Luisa Cadena, "Reflections on the Life of an Unknown Sloth."

Poor sloth! She chewed it up to here. Look! With its dull teeth. They say it only eats the tender shoots. Poor thing! Now it is up there sleeping. Umm hmm. Sweetly. Look what it chewed! Look how she left it squeezed out tightly! It eats sweetly poor thing when it’s hungry. It makes its little greens and eats. These are its greens. Umm Hmm. It prepares its greens and eats. Now it is sleeping sweetly, poor thing! Look how sweetly she ate! And she is up there. Up there by her manioc garden. Umm hmm. Her manioc garden? Yes this is her manioc garden. Are sloths like humans? Yes! Like them (people). Poor things! They have gardens. Wherever there are a lots of bromeliads? That is where she will be. (The bromeliads are) growing! Growing! Then when that runs out she will look pitiful hanging up there! Aayy! She will take all day to get down! Sloowly. So they have gardens like us? Yes they have gardens like us. When they see this the men look for the (sloth) searching for the food in order to kill it. Look at that! They want to kill these (sloths). They eat the poor thing. I am not a (sloth) eater! Look if they come and see this they will watch the place, walking around and walking around (waiting for it to come down). When she finishes (the garden) she will climb down those vines pitifully. Then they will kill it and go eat it. They don't feel any pity for it. Who? The men who will take the sloth away to eat it. It ate this last night. Do you think those sloths old? Yes they are old people poor things! If you were to hit it there, it would hold itself there. Wherever you hit it that is where it will grasp. Wherever you hit it, that is where it holds (its wound). And when you do that the poor thing will die. I cried when I saw it. Where? In our community. Then what? It climbed up something like these. See! Like these vines. It climbed slowly to see where the bromeliads were. Poor thing! It was going up there to work in its garden. Then what? Since Leticia did not have anything to hit it with she cut a stick and whacked it and whacked it and whacked it. I left because I did not want to see it. She killed it and ate it. But I am not someone who eats (sloths).