The Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds (Part 1/Part 2)
Iagoo (storyteller) seated in a corner at night, staring into a fire
He was thinking about the strange/wonderful things he had seen
Burning logs/coals would take curious shapes and make weird pictures only he could understand
The children never interrupted him, waited for him to speak/tell a story
This one night, Iagoo stayed still and kept staring into the fire; children feared he had forgotten them/wouldn’t tell a bedtime story
One girl gets his attention, asks if the mountains were always there
Iagoo looks into fire, concludes that the mountains WERE always there
Iagoo begins telling story of magical Big Rock
Back in the day where animals/men were on friendly terms, a little boy and girl lived in a valley
The valley was beautiful place to live- (lovely fields, flowers, berries, and birds)
Boy/Girl would wander making friends with the animals- mutual love btw kids/animals
River flowed through the valley, for bathing and drinking
Boy/Girl would play in shallow pool on hot days, Beaver taught them how to swim
One day after swimming, they decide to lie on a big, flat, mossy rock to dry off
Fall asleep on the rock, and the rock rises/grows; becomes taller than the trees
Parents look for their kids, asking animals where their kids are- animals don’t know
Coyote decides to help them, sniffing around to get their scent and finds them
Coyote calls all animals together to figure out how to get them down
They eventually decide to try jumping up there
Many animals try to jump, fall miserably. Measuring Worm offers to try, all the animals laugh
Measuring Worm starts slithering/climbing up the rocks; takes him a month to get to the top
Worm guides Boy/Girl safely down the rocks
Lions/Bears no longer live in valley; Indians name Big Rock after Worm (Tu-tok-a-nu-la)
How the Summer Came (Part 1/Part 2/Part 3)
Morning Glory hated winter, longed for spring to come
Asks old man (Iagoo) if spring/summer will ever come- wouldn’t the lack of spring/summer be dreadful?
Old man tells him when he hears wild goose and robin flying North, summer will be soon
Morning Glory complains about the wind and wonders if there’s ever been such a long winter
Iagoo explains there was a time there was no summer on Earth (covered in snow and cold), ruled by Ka-bib-on-okka (the North Wind)
O-jeeg, the Fisher, eventually gave his life so summer could come- North Wind now rules the Land of Ice
Iagoo tells Morning Glory/Eagle Feather story of how summer came
O-jeeg (a hunter) knew the woods very well, was able to follow animals- good at archery, didn’t let a storm/snow turn him back from a journey, did everything well)
Some believed O-jeeg was magical; very friendly with animals, always willing to help him at a moment’s notice
O-jeeg provided for his family (wife/son) through hunting- food, clothing from skins, inspiration for son. Winter was always a struggle (snow never melted)
Son goes out to hunt, squirrel asks Son if he can make Summer come from the sky
Son says he’ll get O-jeeg to do it; O-jeeg says he’ll try
O-jeeg meets w/ animals to get advice; Lynx tells him there’s a high mountain that reaches the clouds, might be able to break the sky/release the sun by climbing it
Lynx tells O-jeeg there’s a giant that could tell them where/how to climb it
O-jeeg/animals set out on journey, find/meet the giant at a lodge, stay the night
Giant tells O-jeeg to travel straight to the North Star
They will be able to climb the mountain by following North Star for 20 days, but they will not be able to get down
O-jeeg/animals climb the mountain, call out to Great Spirit for success
Each of the animals try to jump up and claim the sun
Otter jumps, hits his head on the sky, slides down the mountain
Beaver/Badger/Lynx try, but hit their heads on the sky
Wolverine tries, hits his head on sky and dents the sky; eventually breaks it
Sun comes out; snow disappears, grass grows, flowers bloom, birds come out, fruit is grown, streams flow through meadows, etc.,
Spring/Summer/Autumn escape into the world below
Wolverine jumps down the hole back to Earth; O-jeeg was occupied releasing birds into the Earth, hole closes and O-jeeg gets trapped
Sky-Dwellers chase O-jeeg; O-jeeg climbs tree, Sky-Dwellers leave him alone
O-jeeg comes down and fails to find a hole back to Earth; forced to live up in the sky
O-jeeg (Fisher) is now visible in the sky with an arrow through his tail; Indians call them Fisher Stars, white men call them the Plough constellation
Boy and Girl on Top of the Rock, via the Untextbook
Story Source: American Indian Fairy Tales by W.T. Larned, with illustrations by John Rae (1921)
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