Note: This piece was originally written in Ñahñu.

A traveler felt hungry and stopped at a house, asking if they would sell him some food. The lady of the house said yes, that she would give him some food, with great pleasure, if he would read a letter that had just arrived.

Once he finished eating he began to look at the letter, first one side then the other. Then, quite pained, he said, “How awful, how awful!”

“Why do you say that?” the lady asked.

“How awful, madam,” said the traveler, “that neither you nor I knows how to read.”