La Garita: The Goat Children
La Garita (also known as the Goat Children or the Legend of the Garita) is a Puerto Rican folktale about two children who were transformed into goats as punishment or protection. The story is traditionally told to explain the presence of wild goats in the Puerto Rican countryside and to warn children against disobedience. The legend varies across the island, with some versions telling of children who mocked a holy figure and were turned into goats as a curse, while others speak of children who fled into the mountains and were transformed into animals by protective spirits. The garita itself —