water, a robe of leaves and flowers, and luminous eyes reflecting the entire Earth. "You little rascals!" she said, laughing. "I am Pachamama, Mother Earth. And I have a little problem…" Perusina rubbed her eyes. "A problem? But you're Pachamama! You can make everything grow, fill the rivers, and build mountains!" Pachamama sighed. "Yes, that's true. But someone has disturbed my balance – and now there's crazy weather everywhere!"

The Hunt for Illapa

With a spell from Pachamama, Perusina and Perusino flew through the sky on the back of a giant, talking condor. They were searching for Illapa, who was playing lightning battles somewhere above the clouds. "There he is!" Perusino shouted, pointing to a dark cloud from which lightning bolts shot wildly in all directions.

Illapa, a bearded god in a golden robe, was so busy juggling clouds like alpacas that he didn't notice the two children until they were standing right in front of him. "Hey!" Perusina called. "Stop messing with the weather! Pachamama is angry!" Illapa laughed. "Angry? Nonsense! I'm just having a little fun! Look, a lightning llama!" And indeed – he formed a hopping llama out of lightning. It bleated electrically once and dissolved into sparks. Perusino grinned. "Okay, that was cool. But still: stop it!" Illapa crossed his arms. "Why should I?

"Perusina thought. "Because... because you'll lose a thunderstorm race against us!" Illapa raised an eyebrow. "A race?" "Exactly!" Perusino exclaimed. "We bet we're faster than your fastest lightning bolt! And if we win, you'll make the weather normal again!" Illapa laughed loudly. "Challenge accepted!"

A Happy Ending – with Chocolate

PeruMagazin Network - The Best of Peru

Back on Earth, Pachamama hugged the two children. "You really are clever little heroes!" Perusino grinned. "We know! And now... can we please have some chocolate?" Pachamama laughed and made a giant cocoa plant grow. "Alright! But only if you promise not to cause the next chaos yourselves!"

"Perusina and Perusino looked at each other briefly – and grinned. Then Perusino took a large cocoa bean, bit into it, and exclaimed: "BLECH! That's not finished chocolate at all!" Pachamama rolled her eyes. "Of course not, you have to grind it, roast it, and mix it with honey first!" "Ooooh..." So Perusina and Perusino set about making their own chocolate with much chaos and laughter. Perhaps they would trigger the next adventure in the process.