Billy Black's Bonfire Discussions - Cullens Online2024-03-28T22:30:11Zhttp://thecullensonline.ning.com/group/billyblacksbonfire/forum?feed=yes&xn_auth=noTurtle Gets a Shelltag:thecullensonline.ning.com,2011-01-06:3404507:Topic:4707842011-01-06T01:31:58.133ZBilly Blackhttp://thecullensonline.ning.com/profile/BillyBlack
An Anishnabe (Anishinabe) Legend<br />
<br />
It was one of those days when Nanaboozhoo was in a strange mood. He had just awakened from a deep sleep that was disturbed by the noisy quarreling and scolding of the blue jays. He was a bit cranky; his sleep was disturbed and besides that, he was hungry. His first thought was to down to the village and find something to eat.<br />
<br />
Entering the village, he came across some men cooking fish. They had their camp located close to the water and Nanaboozhoo spied many…
An Anishnabe (Anishinabe) Legend<br />
<br />
It was one of those days when Nanaboozhoo was in a strange mood. He had just awakened from a deep sleep that was disturbed by the noisy quarreling and scolding of the blue jays. He was a bit cranky; his sleep was disturbed and besides that, he was hungry. His first thought was to down to the village and find something to eat.<br />
<br />
Entering the village, he came across some men cooking fish. They had their camp located close to the water and Nanaboozhoo spied many fish cooking over a fire. Now, being very hungry, he asked for something to eat. The men were happy to give him some, but cautioned him that is was hot. Not heeding their warning, he quickly grabbed the fish and burned his hand. He ran to the lake to cool it off in the water. Still unsteady from his deep sleep, he tripped on a stone and fell on Mi-she-kae (turtle) who was sunning on the beach. At that time, Mishekae was not as we know her today. She had no shell and was comprised of soft skin and bone.<br />
<br />
Turtle complained loudly to Nanaboozhoo to watch where he was going. Now, Nanaboozhoo felt ashamed of his clumsiness and apologized to Mishekae. He wondered, "what can I do to make it up to her?" He wanted to do something to help his friend. "I'll have to sit and think it over,"he thought, as he followed the path back to his wigwam.<br />
<br />
Sometime later, he returned to the beach and called for Mishekae. Turtle poked her head through the soft beach mud. Nanaboozhoo picked up two large shells from the shore and placed one on top of the other. He scooped up Mishekae and put her right in the middle, between the shells.<br />
<br />
Nanaboozhoo took a deep breath and began. "You will never be injured like that again." he said slowly. "Whenever danger threatens," he continued, "you can pull your legs and head into the shell for protection"<br />
<br />
Nanaboozhoo sat beside his friend on the beach and told Mishekae his thoughts. "The shell itself is round like Mother Earth. It was a round hump which resembles her hills and mountains. It is divided into segments, like martyrizes that are a part of her; each different and yet connected by her."<br />
<br />
Mishekae seemed very pleased with and listened intently. "You have four legs, each representing the points of direction North, South, East and West." he said. "When the legs are all drawn in, all directions are lost. Your tail will show the many lands where the Anishnabek have been and your head will point in the direction to follow. "You will have advantages over the Anishnabek," he went on. "You will be able to live in the water as well as on land and you will be in your own house at all times."<br />
<br />
Mishekae approved of her new self and thanked Nanaboozhoo for his wisdom. Moving now in a thick shell, she pushed herself along the shore and disappeared into the water.<br />
<br />
So, ever since that accident long ago, Turtle has been special to the Anishnabek. To this day, she continues to grace Mother Earth, still proudly wearing those two shells. How Maple Sugar Cametag:thecullensonline.ning.com,2011-01-06:3404507:Topic:4707822011-01-06T01:30:55.886ZBilly Blackhttp://thecullensonline.ning.com/profile/BillyBlack
A Salteaux Legend<br />
<br />
After Nanahboozhoo had given the Wild Roses their thorns, he wandered about the world playing pranks on the Little People of Darkness, so that they determined to be revenged on him and kill his old Grandmother Nokomis. Nanahboozhoo loved his grandmother dearly, and when he knew that the Little People wished to hurt her, he took Nokomis upon his strong back, and flew away with her to a forest.<br />
<br />
Wonderful was the forest, for it was in the Autumn of the year, and the Maple Trees…
A Salteaux Legend<br />
<br />
After Nanahboozhoo had given the Wild Roses their thorns, he wandered about the world playing pranks on the Little People of Darkness, so that they determined to be revenged on him and kill his old Grandmother Nokomis. Nanahboozhoo loved his grandmother dearly, and when he knew that the Little People wished to hurt her, he took Nokomis upon his strong back, and flew away with her to a forest.<br />
<br />
Wonderful was the forest, for it was in the Autumn of the year, and the Maple Trees were all yellow, green, and crimson. From a distance they looked like a great fire. It happened that the Little People followed after Nanahboozhoo, and when they saw the bright colors of the Maples, through the haze of Indian Summer, they thought the whole world was in flames, and turned back and hid in their holes.<br />
<br />
Nanahboozhoo was so pleased with the beautiful Maples for having saved his grandmother from the Little People that he decided to live among the trees, and he made old Nokomis a wigwam of their brightest branches.<br />
<br />
One day, some Indians came seeking Nanahboozhoo to ask for help. They found him in his grandmother's wigwam among the yellow, green, and crimson Maples, where he received them kindly.<br />
<br />
"O Nanahboozhoo," said they, "the Indians of the Far South have a delicious sweet thing they call Sugar, and we have nothing of the kind. We sent runners with gifts to the South to get an abundance of Sugar for our people; but some of the runners were killed and others wounded. Tell us, therefore, O Nanahboozhoo, how we may make Sugar for ourselves."<br />
<br />
At first Nanahboozhoo was greatly puzzled, for he had been in the South land and knew how hard it was to make Sugar. But old Nokomis, when she heard what the Indians asked, added her pleadings to theirs, for she too had tasted Sugar and longed for more. Of course Nanahboozhoo could not refuse to help, so he thought a while, and said:-<br />
"Since the beautiful Maples were so good to Nokomis, henceforth in the Spring of the year they shall give the Indians sweet sap. And when the sap is boiled down thick and delicious, it will cool and harden into Sugar."<br />
<br />
Then Nanahboozhoo gave the Indians a bucket made of Birch bark, and a stone tapping-gouge with which to make holes in the tree-trunks; and he shaped for them some Cedar spiles or little spouts, to put in the holes, and through which the sap might run from the trees into buckets. He told them, too, that they must build great fireplaces in the woods near the Maple groves, and when the buckets were full of sap, they must pour it into their kettles, and boil it down. And the amount of Sugar they might boil each Spring would depend on the number of Cedar spiles and Birch bark buckets they made during the Winter.<br />
<br />
And every Springtime since, when the Frost is going out of the ground and the Arbutus blossoms under the snow, the sweet sap mounts through the trunks of the Maple Trees, and the Northern Indians gather the sap, and say, "This is the way Nanahboozhoo taught us to make Maple-Sugar!" The Origin of Corntag:thecullensonline.ning.com,2010-12-05:3404507:Topic:4442502010-12-05T01:06:02.253ZBilly Blackhttp://thecullensonline.ning.com/profile/BillyBlack
A Jicarilla Apache Legend<br></br>
<br></br>
An Apache who was an inveterate gambler had a small tame turkey, which<br />
followed its master about everywhere. One day the Turkey told him that<br />
the people were tired of supporting him, as he gambled until he lost<br />
everything that they gave him.<br></br>
<br></br>
They had decided to give him one more stock of supplies, and if he made away with that he should be killed.<br></br>
<br></br>
Knowing that he could not resist the temptation to gamble if he had any<br />
property in his…
A Jicarilla Apache Legend<br/>
<br/>
An Apache who was an inveterate gambler had a small tame turkey, which<br />
followed its master about everywhere. One day the Turkey told him that<br />
the people were tired of supporting him, as he gambled until he lost<br />
everything that they gave him.<br/>
<br/>
They had decided to give him one more stock of supplies, and if he made away with that he should be killed.<br/>
<br/>
Knowing that he could not resist the temptation to gamble if he had any<br />
property in his possession, he decided to leave the tribe before their<br />
wrath should overtake him. The next day he began to chop down a tree<br />
from which to build a boat.<br/>
<br/>
The Woodpecker, Tsitl-ka-ta, commanded him not to cut the tree; the<br />
woodpeckers must do that for him. They also cut out the inside of the<br />
trunk, so that he could get into the cylinder, after which the spider<br />
sealed him in by making a web over each end. The woodpeckers carried the<br />
log, thus prepared, to the Rio Grande River, and threw it in. The<br />
faithful Turkey followed along the shore.<br/>
<br/>
In the whirlpool above San Juan the log left the main current, and spun<br />
round and round until the Turkey pushed it on into the channel again.<br />
Farther down the river the log caught in the rocks in an upright<br />
position above a fall, but the Turkey again started it on its journey.<br />
At the pueblo of Isleta, the boys hauled out the log with others for<br />
fuel. The Turkey' rescued the log and placed it in the water, and again,<br />
at another pueblo far down the river, the log was returned to the<br />
stream.<br/>
<br/>
Far to the southward the log drifted out of the channel into a grove of<br />
cottonwoods. The man came out of the log and found a large quantity of<br />
duck feathers lying about. That night he had no blanket in which to<br />
sleep, so he covered himself with duck feathers. He killed a duck, and<br />
with the sinews of its legs made a bowstring.<br/>
<br/>
After he landed, the Turkey soon overtook him, and they remained there<br />
for four days. During this time the man cleared a small space and<br />
leveled it.<br/>
<br/>
"Why do you clear this place?" said the Turkey. "if you wish to plant something you must make a larger field."<br/>
<br/>
Then the Turkey ran toward the east, and the field was extended in that<br />
direction: toward the south, the west, and the north he ran, until the<br />
field was large enough. Then he ran into the field from the east side,<br />
and the black corn lay behind him; from the south side, and the blue<br />
corn appeared; from the west, and the yellow corn was made; from the<br />
north, and the seeds of every kind of cereal and vegetable lay upon the<br />
ground.<br/>
<br/>
The Turkey told the man to plant all these seeds in rows. In four days<br />
the growing plants appeared. The Turkey helped his master tend the<br />
crops, and in four more days everything was ripe. Then the man took an<br />
ear of corn and roasted it, and found it good. The Origin of Corntag:thecullensonline.ning.com,2010-12-05:3404507:Topic:4442482010-12-05T01:06:00.580ZBilly Blackhttp://thecullensonline.ning.com/profile/BillyBlack
A Jicarilla Apache Legend<br></br>
<br></br>
An Apache who was an inveterate gambler had a small tame turkey, which<br />
followed its master about everywhere. One day the Turkey told him that<br />
the people were tired of supporting him, as he gambled until he lost<br />
everything that they gave him.<br></br>
<br></br>
They had decided to give him one more stock of supplies, and if he made away with that he should be killed.<br></br>
<br></br>
Knowing that he could not resist the temptation to gamble if he had any<br />
property in his…
A Jicarilla Apache Legend<br/>
<br/>
An Apache who was an inveterate gambler had a small tame turkey, which<br />
followed its master about everywhere. One day the Turkey told him that<br />
the people were tired of supporting him, as he gambled until he lost<br />
everything that they gave him.<br/>
<br/>
They had decided to give him one more stock of supplies, and if he made away with that he should be killed.<br/>
<br/>
Knowing that he could not resist the temptation to gamble if he had any<br />
property in his possession, he decided to leave the tribe before their<br />
wrath should overtake him. The next day he began to chop down a tree<br />
from which to build a boat.<br/>
<br/>
The Woodpecker, Tsitl-ka-ta, commanded him not to cut the tree; the<br />
woodpeckers must do that for him. They also cut out the inside of the<br />
trunk, so that he could get into the cylinder, after which the spider<br />
sealed him in by making a web over each end. The woodpeckers carried the<br />
log, thus prepared, to the Rio Grande River, and threw it in. The<br />
faithful Turkey followed along the shore.<br/>
<br/>
In the whirlpool above San Juan the log left the main current, and spun<br />
round and round until the Turkey pushed it on into the channel again.<br />
Farther down the river the log caught in the rocks in an upright<br />
position above a fall, but the Turkey again started it on its journey.<br />
At the pueblo of Isleta, the boys hauled out the log with others for<br />
fuel. The Turkey' rescued the log and placed it in the water, and again,<br />
at another pueblo far down the river, the log was returned to the<br />
stream.<br/>
<br/>
Far to the southward the log drifted out of the channel into a grove of<br />
cottonwoods. The man came out of the log and found a large quantity of<br />
duck feathers lying about. That night he had no blanket in which to<br />
sleep, so he covered himself with duck feathers. He killed a duck, and<br />
with the sinews of its legs made a bowstring.<br/>
<br/>
After he landed, the Turkey soon overtook him, and they remained there<br />
for four days. During this time the man cleared a small space and<br />
leveled it.<br/>
<br/>
"Why do you clear this place?" said the Turkey. "if you wish to plant something you must make a larger field."<br/>
<br/>
Then the Turkey ran toward the east, and the field was extended in that<br />
direction: toward the south, the west, and the north he ran, until the<br />
field was large enough. Then he ran into the field from the east side,<br />
and the black corn lay behind him; from the south side, and the blue<br />
corn appeared; from the west, and the yellow corn was made; from the<br />
north, and the seeds of every kind of cereal and vegetable lay upon the<br />
ground.<br/>
<br/>
The Turkey told the man to plant all these seeds in rows. In four days<br />
the growing plants appeared. The Turkey helped his master tend the<br />
crops, and in four more days everything was ripe. Then the man took an<br />
ear of corn and roasted it, and found it good. Turkey makes the corn and Coyote Plants ittag:thecullensonline.ning.com,2010-12-05:3404507:Topic:4442462010-12-05T01:05:21.673ZBilly Blackhttp://thecullensonline.ning.com/profile/BillyBlack
An Apache Legend<br />
<br />
Long ago when all the animals talked like people, Turkey overheard a boy begging his sister for food. "What does your little brother want?" he asked the girl.<br />
<br />
"He's hungry, but we have nothing to eat," she said.<br />
<br />
When Turkey heard this, he shook himself all over. Many kinds of fruits and wild food dropped out of his body, and the brother and sister ate these up. Turkey shook himself again, and a variety of corn that is very large dropped out of his feathers. He shook himself…
An Apache Legend<br />
<br />
Long ago when all the animals talked like people, Turkey overheard a boy begging his sister for food. "What does your little brother want?" he asked the girl.<br />
<br />
"He's hungry, but we have nothing to eat," she said.<br />
<br />
When Turkey heard this, he shook himself all over. Many kinds of fruits and wild food dropped out of his body, and the brother and sister ate these up. Turkey shook himself again, and a variety of corn that is very large dropped out of his feathers. He shook himself a third time, and yellow corn dropped out. And when he shook himself for the fourth time, white corn dropped out.<br />
<br />
Bear came over, and Turkey told him, "I'm helping to feed my sister and my brother, over there." Bear said, "You can shake only four times to make food come out of you, but I have every kind of food on me, from my feet to my head."<br />
<br />
Bear shook himself, and out of his fur dropped juniper berries. He shook himself again, and out dropped a cactus that is good to eat. Then he shook out acorns, then another kind of cactus, then gambel oak acorns, then blue oak acorns, then pinion nuts, then a species of sumac, then manzanita berries, then wild mulberries, then saguaro fruit.<br />
<br />
Turkey said to the boy and girl, "I have four kinds of corn seeds here for you, and this is a good place to plant them."<br />
<br />
The sister and brother cut digging sticks and made holes with them. In the holes they planted all their corn seeds. The next day the corn had already come up and was about a foot and a half high.<br />
<br />
The girl said, "we still have some squash seeds here," so they planted them too. The boy and girl asked Turkey for more corn seed. "The corn is coming up nicely," they said, "so we want to make another farm and plant more corn there." Turkey gave them the seed, and they left him to look after their first fields while they started off to make the other farm.<br />
<br />
When they came back, they heard Turkey hollering at the corn field. They ran down there and saw him dragging one wing along the ground on the side toward them. There were snakes on the other side of him, and he pretended to have a broken wing to lure the snakes away and shield the boy and girl.<br />
<br />
The squash plants had young squash on them, and the corn had grown tall and formed ears and tassels. The tassels had pollen in them, and the snakes had come to gather the pollen out of the corn plants.<br />
<br />
Turkey told the boy and the girl to stay away from the corn for four days, when the snakes would be finished. At the end of the four days, the corn was ripe.<br />
<br />
Turkey told them, "This will be the only time when the corn will come up in four days. From now on it will take quite a while."<br />
<br />
And it does.<br />
<br />
By now, the brother and sister had planted corn three times, and they gave seeds to other people. Then Slim Coyote came and asked for some.<br />
<br />
"The corn you planted is growing well, and the ears are coming out on it," he said. "I'd like to have some seeds to plant for myself." Coyote would have to do lots of work if he wanted to raise his corn, but that wasn't his plan. "These other people here plant their corn, and after it's grown they have to cook it. Me, I am not going to do it that way. I'll cook my corn first, and then plant it, so I won't have to bother to cook it when it's ripe."<br />
<br />
Here's where Coyote made a big mistake. He cooked his corn, ate some, planted quite a patch of the rest. He felt pretty good about it. "Now I've done well for myself. You people have to cook your corn after you plant it, but mine will be already cooked," he said. After planting, he went off with the rest of the people to gather acorns, but when they returned to their fields, Coyote's had nothing growing on it at all.<br />
<br />
He said angrily, "You people must have taken the hearts out of the corn seeds you gave to me."<br />
<br />
"No, we didn't do that," they told him, "but you cooked the heart out of them before you planted."<br />
<br />
Coyote asked for more seeds and planted them the right way this time. So his corn grew :the day after he planted it, it was up about a foot and a half. He felt good. The people who had planted their corn at the beginning were harvesting now and tying it up into bundles. Coyote saw these and wanted some. People got mad at Coyote because he was always asking them for corn.<br />
<br />
"I just want some green ears to feed my children," he would say. "As soon as my corn is ripe, I'll pay you back."<br />
<br />
The other people had all their corn in and stripped now, but their squashes were still growing in the field. Coyote stole their squash, and the people all came to his camp. They wanted to know if he was the one who was stealing their squash.<br />
<br />
Coyote pretended to get angry. "You're always blaming me for stealing everything. There are lots of camps over there. Why do you choose mine to come to with your accusations?"<br />
<br />
But the people knew about Coyote's thieving ways. "From now on, don't make your farm near us. Move away and live someplace else!" they said.<br />
<br />
"All right. There are several of you that I was going to repay with corn, but I won't do it now that you've treated me this way," he said. So Coyote's family lived poorly, and they never bothered to cook anything before they ate it. "Forty Dead Men"tag:thecullensonline.ning.com,2010-10-24:3404507:Topic:4095362010-10-24T01:35:25.656ZBilly Blackhttp://thecullensonline.ning.com/profile/BillyBlack
"Forty Dead Men"<br />
<br />
At Ozette two brothers undertook whaling, although their father had not been a whaler. The elder was unsuccessful, but the younger killed several whales the first season. Thereafter he was always lucky, while his brother always failed. The elder often asked how he got his power, but the younger whaler told nothing.<br />
<br />
The younger brother often lay all day with his back to the fire, and he slept there at night. He seldom ate, and then only a little. The way he obtained his power…
"Forty Dead Men"<br />
<br />
At Ozette two brothers undertook whaling, although their father had not been a whaler. The elder was unsuccessful, but the younger killed several whales the first season. Thereafter he was always lucky, while his brother always failed. The elder often asked how he got his power, but the younger whaler told nothing.<br />
<br />
The younger brother often lay all day with his back to the fire, and he slept there at night. He seldom ate, and then only a little. The way he obtained his power was this: He dreamed of forty ghosts, and then cleared a place in the woods back of the village. Around it was a thick jungle of crab trees, which he made impenetrable by interweaving the trees and brush he had cut down, leaving only a narrow entrance. In the clearing he arranged some brush and small poles in the form of a canoe and four whales in a row. The whales were so large that he could place two corpses under them. Around the edge of the clearing he placed boards so as to make a shelf about two feet from the ground, and on it, bough to upright stakes, he stood forty dead bodies. Each held a stick in it's right hand, and he arranged a rope so that by pulling it he caused all of them to strike with their batons the board on which they stood. Another line raised the left arms of the corpses at the will of the whaler. In the brush canoe he had a full crew of seven dead men, and by means of ropes he made them paddle when he gave the order. In visiting this place the whaler always rested four times after leaving the burial ground, and on reaching the clearing he walked around it four times inside the line of corpses.<br />
<br />
One day a son of the elder brother died, and the body was placed in a hole and covered with stones. On the fourth night the younger brother left the house. The other heard him, and softly followed him to the new grave, and silently watched him remove the stones, take out the body, and fill the hole with stones. With the body on his back, and walking in the fashion of whalers at such times, the young man went along the beach and then turned into the woods. The elder brother cautiously followed, pausing when the other rested. Whenever the whaler stopped he screeched like an owl, and prayed, "May I be given a chance to spear a whale, and may the people say it was I that did it!" When finally they reached the clearing, it was dawn.<br />
<br />
The whaler threw the body beside the first whale, and made the dead men strike the boards with their sticks. Then he stood the new body beside the stake and lashed it there. He slowly got into the canoe, took up a harpoon, and hurled it at the first brush whale. At that instant his brother sprang through the hedge. The whaler fell unconscious, and the elder leaped upon him. When the whaler opened his eyes, he begged, "Spare my life, and I will show you how to do everything! I will let you use all this, and tell you the best places to wash!"<br />
<br />
"Why did you not let me have this when I asked you?" demanded the elder man. "The people have been laughing at me long enough! I asked you this many years ago, but you told me nothing. Now I can take everything you have. If you had told me, this would never have happened. And you took my dead son so soon after I buried him! Though you are my brother, I cannot spare your life!" He stabbed him, but did not kill him. Still the whaler pleaded, "Let me go! Whatever I have shall be yours! If you kill me, you will have no good from these things, because you will not know how to use them. If you try to use them by yourself, you will die soon!" But the elder brother stabbed him to death. Then he lashed the warm body to the other side of the stake that supported his own son. It was now broad daylight, adn the man went home and told his wife all.<br />
<br />
Four or five days later he returned to the clearing. He pulled on the rope, and the sticks struck the boards. Then he prayed as he had heard his brother do. He got into the brush canoe, threw the harpoon at the first wahle, and said, "I have forty dead men for my power! May I spear a while, and may the people say it was I that speared it!" He heard a sound from his dead brother, then the words: "You should be ashamed! You are not doing it the right way!" Then he went home feeling very ill, and that night he died.<br />
<br />
[Makah] The Call of the Owltag:thecullensonline.ning.com,2010-10-24:3404507:Topic:4095322010-10-24T01:34:39.204ZBilly Blackhttp://thecullensonline.ning.com/profile/BillyBlack
The Call of the Owl<br />
<br />
Long ago in the Red Indian tribe of the Cherokees there was a widow who had a very beautiful daughter. When the girl was old enough to marry, her mother took her aside.<br />
<br />
"It's time, my child, to find yourself a husband," she said. "Your father was a famous hunter. Only another man like him is good enough for you."<br />
<br />
Her daughter agreed, but she was a difficult, temperamental girl, and none of the young men of the tribe pleased her. One was too small, another too ugly, a…
The Call of the Owl<br />
<br />
Long ago in the Red Indian tribe of the Cherokees there was a widow who had a very beautiful daughter. When the girl was old enough to marry, her mother took her aside.<br />
<br />
"It's time, my child, to find yourself a husband," she said. "Your father was a famous hunter. Only another man like him is good enough for you."<br />
<br />
Her daughter agreed, but she was a difficult, temperamental girl, and none of the young men of the tribe pleased her. One was too small, another too ugly, a third too poor and a fourth too simple. But one day a very handsome young man appeared at the widow's wigwam. She had never seen him before."<br />
<br />
"I am U-gu-ku," he said. "I would like to marry your daughter. I've always wanted a wife as beautiful as her."<br />
<br />
"My daughter," replied the woman, "must marry a good hunter, so she never goes hungry. My husband was a famous hunter, and we always had plenty of meat."<br />
<br />
"I'm a very good hunter," answered U-gu-ku."<br />
<br />
He was a pleasant young man, and so the widow called her daughter.<br />
<br />
"This is U-gu-ku," she told her. "He wants to marry you."<br />
<br />
The girl liked the look of the young man, and so the marriage took place.<br />
<br />
Next day the widow went to her new son-in-law.<br />
<br />
"There's no more meat in the house," she said.<br />
<br />
"Don't, worry, mother of my wife," replied U-gu-ku. "I'll go hunting." And off he went. But when he came back, all he had were three paltry little fish.<br />
<br />
"I'm sorry," said U-gu-ku. "I had no luck hunting today, so I decided to go fishing. I've brought you three fish. No doubt I'll have better luck tomorrow."<br />
<br />
Their supper that evening was not very lavish. But worse was to come, for the next day all that U-gu-ku brought back from the hunt were three lizards.<br />
<br />
"It's as if there's a curse on me," said U-gu-ku sadly. "But don't worry. Tomorrow you'll have meat."<br />
<br />
On the third day U-gu-ku returned very tired from the hunt, and handed the widow three scrawny little bits of meat that the other hunters had left behind. His wife and mother-in-law could not understand it. They began to wonder if U-gu-ku could be trusted.<br />
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"He told me he was a good hunter," said the widow, "but he has hardly killed a thing. Don't you think you should follow him secretly and see what he's doing?"<br />
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The girl agreed, and on the fourth day of her marriage she followed her husband into the forest, hiding behind the trees. WHen they came to the river, to her surprise and horror, U-gu-ku turned into an owl.<br />
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"U-gu-ku - oooooooo - ooooooo," he cried, flying up into the air and out over the river. Then suddenly, he swooped down to the water and seized a little crayfish.<br />
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The young woman was horrified to think she had an owl as a husband. She ran back home as fast as she could, weeping as if her heart would break.<br />
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That evening, when U-gu-ku returned, the crayfish was all he had. "Is that all you caught?" asked the wife.<br />
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"An owl stole the rest from me," he replied.<br />
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"But you're the owl!" cried the young woman furiously. "You've lied to me, you've tricked me, and what's more you're a dreadfully bad hunter!"<br />
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"No, I'm not," protested U-gu-ku. "I may be a bad hunter for a man, but for an owl I'm a very good one."<br />
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"Get out of my sight!" shouted his wife. "I never want to see you again."<br />
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So the owl flew away into the forest, cryihng and hooting dolefully. He was terribly unhappy, for he loved his wife with all his heart.<br />
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"U-gu-ku - oooooo - oooooo - oooooo," went the sorrowful voice, as U-gu-ku mourned his loss. And every night since then, the owl's lament has been heard, as he sings of his lost love.<br />
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[Cherokee Legend] The Coyote Dancing with the Starstag:thecullensonline.ning.com,2010-09-26:3404507:Topic:3862222010-09-26T00:33:38.308ZBilly Blackhttp://thecullensonline.ning.com/profile/BillyBlack
The Coyote Dancing with the Stars<br />
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After Kareya gave the coyote so much cunning he became very ambitious, and wanted to do many things which were very much too hard for him, and which Kareya never intended he should do. One of them once got so conceited that he thought he could dance with the stars, and so he asked one of them to fly close to the top of a mountain and take him by the paw, and let him dance once around through the sky. The star only laughed at him and winked its eye, but…
The Coyote Dancing with the Stars<br />
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After Kareya gave the coyote so much cunning he became very ambitious, and wanted to do many things which were very much too hard for him, and which Kareya never intended he should do. One of them once got so conceited that he thought he could dance with the stars, and so he asked one of them to fly close to the top of a mountain and take him by the paw, and let him dance once around through the sky. The star only laughed at him and winked its eye, but the next night when it came around, it sailed close to the mountain and took the coyote by the paw, and flew away with him through the sky. But the foolish coyote soon grew tired of dancing this way, and could not wait for the star to come around to the mountain again. He looked down at the earth and it seemed quite near to him, and as the star could not wait or fly low just then, he let go and leaped down. Poor coyote! he was ten whole snows in falling, and when he struck the earth he was smashed flatter than a willow mat or a frog in the road.<br />
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Another one, not taking warning from this dreadful example, asked a star to let him dance once round through the sky. The star tried to dissuade him from the fool-hardy undertaking, but it was of no avail; the silly animal would not be convinced. Every night when the star came around, he would squat on top of a mountain and bark until the star grew tired of his noise. So one night it sailed close down to the mountain and told the coyote to be quick for it could not wait, and up he jumped and caught it with his paw, and went dancing away through the great blue heaven. He, too, soon grew tired, and asked the star to stop and let him rest a little while. But the star told him it could not stop, for Kareya had made it to keep on moving all the while. Then he tried to get on the star and ride, but it was too small. Thus he was compelled to keep on dancing, dangling down from one paw, and one piece of his body after another dropped off until there was only one paw left hanging to the star. Why Butterflies are Silent - Story told on July 31st Special Bonfiretag:thecullensonline.ning.com,2010-07-31:3404507:Topic:3342312010-07-31T23:29:29.243ZEmbry Callhttp://thecullensonline.ning.com/profile/EmbryCall650
One day the Creator was resting, sitting, watching some children at play in a village. The children laughed and sang, yet as he watched them, the Creator's heart was sad. He was thinking: "These children will grow old. Their skin will become wrinkled. Their hair will turn gray. Their teeth will fall out. The young hunter's arm will fail. These lovely young girls will grow ugly and fat. The playful puppies will become blind, mangy dogs. And those wonderful flowers - yellow and blue, red and…
One day the Creator was resting, sitting, watching some children at play in a village. The children laughed and sang, yet as he watched them, the Creator's heart was sad. He was thinking: "These children will grow old. Their skin will become wrinkled. Their hair will turn gray. Their teeth will fall out. The young hunter's arm will fail. These lovely young girls will grow ugly and fat. The playful puppies will become blind, mangy dogs. And those wonderful flowers - yellow and blue, red and purple - will fade. The leaves from the trees will fall and dry up. Already they are turning yellow." Thus the Creator grew sadder and sadder. It was in the fall, and the thought of the coming winter, with its cold and lack of game and green things, made his heart heavy.<br />
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Yet it was still warm, and the sun was shining. The Creator watched the play of sunlight and shadow on the ground, the yellow leaves being carried here and there by the wind. He saw the blueness of the sky, the whiteness of some cornmeal ground by the women. Suddenly he smiled. "All those colors, they ought to be preserved. I'll make something to gladden my heart, something for these children to look at and enjoy."<br />
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The Creator took out his bag and started gathering things: a spot of sunlight, a handful of blue from the sky, the whiteness of the cornmeal, the shadow of playing children, the blackness of a beautiful girl's hair, the yellow of the falling leaves, the green of the pine needles, the red, purple, and orange of the flowers around him. All these he put into his bag. As an afterthought, he put the songs of the birds in, too.<br />
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Then he walked over to the grassy spot where the children were playing. "Children, little children, this is for you," and he gave them his bag. "Open it; there's something nice inside," he told them. The children opened the bag, and at once hundreds and hundreds of colored butterflies flew out, dancing around the children's heads, settling on their hair, fluttering up again to sip from this or that flower. And the children, enchanted, said that they had never seen anything so beautiful.<br />
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The butterflies began to sing, and the children listened smiling. But then a songbird came flying, settling on the Creator's shoulder, scolding him, saying: "It's not right to give our songs to these new, pretty things. You told us when you made us that every bird would have his own song. And now you've passed them all around. Isn't it enough that you gave your new playthings the colors of the rainbow?" "You're right," said the Creator. "I made one song for each bird, and I shouldn't have taken what belongs to you."<br />
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So the Creator took the songs away from the butterflies, and that's why they are silent. "They're beautiful even so!" he said. Why the North Star Stands Still - 2nd story of June 26th bonfiretag:thecullensonline.ning.com,2010-06-27:3404507:Topic:2985592010-06-27T00:05:10.677ZEmbry Callhttp://thecullensonline.ning.com/profile/EmbryCall650
Long, long ago, when the world was young, the People of the Sky were so restless and traveled so much that they made trails in the heavens. Now, if we watch the sky all through the night, we can see which way they go.<br></br>
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But one star does not travel. That is the North Star. He cannot travel. He cannot move. When he was on the Earth long, long ago, he was known as Na- gah, the mountain sheep, the son of Shinoh. He was brave, daring, sure- footed, and courageous. His father was so proud…
Long, long ago, when the world was young, the People of the Sky were so restless and traveled so much that they made trails in the heavens. Now, if we watch the sky all through the night, we can see which way they go.<br/>
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But one star does not travel. That is the North Star. He cannot travel. He cannot move. When he was on the Earth long, long ago, he was known as Na- gah, the mountain sheep, the son of Shinoh. He was brave, daring, sure- footed, and courageous. His father was so proud of him and loved him so much that he put large earrings on the sides of his head and made him look dignified, important, and commanding.<br/>
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Every day, Na-gah was climbing, climbing, climbing. He hunted for the roughest and the highest mountains, climbed them, lived among them, and was happy. Once in the very long ago, he found a very high peak. Its sides were steep and smooth, and its sharp peak reached up into the clouds. Na- gah looked up and said, "I wonder what is up there. I will climb to the very highest point."<br/>
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Around and around the mountain he traveled, looking for a trail. But he could find no trail. There was nothing but sheer cliffs all the way around. This was the first mountain Na-gah had ever seen that he could not climb.<br/>
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He wondered and wondered what he should do. He felt sure that his father would feel ashamed of him if he knew that there was a mountain that his son could not climb. Na-gah determined that he would find a way up to its top. His father would be proud to see him standing on the top of such a peak.<br/>
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Again and again he walked around the mountain, stopping now and then to peer up the steep cliff, hoping to see a crevice on which he could find footing. Again and again, he went up as far as he could, but always had to turn around and come down. At last he found a big crack in a rock that went down, not up. Down he went into it and soon found a hole that turned upward. His heart was made glad. Up and up he climbed.<br/>
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Soon it became so dark that he could not see, and the cave was full of loose rocks that slipped under his feet and rolled down. Soon he heard a big, fearsome noise coming up through the shaft at the same time the rolling rocks were dashed to pieces at the bottom. In the darkness he slipped often and skinned his knees. His courage and determination began to fail. He had never before seen a place so dark and dangerous. He was afraid, and he was also very tired.<br/>
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"I will go back and look again for a better place to climb," he said to himself. "I am not afraid out on the open cliffs, but this dark hole fills me with fear. I'm scared! I want to get out of here!"<br/>
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But when Na-gah turned to go down, he found that the rolling rocks had closed the cave below him. He could not get down. He saw only one thing now that he could do: He must go on climbing until he came out somewhere.<br/>
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After a long climb, he saw a little light, and he knew that he was coming out of the hole. "Now I am happy," he said aloud. "I am glad that I really came up through that dark hole."<br/>
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Looking around him, he became almost breathless, for he found that he was on the top of a very high peak! There was scarcely room for him to turn around, and looking down from this height made him dizzy. He saw great cliffs below him, in every direction, and saw only a small place in which he could move. Nowhere on the outside could he get down, and the cave was closed on the inside..,<br/>
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"Here I must stay until I die," he said. "But I have climbed my mountain! I have climbed my mountain at last!<br/>
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He ate a little grass and drank a little water that he found in the holes in the rocks. Then he felt better. He was higher than any mountain he could see and he could look down on the Earth, far below him.<br/>
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About this time, his father was out walking over the sky. He looked everywhere for his son, but could not find him. He called loudly, "Na-gah! Na- gah!" And his son answered him from the top of the highest cliffs. When Shinoh saw him there, he felt sorrowful, to himself, "My brave son can never come down. Always he must stay on the top of the highest mountain. He can travel and climb no more.<br/>
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"I will not let my brave son die. I will turn him into a star, and he can stand there and shine where everyone can see him. He shall be a guide mark for all the living things on the Earth or in the sky."<br/>
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And so Na-gah became a star that every living thing can see. It is the only star that will always be found at the same place. Always he stands still. Directions are set by him. Travelers, looking up at him, can always find their way. He does not move around as the other stars do, and so he is called "the Fixed Star." And because he is in the true north all the time, our people call him Qui-am-i Wintook Poot-see. These words mean "the North Star."<br/>
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Besides Na-gah, other mountain sheep are in the sky. They are called "Big Dipper" and "Little Dipper." They too have found the great mountain and have been challenged by it. They have seen Na- gah standing on its top, and they want to go on up to him.<br/>
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Shinoh, the father of North Star, turned them into stars, and you may see them in the sky at the foot of the big mountain. Always they are traveling. They go around and around the mountain, seeking the trail that leads upward to Na-gah, who stands on the top. He is still the North Star.