"Hi-ta! [Listen!] brother younger," said Waíhusiwa, nonplussed but ever ready. "Did you ever hear tell of the people who could not digest, having, forsooth, no proper insides wherewithal to do so? Did you ever hear of them, brother younger?"

"Nay, never; not even from my own grandfathers," said I. "Sons éso to your story; short be it or long."[1]

"Sons éso tse-ná!" ("Cool your 'sons éso!' and wait till I begin.")--F. H. C.

ZUÑI INTRODUCTION
It seems--so the words of the grandfathers say--that in the Underworld were many strange things and beings, even villages of men, long ago.

[1. From té-na-la-a, "time or times of," and pé-na-we, words or speeches (tales): "tales of time."

2. The invariable formula for beginning a folk tale is, by the raconteur: "Són ah-tchi!" ("Let us take up")--té-la-p'-ne, or "a folk tale," being understood. To this the auditors or listeners respond: "É-so!" (" Yea, verily.") Again, by the raconteur: "Sons i-nó-o-to-na! Tem," etc. ("Let us (tell of) the times of creation! When," etc.) Again, by the listeners: "Sons éso! Te-ä-tú!" ("Yea, let us, verily! Be it so.")]

See the footnotes 1) and 2) above. It's a bit diffiocult to figure out...

You can see the text in:
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:KpNE6p2ho4EC:www.sacred...