The Eagle
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
The eagle is a great sacred bird. Our favorite is the golden or war eagle, which we call "pretty-feathered eagle", because of his beautiful tail feathers, white, tipped with black, which we use for decorative and ceremonial purposes. A single tail feather was often rated as equal in value to a horse.

In time passed, the killing of an eagle was something that concerned the whole town. This could only be done by a professional eagle killer, chosen for the purpose on account of his knowledge of the prescribed forms and prayers to be said afterwards in order to obtain pardon for the necessary sacrilege, and thus ward off vengeance from our tribe.

The eagle must be killed only in winter or late fall after the crops were gathered and snakes retired to their dens. If killed in summertime a frost would destroy the corn, while the songs of the Eagle dance, when the feathers were brought home, would so anger the snakes that they would become doubly dangerous. That is why the Eagle songs were never sung until the snakes had gone to sleep in the winter.

It is told that one man deliberately killed an eagle in defiance of the ordinances and the he was constantly haunted by dreams of fierce eagles swooping down upon him in his nightmares.

The Field Mice were singing and dancing in a circle
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
A light on the plain in the middle of the night was an unusual thing. But so merry were the mice they did not hear the "king, king" of sleepy birds, disturbed by the unaccustomed fire.

A pack of wolves, fearing to come nigh this night fire, stood together a little distance away, and, turning their pointed noses to the stars, howled and yelped most dismally. Even the cry of the wolves was unheeded by the mice within the lighted buffalo skull.

They were feasting and dancing; they were singing and laughing -- those funny little furry fellows.

All the while across the dark from out the low river bottom came that pair of fiery eyes.

Now closer and more swift, now fiercer and glaring, the eyes moved toward the buffalo skull. All unconscious of those fearful eyes, the happy mice nibbled at dried roots and venison. The singers had started another song. The drummers beat the time, turning their heads from side to side in rhythm. In a ring around the fire hopped the mice, each bouncing hard on his two hind feet. Some carried their tails over their arms, while others trailed them proudly along.

Ah, very near are those round yellow eyes! Very low to the ground they seem to creep -- creep toward the buffalo skull. All of a sudden they slide into the eye- sockets of the old skull.

"Spirit of the buffalo!" squeaked a frightened mouse as he jumped out from a hole in the back part of the skull.

"A cat! a cat!" cried other mice as they scrambled out of holes both large and snug. Noiseless they ran away into the dark.

The legend of the First Woman
A Native American Tale As Told by Mary Ulmer Chiltoskey - Nation Unknown
For a time the man was very happy on earth. He roamed around and ate the fruits and berries and he visited the animals and he saw all his homeland. There was much to learn and the earth was beautiful. But before long the man grew discontented and he became very unhappy. He didn't know what this disease was, bit it was a disease that we still have. He was bored.

When he got bored, he used his mind and his strength differently. he shot arrows at the deer without really needing to. He picked the plants and didn't use them. He tore up the animals' dens just to see if he could do it. And soon the animals became concerned about the new creature.

The animals called a council meeting to try to determine what to do. They said they thought this creature was supposed to have respect for other creatures, that he was given a mind. A little insect said, "Wait, you haven't thought this out. The Great One made him; let's ask him what to do." This seemed to be a good idea. They called to the Great One to help them with the new "superior" creature.

The owl said, "You told us the man has a mind and he is to respect us."

The deer said, "I don't want to be disrespectful, but you told us the man would need more of us deer than any other animal. If he keeps killing us like he is now, very soon he won't have any deer left."

"Oh," said the Great One, "thank you, thank you. I had not thought about something I left out in this man."

The bear said, "Look at him right now. He's lying out in the sun with his face up. No animal will sleep right out in the open. We all know to go into a private, guarded place to rest."

The Great One said, "Yes, there is something missing because I was in such a hurry to make him. But I know what is missing."

"Stand back," he said. He made a green plant to grow up tall. The plant grew up right over the man's heart, up toward Galunlati. It was a plant with long, graceful leaves and then an ear and a golden tassel. Above the tall plant was a woman, a beautiful, tall, brown woman growing from the stalk of strong corn.

The man woke up and thought he was dreaming. He rubbed his eyes and said, "This is not true. In a minute I'll wake up and be just as bored as I was before. Oh, I am so lonely."

The Great One sort of kicked him in the behind. "Get up you lazy thing," the Great One said. "Be a man for your lady" Now no one had any reason to think this man was a mannerly individual. Recently he had certainly not been acting like a real gentleman. But we don't have to be taught manners: We need someone to expect the best from us and we use the manners the Great One has already given us. So the man got up, brushed himself off, and gallantly offered his hand to the woman who came down from the stalk of corn.

The woman said, "No, wait a minute." The man didn't argue or huff. He just waited as she asked. She reached up and pulled two good ears of corn to take with her. Then she said, "I'm ready." Do you know why she wanted the corn? She couldn't have known yet that the corn would be an important food. She just knew that she had sprung from the corn and she needed to take something of her heritage with her.

The Great One remembered that although each man will sometimes need to be alone, each man will also need companionship to be his best.

Over a period of time, the man and the woman built a home where they kept the corn for planting. The next spring she planted her corn and it grew into a beautiful plant. It was probably the next year that she noticed a large bird who became sacred to the Cherokee because they could watch what he ate, and they would then know it was safe to eat.

One morning the woman noticed the turkey eating the tender corn. She knew then the corn was food and it was time to eat the corn. That evening she set a pottery pot of corn in the middle of her cook fire. She covered the pot with a curve of chestnut bark. When the man came in to eat his fish stew, she didn't tell him what she had cooked. She just pulled an ear of corn from the pot and pealed it back so he could smell it. he thought it was the best aroma he had ever smelled and he began to eat the first corn of the spring.

Note: Cherokee women now never tell their men when they will serve the first corn of the season. They believe if they say it, bad luck will happen. One year not long ago, Aunt Mary's husband overheard her tell a visitor when they would have the first corn of the season. Before the corn was good and ripe, wild hogs ate nearly all of it!

The pole that holds the Sky
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
Long ago, there lived a chief named Wakiash, who was sad because he had never had a totem pole, and without a totem pole he could not host a dance. He was also ashamed, because chiefs were expected to hold great dances for the people. One day, Wakiash went up into the mountains and fasted to seek guidance. After four days, he fell into a deep sleep. A frog fell on him, and Wakiash awoke. "Come!" exclaimed the frog. "We will fly around the world on Raven's back."

Raven carried the chief and the frog all over the land. After four days, they flew over a house with a fine totem pole; they could hear the sounds of laughter and singing from within the house. Raven stopped and set them down outside the door. "Quick," said the frog, "hide with me, then jump into the house when the dancing begins."

Inside the house were many animals, but they did not begin their dance because they could feel the presence of intruders. A mouse was sent outside to see who was there. The little mouse found Wakiash and the frog, but Wakiash persuaded the mouse not to chase them away; he gave him a piece of goat's fat as a friendly gesture. The mouse thanked him and asked, "why did you come here?"

"I want to learn to dance and to have a fine totem pole," the chief replied. So the mouse led Wakiash and the frog into the house, promising to teach the chief what he needed to learn. Wakiash patiently watched and listened to the teachings of the animals, and copied their movements as they danced their different steps. Eventually, the masked animal chief told Wakiash that he was ready to return home with his new-found knowledge, and that he should take with him a medicine bundle.

Raven carried Wakiash, the frog and the medicine bundle back to the mountains. Wakiash awoke from hi deep sleep and took the medicine bundle back home. The next morning, the medicine bundle was gone, but in its place was a magnificent totem pole with all the animals that had been painted on Wakiash's house: the whale, bear, raven, and smaller animals. To celebrate this joyous happening, Wakiash held a dance -- the best dance anyone could remember.

The day after the dance, the totem pole disappeared, but Wakiash now knew what he needed to build a new one. He concentrated on everything he had learned from the animals in his dream, realizing that the frog had shown him the importance of honoring the animals that had protected his own ancestors. Wakiash fashioned a tall new totem pole that was more majestic even than the last one. He called it Kulakuyuwish -- the pole that holds up the sky.

The Little Rabbit who talked too much
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
One time, long ago, there was a little rabbit and her coat was gleaming white, and so she was called Little White Rabbit. She liked to visit her Grandmother who lived in a lodge on the edge of a big wood.

One day, as she was starting home from her grandmother's lodge, she met a stranger she had never known before - a big lynx. He sang this song to her:

Tell me, little one,
Why are your ears thin like leather?
All thin and straight your ears are,
All thin and straight.
Why is this so, little White one?

Little White Rabbit was so afraid of this stranger and his big green eyes that she crouched flat to the ground and said, "E! E! E!". Then she ran back to her grandmother as fast as she could.

"Oh Grandmother!!" she said, "I met a stranger, a spotted one with green eyes and fringe on his ears! He want to know why my ears are thin and straight!"

"Ho, that must be the lynx. He is bad fellow," said her grandmother. "Run back and if you see the stranger, tell him that your uncles fixed your ears that way when they came from the South. Tell him only that! Do not say anything more, but run!"

Little White Rabbit ran back the same way to go home and there was the lynx again so Little White Rabbit sang this song:

My uncles came from the South
and they fixed my ears that way:
My uncles fixed my nice long ears
when they came from the South.

Little White Rabbit would have started home then but the lynx stared at her with his big green eyes and sang:

Where, pretty white one,
Where do you go?
Where, pretty white one,
Where do you go?

Little White Rabbit was so frightened that she again said "E! E! E!" and ran back to her grandmother again as fast as she could run. "Oh, Grandmother," she said, "the spotted stranger wants to know where I am going. I am afraid of the spotted one!"

"Ho!" said her grandmother, "you should be afraid of that stranger. Go back and if you see him again tell him you are going home. Tell him only that! Do not say more, but run!"

Little White Rabbit went back to go home and there was the stranger waiting again. But instead of repeating only her grandmother's words, only what her grandmother said, Little White Rabbit sang:

To the point of Land I go,
for there is where my home is.
To the Point of Land,
there I am going, where I live.

Then Little White Rabbit laid her ears flat back on her shoulders and started on, but the lynx stared at her with those green eyes and sang this song:

Why, why do you run away, pretty one?
Stay, pretty white one.
Tell me how you run so fast.
Tell me how you keep your feet so dry.

Little White Rabbit was even more afraid now, more than ever before and she said "E! E! E!" and she ran back to her grandmother. She said "Oh, Grandmother, I am very afraid! The spotted one wants to know how I can run so fast!. He wants to know how I keep my feet so dry!"

"Ho!" said her grandmother, "do not mind the lynx, he is not to be trusted, we do not know him as a friend. He is a stranger. Do not listen to him but run home to your mother. The lynx is only bad, an idle one who is not good to listen to or be with. He is not to be trusted!

So Little White Rabbit ran away just as fast as she could toward home. She did not see the lynx anywhere as she ran home, so she began to feel safe. She hurried along the path wishing she were safe at home with her mother on the Point of Land. Nowhere was she able to see the spotted one with those big green eyes and fringed ears.

But the lynx knew where she was going, for Little White Rabbit had told him. She had told him more than her grandmother has said to tell him! She had told him where she lived! Because the lynx was told more than he should know, he was able to slip through the brush unseen and he quietly hid in the grass on the Point of Land, very, very close to Little White Rabbit's home. And when Little White Rabbit came along the lynx jumped out and ate Little White Rabbit all up to the very last bit. And Little White Rabbit never was seen again! No one ever knew what happened to her that day! So it is told!

And so now you can see, it is not good to stop and talk to strange ones, but rather one must say very little or nothing to strange ones and run away to safety!

The Magic Arrows
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
There was once a young man who wanted to go on a journey. His mother provided him with sacks of dried meat and pairs of moccasins, but his father said to him: "Here, my son, are four magic arrows. When you are in need, shoot one of them!"

The young man went forth alone, and hunted in the forest for many days. Usually he was successful, but a day came when he was hungry and could not find meat. Then he sent forth one of the magic arrows, and at the end of the day there lay a fat Bear with the arrow in his side. The hunter cut out the tongue for his meal, and of the body of the Bear he made a thank-offering to the Great Mystery.

Again he was in need, and again in the morning he shot a magic arrow, and at nightfall beside his camp-fire he found an Elk lying with the arrow in his heart. Once more he ate the tongue and offered up the body as a sacrifice. The third time he killed a Moose with his arrow, and the fourth time a Buffalo.

After the fourth arrow had been spent, the young man came one day out of the forest, and before him there lay a great circular village of skin lodges. At one side, and some little way from the rest of the people, he noticed a small and poor tent where an old couple lived all alone. At the edge of the wood he took off his clothes and hid them in a hollow tree. Then, touching the top of his head with his staff, he turned himself into a little ragged boy and went toward the poor tent.

The old woman saw him coming, and said to her old man: "Old man, let us keep this little boy for our own! He seems to be a fine, bright-eyed little fellow, and we are all alone."

"What are you thinking of, old woman?" grumbled the old man. "We can hardly keep ourselves, and yet you talk of taking in a ragged little scamp from nobody knows where!"

In the meantime the boy had come quite near, and the old wife beckoned to him to enter the lodge.

"Sit down, my grandson, sit down!" she said, kindly; and, in spite of the old man's black looks, she handed him a small dish of parched corn, which was all the food they had.

The boy ate and stayed on. By and by he said to the old woman: "Grandmother, I should like to have grandfather make me some arrows!"

"You hear, my old man?" said she. "It will be very well for you to make some little arrows for the boy."

"And why should I make arrows for a strange little ragged boy?" grumbled the old man.

However, he made two or three, and the boy went hunting. In a short time he returned with several small birds. The old woman took them and pulled off the feathers, thanking him and praising him as she did so. She quickly made the little birds into soup, of which the old man ate gladly, and with the soft feathers she stuffed a small pillow.

"You have done well, my grandson!" he said; for they were really very poor.

Not long after, the boy said to his adopted grandmother: "Grandmother, when you see me at the edge of the wood yonder, you must call out: 'A Bear! There goes a Bear!"

This she did, and the boy again sent forth one of the magic arrows, which he had taken from the body of his game and kept by him. No sooner had he shot, than he saw the same Bear that he had offered up, lying before him with the arrow in his side!

Now there was great rejoicing in the lodge of the poor old couple. While they were out skinning the Bear and cutting the meat in thin strips to dry, the boy sat alone in the lodge. In the pot on the fire was the Bear's tongue, which he wanted for himself.

All at once a young girl stood in the doorway. She drew her robe modestly before her face as she said in a low voice:

"I come to borrow the mortar of your grandmother!"

The boy gave her the mortar, and also a piece of the tongue which he had cooked, and she went away.

When all of the Bear meat was gone, the boy sent forth a second arrow and killed an Elk, and with the third and fourth he shot the Moose and the Buffalo as before, each time recovering his arrow.

Soon after, he heard that the people of the large village were in trouble. A great Red Eagle, it was said, flew over the village every day at dawn, and the people believed that it was a bird of evil omen, for they no longer had any success in hunting. None of their braves had been able to shoot the Eagle, and the chief had offered his only daughter in marriage to the man who should kill it.

When the boy heard this, he went out early the next morning and lay in wait for the Red Eagle. At the touch of his magic arrow, it fell at his feet, and the boy pulled out his arrow and went home without speaking to any one.

But the thankful people followed him to the poor little lodge, and when they had found him, they brought the chief's beautiful daughter to be his wife. Lo, she was the girl who had come to borrow his grandmother's mortar!

Then he went back to the hollow tree where his clothes were hidden, and came back a handsome young man, richly dressed for his wedding.

The Raccoon and the Bee-Tree
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
The Raccoon had been asleep all day in the snug hollow of a tree. The dusk was coming on when he awoke, stretched himself once or twice, and jumping down from the top of the tall, dead stump in which he made his home, set out to look for his supper.

In the midst of the woods there was a lake, and all along the lake shore there rang out the alarm cries of the water people as the Raccoon came nearer and nearer.

First the Swan gave a scream of warning. The Crane repeated the cry, and from the very middle of the lake the Loon, swimming low, took it up and echoed it back over the still water.

The Raccoon sped merrily on, and finding no unwary bird that he could seize he picked up a few mussel-shells from the beach, cracked them neatly and ate the sweet meat.

A little further on, as he was leaping hither and thither through the long, tangled meadow grass, he landed with all four feet on a family of Skunks--- father, mother and twelve little ones, who were curled up sound asleep in a oft bed of broken dry grass.

"Huh!" exclaimed the father Skunk. "What do you mean by this, eh?" And he stood looking at him defiantly.

"Oh, excuse me, excuse me," begged the Raccoon. "I am very sorry. I did not mean to do it! I was just running along and I did not see you at all."

"Better be careful where you step next time," grumbled the Skunk, and the Raccoon was glad to hurry on.

Running up a tall tree he came upon two red Squirrels in one nest, but before he could get his paws upon one of them they were scolding angrily from the topmost branch.

"Come down, friends!" called the Raccoon. "What are you doing up there? Why, I wouldn't harm you for anything!"

"Ugh, you can't fool us," chattered the Squirrels, and the Raccoon went on.

Deep in the woods, at last, he found a great hollow tree which attracted him by a peculiar sweet smell. He sniffed and sniffed, and went round and round till he saw something trickling down a narrow crevice. He tasted it and it was deliciously sweet.

He ran up the tree and down again, and at last found an opening into which he could thrust his paw. He brought it out covered with honey!

Now the Raccoon was happy. He ate and scooped, and scooped and ate the golden, trickling honey with both forepaws till his pretty, pointed face was daubed all over.

Suddenly he tried to get a paw into his ear. Something hurt him terribly just then, and the next minute his sensitive nose was frightfully stung. He rubbed his face with both sticky paws. The sharp stings came thicker and faster, and he wildly clawed the air. At last he forgot to hold on to the branch any longer, and with a screech he tumbled to the ground.

There he rolled and rolled on the dead leaves till he was covered with leaves from head to foot, for they stuck to his fine, sticky fur, and most of all they covered his eyes and his striped face. Mad with fright and pain he dashed through the forest calling to some one of his own kind to come to his aid.

The moon was now bright, and many of the woods people were abroad. A second Raccoon heard the call and went to meet it. But when he saw a frightful object plastered with dry leaves racing madly toward him he turned and ran for his life, for he did not know what this thing might be.

The Raccoon who had been stealing the honey ran after him as fast as he could, hoping to overtake and beg the other to help him get rid of his leaves.

So they ran and they ran out of the woods on to the shining white beach around the lake. Here a Fox met them, but after one look at the queer object which was chasing the frightened Raccoon he too turned and ran at his best speed.

Presently a young Bear came loping out of the wood and sat up on his haunches to see them go by. But when he got a good look at the Raccoon who was plastered with dead leaves, he scrambled up a tree to be out of the way.

By this time the poor Raccoon was so frantic that he scarcely knew what he was doing. He ran up the tree after the Bear and got hold of his tail.

"Woo, woo!" snarled the Bear, and the Raccoon let go. He was tired out and dreadfully ashamed. He did now what he ought to have done at the very first-- -he jumped into the lake and washed off most of the leaves. Then he got back to his hollow tree and curled himself up and licked and licked his soft fur till he had licked himself clean, and then he went to sleep.

The Runaways
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
There was once a young man who had journeyed a long way from home in search of adventure. One day he came to a strange village on the border of a great wood, but while yet some distance from the lodges, he happened to glance upward. In the boughs of a tree just above his head he saw a light scaffold, and on the scaffold a maiden sitting at her needlework.

Instead of boldly entering the village, as he had intended, the youth walked on a little way, then turned and again passed under the tree. He did this several times, and each time he looked up, for the girl was the prettiest that he had ever seen.

He did not show himself to the people, but for several days he lingered on the borders of the wood, and at last he ventured to speak with the maiden and to ask her to be his wife. She did not seem to be at all unwilling; however, she said to him: "You must be very careful, for my grandmother does not wish me to marry. She is a very wicked old woman, and has thus far succeeded in killing every one of my suitors."

"In that case, we must run away," the young man replied. "Tonight, when your grandmother is asleep, pull up some of the tent-pins and come out. I shall be waiting for you!"

The girl did as he had said, and that same night they fled together and by morning were far from the village.

However, the maiden kept looking over her shoulder as if fearing pursuit, and at last her lover said to her: "Why do you continue to look behind you? They will not have missed you until daylight, and it is quite certain now that no one can overtake us!"

"Ah," she replied, "my grandmother has powerful magic! She can cover a whole day's journey at one step, and I am convinced that she is on our trail."

"In that case, you shall see that I too know something of magic," returned the young man. Forthwith he threw down one of his mittens, and lo! their trail was changed to the trail of a Buffalo. He threw down the other mitten, and it became the carcass of a Buffalo lying at the end of the trail.

"She will follow this far and no farther," he declared; but the maiden shook her head, and ceased not from time to time to glance over her shoulder as they hastened onward.

In truth it was not long till she saw the old woman in the distance, coming on with great strides and shaking her cane and her gray head at the runaways.

"Now it is my turn!" the girl exclaimed, and threw down her comb, which became a thick forest behind the fleeing ones, so that the angry old woman was held back by the dense underbrush.

When she had come out of the forest at last and was again gaining upon them, the girl threw her awl over her shoulder and it became a chain of mountains with high peaks and sharp precipices, so that the grandmother was kept back longer than before. Nevertheless, her magic was strong, and she still struggled on after the lovers.

In the meantime, they had come to the bank of a river both wide and deep, and here they stood for a while doubting how they should cross, for there was neither boat nor ford. However, there were two Cranes near by, and to these the young man addressed himself.

"My friends," said he, "I beg of you to stand on the opposite banks of this river and stretch your necks across, so that we may cross in safety! Only do this, and I will give to each of you a fine ornament for your breast, and long fringes on your leggings, so that you will hereafter be called the handsomest of birds!"

The Cranes were willing to oblige, and they stood thus with their beaks touching over the stream, so that the lovers crossed on their long necks in safety.

"Now," exclaimed the young man," I must ask of you one more favor! If an old woman should come down to the river and seek your help, place your heads together once more as if to allow her to cross, but when she is half way over you must draw back and let her fall in mid-stream. Do this, and I promise you that you shall never be in want!"

In a little while the old woman came down to the river, quite out of breath, and more angry than before. As soon as she noticed the two Cranes, she began to scold and order them about.

"Come here, you long-necks, you ungainly creatures, come and help me over this river!" she cried.

The two Cranes again stood beak to beak, but when the wicked grandmother had crossed half way they pulled in their necks and into the water she went, screaming out threats and abuse as she whirled through the air. The current swept her quickly away and she was drowned, for there is no magic so strong that it will prevail against true love.

The Snake with the big feet
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
Long ago, in that far-off happy time when the world was new, and there were no white people at all, only Indians and animals, there was a snake who was different from other snakes. He had feet-big feet. And the other snakes, because he was different, hated him, and made life wretched for him. Finally, they drove him away from the country where the snakes lived, saying, "A good long way from here live other ugly creatures with feet like yours. Go and live with them!" And the poor, unhappy Snake had to go away.

For days and days, he traveled. The weather grew cold and food became hard to find. At last, exhausted, his feet cut and frostbitten, he lay down on the bank of a river to die.

The Deer, E-se-ko-to-ye, looked out of a willow thicket, and saw the Snake lying on the river bank. Pitying him, the deer took the Snake into his own lodge and gave him food and medicine for his bleeding feet.

The Deer told the Snake that there were indeed creatures with feet like his who would befriend him, but that some among these would be enemies whom it would be necessary to kill before he could reach safety.

He showed the Snake how to make a shelter for protection from the cold and taught him how to make moccasins of deerskin to protect his feet. And at dawn the Snake continued his journey.

The sun was far down the western sky, and it was bitter cold when the Snake made camp the next night. As he gathered boughs for a shelter, Kais- kap the porcupine appeared. Shivering, the Porcupine asked him, "Will you give me shelter in your lodge for the night?"

The Snake said, "It's very little that I have, but you are welcome to share it."

"I am grateful," said Kais-kap, "and perhaps I can do something for you. Those are beautiful moccasins, brother, but they do not match your skin. Take some of my quills, and make a pattern on them, for good luck." So they worked a pattern on the moccasins with the porcupine quills, and the Snake went on his way again.

As the Deer had told him, he met enemies. Three times he was challenged by hostile Indians, and three times he killed his adversary.

At last he met an Indian who greeted him in a friendly manner. The Snake had no gifts for this kindly chief, so he gave him the moccasins. And that, so the old Ones say, was how our people first learned to make moccasins of deerskin, and to ornament them with porcupine quills in patterns, like those on the back of a snake. And from that day on the Snake lived in the lodge of the chief, counting his coup of scalps with the warriors by the Council fire and, for a long time, was happy.

But the chief had a daughter who was beautiful and kind, and the Snake came to love her very much indeed. He wished that he were human, so that he might marry the maiden, and have his own lodge. He knew there was no hope of this unless the High Gods, the Above Spirits took pity on him, and would perform a miracle on his behalf.

So he fasted and prayed for many, many days. But all his fasting and praying had no result, and at last the Snake came very ill.

Now, in the tribe, there was a very highly skilled Medicine Man. Mo'ki-ya was an old man, so old that he had seen and known, and understood, everything that came within the compass of his people's lives, and many things that concerned the Spirits. Many times, his lodge was seen to sway with the Ghost Wind, and the voices of those long gone on to the Sand Hills spoke to him.

Mo'ki-ya came to where the Snake lay in the chief's lodge, and sending all the others away, asked the Snake what his trouble was.

"It is beyond even your magic," said the Snake, but he told Mo'ki-ya about his love for the maiden, and his desire to become a man so that he could marry her.

Mo'ki-ya sat quietly thinking for a while. Then he said, "I shall go on a journey, brother. Perhaps my magic can help, perhaps not. We shall see when I return." And he gathered his medicine bundles and disappeared.

It was a long and fearsome journey that Mo'ki-ya made. He went to the shores of a great lake. He climbed a high mountain, and he took the matter to Nato'se, the Sun himself.

And Nato'se listened, for this man stood high in the regard of the spirits, and his medicine was good. He did not ask, and never had asked, for anything for himself, and to transform the Snake into a brave of the tribe was not a difficult task for the High Gods. The third day after the arrival of Mo'ki-ya at the Sun's abode, Nato'se said to him, "Return to your own lodge Mo'ki-ya, and build a fire of small sticks. Put many handfuls of sweet-grass on the fire, and when the smoke rises thickly, lay the body of the Snake in the middle of it."

And Mo'ki-ya came back to his own land.

The fire was built in the center of the Medicine lodge, as the Sun had directed, and when the sweet-grass smouldered among the embers, sending the smoke rolling in great billows through the tepee, Mo'ki-ya gently lifted the Snake, now very nearly dead, and placed him in the fire so that he was hidden by the smoke.

The Medicine-drum whispered softly in the dusk of the lodge: the chant of the old men grew a little louder, and then the smoke obscuring the fire parted like a curtain, and a young man stepped out.

Great were the rejoicing in the camp that night. The Snake, now a handsome young brave, was welcomed into the tribe with the ceremonies befitting the reception of one shown to be high in the favor of the spirits. The chief gladly gave him his daughter, happy to have a son law of such distinction.

Many brave sons and beautiful daughters blessed the lodge of the Snake and at last, so the Old ones say, his family became a new tribe-the Pe-sik-na-ta- pe, or Snake Indians.

The Sun-Dance with Little Black Crow and Jack Rabbit
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
One day Little Black Crow was perched on a limb as the wise old Jack Rabbit came hoping down the trail.

Little Crow said to Jack Rabbit, "Hey, where are you going?" Jack Rabbit said, "I am going to the Sun-Dance. Would you like to go with me?" Little Crow replied, "No thank you, the Sun-Dance is about religion and its not for me."

Jack Rabbit replied, "No Little Crow, the Sun-Dance is about a way of life". Little Black Crow thought about this and agreed to accompany Jack Rabbit.

Before going to a Sun-Dance, everyone must go into a Inipi Oolowan (sweat lodge). A sweat lodge is a small domed-shaped hut made of willow saplings. All sorts of animals, birds and humans sit on Mother Earth around a pit dug in the center. Special stones are heated red hot in a fire built outside the sweat lodge and brought inside by the Fire Keeper. Once many red hot stones are carried inside the sweat lodge and placed in the dirt pit, the door is closed tight where no light can be seen.

Sitting in blackness of the sweat lodge, Little Black Crow and Jack Rabbit listened as a loud hissing sound began to fill the darkness as a medicine man poured cool water in the dirt pit on the hot stones. Several minutes passed as the hissing sound grew louder and hot steam filled the small lodge.

Little Black Crow loudly whispered to his friend, "Jack Rabbit it is hot in here!" Soon everyone gathered around the circle began to sing, except Little Crow who did not know the strange songs. As they sang the hot steam continued to form a thick cloud and the heat was nearly unbearable for Little Black Crow. To his relief, the door opened and he quickly scampered outside. Jack Rabbit then told his friend, "Oh, I forgot to tell you we must do this four times."

Little Black Crow did not think he would survive in the cramped, dark and stifling heat of the sweat lodge. But after the last round, Little Crow gratefully poured himself outside the lodge and joined all the other animals, birds and humans on their way to the Sun-Dance.

Deep in the forest along the path to the Sun-Dance, they meet Brown Badger who gives Little Black Crow a tiny pair of moccasins so he can dance during ceremonies. Next, they meet Gray Otter who gives Little Crow an eagle bone whistle so he can call Grandfather Thunder during the Sun-Dance.

Finally, late at night they arrive at the dance grounds where many humans and creatures of all sorts have gathered. After a restful night of sleep, dance ceremonies began at sunrise with the sounds of singing and many drums pounding out a hypnotic beat as eagles and hawks flew in circles above.

Little Black Crow awoke with a startle at the sound of the loud drums and said, "Hey, what is going on? The sun is barely up yet!" Jack Rabbit said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you ceremonies go from sunrise to sunset."

Ho! Pita Wamblii, Ho! Pita Wamblii, Ho! Pita Wamblii, Ho! Pita Wamblii they sang from sun-up to sun-down. As the day passed and evening descended upon the gathering, Little Black Crow complained to his friend, Jack Rabbit, "I am hungry, it is time to find some food." Jack Rabbit looked at his little friend and said, "I am sorry Little Crow, I forgot to tell you there will be no food for four days and nights."

Little Crow wondered if he could survive the Sun-Dance, but he loved the singing, drumming and dancing. Then he told his companion, "O.k. no food, but how about some water?, I am thirsty." Jack Rabbit says, "Oh, I forgot to tell you something. There will be no water for four days." Fear struck Little Black Crow as he knew survival would be difficult.

"I told you that I did not believe in this religious stuff," said Little Black Crow. "No, no," replied Jack Rabbit. "This is not religion, it is a way of life!"

The second day goes by with all the singers singing and the drummers drumming. Little Crow goes to sleep trying to escape the hunger and thirst.

The third day the singers are singing and the drummers are drumming. The dancers are dancing. Then everyone sleeps.

Finally, the most important day of the ceremonies arrives. On the forth day the humans, animals and birds will make a sacrifice of courage and Jack Rabbit will tell why there is a Sun-Dance. By this time, Little Black Crow is weak, hungry, thirsty and frightened. But, he very much enjoyed the singing and dancing.

Regardless of this, Little Crow shows great courage and completes the Sun-Dance. Then with great ceremony, Jack Rabbit speaks.

"Aho, my friends! There was a time long ago when all the animals, birds and humans all lived together and talked to each other. Now, that time is going away. It is sad. That is one reason why we perform the Sun-Dance. So, we will not lose this gift of talking and living together."

With that and many more things said, Little Black Crow became very happy! He was jumping around and spinning in circles as he yelled, "Now I can talk to humans!"

Jack Rabbit walked slowly to his friend and said, " Oh, I forgot to tell you something. You must first Sun-Dance four times, once a year before you can talk to humans."

After the Sun-Dance there was a great feast. As Little Black Crow was busy eating and drinking to his heart's content, humans, birds and other animals gathered around Jack Rabbit. Someone asked, "Do you think Little Black Crow will come to the Sun-Dance next year?"

Jack Rabbit looked at them all and said, "Yes! He has good singers and good drummers!

"Ho! Pita Wamblii!!"

The Thunder Nation and the Eagle
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
We'll talk about Thunder-Lightning and the Eagle. They say that Thunder and the Eagle are fast friends. Long ago, Thunder spoke to every wild creature -- everything that flew or everything with four legs -- and to the Eagle he said,"I appoint you ruler.

You must have a meeting with all the wild creatures, and you must answer all their requests. If you think they [the creatures] should be a certain way,you make them that way. You must ask them what they want to be," said Thunder.

So the Eagle called a meeting. All kinds of birds came to it.

When they arrived, the meeting was called to order. He [the Eagle] asked each of them what he wanted to be able to do.

The Quail, who was very selfish when asked about anything, immediately arose and went and stood beside the Eagle.

"Couldn't you give me power so that when a man sees me fly he will instantly die of fright?" the Quail asked the Eagle.

"No,"said the Eagle. "You are entirely too small. I could not give you that kind of power. But I can go this far: I can let you fly, and when a man hears you fly, he will become frightened," said the eagle to the Quail.

The Quail said,"All right."

That's the reason why when we hear one [a quail] flying, we become frightened because he makes a whirring noise. That's all the power he was allowed.

Next came the Terrapin that crawls on land. "I would like to be able to produce a poison that kills people. Allow me that kind of power." he said to the Eagle.

"No,"said the Eagle,"You are entirely too slow and small." Thunder and the Eagle had a conference. (Thunder was the ruler of all the Earth and Heaven. That's why he appointed his best friend as Ruler of the Earth.)

The thing I especially remember about the doings of the Eagle is that he gave a power to the Chickadee. He [the Chickadee] was given the power to be something like a fortune teller among people in that he could go where people were, and if they were going to have visitors, he could inform them ahead of time. This could be done by flying to a tree near them and singing a joyous song.

"Would you give me that kind of power?" asked the Chickadee. So he was given that power. That's why the Cherokees say when they see a chickadee fly into a tree, "The Chickadee says somebody is coming." That's the power that was given to him they say.

Then the Redbird, the beautifully singing bird, came up: "Let people have faith in me. I want to be able to sing joyful songs when it is going to rain."

So he was given that power. That's why the old Cherokees believe that when they see this bird singing atop a tree it will rain. That's all the power he was given.

The Shrike came up and said,"All I want is to be an expert dance caller."And so he was given that power.

Said the people long ago: the Eagle was the Ruler of the Earth, but Thunder was the Ruler of the Whole Universe, and they got together to decide if all their distributed powers were going to be satisfactory. So said the people of long ago.

The Raccoon's Lessons
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
The forest was full of homeless and wounded creatures after the great fire. The Raccoon Tribe ravaged all the nearby mountain cabins and brought food to the hungry. The Tribe of little bandits worked long and hard hours to supply what was needed to help the other friends of the forest.

Mama Raccoon was busier than most of the others of her Tribe, mending the cuts and bandaging the burns of those who came for assistance. Days dragged into moons, and still the needy came in hordes. Mama Raccoon was the protectress of the frail, the children, the injured, and the underdog. She took her mission very seriously and labored day after day with little relief or rest.

The other raccoons became increasingly aware because Mama was close to collapse. One morning, Mama Raccoon fell over, barely alive. The others took her to the burrow and nursed her as best they could. In her lapses of dreams and consciousness, Mama Raccoon heard the Earth Mother saying "You gave all of your strength to others, forgetting to weigh the consequences.

The little bandit in you who robbed food from those who had a lot, giving it to those who had none, has lost her balance. In order to heal, you will need to see the error of robbing yourself of all your energy and giving it away, leaving you with none." Mama Raccoon learned these lessons and got well. Now she teaches these same lessons to humankind, reminding them to give to the best of their abilities without robbing themselves of their health or sense of well-being.

The story of Jumping Mouse
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
Once there was a mouse. He was a busy mouse, searching everywhere, touching his whiskers to the grass, and looking. He was busy as all mice are, busy with mice things. But once in a while he would hear an odd sound. He would lift his head, squinting hard to see, his whiskers wiggling in the air, and he would wonder. One day he scurried up to a fellow mouse and asked him, "Do you hear a roaring in your ears, my brother?"

"No, no," answered the other mouse, not lifting his busy nose from the ground. "I hear nothing. I am busy now. Talk to me later."

He asked another mouse the same question and the mouse looked at him strangely. "Are you foolish in your head? what sound?" he asked and slipped into a Hole in a fallen cottonwood tree.

The little mouse shrugged his whiskers and busied himself again, determined to forget the whole matter. But there was that roaring again. It was faint, very faint, but it was there! One day, he decided to investigate the sound just a little. Leaving the other busy mice, he scurried a little way away and listened again. There it was! He was listening hard when suddenly, someone said hello.

Hello little brother," the voice said, and mouse almost jumped right out of his skin. He arched his back and tail and was about to run.

"Hello," again said the voice. "It is I, brother raccoon." And sure enough, It was! "What are you doing here all by yourself, little brother?" asked the raccoon. The mouse blushed, and put his nose almost to the ground. "I hear a roaring in my ears and I am investigating it," he answered timidly.

"A roaring in your ears?" replied the raccoon as he sat down with him. "What you hear, little brother , is the river."

"The river?" mouse asked curiously. "What is a river?"

"Walk with me and I will show you the river," raccoon said.

Little mouse was terribly afraid, but he was determined to find out once and for all about the roaring. "I can return to my work," he thought, "after this thing is settled, and possibly this thing may aid me in all my busy examining and collecting. And my brothers all said it was nothing. I will show them. I will ask raccoon to return with me and I will have proof."

"All right raccoon, my brother," said mouse. "lead on to the river. I will walk with you."

Little mouse walked with raccoon. His little heart was pounding in his breast. The raccoon was taking him upon strange paths and little mouse smelled the scent of many things that had gone by his way. Many times he became so frightened he almost turned back. Finally, they came to the river! It was huge and breathtaking, deep and clear in places, and murky in others. Little mouse was unable to see across it because it was so great. It roared, sang, cried, and thundered on its course. Little mouse saw great and little pieces of the world carried along on its surface.

"It is powerful!" little mouse said, fumbling for words.

It is a great thing," answered the raccoon, "But here, let me introduce you to a friend."

In a smoother, shallower place was a lily pad, bright and green. Sitting upon it was a frog, almost as green as the pad it sat on. The frog's white belly stood out clearly.

"Hello, little brother," said the frog.

"Welcome to the river."

"I must leave you now," cut in raccoon, "but do not fear, little brother, for frog will care for you now." And raccoon left, looking along the river bank for food that he might wash and eat.

Little mouse approached the water and looked into it. He saw a frightened mouse reflected there.

"Who are you?" little mouse asked the reflection. "Are you not afraid of being that far out into the great river?"

"No, answered the frog, "I am not afraid. I have been given the gift from birth to live both above and within the river. When winter man comes and freezes this medicine, I cannot be seen. But all the while thunderbird flies, I am here. To visit me, One must come when the world is green. I, my brother, am the keeper of the water."

Amazing!" little mouse said at last, again fumbling for words."

Would you like to have some medicine power?" frog asked."

"Medicine power? Me?" asked little mouse. "Yes, yes! If it is possible."

"Then crouch as low as you can, and then jump as high as you are able! You will have your medicine!" Frog said.

Little mouse did as he was Instructed. He crouched as low as he could and jumped. And when he did, his eyes saw the sacred mountains.

Little mouse could hardly believe his eyes. But there they were! But then he fell back to Earth, and he landed in the river!

Little mouse became frightened and scrambled back to the bank. He was wet and frightened nearly to death.

"You have tricked me," little mouse screamed at the frog!"

"Wait," said the frog. "You are not harmed. Do not let your fear and anger blind you. What did you see?"

"I," mouse stammered, "I saw the sacred mountains!"

"And you have a new name!" frog said. "It is Jumping Mouse."

"Thank you. Thank you," Jumping Mouse said, and Thanked him again. "I want to return to my people and tell them of this thing that has happened to me."

"Go. Go then," frog said. "Return to your people. It is easy to find them. Keep the sound of the medicine river to the back of your Head. Go opposite to the sound and you will find your brother mice."

Jumping Mouse returned to the world of the mice. But he found disappointment. No one would listen to him. And because he was wet, and had no way of explaining it because there had been no rain, many of the other mice were afraid of him. They believed he had been spat from the mouth of another animal that had tried to eat him. And they all knew that if he had not been food for the one who wanted him, then he must also be poison for them.

Jumping Mouse lived again among his people, but he could not forget his vision of the sacred mountains.

The memory burned in the mind and heart of Jumping Mouse, and one day he went to the edge of the place of mice and looked out onto the prairie. He looked up for eagles. The sky was full of many spots, each one an eagle. But he was determined to go to the sacred mountains. He gathered all of his courage and ran just as fast as he could onto the prairie. His little heart pounded with excitement and fear.

He Ran until he came to a stand of sage. He was resting and trying to catch his breath when he saw an Old Mouse. The patch of sage Old Mouse lived in was a haven for mice. Seeds and many things to be busy with.

"Hello," said Old Mouse. "Welcome."

Jumping Mouse was amazed. Such a place and such a mouse. "You are truly a great mouse." Jumping Mouse said with all the respect that he could find. "This is truly a wonderful place. And the eagles cannot see you here, either," Jumping Mouse said.

"Yes," said Old Mouse," and one can see all the beings of the prairie here: the buffalo, Antelope, Rabbit, and Coyote. One can see them all from here and know their names."

"That is marvelous," Jumping Mouse said. "Can you also see the river and the great mountains?"

"Yes and no," Old Mouse said with conviction. "I know the great river, But I am afraid that the great mountains are only a myth. Forget your passion to see them and stay here with me. There is everything you want here, and it is a good place to be."

"How can he say such a thing?" Thought Jumping Mouse. "The medicine of the sacred mountains is nothing one can forget."

"Thank you very much for the meal you have shared with me, Old Mouse, and also for sharing your great home," Jumping Mouse said. "But I must seek the mountains."

"You are a foolish mouse to leave, there is danger on the prairie! Just look up there!" Old Mouse said, with even more conviction. "See all those spots! They are eagles, and they will catch you!"

It was hard for Jumping Mouse to leave, but he gathered his determination and ran hard again.

The ground was rough. But he arched his tail and ran with all his might. He could feel the shadows of the spots upon his back as he ran. All those spots! Finally he ran into a stand of chokecherries. Jumping Mouse could hardly believe his eyes. It was cool there and very spacious. There was water, cherries, and seeds to eat, grasses to gather for nests, holes to be explored and many, many other busy things to do. And there were a great many things to gather.

He was investigating his new domain when he heard very heavy breathing. He quickly investigated the sound and discovered its source. It was a great mound of hair with black horns. It was a great buffalo. Jumping Mouse could hardly believe the greatness of the being he saw lying there before him. He was so large that Jumping Mouse could have crawled into one of his great horns. "Such a magnificent being," thought Jumping Mouse, and he crept closer.

"Hello, my brother," said the buffalo. "Thank you for visiting me."

"Hello Great Being," said Jumping Mouse. "Why are you lying here?"

"I am sick and I am dying" the buffalo said.

"And my medicine has told me that only the eye of a mouse can heal me. But little brother, there is no such thing as a mouse."

Jumping Mouse was shocked. "One of my eyes!" he thought. "One of my tiny eyes." He scurried back into the stand of chokecherries. But the breathing came harder and slower.

"He will die." Thought Jumping Mouse. "If I do not give him my eye. He is too great a being to let die."

He went back to where the buffalo lay and spoke. "I am a mouse." he said with a shaky voice. "And you, my brother, are a Great Being. I cannot let you die. I have two eyes, so you may have one of them."

The minute he said it, Jumping Mouse's eye flew out of his head and the buffalo was made whole. The buffalo jumped to his feet, shaking Jumping Mouse's whole world.

"Thank you, my little brother," said the buffalo. "I know of your quest for the sacred mountains and of your visit to the River. You have given me life so that I may give-away to the people. I will be your brother forever. Run under my belly and I will take you right to the foot of the sacred mountains, and you need not fear the spots. The eagles cannot see you while you run under me. All they will see will be the back of a buffalo. I am of the prairie and I will fall on you if I try to go up the mountains."

Little mouse ran under the buffalo, secure and hidden from the spots, but with only one eye it was frightening. The buffalo's great hooves shook the whole world each time he took a step. finally the came to a place and buffalo stopped.

"This is where I must leave you, little brother," said the buffalo.

"Thank you very much," said Jumping Mouse. "But you know, it was very frightening running under you with only one eye. I was constantly in fear of your great earth-shaking hooves."

"Your fear was for nothing," said buffalo, "For my way of walking is the sun dance way, and I always know where my hooves will fall. I now must return to the prairie, my brother, You can always find me there."

Jumping Mouse immediately began to investigate his new surroundings. There were even more things here than in the other places, busier things, and abundance of seeds and other things mice like. In his investigation of these things, Suddenly he ran upon a gray wolf who was sitting there doing absolutely nothing.

"Hello, brother wolf," Jumping Mouse said.

The wolf's ears came alert and his eyes shone. "wolf! wolf! yes, that is what I am, I am a wolf!" But then his mind dimmed again and it was not long before he sat quietly again, completely without memory as to who he was. Each time Jumping Mouse reminded him who he was, he became excited with the news, but soon would forget again.

"Such a great being," thought Jumping Mouse, "but he has no memory."

Jumping Mouse went to the center of his new place and was quiet. He listened for a very long time to the beating of his heart. Then suddenly he made up his mind. He scurried back to where the wolf sat and he spoke.

"brother wolf," Jumping Mouse said. ....

"wolf! wolf," said the wolf ....

"Please brother wolf," said Jumping Mouse, "Please listen to me. I know what will heal you. It is one of my eyes. And I want to give it to you. You are a greater being than I. I am only a mouse. Please take it."

When Jumping Mouse stopped speaking his eye flew out of his head and the wolf was made whole.

Tears fell down the cheeks of the wolf, but his little brother could not see them, for now he was blind.

"You are a great brother," said the wolf, "For now I have my memory. But now you are blind. I am the guide into the sacred mountains. I will take you there. There is a great medicine lake there. The most beautiful lake in the world. All the world is reflected there. The people, the lodges of the people, and all the beings of the prairies and skies."

"Please take me there," Jumping Mouse said. The wolf guided him through the pines to the medicine lake. Jumping Mouse drank the water from the lake. The wolf described the beauty to him.

I must leave you here," said wolf, "For I must return so that I may guide others, but I will remain with you as long as you like."

Thank you, my brother," said Jumping Mouse. "But although I am frightened to be alone, I know you must go so that you may show others the way to this place."

Jumping Mouse sat there trembling in fear. It was no use running, for he was blind, but he knew an eagle would find him here. He felt a shadow on his back and heard the sound that eagles make. He braced himself for the shock. And the eagle Hit! Jumping Mouse went to sleep.

Then he woke up. The surprise of being alive was great, but now he could see!

Everything was blurry, but the colors were beautiful.

"I can see! I can see!" said Jumping Mouse over again and again.

A blurry shape came toward Jumping Mouse. Jumping Mouse squinted hard but the shape remained a blur.

"Hello, brother," a voice said. "Do you want some medicine?"

"Some medicine for me?" asked Jumping Mouse. "Yes! Yes!"

"Then crouch down as low as you can," the voice said, "and jump as high as you can."

Jumping Mouse did as he was instructed. He crouched as low as he could and jumped! The wind caught him and carried him higher."

"Do not be afraid," the voice called to him. "Hang on to the wind and trust!"

Jumping Mouse did. He closed his eyes and hung on to the wind and it carried higher and higher. Jumping Mouse opened his eyes and they were clear, and the higher he went the clearer they became. Jumping Mouse saw his old friend upon a lily pad on the beautiful medicine lake. It was the Frog.

"You have a new name," called the frog. "You are Eagle!"

(The End, or perhaps a new beginning)

The story of Mink
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
In the early times warriors often played flutes and played music from their heart and spirit when a warrior saw a woman he was interested in he would try to make a song to win the woman's interest if the woman liked his song.

She might talk to him to see if she liked him as well and if the song and the magic were strong enough, they would marry and the song would become a lullaby they would sing to their children.

In those days, Mink was a very handsome warrior with a beautiful pelt who was very sure of himself. He had a cedar flute that he had made from the heart of an old storm struck tree. It had great power.

He had been alone for many years and decided he wanted a wife so he looked at the women around him. His eyes fell on Woodpecker and she was beautiful. Her bright red head. She was an excellent carver. She made her homes by carving out trees.

So Mink took his flute and devised a song to win her heart. When he played the song where Woodpecker could hear, her heart was captured and she asked herself "who is playing such a beautiful song?"

Then she saw Mink and his flute She flew to him. She told him "Your song is lovely, if you promise to play it only for me, I will make you happy and build us a home and Mink agreed.

Woodpecker made them a beautiful home in a large oak tree and they were happy for many years.

One day, Mink had started to become tired of Woodpecker. He loved her, but her constant pecking and constant flying from tree to tree was becoming tiresome so he took his flute and played a song which broke Woodpeckers heart and he left her crying.

Mink looked around for another woman to woo and his eyes settled on Raccoon. Oh, she was Beautiful she had a banded tail and a mask.

So Mink played a song to win her heart. When Raccoon heard the song, it caught her heart and she asked herself "Who can be playing such a beautiful song?"

And when she looked around, and saw it was Mink, she went to him "what a beautiful song, Mink" "If you promise to play it only for me, I will be your wife and make you happy."

Mink agreed, and lived with Raccoon for 4 years.

Then Mink tired of Raccoon. Raccoon had endless energy and always wanted to play. She would toss him out of bed when he wanted to sleep, so Mink played a song on his flute to break her heart and left Raccoon crying.

Mink decided to find another wife so he looked around and saw Bear.

Oh, She was so big. She was beautiful. Her sleek black fur, the 'V' on her chest.

Raccoon knew she was the woman for him so he took his flute and made a song to capture her heart and played where Bear would hear him.

When Bear heard the song her heart was caught.

When she saw it was Mink playing she went to him and told him "If you promise to play that song only for me, I will make you happy and be your wife" and Mink agreed and they lived in her den.

After two years Mink grew tired of Bear and decided to leave, he would play a song to break her heart too. But Bear saw when Mink reached for the flute and she grabbed it in her paw, before he could reach it, and threw it to the ground, and stepped on it with her paw, breaking it.

She grabbed Mink and picked him up in her two massive paws and squeezed him."Oh, Mink, what have you done? I promised to love you and now you would break my heart."

Bear Squeezed Mink, and he became a little smaller."What you have done is not nice" and she squeezed again, and Mink became smaller still.

"You have hurt me." and she squeezed "you have hurt Woodpecker" and she squeezed "and you have hurt Raccoon" and she squeezed, and Mink was even smaller. And Bear gave a final great squeeze and released Mink.And he was very small. And ran from Bear. For he was no longer Mink, he had become the first Weasel!

And even to this day weasels are still running from bears. And the story is told to each generation: "Young men do not think to trifle with the affections of women, or you shall be made smaller than you are."

Aho. It is so.

The Warrior who went on the warpath alone and won
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
There was once a young man whose parents were not overburdened with the riches of this world, and consequently could not dress their only son in as rich a costume as the other young men of the tribe, and on account of not being so richly clad as they, he was looked down upon and shunned by them. He was never invited to take part in any of their sports; nor was he ever asked to join any of the war parties.

In the village lived an old man with an only daughter. Like the other family they were poor, but the daughter was the belle of the tribe. She was the most sought after by the young men of the village and warriors from tribes far distant came to press their suit at winning her for their bride. All to no purpose; she had the same answer for them as she had for the young men of the village.

The poor young man was also very handsome despite his poor clothes, but having never killed an enemy nor brought home any enemies' horses he was not allowed to make love to any young or old woman. He tried in vain to join some of the war parties, that he might get the chance to win his spurs as a warrior. To all his pleadings, came the same answer: "You are not fit to join a war party. You have no horses, and if you should get killed our tribe would be laughed at and be made fun of as you have such poor clothes and we don't want the enemy to know that we have any one of our tribe who dresses so poorly as you do."

Again, and again, he tried different parties, only to be made fun of and insulted.

One night he sat in the poor tipi of his parents. He was in deep study and had nothing to say. His father, noticing his melancholy mood, asked him what had happened to cause him to be so quiet, as he was always of a jolly disposition. The son answered and said: "Father, I am going on the warpath alone. In vain I have tried to be a member of one of the war parties. To all of my pleadings I have got nothing but insults in return."

"But my son, you have no gun nor ammunition. Where can you get any and how can you get it? We have nothing to buy one for you with," said the father.

"I don't need any weapons. I am going to bring back some of the enemies' horses and I don't need a gun for that."

Early the next morning (regardless of the old couple's pleadings not to go unarmed) the young man left the village and headed northwest, the direction always taken by the war parties.

For ten days he traveled without seeing any signs of a camp. The evening of the tenth day he reached a very high butte thickly wooded at the summit. He ascended this butte and as he sat there between two large boulders watching the beautiful rays of the setting sun, he was suddenly startled to hear the neigh of a horse. Looking down into the beautiful valley which was threaded by a beautiful creek fringed with timber he noticed, close to the base of the butte upon which he sat, a large drove of horses grazing peacefully and quietly. Looking closer, he noticed at a little distance from the main drove, a horse with a saddle on his back. This was the one that had neighed as the drove drifted further away from him. He was tied by a long lariat to a large sage bush.

Where could the rider be, the young man said to himself. As if in answer to his question, there appeared not more than twenty paces from him a middle-aged man coming up through a deep ravine. The man was evidently in search of some kind of game as he held his gun in readiness for instant use and kept his eyes directed at every crevice and clump of bush. So intent was he on locating the game he was trailing that he never noticed the young man who sat like a statue not twenty paces away. Slowly and cautiously the man approached and when he had advanced to within a few paces of the young man he stopped and, turning around, stood looking down into the valley.

This was the only chance that our brave young friend had. Being unarmed, he would stand no show if the enemy ever got a glimpse of him. Slowly and noiselessly he drew his hunting knife (which his father had given him on his departure from home) and holding it securely in his right hand, gathered himself and gave a leap which landed him upon the unsuspecting enemy's shoulders. The force with which he landed on the enemy caused him (the enemy) to lose his hold on his gun, and it went rattling down into the chasm, forty feet below.

Down they came together, the young man on top. No sooner had they struck the ground than the enemy had out his knife, and then commenced a hand to hand duel. The enemy, having more experience, was getting the best of our young friend. Already our young friend had two ugly cuts, one across his chest and the other through his forearm.

He was becoming weak from the loss of blood, and could not stand the killing pace much longer. Summoning all his strength for one more trial to overcome his antagonist, he rushed him toward the chasm and in his hurry to get away from this fierce attack, the enemy stepped back one step too far, and down they both went into the chasm. Interlocked in each other's arms, the young man drove his knife into the enemy's side and when they struck the bottom the enemy relaxed his hold and straightened out stiff and dead.

Securing his scalp and gun, the young man proceeded down to where the horse was tied to the sage bush, and then gathering the drove of horses proceeded on his return to his own village. Being wounded severely he had to ride very slowly. All the long hours of the night he drove the horses towards his home village.

In the meantime, those at the enemies' camp wondered at the long absence of the herder who was watching their drove of horses, and finally seven young men went to search for the missing herder. All night long they searched the hillsides for the horses and herder, and when it had grown light enough in the morning they saw by the ground where there had been a fierce struggle.

Following the tracks in the sand and leaves they came to the chasm where the combatants had fallen over, and there, lying on his back staring up at them in death, was their herder. They hastened to the camp and told what they had found. Immediately the warriors mounted their war ponies (these ponies are never turned loose, but kept tied close to the tipi of the owner), and striking the trail of the herd driven off by our young friend, they urged forth their ponies and were soon far from their camp on the trail of our young friend.

All day long they traveled on his trail, and just as the sun was sinking they caught sight of him driving they drove ahead over a high hill. Again they urged forth their tired ponies. The young man, looking back along the trail, saw some dark objects coming along and, catching a fresh horse, drove the rest ahead at a great rate.

Again all night he drove them and when daylight came he looked back (from a high butte) over his trail and saw coming over a distant raise, two horsemen. These two undoubtedly rode the best ponies, as he saw nothing of the others. Driving the horses into a thick belt of timber, he concealed himself close to the trail made by the drove of horses and lay in ambush for the two daring horsemen who had followed him so far.

Finally they appeared on the butte from where he had looked back and saw them following him. For a long time they sat there scouring the country before them in hopes that they might see some signs of their stolen horses. Nothing could they see. Had they but known their horses were but a few hundred yards from them, but the thick timber securely hid them from view. Finally one of them arose and pointed to the timber. Then leaving his horse in charge of his friend, he descended the butte and followed the trail of the drove to where they had entered the timber. Little did he think that he was standing on the brink of eternity.

The young man hiding not more than a hundred yards from him could have shot him there where he stood, but wanting to play fair, he stepped into sight. When he did, the enemy took quick aim and fired. He was too hasty. Had he taken more careful aim he might have killed our young friend, but his bullet whizzed harmlessly over the young man's head and buried itself in a tree. The young man took good aim and fired. The enemy threw up both hands and fell forward on his face. The other one on the hill, seeing his friend killed, hastily mounted his horse and leading his friend's horse, made rapidly off down the butte in the direction from whence he had come.

Waiting for some time to be sure the one who was alive did not come up and take a shot at him, he finally advanced upon the fallen enemy and securing his gun, ammunition and scalp, went to his horse and drove the herd on through the woods and crossing a long flat prairie, ascended a long chain of hills and sat looking back along his trail in search of any of the enemy who might continue to follow him.

Thus he sat until the long shadows of the hills reminded him that it would soon be sunset, and as he must get some sleep, he wanted to find some creek bend where he could drive the bunch of ponies and feel safe as to their not straying off during the night. He found a good place for the herd, and catching a fresh horse, he picketed him close to where he was going to sleep, and wrapping himself in his blanket was soon fast asleep. So tired and sleepy was he that a heavy rain which had come up during the night soaked him through and through, but he never awakened until the sun was high in the east.

He awoke and going to the place where he had left the herd, he was glad to find them all there. He mounted his horse and started his herd homeward again. For two days he drove them and on the evening of the second day he came in sight of the village.

The older warriors, hearing of the young man going on this trip alone and unarmed, told the parents to go in mourning for their son as he would never come back alive. When the people of the village saw this large drove of horses advancing towards them, they at first thought it was a war party of the enemy and so the head men called the young warriors together and fully prepared for a great battle. They advanced upon the supposed enemy. When they got close enough to discern a lone horseman driving this large herd, they surrounded the horses and lone warrior and brought him triumphantly into camp. On arriving in the camp (or village) the horses were counted and the number counted up to one hundred and ten head.

The chief and his criers (or heralds) announced through the whole village that there would be a great war dance given in honor of the Lone Warrior.

The whole village turned out and had a great war dance that was kept up three days and three nights. The two scalps which the young man had taken were tied to a pole which was placed in the center of the dance circle. At this dance, the Lone Warrior gave to each poor family five horses.

Being considered eligible now to pay his respects to any girl who took his fancy, he at once went to the camp of the beautiful girl of the tribe, and as he was always her choice, she at once consented to marry him.

The news spread through the village that Lone Warrior had won the belle of the nation for his bride and this, with the great feat which he had accomplished alone in killing two enemies and bringing home a great herd of horses, raised him to the rank of chief, which he faithfully filled to the end of his days. And many times he had to tell his grandchildren the story of how he got the name of the Lone Warrior.

The White Buffalo Calf Pipe
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
The two young Lakota hunters watched the darkening skies gathering before them on the distant horizon. Their buffalo ponies, only used for hunting, snorted and stamped their front hooves as they sensed, and feared, the coming storm. In the distance the hunters heard the sound of thunder rumbling across the vast open prairie towards them.

"The storm is heading our way my brother." White Feather said.

"This is not the time for storms." Chasing His Horse said. He studied the sky thoughtfully. Knowing the destructive powers that a fierce storm could bring, and the injuries it could cause to those caught out in the open, he was now calculating whether they could out run it and seek shelter until it passed.

"Maybe we should head back to the village?"

"We cannot return without fresh meat." Chasing His Horse said. He was still watching the gathering black clouds. "Look," he said.

Both hunters watched in astonishment, and some awe, as a long black finger of swirling wind reached down from the cumulus clouds and carved its way across the plains towards them. They quickly dismounted and kneeling beneath their ponies watched the spectacle before them.

Within a very short time they were engulfed by a high-speed violent wind. The two hunters tried to protect their eyes from the dust and debris whilst trying to hold their ponies and stop them from bolting. It took all their energy and strength to fight against the wind. The sound of which screamed loudly in their ears, as if taunting them.

Then as quickly as the wind had descended upon them it passed. The air became still and silent once more. Standing up slowly and looking towards the direction of the storm Chasing His Horse noticed something moving across the ground towards them.

"Look!" Cried White Feather.

"I see it my brother."

Rumbling across the ground at great speed was a white buffalo calf. Both hunters felt the ground beneath their feet trembling each time the hooves of the calf pounded the ground. When it was but a short distance from them the buffalo calf stopped, kicking up dust and dirt that shrouded it momentarily from their sight. As the dust settled it stood impressively before them watching the two hunters and waiting for their reaction.

"Maybe we should kill this calf and take it back to the village." White Feather said. The two looked at each other, pondering this thought, and then they turned back towards where the white buffalo calf had stood.

But to their astonishment they found not a calf but the most beautiful young woman they had ever seen standing before them. She was dressed in white buckskins and had a bundle tied to her back. The two hunters looked at each other again and then back at the woman. Above the beautiful woman the sky, and the air around her, were suddenly filled with bright lights and intense rumbling sound. When silence had engulfed them once more one of the hunters spoke.

"I shall take this woman for my own," White Feather suddenly declared, for he was captivated by her beauty, "I shall mount her and tame her. I shall have my way with her and she shall learn to obey me. I want her more than any other woman, and I shall have her, she will learn to please me beneath the buffalo robe."

"Do not speak like that," Chasing His Horse said, "for this is a Wakan Woman."

"I shall still have her." White Feather pronounced.

"Come and take me then." The beautiful woman declared.

Without another word White Feather moved towards where she stood. Chasing His Horse watched as his brother strode purposely towards the beautiful woman. As White Feather reached out to take her by the arm, a thick black cloud quickly descended upon him and encompassed him. When the cloud rose up towards the sky again it revealed nothing more than a pile of bones, with snakes now slithering across them, where White Feather had last stood.

Realizing the strong medicine of the woman before him Chasing His Horse fell to his knees and began to pray for the spirit of his lost brother. Hearing his words the beautiful maiden listened until he had finished, only then did she speak again.

"Go back to your people," she instructed him, "and tell them to prepare themselves for my coming. In four days I shall bring them a sacred bundle. They must, when gathered together, and when they are camped forming a village, do so in a circle, for the circle is sacred to me."

Without another word she turned away, and after only a few paces turned back into a white buffalo calf once more. Chasing His Horse, who was still kneeling, watched as the calf moved away and was suddenly swallowed by a large black cloud and carried away with the storm.

When he returned to the village Chasing His Horse called all the chiefs and elders together. As they sat before him as he told them what had happened on the hunting trip. Some women sitting nearby, listening to the young warrior, gasped audibly when he described the appearance of the white buffalo calf, and how it had then changed into a beautiful maiden. How she had then turned White Feather into a pile of bones.

Standing up Chief Standing Hollow Horn then said. "Let us prepare for this visit. Strike down several tipi's and place them as one so that we can gather together to welcome this Wakan Woman."

Following the instructions of their chief, twenty-eight poles were used to erect the lodge.

As the sun rose on the morning of the fourth day the entire village gathered together in the large lodge. Dressed and painted in their finery, they waited for the arrival of the White Buffalo Calf Woman. They were seated in a circle, as instructed by her, and the circle would become a sacred symbol for the People.

Above the village the sky darkened and a lone dark gray cloud descended towards them. From this cloud out tumbled the white buffalo calf. As it rolled along the ground towards the village the white buffalo calf suddenly stood up and became the beautiful maiden once more. Singing a sacred song the White Buffalo Calf Woman entered the village.

"Welcome." Chief Standing Hollow Horn said.

"I am pleased that you have all gathered to greet me," the young maiden said, "for I am the daughter of the Sun and Moon. Now listen for I have much to teach you. I shall spend only four days amongst you. During this time I will teach you seven sacred ceremonies. If you do, and use, everything that I now teach you, then you shall all live-forever: but first I have a gift for you."

Before the People, the White Buffalo Calf Woman took out the sacred bundle. "Behold this and always love it. It is very sacred." Then she unrolled it before Chief Standing Hollow Horn, who sat watching her with great interest. For this was the first sighting for him, and his people, of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe. She placed a small stone down upon the ground and held the sacred pipe with its stem pointing to the sky.

Then she explained to the chief and the people gathered there about the appearance of the sacred pipe. How the earth was their Grandmother and mother, which was reflected in the red stone which made the bowl, upon which was carved, in the center, the head of a buffalo calf, this representing all of the four-legged, who live upon the Mother.

"The stem of the pipe," she continued, "is made from wood, and represents all things that grows upon the Earth. These twelve feathers, which hang from the stem, are from the Spotted Eagle, and they represent all the eagles and the winged of the air. All these things, and things of the greater universe, are joined to all those who smoke the pipe. Their voices, their words, shall be carried to the ears of the Great Spirit."

Now the White Buffalo Calf Woman touched the stem of the pipe upon the small stone that she had placed down upon the ground before her.

"The Great Spirit has also given you this red stone," she told them, "it is made from the same stone as the bowl. This represents the Earth, your Grandmother and mother upon which you will live, generation after generation. This earth he has given you is red for the two legged who live upon it are red, and the Great Spirit has given you a red day and a red road. All of this is sacred and you must never forget it. Upon this stone are seven circles, representing seven sacred ceremonies that I will shortly teach you."

The White Buffalo Calf Woman now filled the sacred pipe, lit it with a buffalo chip, and as the People watched, she held the pipe up and offered it to the spirit of the sky, then the earth and then the four directions. Then she took in the smoke and before offering the sacred pipe to Chief Standing Hollow Horn said.

"This is the pipe of peace and truth." She explained, "When men gather together their words will be carried to the ears of the Great Spirit. All upon the Earth and Universe shall be brought together. Remember this is the most sacred of all pipes for I have brought it to you as a gift from the Great Spirit. Therefore you are the first Keeper of the pipe." She said handing the pipe to the Chief. "Ensure each generation knows of its existence, choose wisely those who will follow you in ensuring of its safe keeping, and remember I shall return for it at sometime in the future, and the sign of my coming will be the birth of a white buffalo calf."

Leaving the lodge she called the children of the village to her. As the children sat around her she began explaining to them the importance of caring for, and loving, the animals around them. She taught the children, and the men and women of the village, how they were all connected, the four legged, the winged and the two legged. She informed the hunters on how they must conduct themselves when taking the life of the buffalo and deer that nourished them. She told them that they must live their lives in harmony with their surroundings. Reminding them that the earth was their grandmother and mother, and they must not change anything upon the land. She reminded them that the animals of the earth, sky and water were their brothers and should be treated as such.

"Always give thanks, and praise their spirits, when hunting them and the Great Spirit will always provide you with all that you need." She told them.

Everything she said, all that she explained, became clear to those that listened. To the men and boys she became like a sister, to the women and girls likewise.

During the morning of the second day the White Buffalo Calf Woman began instructing the People on the Seven Sacred Ceremonies. She called together a selection of men from the village. These men, she informed the chief and elders, would become Holy Men. She would take them away to begin teaching them the art of how to perform sacred ceremonies so that the people could talk directly with the Great Spirit.

When they had traveled far away from the village she ordered the men to make a clearing. When this was done she instructed them on how to construct a Sweat Lodge. As the men worked she taught them to sing songs and chant prayers. These were to be performed when they held their own ceremonies. For this was the Purification Ceremony.

In the afternoon the White Buffalo Calf Woman taught the Holy men the Healing Ceremony. Showing them which wild herbs and grasses, which roots and chewed pulp to use. These mixtures, she informed them, could heal all kinds of sickness and wounds.

When they returned to the village the Holy men were each received with newfound respect and reverence. In their honor, and to honor the coming of the White Buffalo Calf Woman a celebration was held and a great feast was had.

During the third day the village gathered together and were shown three important ceremonies. These were the Marriage, the Naming, and the Making Relatives ceremonies. When she instructed them the White Buffalo Calf Woman explained why each was important.

"The marriage ceremony is very important. It is a way to show the love between men and women, to ensure that the people, the Lakota, continue through the birth of each generation that come through the togetherness of man and woman. The Naming ceremony, for the young of the nation, is important because only truly beautiful names can be chosen, in this way each and every one of them will become known to the Great Spirit. The Making Relatives Ceremony is there to ensure that all children, and those of different Nations, will always have a sense of belonging, whether they are born through kinship or whether they are found and taken in by the People."

Next she took all the men, old and young alike, away from the women and the village and with the help of the Holy men, instructed them in the Vision Ceremony. She smiled as the Holy men built their sweat lodges and heated their stones, singing and chanting their songs and prayers as they worked, and then gathered the men inside the structure so that they could be purified and cleansed with the help of sage and steam. Then she told the men that they must journey to the sacred Black Hills so that they each might find their own Spirit Guides who would help them in their Vision Quest.

On the morning of her fourth, and last, day the White Buffalo Calf Woman then instructed The People upon the importance of the Sun Dance Ceremony. She described to them all about the placement of the Thunder Pole, the center of the universe, and how they must go about searching out the pole and the way it was to be chopped down and brought back to the village. How the men must fasten themselves to the pole and dance.

When she had finished the White Buffalo Calf Woman left the village. The People were sad to see her go. For in the short time they had known her they had come to love her. When she was but a short distance from them the maiden changed into a white buffalo calf. Bowing to the four corners of the universe the calf then disappeared over a distant hill. The blue above them slowly turned bright red as their brother Sun sank in the evening sky and the People knew this to be a sign from the Great Spirit.

Tsvdigewi (Little People)
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
Several thousand winters before the first Unega set foot on our shores, some young men of the Cherokee nation set out to see what was in the world.

They traveled south until they came to a tribe of little people, called "Tsvdigewi". These people had very unusually shaped bodies and were hardly tall enough to come up to a man's knee. They did not have houses but lived in nests scooped out in the sand, which were covered with dried grass.

The little fellows were so weak and puny that they could not fight at all and were constantly afraid of the wild geese and other birds that came in great flocks from the south to make war on them.

Just at the time that the travelers got there, they found the little men in great fear because there was strong wind blowing in from the south and it blew white feathers up and down the sand so that the Tsvdigewi knew their enemies were coming, and would be there soon.

The Cherokee young men asked them why they did not defend themselves and they said they could not because they did not know how. There was no time to make bows and arrows, but the travelers told them to take up sticks and use them as clubs, and showed them where to hit the birds on their necks to kill them.

The wind blew for several days and at last the birds came; there were so many that they were like a giant cloud in the air and when they landed, the entire area was covered with birds so that no-one could walk more than a few steps without bumping into one.

The little men ran to their nests and the birds followed and stuck their long bills into the nests to pull them out and eat them. But this time the little men had their clubs, and they struck the birds on the neck the way the Cherokee young men had shown them, and managed after several hours to kill most of them.

The other birds flew away in disappointment. The little men thanked the Cherokee young men for their help and gave them the best food they had until the travelers went on to see the other tribes.

They heard afterwards that the birds came again several times, but that the Tsvdigewi always drove them off with their clubs. But one day a flock of Sandhill Cranes came. They were so tall that the little men could not reach high enough to hit them on the neck and after several hours of fighting the cranes killed them all.

Turkey, The Peace Eagle
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
Our "Elders", tell us the Legend of the Turkey is not one we need to explain the Great Mystery and how it functions. So came the Story of the Peace Eagle (Turkey) to the Eastern People.

In the First World we were pure Intelligence and therefore experienced full consciousness. We were not lost in form and matter. We could integrate and disconnect as we willed it so. We were of pure energy and light. We were of all colors. We broke this direct connection when we moved in greed. We took what was not given and felt separation. The greed destroyed our balance and harmony. We turned from honor and trust worthiness. We tried to hide and moved deeper into form and matter, hoping to not be discovered. We lost knowledge of who and what we were and turned further from our Source.

In the Second World we began the wheel of return. We became more and more of the state of impermanence.

So things became very in-balanced. Humans became fearful and unsure. We lost understanding of the Creators Patterns and fell into suffering and the illusion of separation became larger than our faith and we drifted in an ocean of tears and painful remorse for our act of greed and for breaking the trust of Creator.

As each World ends and we renew our great wheel of life we begin the journey of return to full consciousness and direct interaction with the Creator. Always the Creator extended love and guidance. Offering us always the path of harmony and truth.

We must choose the journey we will take and keep the faith. There were the Real People who remained strong and pure. They keep showing us the path of Return and healing us. Always our cry for help was heard and the Wisdom Keepers come to show us the Way. Many creations of the Creator has tried to help us over and over. Humans kept betraying his Relations and would allow greed to overcome his heart and mind.

In each World, more and more of our relations turn from us and will no longer trust us as mankind. Our very existence has been placed in jeopardy. And many times the Creator has taken us back to the beginning again, to try and show us our Path of Return.

The Storytellers were the historians of the Real People. And in the story we were given the lessons and messages we need to understand what we have lost.

So in the days past when our People were overcome with plight and hunger it was the duty of the Chiefs to hunt and provide for the people. The Chief was sad because his people had nothing to eat and were very hungry. He could not hunt the Bear anymore because the Bear said, "If you eat me", I will give you diseases of the heart, for you have become a heartless people."

The Deer said, "If you eat of me", you will get rheumatism and your joints and bones will stiffen and swell with fire because you have lost beauty and grace. You have become embittered and crude. You abuse and rape even your children, destroying their innocence. The Rabbit said, "If you eat me", you will have weaknesses of the mind and become forgetful. You will feel chilled and then the fires of your Spirit will burn you with fever. You will suffer duality and fear of everything.

The Squirrel said, If you eat of me, I will give you vertigo, and all you eat will burn your insides. Your stomach will bleed. The great Animals all cursed humans with illness. Humans no longer held a place of Honor in the Circle of Life. They were not honored in the hunt and he forgot the way of appreciation. Life was filled with pain for Humans.

In these days, the "Chief" was leader of the People because they trusted him and knew he protected his people. He was the "Father" of the "Nation" or "Tribe of People". He ate only after his People were all fed. He slept under warm blankets only if everyone was covered and warm. The People called upon him for a great council. They turned to the "Chief" and ask, "When will the animals come back, when will you hunt again, we are starving and growing weaker. Many are dying and are no more. We must have food soon or we shall all perish." Many shouted to him to call war upon other nations of people who they thought had more than them.

The "Chief" was a man of great faith. he was trusted and always honored all his relations. He was brave and had great courage, "Chiefs" from many Nations knew of his valor. He loved his people and gave his life for them. He saw all his children thin and gray. He heard the babies and old people crying and his heart hurt. He had tried to help the People understand how things would need to change, he saw their greed and self destruction. He did all he knew to lead them towards honorable living again. His example was not enough. And some even hated him for it, and said he was a weak man to be so righteous.

So the "Chief" prepared him self to hunt. He Prayed and did the Ceremonies of the Ancients ways to honor all life. He remembered the wisdom of his Grandfathers and Elders. He walked through the forest for 28 days, fasting, to find a solution to feed his people. He said, "Creator", what can I do? We are a wicked people. We have forgotten to give appreciation and offering before the hunt, and taking only what we need. We have wasted and killed without honoring our faith. Now none come to us in our hunts, they curse us when we eat to survive. It is true we have taken even when we had more than we needed, and let food sit and rot. We have begun to war with each other for possession of things and taking a person's freedom away. For all this and more I come to you seeking atonement. My People are hungry, our children are starving. I offer myself in complete giveaway to Creator so my people can be fed. He prayed long and hard. He chanted all his holy words. I ask to have a relation that my people will feel safe to eat, and that will not give them diseases. The Standing People (Trees), knew him well and told him the "Real People" must learn respect. The Plant People in the forest had remained the only friend of humans. They said to him, "Put your heart to the Mother of all form here, (Earth). She has love unending and she heals all form and matter that is of her. Humans has forgotten how to call upon her. The "Chief" lay upon the "Earth Mother" and spoke to her of respect, and promised he would always live by the rule and measure of respect if she would help him and his People. He cried and his tears fell upon her soil. She felt his truth and goodness. The Earth Mother extended herself again to her Children. "Earth Mother", said to the "Chief", You must live by this law you have made "Respect". Appreciate everything in your life, that my body brings to your day. All has purpose. There is only The One That Is All Things. Do not waver from your word. Hold your word as valuable as your next breath.

"Creator" looked upon this and saw this "Chief". Love was again being shown for the gift of life and the Good Earth. He lifted the Chief into the "Dream Time Lodge", so he could be with the "Chieftains" of "The Elder Fires".

The "Chief" was given a vision of a "Turkey", it was the color of the "Earth", and the "Chief" knew this was good. He thought the people will know this is a gift from the "Creator" and is safe to eat. The feathers were also shiny and was like a star filled midnight sky, the "Chief" thought and the lights of the "Sky Nations" are there as well. He watched as the "Peace Eagle", (Turkey) walked about. He walks as a noble one of great dignity. He will help the people find dignity again. The wise "Chief" was humbled by how this creation was. Then he saw the beautiful fan as the "Turkey" spread its tail feathers, and the "Chief" said, this is good, the people will recognize the sacred ceremonial fan and know it will give us back our strength and make us strong again. Then the "Turkey" spread its wing feathers toward the ground and began to dance. The People will return to the ancient ceremonies of harmony and flow with the great cycles of "Sky" and "Earth".

The "Chief" thought, how will we know it is okay to eat him? We cannot kill the sacred messengers for food. And this is a sacred one. It must speak to my people to let them know it has come as give away, to be eaten.

At that moment, the "Turkey" looked at him and spoke, "Chief", I have been given for only one purpose, to feed you. Your prayers have been pure and your deeds of valor are many. My body will give humans more energy for his muscles than any other, it will carry no curse. My feathers will dance with you and you "Chief", will wear my feathers as your cape, to remind all of the unending love, that surrounds all creation. In my feathered cape you will walk proud and free. My bones will give you tools to provide all other needs you have. At my breast over my heart will be a bone that will remind you how "Creator" fulfilled your wishes. Keep this bone as my example to you humans and spirit are bonded in Life. Make the part of me that touches the sacred ground of the Earth Mother your offering to the Fire, so I may return as often as you need me. Keep this agreement with "Creator", and you will not hunger again. I have a message. . . the message is Love and Trust, it says The One That Is In All Things calls to The people to return to honor and harmony. To live in Peace and create beauty where ever you are. Live in Respect and all shall flourish, we are one.

The "Chief" said, "Sacred Bird", my people will not understand all this. they will be afraid to eat so "Sacred a Being". We have suffered many generations now and trust is not the way we live anymore. They will need to hear you tell them, and if you speak such wisdom they will even be less certain they should hunt and feast upon your body. They have become superstitious in their beliefs and practices now. They no longer remember where they come from or who they are. The "Sacred Bird" said, I will do what must be done, let us return to your people they are growing weaker and soon will perish if we do not go now.

The "Chief" made cornmeal offering of appreciation for this vision and gift. As he started back to camp to tell the people about the "Turkey", it began eating his cornmeal offering. he made a trail of cornmeal which the "Turkey" ate and followed him back to his people, arriving very fat, having eaten so much cornmeal.

The "Chief" came to the "Clan Mother" and said, "Creator" has sent us this "Sacred Bird" for food. The "Clan Mother" watched how noble and dignified the "Turkey" walked. Holding his head with a manner of courage and strength. She said, "We can no longer trust the words of the "Chiefs" and "Warriors". Times before they said it was okay to eat from the hunt and we have diseases of the heart and mind, and aching bones. How can we eat such a fine bird? Birds are, "Creators" messengers.

The Chief explained his vision and that he gave appreciation and made a cornmeal offering. And then what he thought was a vision became real and the "Turkey" started to eat the cornmeal. At this point, the "Turkey" came closer showing no fear, as all the other animals would, and run from humans. This one walked among them knowing no fear. "Clan Mother" saw it was the color of the Earth and felt her woman spirit stir inside her being. The "Turkey" spread its tail and she saw it was in the shape of a ceremonial fan. Then he spread his wing feathers down and danced. "Clan Mother" said, how can we eat of this, it dances and is a "Sacred Messenger".

The "Turkey" walked into the middle of the circle of people who had gathered to see this "Sacred Bird" and looked at the "Chief" and said, gobble me up. The "Chief" jumped up, and stood back in shock. What is it you say to me? The "Turkey" walked closer to him and said again, "gobble me up." The "Chief" looked at his people and knew they all had heard the "Sacred Bird" speak. Now the people would believe and eat of it.

So they prepared as they had been given instructions to do. The "Turkey" said, you will rub my body before you eat it with spices and herbs. The garlic, to surrender to the Holy of all Holies. Cinnamon to open it to the powers of procreation. Nutmeg for the "Creators" spirit of the Evergreens and knowledge of eternal life. Honey to maintain gentle nature and serenity. Peanut oil to enhance assimilation and reconstruction of wholeness and vitality. this was placed upon his body after all his feathers were plucked carefully, so as not to break or damage a single one. A great fire was made for roasting the "Turkey". They put ground corn and a few whole kernels inside. They turned it over and over cooking it evenly. The "Clan Mother" was glad to see how the People were laughing and happy as they prepared for the feast. Her "Woman Spirit" felt the union with "Earth Mother" again and she felt the first tears of joy come.

Soon the Turkey was ready to eat and it was very big. The "Clan Mother" carved the turkey from the bone carefully as to not break any. She found the "Wish Bone" and it was as the "Sacred Bird" had said. She fed all the families. Our "Chief" does not eat unless everyone else has been fed. The "Clan Mother" came to the "Chief" and said, "Chief", my arms are tired from carving so much "Turkey" and feeding all the People. Will you help me carry this "Turkey"? And the "Chief" helped bring the abundance of "Turkey" to the people.

The "Clan Mother" said, "Chief", it is time to feed yourself and your family. When the "Chief" saw all the meat that was left, he was surprised and asked, has everyone been fed? "Clan Mother" replied, Yes "Chief". Everyone has had two servings.

"Clan Mother" went to the fire and she too was surprised to see the "Turkey" had totally replenished itself. The "Chief" was fed "Turkey", and all his family ate heartily. As they ate all felt humble for all that was being given and felt their minds, bodies and spirits healing and becoming whole again.

The "Turkey" replenished itself again and again. The People ate of this "Turkey" all year long, always with appreciation. they used every part of the turkey, recognizing its complete give away. Everyone was gifted with a turkey feather.

After all went well for a full change of seasons, one morning as "Clan Mother" went to the fire to prepare the food, she saw two eggs. She knew these were the seeds of the "Sacred Bird" and that it was pleased with the "Peoples" offering and trusted them again. She kept the eggs warm and cared for them as a Mother would any child. She sang love songs and sang stories to the eggs as they incubated. She knew if it was to reproduce, it would need to have "Woman Spirit" of the "Great Bird". She made offerings to the "Earth Mother" for this. And each day sang her woman's way chants. The first egg opened and it was the Hen. She reminded them of the subtle beauty of woman. The females do not need to decorate themselves extravagantly, because they already have inner wisdom and beauty. The second egg opened and it was the male, and with beautiful feathers so man would remember his role and do as he was to be in the Earth. Today the "Turkey Cape" is worn by the most noble, courageous and generous of men.

The people ate in abundance from then on. They always remembered to give appreciation every day and were always blessed abundantly. Abundance comes when we show appreciation and Thanksgiving. The celebration and feast is the time of friendship and appreciation. Friendship is when we know we are all inner connected, and reflective of each other. The time of Friendship and Thanksgiving is every day.

The "Woodland Peoples" said let us have a seasonal celebration when we seek one we do not know well or is new to our lands and bring them to our feast of Friendship and make them welcome. This is the "Feast of Friendship". Today it is called Thanksgiving. For The Real People, it is celebrated at the Full Moon of November. The white meat of the "Turkey" has the highest protein of all meats. The dark meat has fats needed to assist the body to generate heat. The "Real People" will not eat from the knee down of the Turkey for that is the part that moves in the auric field of the planet herself and belongs to the Mother. The feet and lower leg is given to the Fire. The Wish Bone is saved intact and strung as ornaments. The Turkey is Sacred to the Eastern Woodlands People. Its Feathers are used in all Sacred Ceremonies. It is a messenger of Innocence, Compassion, Abundance, Trust, Dignity, Peace and Eternal Love. It calls all Mankind to practice Respect. This is how it was told to us by our Elders as children at Thanksgiving.

Turtle and the Eagle (Colville Story)
Long ago all the animal people wanted to be chief of all the people. So it was decided that whoever was the fastest can be the Chief.

Well no one could beat the eagle, he was a big bird and flew very fast. One day, turtle has a dream, he dreamed on how to beat the eagle in a race. Turtle's best friend the mouse woke up turtle saying, "wake up turtle, your going to sleep your life away, look the sun is up."

"Mouse, Mouse, I had a dream last night, I know how to beat the eagle in a race" said turtle. "Oh turtle, you can't beat eagle, your too slow" sighed mouse. Well, mouse knew he couldn't change his mind, as they went to see eagle.

Turtle walked up to eagle and said," Eagle, I want to race you." Eagle started laughing as well or all the other animal people. Turtle looked up and said," Eagle don't you want to race me?"

Eagle raised his voice and said," My people, I will race anywhere turtle wants."

Turtle smiled and said,"Eagle, I will race you..........I will race you to the ground. Please grab me and take me way up into the sky."

Eagle grabbed turtle and flew way up into the sky, way up into the clouds. "Ok eagle, I will race you to the ground, whoever gets there first wins, so let go of me," said the turtle.

Eagle let go of turtle and whoosh, turtle started falling to the earth below. Eagle said with a surprise in his voice, "oh, oh ", and took off after turtle ".
Turtle was yelling out" WEEEEEEEEE", for this was the first time turtle flew. The eagle flew faster and faster, but could not catch up to the turtle, he was falling like a rock.! The animal people below were all cheering for their friend the turtle.

Turtle came down and hit the earth with a boom, dust flew up everywhere. Turtle had won, he beat the eagle to the ground! Eagle said," ok turtle, your the chief, your the boss now. "

With a smile turtle replied," No......I don"t think anyone should be the Chief, I think everyone should be free, to go anywhere they want, do anything they want to do, so, ....my people, your free!"

The animal peoples looked at each other for a moment then came a raising cheer, and they took off in all directions, for now they were free!

Turtle motioned to his little friend," come on mouse lets go home".

And that is how the turtle beat the eagle in a race.

Turtle and the Sky Bowl
An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown
Darkness had lasted too long, and all the other forest animals knew it was Turtle's fault. Long ago, before Turtle had her hard shell, in order to prove her bravery to the others, Turtle had volunteered for one of the most important and dangerous jobs of the forest.

Her duty was to bring the Sky Bowl, filled with yellow corn, up to the cliff top each morning before Sun's first light turned the hillside red. She would scatter the corn over the earth, and Sun, knowing he was needed, would rise.

This morning, though, as Turtle discovered when she awoke, the Sky Bowl had disappeared.

In its place lay a single feather, long curved, and smoky gray. Vulture's feather.

Vulture lived in the crags far to the west where Sun set. He always complained about how bright the days were and how short the nights. Vulture had taken the bowl.

Since the Sky Bowl was her responsibility, Turtle set off through the forest toward the west. She worried about how she would get the bowl back because the crags were too high and steep for her to climb.

As she emerged into a shadowy clearing, Turtle saw Grizzly, grumbling and rolling as she slept.

"Grizzly," she called to the bear, "I've seen how fast and strong you are and how well you climb. Come help me get the Sky Bowl back from Vulture so Sun can rise."

"No," Grizzly grumbled, her eyelids heavy. "I have to protect my cubs in the dark." Turtle heard the little barks and pants of the cubs behind her. Turtle left Grizzly and continued on. Finally, she broke through the trees. At the edge of the wilderness, Moon's cool, hard light fell on Turtle and she shivered. She saw the crags now, their chalky faces rising slowly off the valley floor.

Just then Eagle glided down over the foothills above Turtle. "Eagle! Help me!" Turtle yelled.

Eagle turned his hard, steel-gray eyes on Turtle. "What do you want?!" Eagle's voice whistled down like an arrow shooting through the air. "You can fly. Soar up to Vulture's nook and get the Sky Bowl back so Sun can rise."

"I'm too hungry," said Eagle. "I've been flying for hours, trying to catch something. I can't see well in the dark."

Turtle turned away, knowing the job was hers alone.

She went to the crag, looking up, up, up the chalky stone awash in Moon's cold light. Vulture's nook sat up there, where the rock brushed against the sky.

Turtle tried to climb the steep slope, but slipped back down.

Turtle felt thirsty and needed to think, so she went and sat by the cool mountain stream flowing down out of the crags.

Moon's roundness floated above, reflected in the water, making the stream's bubbles and waves gleam.

As Turtle sipped the water she stared at Moon, noticing how beautiful she was. She'd never seen Moon for so long before, and she no longer feared her.

Suddenly, from deep within the darkness came Moon's voice, whispering softly, "You have shown your bravery well, Turtle. Now go to Vulture and tell him you want the sky bowl back."

And as Moon spoke, moonbeams fell to earth like night rain, and cascaded silently across Turtle's back, forming a hard shell around her.

Turtle wasn't certain how her new shell could help her get the Sky Bowl back, but she would try.

Turtle went to Vulture's crag, and called up to him.

"Hey, Vulture! Give back the Sky Bowl!"

"Or what?" Vulture asked, laughing. "Go home before I rip you apart with my talons." He flew from the nook down toward Turtle, carrying the bowl in his beak and teasing her with it.

Turtle stood firm.

Vulture descended suddenly, trying to claw Turtle with his sharp talons. He hit the hard shell instead, barely making a scratch.

Angry, he pecked at Turtle, forgetting he held the bowl. His beak struck the shell hard and bent at an angle, making him drop the bowl.

Turtle, still unhurt, grabbed it, and retreated back into her shell. Vulture scratched at the shell for a while, then gave up and flew off.

That was how Turtle earned her shell and Vulture got his crooked beak. Sun came back the next morning, but from then on he would shine only half the day, leaving the night to Moon and darkness so that we might never again forget him.