Once upon a time, there was a family that lived with the mother-in-law. Whenever the son-in-law cleared a field and planted corn, the mother-in-law would use up all the green corn to make caiçuma, pamonha, boiled corn, and more. The son-in-law grew angry because she wouldn’t let the corn dry.
When the next planting season came, the son-in-law secretly cleared a hidden patch of land and planted corn without telling anyone. After planting, he told his wife that he was about to start clearing the field.
The wife said, “Clear it soon, my husband, because I want to eat boiled corn.” Her mother asked if the husband had already cleared the field, and the daughter replied,
“No, not yet.” She said he was going to do it soon, but in truth, the corn was already sprouting.
Two weeks passed, and the owner of the field went to check, the corn had already grown ears. The wife asked about the corn, and the husband said, “It’s just now starting to grow.”
Two more weeks passed, the corn was ready for caiçuma and pamonha, but he told no one. The wife said, “What kind of man is this?” The husband replied that the corn now had ears. She then said she was going to eat boiled corn.
Many days later, he went to check the corn again. It was already dry. Still, he said nothing. He brought home an ear of corn from the edge of the field that was still good for cooking. When he arrived, he showed it to his wife: “Look, the corn is now good for eating.”
The wife called her children: “Let’s go get corn from the field.” The mother grabbed her basket, and the children did too. She went ahead, and the children followed behind.
The husband hid and watched carefully to see what she would do upon arriving at the field. When the woman saw the corn already dry, she got very angry and let out a loud scream. She turned into an armadillo along with her children.