Mancunima: the Hero with no Character

Venceslau Pietro Pietra had been beat to a pulp and was swathed head to toe in bunches of cotton. He was laid up in his hammock for months. Macunaíma couldn't even make a move to take back the muiraquitã that was now tucked away in that snail under the giant's body. He thought about sticking termite ants in the giant's sandals cause it's deadly they say, but Piaimã's feet faced backwards and he didn't wear sandals. Macunaíma was very upset at this fish-or-cut-bait situation and lay in his hammock all day munching on tapioca pancakes in between long swigs of hooch. Right about then Antônio the Indian, the famous saint, came round looking for lodging at the boarding house with his lady friend, Mother of God. He paid Macunaíma a visit, gave a speech and baptized the hero in front of the god to come who took the form of neither fish nor tapir. That's how Macunaíma joined the Caraimonhaga faith that was all the rage in the backlands of Bahia.

Macunaíma made the most of waiting around by honing his proficiency in the two languages of the land, spoken Brazilian and written Portuguese. By now he knew the names of everything. One time it was Flower Day, a celebration invented so Brazilians would be charitable, and there were so many mosquitoes that Macunaíma quit studying and went downtown to give his ideas a breath of fresh air. Off he went and saw a whole mess of things. He stopped in front of every shop window and examined heap after heap of monsters in each one, so many that it looked like the Ererê Mountains where everything took refuge back when the great flood inundated the world. Macunaíma went strolling strolling along and came upon a girl with an urupema basket overflowing with roses. The little missy made him stop and stuck a flower in his lapel, saying: