La Lechuza

     Every time I am outside, I remember not to whistle. If I whistle late at night, I would get snatched. This piece of information has been engraved to my brain by my mother. Since I was a little girl, my mother would warn me about a creature that makes noises late at night, and if you whistle back, it will take you and kill you. I make sure to keep my mouth shut to prevent "La Lechuza" from taking me.
     La Lechuza is a creature that is very well known in Mexico and in Texas. There are different stories of how La Lechuza came to be, but the most common one takes place in Mexico. She was killed by the men in her town who feared she was a witch. Soon after her death, a large owl would start appearing at night snatching the men who killed her.
     My mom told me a story of her own about La Lechuza. In a small town in Mexico, there were two cops who were surveilling the town near the woods. They heard strange noises coming from a tree near them. One cop went to go see what it was, but he stopped hearing the strange noises, so he whistled to get a response. He started walking away, when suddenly a huge owl flew over him. He fell and shot the owl on her right wing and it flew away.
     The next day, the cop was driving around town. He soon stopped when he noticed a young beautiful lady heading to the woods. As he looked closely, he saw she had a white band, stained with blood on her right arm. Frightened that she would see him, he drove away and never dared to go near the woods again.
      If you're out late at night, and you happen to hear a noise coming from nowhere. Whatever you do, don't whistle back.