By the Side of the Fire
Native American Tales
By Rony P
Copyright © 2012 Rony P
Smashwords Edition
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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Introduction
Native American people have a rich oral tradition. History and heritage have been past down from generation to generation. These tales are relics of our country's soil. These and many others are the tales the Native American loved so much to hear beside the night fire.
For him the personified elements and other spirits played in a vast world right around the fire.
There were other worlds of legendary folk for the young ones, such as "The Star- Men of the Sky," "The Thunder Birds Blinking Zigzag Lightning," and "The Mysterious Spirits of Trees and Flowers."
Under an open sky, nestling close to the earth, the old story-tellers have told these legends. I have tried to keep the tales, as close as I can to the original way that I heard them. These are just a few of the myths, legends, and fables that are told by the story tellers.
I hope that these tales spark an interest in Native American folk lore, an interest which will strongly suggests our near kinship with the rest of humanity and points a steady finger toward the great brotherhood of mankind, and by which one is so forcibly impressed with the possible earnestness of life as seen through the story teller’s eyes! If it be true that much lies "in the eye of the beholder," then in the Native American as in any other race, sincerity of belief, demands a little respect.
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Twisted Hair
"Twisted Hair" is the Native American term of honor given to the storyteller. Their spirit could hear the heartbeat of Mother Earth and Father Sky.
To become a storyteller you had to be recognized by an elder Twisted Hair. The Twisted Hair was the bearer of news from one village to the next and the source of gossip for the women of the tribe. They were the light spirit among all the people and made all the people one because the history of the people was kept by the Twisted Hair and passed down from generation to generation.
The Twisted Hair carried very little with him as he wandered, for the people of the village he was visiting would gift him with food and shelter. He always carried a warm robe, his pipe and his storytellers' bag.
Stories are usually only told when the weather is a bit nippy because everyone knows that bugs are terrible gossips. If one of them were to overhear a story, they would spread rumors and the story that the spirit is about might be offended. The Twisted Hairs knew so many stories that, in a sacred manner, they would gather clay from Mother Earth and make story tiles. The tiles were put in a leather bag and one of the children would be asked to pick one out. The symbol on the tile would remind him of a particular story.
The Twisted Hair's pipe was wrapped in a skin given to him by his mother. This gift kept his family close by as he spent little time at home.
When a Twisted Hair came into a village the children would run to greet him and all the people would stop their work, for they knew it was time to listen and learn. All the people would get their robes and gather in a circle around the Twisted Hair. The children would always be in the front of the circle. When anyone got cold they would pull their robes up around themselves, because unless it was an extreme emergency - no one ever left the circle of the Twisted Hair in the middle of a story, for to do so was a great dishonor.
Before he told stories, the Twisted Hair always made a prayer fire. He offered tobacco to the Great Mystery and all our relations. Then he first honored the chief, then the elder men and women by offering them to share his pipe. Then he offered it to all others.
When the storytelling was over, they would feast. The Twisted Hair would stay in the village from one to two weeks. Of all the people that traveled from village to village, he was the most beloved. So remember when you hear a story, you know that a Twisted Hair is nearby, either physically or in spirit.
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The Origin of Fire
Long, long ago, animals and trees talked with each other, but there was no fire at that time. Fox was most clever and he tried to think of a way to create fire for the world.
One day, he decided to visit the Geese, te-tl, whose cry he wished to learn how to imitate. They promised to teach him if he would fly with them. So they contrived a way to attach wings to Fox, but cautioned him never to open his eyes while flying.
Whenever the Geese arose in flight, Fox also flew along with them to practice their cry. On one such adventure, darkness descended suddenly as they flew over the village of the fireflies, ko-na- tcic-a. In mid-flight, the glare from the flickering fireflies caused Fox to forget and he opened his eyes--instantly his wings collapsed! His fall was uncontrollable. He landed within the walled area of the firefly village, where a fire constantly burned in the center.
Two kind fireflies came to see fallen Fox, who gave each one a necklace of juniper berries, katl-te-i-tse.
Fox hoped to persuade the two fireflies to tell him where he could find a way over the wall to the outside. They led him to a cedar tree, which they explained would bend down upon command and catapult him over the wall if he so desired.
That evening, Fox found the spring where fireflies obtained their water. There also, he discovered colored Earth, which when mixed with water made paint. He decided to give himself a coat of white. Upon returning to the village, Fox suggested to the fireflies, "Let's have a festival where we can dance and I will produce the music."
They all agreed that would be fun and helped to gather wood to build up a greater fire. Secretly, Fox tied a piece of cedar bark to his tail. Then he made a drum, probably the first one ever constructed, and beat it vigorously with a stick for the dancing fireflies. Gradually, he moved closer and closer to the fire.
Fox pretended to tire from beating the drum. He gave it to some fireflies who wanted to help make the music. Fox quickly thrust his tail into the fire, lighting the bark, and exclaimed, "It is too warm here for me, I must find a cooler place."
Straight to the cedar tree Fox ran, calling, "Bend down to me, my cedar tree, bend down!"
Down bent the cedar tree for Fox to catch hold, then up it carried him far over the wall. On and on he ran, with the fireflies in pursuit.
As Fox ran along, brush and wood on either side of his path were ignited from the sparks dropping from the burning bark tied to his tail.
Fox finally tired and gave the burning bark to Hawk, i-tsarl-tsu- i, who carried it to brown Crane, tsi-nes-tso-l. He flew far southward, scattering fire sparks everywhere. This is how fire first spread over the Earth.
Fireflies continued chasing Fox all the way to his burrow and declared, "Forever after, Wily Fox, your punishment for stealing our fire will be that you can never make use of it for yourself."
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How Rabbit Stole Otter’s Coat
Long ago the Cherokee say, the animals had coats of many different colors and textures. Some had long hair and others had short hair. Some had lovely, decorated tails, but others had no tails at all. One day, a quarrel began between some of the animals because each thought his or her coat was the best looking. They called a council to determine which had the prettiest coat of all.
Some said that Otter had a very fine coat, indeed, but no one knew for sure because they hardly ever saw him. They sent for Otter who lived far away up the creek and seldom came to visit, but they were certain he would come if he was invited.
Rabbit wanted to win the contest. So always being the Trickster, he decided to figure out a way he could trick Otter out of his coat. He asked around until he learned the trail Otter would take to get to the council meeting, and secretly he went ahead on the journey which took four days until he met Otter.
As soon as Rabbit saw Otter, he saw that Otter’s coat of soft, brown fur was, indeed, the most beautiful coat to be found among any of the animals, so he resolved to get it.
When Rabbit saw Otter, he said in his most friendly manner, “I am so glad to see you! The council members sent me to accompany you to the meeting because you live so far away and they were afraid you would get lost.”
Otter thanked Rabbit, and together they traveled all day toward the council ground. That night, Rabbit chose a resting place, knowing that Otter was a stranger to the area. In the morning, they continued their journey. In the afternoon, Rabbit began to pick up wood and bark which he placed on his back.
“Why do you pick up wood and carry it on your back?” Otter asked him.
“I wish for us to be comfortable and warm when we stop tonight,” Rabbit replied, and that evening the two stopped and made camp for the night.
After supper, Rabbit took a stick and whittled it down to form a paddle. Otter asked him, “What areyou doing that for?”
“I have good dreams when I sleep with a paddle under my head,” Rabbit said.
After whittling the paddle, Rabbit began to cut down the bushes and clear a trail down to the river. Again, Otter questioned Rabbit about what he was doing.
“Sometimes it rains fire in this place,” Rabbit answered, “and the sky looks as though it might do that tonight. Go to sleep, and I will stay awake and watch. If the fire comes, I can shout for you to jump up and run into the river.”
So Otter went to sleep, and Rabbit stayed awake. After awhile, the campfire burned down to embers.
Rabbit called to Otter, but he was sound asleep and did not answer. Again Rabbit called to Otter, but Otter did not budge, so Rabbit filled the paddle with red hot embers, threw it into the air, and called out,
“It’s raining fire! It’s raining fire!” The embers fell all around Otter, and he jumped up and ran to the river, where he has lived ever since.
Rabbit took Otter’s coat and put it on, leaving his own behind. When Otter appeared at the council, the animals were so glad to see him, but Otter kept his head down in shame with one paw over his face.
The animals wondered why Otter was so bashful, and when Bear pulled Otter’s paw away from his face, he saw Rabbit wearing Otter’s coat.
Bear hit at Rabbit and tried to catch him, but he only managed to pull off Rabbit’s tail before Rabbit got away. That is the reason Rabbit now has only a little short stub of a tail.
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The Boy Who Acted as the Sun
Once upon a time there lived a woman some distance up Bella Coola River. She refused the offer of marriage from the young men of the tribe, because she desired to marry the Sun. She left her village and went to seek the Sun.
Finally she reached his house, and married the Sun. After she had been there one day, she had a child. He grew very quickly, and on the second day of his life he was able to walk and to talk. After a short time he said to his mother, "I should like to see your mother and your father"; and he began to cry, making his mother feel homesick.
When the Sun saw that his wife felt downcast, and that his son was longing to see his grandparents, he said, "You may return to the Earth to see your parents. Descend along my eyelashes." His eyelashes were the rays of the Sun, which he extended down to his wife's home, where they lived with the woman's parents.
The boy was playing with the children of the village, who were teasing him, saying that he had no father. He began to cry, and went to his mother, whom he asked for bow and arrows. His mother gave him what he requested. He went outside and began to shoot his arrows towards the sky. The first arrow struck the sky and stuck in it; the second arrow hit the notch of the first one; and thus he continued until a chain was formed, extending from the sky down to the place where he was standing. Then he ascended the chain.
He found the house of the sun, which he entered. He told his father that the boys had been teasing him, and he asked him to let him carry the sun. But his father said, "You cannot do it. I carry many torches. Early in the morning and late in the evening I burn small torches, but at noon I burn the large ones." The boy insisted on his request. Then his father gave him the torches, warning him at the same time to observe carefully the instructions that he was giving him in regard to their use.
Early the next morning, the young man started on the course of the sun, carrying the torches. Soon he grew impatient, and lighted all the torches at once. Then it grew very hot. The trees began to burn, and many animals jumped into the water to save themselves, but the water began to boil. Then his mother covered the people with her blanket, and thus saved them. The animals hid under stones.
The ermine crept into a hole, which, however, was not quite large enough, so that the tip of its tail protruded from the entrance. It was scorched, and since that time the tip of the ermine's tail has been black. The mountain-goat hid in a cave, hence its skin is perfectly white. All the animals that did not hide were scorched, and therefore have black skins, but the skin on their lower side remained lighter.
When the Sun saw what was happening, he said to his son, "Why do you do so? Do you think it is good that there are no people on the Earth?"
The Sun took him and cast him down from the heavens, saying, "You shall be the mink, and future generations of man shall hunt you."
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Why Possum’s Tail Is Bare
The Cherokee say that Possum used to have a long, bushy tail. He was very proud of his tail and would brush it every morning and sing about it at every dance. Rabbit, who had no tail, was jealous of Possum, so he decided to play a trick on Possum.
An important council meeting was planned, and there was to be a big dance afterwards. Rabbit was entrusted with the responsibility of letting everyone know about the dance, so he stopped over at Possum’s house and asked him if he was planning to attend the dance.
“Oh yes,” Possum replied. “I cannot miss the dance. I must show off my beautiful tail so everyone can admire me!”
Rabbit promised to make sure that Possum got the best seat in the place and that someone would comb and dress Possum’s tail. Possum was very pleased by this and agreed to come.
Next, Rabbit went to Cricket, an excellent haircutter who is called “the barber.” Rabbit told Cricket to go to Possum’s house the morning of the dance and gave him instructions on how to dress Possum’s tail.
Cricket did as Rabbit told him and the following morning showed up bright and early at Possum’s house. “I am here to help you get ready for the dance,” he told the pleased Possum who stretched himself out and closed his eyes while Cricket dressed his tail. He had tied his tail with a red string to keep it in place until the dance. Of course, all the time Cricket had been cutting Possum’s tail without Possum knowing.
That night Possum went to the dance, and sure enough, the best seat in the place was waiting for him. When his turn came to dance, he loosened the red string from his tail and stepped into the middle of the floor. The drummers began to drum, and Possum began to sing, “See my beautiful tail.” Everyone shouted, and Possum continued, “See what a lovely color it is.”
They shouted again, and Possum sang, “See how my tail sweeps the ground.” The animals shouted again, and Possum, who was pleased to no end, sang, “See how fine the fur on my tail is.”
Possum suddenly realized that everyone was falling onto the floor in laughter and that they were laughing at him. He looked down at what had been his beautiful tail, and he saw that there was not a hair left on it. It was as bare as the tail of a lizard. He was so surprised and ashamed that he fell on the ground helpless, a stupid grin on his face. And that is what Possum does to this day when he is taken by surprise.
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Climbing the Mountain