White-Cap, a duck, acts strangely while being groomed by her granddaughter, scaring the girl into fleeing. Alone and lonely, the girl encounters a snow-bunting, which teases her with playful and absurd questions about her life, alluding to a life surrounded by dog-made tools and hardships. Their exchange ends with the bird mentioning a jay extinguishing her fire and flying off, leaving the tale unresolved.
Source
Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia
by Waldemar Bogoras
The American Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Papers, Vol. 20, Part 1
New York, 1918
► Themes of the story
Cunning and Deception: The snow-bunting engages the girl in a series of playful and absurd questions, showcasing wit and subtle deceit in their conversation.
Illusion vs. Reality: The girl’s perception of her grandmother’s behavior and the snow-bunting’s teasing questions blur the lines between reality and imagination.
Conflict with Nature: The girl’s fear of natural elements, such as drowning in the river or getting splinters from a willow, reflects a struggle against natural forces.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Chuvan people
Told by Mary Alin, a Russianized Chuvantzi woman, in the village of Markova. Recorded by Mrs. Sophie Bogoras, winter of 1900.
There was a duck who called herself White-Cap. She asked her granddaughter to louse her.
“O granny! there are no lice on your forehead, but plenty on the back of your head.”
“Gete, gete!” said the old woman in duck language. “There are none on the back of the head, but quite a good many on the forehead, gete, gete, gete!”
“O granny! Why do you talk like that? You never did so before.” “Gete, gete, I always talked like the gray geese that pass high above me. They made me lose my wits, gete, gete, gete!”
The girl was frightened and ran away.
► Continue reading…
For some time she remained alone, then she felt lonely and sat down on a high stone. A snow-bunting perched on a cranberry-bush. The girl asked it, “What do you want?”
“Pitititi do you feel warm?” — “I do feel warm.”
“Pitititi, why do you not bathe in the river?” — “I am afraid, lest I should drown.”
“Pitititi, why do you not hold on to a willow?” — “I am afraid to get a splinter in my palm.”
“Pitititi, why do you not put on mittens?” — “I am afraid, lest they should be torn.”
“Pitititi, why do you not mend them?” — “I am afraid the needle might break.”
“Pitititi, why do you not sharpen it?” — “I am afraid the whetstone might split, and brother would blame me.”
“What is your bed?” — “A dogskin.”
“What is your pillow?” — “A dog’s neck.”
“What are your spoons?” — “Dog’s paws.”
“What are your forks?” — “Dog’s claws.”
“What is your kettle?” — “A dog skull.”
“What is your sledge?” — “Dog’s cheek-bones.”
“What are your ladles?” — “Dog’s shoulder blades.”
“What are your titbits?” — “Dog’s tongue.”
“What are your cups?” — “Dog’s teeth.”
“And where is your fire?” — “A jay passed by and extinguished it.”
“And where is the jay?” — “It flew away to the mountain to peck at the larch gum.”
The end.
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Dreamtime Whispers 