They arrived, then, before the lords, timid and with head bowed; they came prostrating themselves, making reverences and humiliating themselves.[218] They looked feeble, ragged, and their appearance was really that of vagabonds when they arrived
They were questioned immediately about their country and their people; they also asked them about their mother and their father.
"Where do you come from?" [the lords] said.
"We do not know, Sir. We do not know the faces of our mother and father; we were small when they died," they answered, and did not say another word.
"All right. Now do [your dances] so that we may admire you. What do you want? We shall give you pay," they told them.
"We do not want anything; but really we are very much afraid," they said to the lord.
"Do not grieve, do not be afraid. Dance! And do first the part in which you kill yourselves; burn my house, do all that you know how to do. We shall marvel at you, for that is what our hearts desire. And afterwards, poor things, we shall give help for your journey," they told them.
Then they began to sing and dance. All the people of Xibalba arrived and gathered together in order to see them. Then they performed the dance of the cux, they danced the puhuy, and they danced the iboy.
And the lord said to them: "Cut my dog into pieces and let him be brought back to life by you," he said to them.
"Very well," they answered, and cut the dog into bits. Instantly they brought him back to life. The dog was truly full of joy when he was brought back to life, and wagged his tail when they revived him.
The Lord said to them then: "Burn my house now!" Thus he said to them. instantly they put fire to the lord's house, and although all the lords were assembled together within the house, they were not burned. Quickly it was whole again, and not for one instant was the house of Hun-Camé destroyed.
All of the lords were amazed, and in the same way the [boys'] dances gave them much pleasure.
Then they were told by the lord: "Now kill a man, sacrifice him, but do not let him die," he told them.
"Very well," they answered. And seizing a man, they quickly sacrificed him, and raising his heart on high, they held it so that all the lords could see it.
Again Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé were amazed. A moment afterward the man was brought back to life by them [the boys], and his heart was filled with joy when he was revived.
The lords were astounded. "Sacrifice yourselves now, let us see it! We really like your dances!" said the lords. "Very well, Sirs," they answered. And they proceeded to sacrifice each other. Hunahpú[219] was sacrificed by Xbalanqué; one by one his arms and his legs were sliced off, his head was cut from his body and carried away; his heart was torn from his breast and thrown onto the grass. All the Lords of Xibalba were fascinated.[220] They looked on in wonder, but really it was only the dance of one man; it was Xbalanqué.
[218] Here there is a repetition of the same idea expressed in a series of synonymous verbs: que mocho chic, chi qui xule la qui vach, x-qui quemelah quib, chi qui luc quib, chi quipach quib. This last word was omitted by Brasseur de Bourbourg. All these sentences have identical, meaning and are undoubtedly used to emphasize the respect which the youthful heroes, so cleverly disguised as vagabonds, wished to feign before their enemies, the Lords of Xibalba.
[219] Xhunahpú in the original.
[220] Que gabar cu ri ronohel rahaual Xibalba, literally, "all the Lords of Xibalba were drunk."
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