Rastreantes culebrillas??

Question

Hi, I'm translating a short story for an assignment and I've come across a phrase that makes no sense whatsoever. Here it is:

Carbonerillo (that's the name of a character) empezó a silbar queda y suavemente. Sus silbidos parecían pequeñas y rastreantes culebrillas que fueran tepando hacia los oídos de Caballito Loco (another character).

Firstly, what does rastreantes mean? I know that rastrear means to track, so rastreante must be an adjective to do with tracking, but since it's an adjective it doesn't make sense for it to be before the noun.

Secondly, culebrillas can mean: shingles 1. Tetter, ringworm; a cutaneous disease. (f) 2. Rocking-staff of a loom. (f) 3. Fissure in a gunbarrel. (Spanish Dict)

1. f. Enfermedad viral que se manifiesta por un exantema en el que las vesículas se disponen a lo largo de los nervios, por lo cual son muy dolorosas.
2. f. dragontea.
3. f. Hendidura que queda en los cañones de los fusiles y otras armas de fuego cuando el hierro no está bien trabajado.
4. f. anfisbena (? reptil saurio). (RAE)

None of these definitions make any sense in the context.

Thirdly, I don't understand the sentence construction. It seems as though the sentence is made up of two clauses. 1: 'Sus silbidos parecían pequeñas' and 2: 'y rastreantes culebrillas que fueran tepando hacia los oídos de Caballito Loco'. But clause 2 doesn't have a main verb.

Fourthly, 'fueran' is subjunctive. I have no idea why that could possibly be.

So here is what I understand the sentence to be: His whistling seemed quiet and tracking tapeworms/shingles that were climbing towards Caballito Loco's ears.

Please help!! It would be appreciated!!!

Answer 1

culebrillas - diminutive for culebras (could be that they are small snakes or is a pejorative way of describing them)

rastreantes (crawling)

Hence -- crawling little snakes

Great thank you! I always appreciate your help francobollo :) - UrictheOddball, Oct 15, 2012

Answer 2

Slithering little snakes , might sound better than crawling.

His quiet little whistles seemed like little snakes, as they rose/climbed upwards,towards the ears of..

The sujunctive because it is a sentence of the type: as if they were. I hope this helps.

Answer 3

His whistling, quiet, seemed to be tracking tapeworms/shingles that were climbing towards Caballito Loco's ears.(or you can put in between like his quiet whistling seems to be ...).