White Bear punishes Fox by taking his shoulder, causing Fox to fall ill. Fox enlists Crow’s help to retrieve it. Crow deceives White Bear, steals the shoulder, and returns it to Fox. Angry, White Bear hides the sun, plunging the world into darkness. Crow, in disguise, tricks White Bear again, restoring the sun to the sky. This story explains the separation of white and black bears and portrays white bears as wicked.
Source:
The Fireside Stories of the Chippwyans
by James Mackintosh Bell
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.16, No.61, pp. 73-84
April-June, 1903
► Themes of the story
Trickster: The crow embodies the trickster archetype, using cunning and deception to achieve its goals.
Cosmic Order and Chaos: The story addresses the disruption and restoration of cosmic order, particularly through the crow’s actions in returning the sun to the sky, thereby restoring light to the world.
Conflict with Authority: The crow challenges the authority of the White Bear, who holds power over other animals and controls essential elements like the sun.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Chipewyan people
The following story explains the reason for the ferocity of the white bear and why his habitat is different from others of his own species
Once upon a time there was a White Bear, and his nephew, Black Bear, was staying with him, with several other animals, including the fox. As the fox was always up to mischief, the white bear took away his right shoulder, and in consequence the former was very ill. White Bear took the fox’s shoulder, and tied it along with a bunch of claws which he always carried. Now fox being very sick, and not able to get along very well without his shoulder, sent for the crow, who was full of cunning, to devise some means of getting his shoulder back. After a long talk, the crow went to visit White Bear, who was very old and infirm and troubled with rheumatism. He was sitting at the fire, warming his back, when the crow came in, and the bunch of claws and the fox’s shoulder were hanging from the roof above his head. The crow began to talk to him, and occasionally he would touch the bunch of claws, and the white bear would wake up with a start, at which the crow would explain that he was only touching the claws to see what they were made of.
► Continue reading…
At last White Bear took no notice of the noise, and soon was half asleep, and the crow, seeing his chance, caught hold of the fox’s shoulder, and pulled it off, and ran out of the camp. White Bear then woke up, and asked his nephew. Black Bear, what was the matter, and the latter, who stuttered, explained that the crow had run away with the fox’s shoulder. He took so long in telling it, that White Bear got angry, and told Black Bear to get out and find a home for himself. So ever since the white and black bears have lived apart.
White Bear, to show his rage, took down the sun and put it along with the claws. Now, as everything was in darkness, the other animals could not hunt, and were starving. So they applied to the crow to get them out of their new trouble. In the mean time White Bear’s daughter went for water, and as she was having a drink, something black was floating in the water, which she swallowed. Some days afterwards a child was born to her, and the infant grew so fast that soon he could walk about; and when he saw this bright thing hanging among the bunch of claws, he began to cry for it. After much persuasion White Bear gave it to him to play with in the camp. After a while he wished to play outside with it, but White Bear would not at first allow it. But as the child kept continually crying to be allowed to do so, he at last consented, but told him not to go far from the camp, and if he saw anybody coming, to run into the tepee at once. This the child promised to do, but as soon as he got out, he threw the sun up into the sky, and flew away, for he was the crow in still another disguise. When White Bear saw that he was cheated again by the crow, he was furious, and since then white bears have been always wicked.
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