Illustrated by Lúcia G. Maier
The indians are so much afraid of Iara that at dusk, they avoid to be close to the lakes and rivers. They use to tell a story about the Iara's enchantments.
"A long time ago, in a tribe,lived a very strong, handsome and young indian called Jaguarari.
He was a happy man and he loved fishing. The whole tribe admired him a lot.
One day, Jaguarari awaked very early to fish. The day was wonderful and the sun was very bright with many birds singing! Then he decided to spend the day at the forest.
Later, he found a very beautiful lake he didn't know yet, and so he belived it was a good idea to swin and fish there. When it was beginning to get dark, he decided to return to the village.
When he was going away, he listened a wonderful song. He came back to the margin of the lake to see who was singing that sweet melody.
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So he saw Iara! A woman of rare beauty was attracting him with her song. Suddenly he reminded the advices of the oldest indians of the tribe and he struggled bravely for not being attracted to the bottom of the lake. The indian got to scape and returned to his village. But now he was an unhappy man.
He spent his days thinking on that lovely woman and looking for her.One day, three friends of Jaguarari saw him with a beautiful woman on the river.
Finally he had met Iara again. It was the last time they saw him. The mermaid took Jaguarari to her palace at the bottom of the river."
Copyright© Lúcia G. Maier