BY MARTIN MERZER AND ALFONSO CHARDY

 Four seconds of videotape -- and what a 6-year-old boy said during those four
 seconds -- ignited a new controversy Wednesday and elevated the heated
 emotions already surrounding Elian Gonzalez, a child whose every move and
 utterance is now analyzed.

 The tape, shot by WPLG-Channel 10, showed a mischievous, playful Elian gazing
 up at a passing jetliner and saying . . . well, that's where the controversy begins.

 Channel 10 reported that he said: ``Yo quiero que tu me regreses pa' Cuba.'' I
 want you to take me back to Cuba. That tape and interpretation were broadcast
 Tuesday night and then rebroadcast Wednesday around the world.

 But many others, including a court-certified interpreter hired by The Herald,
 thought Elian said: ``Yo quiero que no me regresen pa' Cuba.'' I want that they not
 take me back to Cuba.

 ``It's very clear,'' said Anthony Rivas, who has been certified to interpret in federal
 court since since 1984. ``He's saying, `I won't be returned to Cuba.' ''

 Nevertheless, thousands of South Floridians gathered around television sets,
 cupped their ears, concentrated very closely and still couldn't agree on what they
 heard. Among other things, the boy's words were partially obscured by the sound
 of the passing plane.

 Controversy raged throughout the day -- with demonstrators gathering outside
 Channel 10's studio and passersby hurling insults at Channel 10 crews at Elian's
 relatives' home in Little Havana -- more evidence of the volatile atmosphere that
 surrounds this case.

 At one point Wednesday night, a man identifying himself as Gerardo Barrios Sr.
 nailed a wooden sign to a telephone pole next to the house. It said: ``We don't
 want Channel 10 here.''

 The two main issues:

 What did Elian say Tuesday night outside that house?

 Regardless of the answer, what significance -- if any -- should be invested in
 Elian's words, considering his age and his growing awareness that he holds the
 spotlight of attention?

 ``This is a 6-year-old kid who's living a storybook existence,'' said Leonard Haber,
 a Miami clinical psychologist who frequently works with children. ``It's unnatural,
 unreal, unlike anything he or anyone else ever experienced.

 ``It doesn't really matter if he says `Take me' or `Don't take me' because he's not
 capable of understanding what's going on. It's like he fell out of a fable.''

 Controversy No. 1: What did Elian say?

 INTERPRETER'S VIEW

 At the request of The Herald, Rivas, who served on the examining committee for
 court-certified federal interpreters, repeatedly viewed and listened to the tape at
 Channel 10's studios, where it was played on sophisticated equipment and, at
 times, slowed down.

 His conclusion: ``Yo quiero que no me regresen pa' Cuba.'' I want that they not
 take me back to Cuba.

 Several Herald reporters and editors, fluent in Spanish, viewed a different copy of
 the tape at The Herald. All agreed with Rivas.

 At the same time, most at Channel 10 insisted that they heard Elian asking to
 return to Cuba, though some disagreed. During the 6 p.m. newscast, General
 Manager John Garwood read an unusual, on-air statement.

 ``We carefully consulted trusted associates as to the accuracy of what was said
 before airing that story last night . . . '' he said. ``Even now, due to the quality of
 the audio, there remains confusion, controversy and differences of opinion on
 precisely what was said or what Elian really meant.''

 No such uncertainly existed among Elian's relatives.

 ``What he said on the tape is, `I don't want to be sent back to Cuba,' '' said
 Lazaro Gonzalez, Elian's great-uncle.

 SOME CONFUSION

 But some confusion reigned at the scene Tuesday night. After Elian said whatever
 he said, some bystanders cheered their approval. Others could be heard yelling,
 ``No, No, No.''

 Neither the grammar of the statement nor the position of the camera nor the
 context of the situation helped very much.

 Many may have been confused by the sentence's structure. As a child often
 does, Elian started the sentence with a positive construction -- ``I want . . . '' -- as
 if he were going to say he wanted to be returned. But then he apparently slipped a
 muddled ``not'' into the middle of the sentence.

 In addition, Elian faced away from the camera, so it was not possible to watch his
 lips.

 And as he made the statement, he and a young playmate twirled in glee, arms
 raised to the sky, a situation that suggested he was simply fooling around, acting
 like . . . a kid.

 Which leads to controversy No. 2:

 What difference could his statement make? The boy is only 6, he recently
 survived a harrowing ocean voyage that killed his mother, and his world has been
 turned inside out.

 `A SYMBOL'

 ``He's not just a hero, but he's adored,'' Haber said. ``He's a symbol of freedom
 and democracy in Miami and in America. And he's a symbol of Cuba.''

 Joni Goodman, director of Miami-Dade County's Guardian Ad Litem program,
 which represents children in court proceedings, said she did not know the details
 of Elian's case. But she is familiar with the behavior of children his age -- and their
 spoken wishes are not always consistent with their best interests.

 ``A 6-year-old falls into the category of a child who doesn't have the same kind of
 clear judgment that an older, more mature child would have,'' she said. ``But I
 would never say that you should disregard what the child wants.''

 At the same time, Haber and many others -- experts and laymen -- wondered
 about the damage being inflicted on Elian by the constant attention now being
 paid to him.

 ``It's like a drug,'' Haber said. ``You can be addicted to it, and when it goes away,
 you can crash.

 ``This is a great story and it's a tragedy, all rolled into one.''

 Herald staff writer Jasmine Kripalani and Herald translator Renato Perez
 contributed to this report.
 

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald