The Weeoombeens and the Piggiebillah

Two Weeoombeen brothers hunted an emu but faced a greedy giant, Piggiebillah, who seized their kill. Seeking revenge, they alerted black fellows, who attacked Piggiebillah but failed to recover the emu. The brothers cleverly hid, using the emu as a shield, and later escaped. Unable to find them, the black fellows believed the brothers transformed into white-throated birds, now called Weeoombeens, while Piggiebillah’s fate inspired the porcupine ant-eater’s spiked appearance.

Source
Australian Legendary Tales
collected by Mrs. K. Langloh Parker
London & Melbourne, 1896

► Themes of the story

Revenge and Justice: The brothers seek retribution against Piggiebillah for taking their emu by leading the black fellows to attack him.

Transformation: The black fellows believe the brothers transformed into white-throated birds, now called Weeoombeens, highlighting a metamorphosis.

Conflict with Authority: The brothers challenge Piggiebillah’s dominance by orchestrating an attack against him, defying his authority.

► From the same Region or People

Australia
- Narran Lore

Learn more about the Aboriginal Australians

Two Weeoombeen brothers went out hunting. One brother was much younger than the other and smaller, so when they sighted an emu, the elder one said to the younger: “You stay quietly here and do not make a noise, or Piggiebillah, whose camp we passed just now, will hear you and steal the emu if I kill it. He is so strong. I’ll go on and try to kill the emu with this stone.” The little Weeoombeen watched his big brother sneak up to the emu, crawling along, almost flat, on the ground. He saw him get quite close to the emu, then spring up quickly and throw the stone with such an accurate aim as to kill the bird on the spot.

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The little brother was so rejoiced that he forgot his brother’s caution, and he called aloud in his joy. The big Weeoombeen looked round and gave him a warning sign, but too late, Piggiebillah had heard the cry and was hastening towards them. Quickly big Weeoombeen left the emu and joined his little brother.

Piggiebillah, when he came up, said: “What have you found?”

“Nothing,” said the big Weeoombeen, “nothing but some mistletoe berries.”

“It must have been something more than that, or your little brother would not have called out so loudly.”

Little Weeoombeen was so afraid that Piggiebillah would find their emu and take it, that he said: “I hit a little bird with a stone, and I was glad I could throw so straight.”

“It was no cry for the killing of a little bird or for the finding of mistletoe berries that I heard. It was for something much more than either, or you would not have called out so joyfully. If you do not tell me at once I will kill you both.”

The Weeoombeen brothers were frightened, for Piggiebillah was a great fighter and very strong, so when they saw he was really angry, they showed him the dead emu.

“Just what I want for my supper,” he said, and so saying, dragged it away to his own camp. The Weeoombeens followed him and even helped him to make a fire to cook the emu, hoping by so doing to get a share given to them. But Piggiebillah would not give them any; he said he must have it all for himself.

Angry and disappointed, the Weeoombeens marched straight off and told some black fellows who lived near, that Piggiebillah had a fine fat emu just cooked for supper.

Up jumped the black fellows, seized their spears, bade the Weeoombeens quickly lead them to Piggiebillah’s camp, promising them for so doing a share of the emu.

When they were within range of spear shot, the black fellows formed a circle, took aim, and threw their spears at Piggiebillah. As the spears fell thick on him, sticking out all over him, Piggiebillah cried aloud: “Bingehlah, Bingeblah. You can have it, you can have it.” But the black fellows did not desist until Piggiebillah was too wounded even to cry out; then they left him a mass of spears and turned to look for the emu. But to their surprise they found it not. Then for the first time they missed the Weeoombeens.

Looking round they saw their tracks going to where the emu had evidently been; then they saw that they had dragged the emu to their nyunnoo, which was a humpy made of grass.

When the Weeoombeens saw the black fellows coming, they caught hold of the emu and dragged it to a big hole they knew of, with a big stone at its entrance, which stone only they knew the secret of moving. They moved the stone, got the emu and themselves into the hole, and the stone in place again before the black fellows reached the place.

The black fellows tried to move the stone, but could not. Yet they knew that the Weeoombeens must have done so, for they had tracked them right up to it, and they could hear the sound of their voices on the other side of it. They saw there was a crevice on either side of the stone, between it and the ground. Through these crevices they, drove in their spears, thinking they must surely kill the brothers. But the Weeoombeens too had seen these crevices and had anticipated the spears, so they had placed the dead emu before them to act as a shield. And into its body were driven the spears of the black fellows extended for the Weeoombeens.

Having driven the spears well in, the black fellows went off to get help to move the stone, but when they had gone a little way they heard the Weeoombeens laughing. Back they came and speared again, and again started for help, only as they left to hear once more the laughter of the brothers.

The Weeoombeens finding their laughter only brought back the black fellows to a fresh attack, determined to keep quiet, which, after the next spearing, they did.

Quite sure, when they heard their spear shots followed by neither conversation nor laughter, that they had killed the Weeoombeens at last, the black fellows hurried away to bring back the strength and cunning of the camp, to remove the stone.

The Weeoombeens hurriedly discussed what plan they had better adopt to elude the black fellows, for well they knew that should they ever meet any of them again they would be killed without mercy. And as they talked they satisfied their hunger by eating some of the emu flesh.

After a while the black fellows returned, and soon was the stone removed from the entrance. Some of them crept into the hole, where, to their surprise, they found only the remains of the emu and no trace of the Weeoombeens. As those who had gone in first crept out and told of the disappearance of the Weeoombeens, others, incredulous of such a story, crept in to find it confirmed. They searched round for tracks; seeing that their spears were all in the emu it seemed to them probable the Weeoombeens had escaped alive, but if so, whither they had gone their tracks would show. But search as they would no tracks could they find. All they could see were two little birds which sat on a bush near the hole, watching the black fellows all the time. The little birds flew round the hole sometimes, but never away, always returning to their bush and seeming to be discussing the whole affair; but what they said the black fellows could not understand. But as time went on and no sign was ever found of the Weeoombeens, the black fellows became sure that the brothers had turned into the little white-throated birds which had sat on the bush by the hole, so, they supposed, to escape their vengeance. And ever afterwards the little white-throats were called Weeoombeens. And the memory of Piggiebillah is perpetuated by a sort of porcupine ant-eater, which bears his name, and whose skin is covered closely with miniature spears sticking all over it.

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The Galah, and Oolah the Lizard

Oolah the lizard, tired of lounging in the sun, practiced throwing boomerangs called bubberahs. A Galah admired his skill, but when Oolah threw one too hard, it struck her head, leaving her bald and bleeding. Furious, she attacked him, embedding prickles in his skin and staining him red. Since then, Galahs have bald patches, and red, spiky lizards like Oolah inhabit their land.

Source
Australian Legendary Tales
collected by Mrs. K. Langloh Parker
London & Melbourne, 1896

► Themes of the story

Tragic Flaw: Oolah’s pride in his boomerang skills causes him to throw it with excessive force, resulting in injury to the Galah and subsequent retribution.

Transformation: Both the Galah and Oolah undergo physical changes as a result of their encounter—the Galah becomes bald, and Oolah turns into a red, spiky lizard.

Origin of Things: The tale explains the distinctive physical traits of the Galah and certain lizards, attributing their appearances to this mythological event.

► From the same Region or People

Australia
- Narran Lore

Learn more about the Aboriginal Australians

Oolah the lizard was tired of lying in the sun, doing nothing. So he said, “I will go and play.” He took his boomerangs out, and began to practise throwing them. While he was doing so a Galah came up, and stood near, watching the boomerangs come flying back, for the kind of boomerangs Oolah was throwing were the bubberahs. They are smaller than others, and more curved, and when they are properly thrown they return to the thrower, which other boomerangs do not.

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Oolah was proud of having the gay Galah to watch his skill. In his pride he gave the bubberah an extra twist, and threw it with all his might. Whizz, whizzing through the air, back it came, hitting, as it passed her, the Galah on the top of her head, taking both feathers and skin clean off. The Galah set up a hideous, cawing, croaking shriek, and flew about, stopping every few minutes to knock her head on the ground like a mad bird. Oolah was so frightened when he saw what he had done, and noticed that the blood was flowing from the Galah’s head, that he glided away to hide under a bindeah bush. But the Galah saw him. She never stopped the hideous noise she was making for a minute, but, still shrieking, followed Oolah. When she reached the bindeah bush she rushed at Oolah, seized him with her beak, rolled him on the bush until every bindeah had made a hole in his skin. Then she rubbed his skin with her own bleeding head. “Now then,” she said, “you Oolah shall carry bindeahs on you always, and the stain of my blood.”

“And you,” said Oolah, as he hissed with pain from the tingling of the prickles, “shall be a bald-headed bird as long as I am a red prickly lizard.”

So to this day, underneath the Galah’s crest you can always find the bald patch which the bubberah of Oolah first made. And in the country of the Galahs are lizards coloured reddish brown, and covered with spikes like bindeah prickles.

Dinewan the Emu, and Goomblegubbon the Bustard

The story of Dinewan, the emu, and Goomblegubbon, the bustard, highlights themes of jealousy, trickery, and revenge. Goomblegubbon envies Dinewan’s supremacy and deceives her into sacrificing her wings. In retaliation, Dinewan tricks Goomblegubbon into killing her offspring. The tale explains why emus are flightless and bustards lay only two eggs, symbolizing the consequences of deceit and envy.

Source
Australian Legendary Tales
collected by Mrs. K. Langloh Parker
London & Melbourne, 1896

► Themes of the story

Cunning and Deception: Goomblegubbon deceives Dinewan into cutting off her wings by pretending to have none herself, aiming to undermine Dinewan’s supremacy.

Revenge and Justice: After realizing the deception, Dinewan seeks revenge by tricking Goomblegubbon into killing her own offspring, leading to a cycle of retribution between them.

Transformation: The tale explains the transformation of the emu into a flightless bird and the bustard’s behavior of laying only two eggs, attributing these characteristics to the consequences of their actions.

► From the same Region or People

Australia
- Narran Lore

Learn more about the Aboriginal Australians

Dinewan the emu, being the largest bird, was acknowledged as king by the other birds. The Goomblegubbons, the bustards, were jealous of the Dinewans. Particularly was Goomblegubbon, the mother, jealous of the Diriewan mother. She would watch with envy the high flight of the Dinewans, and their swift running. And she always fancied that the Dinewan mother flaunted her superiority in her face, for whenever Dinewan alighted near Goomblegubbon, after a long, high flight, she would flap her big wings and begin booing in her pride, not the loud booing of the male bird, but a little, triumphant, satisfied booing noise of her own, which never failed to irritate Goomblegubbon when she heard it.

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Goomblegubbon used to wonder how she could put an end to Dinewan’s supremacy. She decided that she would only be able to do so by injuring her wings and checking her power of flight. But the question that troubled her was how to effect this end. She knew she would gain nothing by having a quarrel with Dinewan and fighting her, for no Goomblegubbon would stand any chance against a Dinewan, There was evidently nothing to be gained by an open fight. She would have to effect her end by cunning.

One day, when Goomblegubbon saw in the distance Dinewan coming towards her, she squatted down and doubled in her wings in such a way as to look as if she had none. After Dinewan had been talking to her for some time, Goomblegubbon said: “Why do you not imitate me and do without wings? Every bird flies. The Dinewans, to be the king of birds, should do without wings. When all the birds see that I can do without wings, they will think I am the cleverest bird and they will make a Goomblegubbon king.”

“But you have wings,” said Dinewan.

“No, I have no wings.” And indeed she looked as if her words were true, so well were her wings hidden, as she squatted in the grass. Dinewan went away after awhile, and thought much of what she had heard. She talked it all over with her mate, who was as disturbed as she was. They made up their minds that it would never do to let the Goomblegubbons reign in their stead, even if they had to lose their wings to save their kingship.

At length they decided on the sacrifice of their wings. The Dinewan mother showed the example by persuading her mate to cut off hers with a combo or stone tomahawk, and then she did the same to his. As soon as the operations were over, the Dinewan mother lost no time in letting Goomblegubbon know what they had done. She ran swiftly down to the plain on which she had left Goomblegubbon, and, finding her still squatting there, she said: “See, I have followed your example. I have now no wings. They are cut off.”

“Ha! ha! ha!” laughed Goomblegubbon, jumping up and dancing round with joy at the success of her plot. As she danced round, she spread out her wings, flapped them, and said: “I have taken you in, old stumpy wings. I have my wings yet. You are fine birds, you Dinewans, to be chosen kings, when you are so easily taken in. Ha! ha! ha!” And, laughing derisively, Goomblegubbon flapped her wings right in front of Dinewan, who rushed towards her to chastise her treachery. But Goomblegubbon flew away, and, alas! the now wingless Dinewan could not follow her.

Brooding over her wrongs, Dinewan walked away, vowing she would be revenged. But how? That was the question which she and her mate failed to answer for some time. At length the Dinewan mother thought of a plan and prepared at once to execute it. She hid all her young Dinewans but two, under a big salt bush. Then she walked off to Goomblegubbons’ plain with the two young ones following her. As she walked off the morilla ridge, where her home was, on to the plain, she saw Goomblegubbon out feeding with her twelve young ones.

After exchanging a few remarks in a friendly manner with Goomblegubbon, she said to her, “Why do you not imitate me and only have two children? Twelve are too many to feed. If you keep so many they will never grow big birds like the Dinewans. The food that would make big birds of two would only starve twelve.” Goomblegubbon said nothing, but she thought it might be so. It was impossible to deny that the young Dinewans were much bigger than the young Goomblegubbons, and, discontentedly, Goomblegubbon walked away, wondering whether the smallness of her young ones was owing to the number of them being so much greater than that of the Dinewans. It would be grand, she thought, to grow as big as the Dinewans. But she remembered the trick she had played on Dinewan, and she thought that perhaps she was being fooled in her turn. She looked back to where the Dinewans fed, and as she saw how much bigger the two young ones were than any of hers, once more mad envy of Dinewan possessed her. She determined she would not be outdone. Rather would she kill all her young ones but two. She said, “The Dinewans shall not be the king birds of the plains. The Goomblegubbons shall replace them. They shall grow as big as the Dinewans, and shall keep their wings and fly, which now the Dinewans cannot do.” And straightway Goomblegubbon killed all her young ones but two. Then back she came to where the Dinewans were still feeding. When Dinewan saw her coming and noticed she had only two young ones with her, she called out: “Where are all your young ones?”

Goomblegubbon answered, “I have killed them, and have only two left. Those will have plenty to eat now, and will soon grow as big as your young ones.”

“You cruel mother to kill your children. You greedy mother. Why, I have twelve children and I find food for them all. I would not kill one for anything, not even if by so doing I could get back my wings. There is plenty for all. Look at the emu bush how it covers itself with berries to feed my big family. See how the grasshoppers come hopping round, so that we can catch them and fatten on them.”

“But you have only two children.”

“I have twelve. I will go and bring them to show you.” Dinewan ran off to her salt bush where she had hidden her ten young ones. Soon she was to be seen coming back. Running with her neck stretched forward, her head thrown back with pride, and the feathers of her boobootella swinging as she ran, booming out the while her queer throat noise, the Dinewan song of joy, the pretty, soft-looking little ones with their zebra-striped skins, running beside her whistling their baby Dinewan note. When Dinewan reached the place where Goomblegubbon was, she stopped her booing and said in a solemn tone, “Now you see my words are true, I have twelve young ones, as I said. You can gaze at my loved ones and think of your poor murdered children. And while you do so I will tell you the fate of your descendants for ever. By trickery and deceit you lost the Dinewans their wings, and now for evermore, as long as a Dinewan has no wings, so long shall a Goomblegubbon lay only two eggs and have only two young ones. We are quits now. You have your wings and I my children.”

And ever since that time a Dinewan, or emu, has had no wings, and a Goomblegubbon, or bustard of the plains, has laid only two eggs in a season.

Lamut tale

A Lamut man marries a magical stone woman who later saves him by eliminating a water spirit he secretly meets. Angry over his betrayal, the stone wife is eventually killed by the man after he falls for the revived water girl. He burns his stone wife and chooses to live with the water girl in her world, leaving his past behind.

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

Supernatural Beings: The narrative features a magical stone woman and a water spirit, both integral to the plot.

Love and Betrayal: The man’s relationships with the stone woman and the water spirit highlight themes of love, infidelity, and betrayal.

Transformation: The stone transforming into a living woman and the man’s transition to the water world illustrate physical and existential transformations.

► From the same Region or People

North Asia
- Evens (Lamut) Lore

Learn more about the Evens (Lamut)

Told by Anne Sosykin, a Russianized Chuvantzi woman, in the village of Markova. Recorded by Mrs. Sophie Bogoras, winter of 1900

There was a Lamut man, who traveled about looking for a wife. One time he found a stone in the likeness of a person. He took it home and put it near the fireplace. He awoke in the morning, and said to the stone, “There, wife, cook some food!” Since the stone never stirred, he got up and cooked the food himself. Then he went off to look for game. He came back in the evening, and said again to the stone, “Wife, cook some food!” But since the stone never stirred, he cooked the food himself. He awoke next morning, and, lo! the stone wife was cooking food. They lived together as husband and wife.

After a while he went to a river and walked along the bank. He felt thirsty; he found a water-hole and stooped down. When about to drink, he saw a girl down below, who was combing her long glossy hair. “Ah, come here! let us play!” She came out, and they played shooting at each other with bow and arrows. At last he looked up. The sun was already setting.

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“Ah! it is late. I must go home. He went home, but his wife pouted at him. “Why are you so late? Before this you used to come in time.” — “I have been tracking a fox.” The following morning he arose early and went to the river. The water girl was already down there in the water, combing her hair. “Come along, let us play!” They played again till sunset. When he came home, his wife was very angry. “Why are you so late?” He gave no answer, thinking of the girl, and promising himself, “Tomorrow morning I shall getup still earlier.” The wife, however, caused a heavy sleep to fall upon him. Early in the morning the stone woman arose. She put on her husband’s clothes, took his bow and arrows, and on snowshoes went to the river following her husband’s tracks. She came to the water-hole and looked down. The girl was there, combing her hair. “Come along, let us play.” — “Ah! my heart is in a flurry. I feel as if we had never played before.” — “Oh, nonsense! Well, at least come up a little! Let me have a look at you.” The other one appeared out of the water up to her armpits. Then the stone wife shot at her and pierced her breast with an arrow. Blood spurted from her breast and from her back. The girl dropped back, and the stone woman returned to her home. She put her husband’s clothes in their former place, also his bow and snowshoes. Then she removed the sleeping-spell from him. He jumped up, and saw that the sun was already high up in the sky. He took his bow, put on his snowshoes, and hurried to the river. The girl, however, was not to be seen. “Ah!” said he with many lamentations, “she is no more! I do not want to stay here either.” He jumped into the water and sank down. His ears rustled, his body tingled all over. Then he found himself in a new world. He found a beaten track, and walked on. After a while he came to a city. All the houses of the city were covered with black calico. Apart from the others stood a little house in which lived a little old woman. He entered. The old woman asked, “Where do you come from?” — “I am from the other world. What has happened here! Is anybody sick? Why all this black calico?” — “Our chief’s daughter is sick. Somebody hit her with an arrow.” — “I want to heal her.” The old woman hurried to the chief: “A man has come to our city who offers to heal your daughter.” The chief ordered that the visitor be brought in. As soon as he entered the house, the girl moaned aloud, “Aah!” He touched the arrow, and in a moment she was dead. Then he asked for some men’s clothes. These he put on her body, and on himself he put her clothes. “Well, father and mother, take your last farewell. I will watch the body all by myself.” After sunset there came two young birds, two spoonbills. Two high larch trees stood there. The spoonbills alighted on the trees.

O sister! get up!
Let us play, and let us flutter about!
O sisters! I cannot play,
I cannot flutter.
O sisters! my wings are broken,
My feathers fell down.
O sister! who broke your wings?
Who plumed your feathers?
O sisters! he who broke them.
He lies down like one dead.

The spoonbills alighted on the ground, and turned into young girls. They came to the one who was dead. The first girl blew upon her, the second girl spat upon her. Then she jumped up, and exclaimed, “Ah, ah, ah! I slept very long! Now I am up again.” “Ah! without our aid, you would have slept forever.” They stayed there till the following morning. When the other people awoke, they carried her to her parents. The mother immediately fell in a swoon. She came to herself only in the evening, and they married the girl to the visitor. They lived together. One time he said, “I want to visit my former wife.” As soon as the stone wife saw him, she jumped up. “Ah! my husband is coming, my husband is coming!” She whetted her teeth, ready to bite; but the man strung his how and shot her. She fell back. “Ah! so it is. I wanted to devour you, but you got ahead of me.” He built a great fire and burned the woman. Then he went back to the water girl and lived with her.

A Yukaghir tale

The tribal name “Yukaghir” is mentioned in the title as well as in the text of this tale. Still the unknown words occurring in it were indicated as belonging to the Chuvantzi language, though nobody was able to translate them. The Chuvantzi may have been a branch of the Yukaghir.

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

Good vs. Evil: The story depicts the struggle between the lazy man and his wife against Yaghishna, representing the classic battle between opposing forces.

Transformation: The man’s evolution from laziness to an active lifestyle signifies a significant personal change.

Supernatural Beings: Yaghishna, referred to as “the unclean,” embodies a supernatural entity influencing mortal affairs.

► From the same Region or People

North Asia
- Yukaghir Lore

Learn more about the Yukaghir people

Told by Anne Pleskov, an old Russianized native woman, in the village of Vakarena, the Anadyr River, autumn of 1899.

There was a Yukaghir man and his wife. He was exceedingly lazy. He was all the time lying in his tent, and did not want to go out. The woman chopped the wood and looked after the traps and snares. She also prepared their food. He would lie on the skins in the tent. She would come home and cook the dinner.

Then she would ask, “Will you eat?”
“Why! If I must! chemechina!”

One time the woman went out, and saw somebody coming. It was Yaghishna, the unclean. The woman came back, and sang out:

Ke, ke, ke, ke, ke,
Chomunda gałunda
Batkina deka
Comunda riteka!

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“Oh!” said she, “old man, there comes Yaghishna!” He remained lying down. She went out again, and the female enemy was already nearby. She entered again. “Oh, she is here! Get up, old man! or I shall leave you.” He remained lying there, as before. The third time she entered, and sang out:

Ke, ke, ke, ke, ke,
Batkina ta’lik
Chomunda richalik!

“Oh, there, old man! get up! She is at the door. “Ah!” said he, “I shall get up and chemechina, I shall put on my breeches and chemechina, I shall put on my coat and chemechina, I shall put on my boots and chemechina, I shall take my quiver and chemechina, I shall take my bow and chemechina, I shall take my arrow and chemechina.” So he got up, took his bow and arrows, and rushed out of the house. He tried to shoot at the monster, but all his arrows that hit her body rebounded as from hard stone. The woman sang again:

Ke, ke, ke, ke, ke,
Chomunda galunda!

Old man, do not aim at her body: try as hard as you can to take aim at her anus, then you will kill her.”

He had only one arrow left, so he aimed at her anus. The arrow pierced her, passed through the body, and came out at the mouth. She fell down like a big mountain. They ran to her, and chopped up her body with a broad spear and with an ax. The old woman said, “Old man! Let us pile up some wood. Let us burn her.” They heaped up a pile of wood. Then they put her on top of it and burned her up. They threw the ashes to all four winds. The old man went back into the tent and wanted to lie down. “Oh, old man! don’t lie down! Oh, old man! don’t lie down! Let us rather go and see whether she has left anyone behind in her house. They may come here and destroy us unawares.”

They followed in her tracks, and finally found a house. They stole up to it. Nobody was stirring there. They found a chink and looked through it. The house was empty: so they entered and looked about. There was nothing of any use, mere rubbish and dirt. A large wooden dish stood in the middle of the house, bottom upward. The old man stumbled over the dish, and it turned right-side up. A number of small children jumped out of it, like so many peas, and ran about:

Oh, oh, mama ta kakacha,
Mama ta vakeca!

They broke the heads of all of the children. Then they set fire to the house and went home. From that time on the old man became quite active. He went hunting and brought back food and clothing. They lived in good style and had everything desired. So they have lived up to the present time.

Story of transformed bears

A male and female bear cross a river, but the female drowns. The male mourns and leads a Christian hunter to her body. The hunter skins her leg and finds a gold ring with initials. The bear asks the hunter to bury them together, revealing their human past as lovers. The man reluctantly kills the bear and buries them both.

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

Transformation: The narrative reveals that the bears were once human lovers who, for unknown reasons, became unable to revert to their human forms, embodying a literal transformation from human to animal.

Sacrifice: The male bear’s insistence on being killed and buried alongside his companion demonstrates a profound act of sacrifice, choosing death to reunite with his beloved.

Moral Lessons: The tale imparts reflections on love, loss, and the consequences of actions that lead to irreversible changes, encouraging contemplation of human relationships and choices.

► From the same Region or People

North Asia
- Yukaghir Lore

Learn more about the Yukaghir people

Told by John Sukhomyasoff, a Russian creole, clerk of the church, in the village of Nishne-Kolymsk, the Kolyma country, summer of 1896.

Two bears, male and female, swam across a large river. The current was so strong that it caught them and carried them on. The male bear succeeded in getting ashore, but the female was drowned. The male bear waited on shore for the body, and then dragged it up to a safe place. A Christian hunter was wandering about there. In the evening he stopped for the night, made a fire, and prepared some tea. All at once he saw a large male bear coming toward him. He caught up his bow; but in the bright light of the fire he saw that the bear was weeping like a man, so he laid down his bow and waited to see what would happen. The bear lay down near the fire and did not move. Early in the morning, with the first gray light of dawn, the bear arose and approached the man. He tugged at him with his paw, and nudged him, wanting him to get up. Then with his head and muzzle he indicated the direction in which he wanted him to go. The man was afraid, but at last obeyed the bear.

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They came to the river. The body of the female bear was up on shore, hidden in some moss. The bear pulled it out of the moss up to the middle of the breast, and then looked up at the man. He pushed her right foreleg upward with his muzzle and in every possible way tried to explain his desire. At last the man understood that the bear wanted him to skin this leg. He took off the skin, and on the second finger of the paw, under the skin, was a gold ring with engraved initials on a seal. The bear ordered him to take off the ring and put it on his own finger. After that the bear dug a hole in the ground. It looked like a grave and the man helped him. The two worked together. The man dug with his ax and the bear with his mighty claws. When the grave was ready, the bear brought a number of tree trunks and arranged a framework within the grave. Then he lay down before the man, breast upward. He roared most piteously and stretched out his paws. He wanted the man to kill him and to bury them both in the same grave. He showed likewise with his paws that he wanted to have his breast bared. The man refused at first; but the bear was so insistent, that he gave in and stabbed him with his knife. He ripped up the skin of his breast, and saw a gold crucifix fastened to a thin silver chain, finely wrought. He took this off, and then buried both bears in the same grave. The name of the male bear was engraved on the chain. They were two lovers of the merchant class who used to meet in the form of bears; but one time, for some unknown reason, they were unable to assume human form again.

That is all.

The woman’s head

A lazy young man is abducted by a supernatural girl from the sea who plans to marry and eat him. After receiving advice from an old man, he outlasts her in a battle for position during the night and kills her using iron tools. He escapes in a canoe, and the girl’s head, now a stone, follows him. Her parents die in pursuit, and the canoe and head remain as landmarks.

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

Supernatural Beings: The narrative features a supernatural girl from the sea who abducts the protagonist with the intent to marry and consume him.

Cunning and Deception: The protagonist employs cleverness to outmaneuver the supernatural girl, ultimately leading to her demise.

Transformation: The supernatural girl’s head transforms into a stone, symbolizing the permanence of her defeat and the end of her malevolent influence.

► From the same Region or People

North Asia
- Yukaghir Lore

Learn more about the Yukaghir people

Told by Nicholas Rupatcheff, a Russianized Yukaghir man, in the village of Sukharnoye, the Kolyma country, winter of 1896.

There was a village on the seashore which had ten or fifteen houses. One of the inhabitants had a lazy son. All he did was to walk along the seashore, singing songs. One day he left the village, and walked so far that he lost sight of the houses. He strolled on, singing lustily. All of a sudden, he saw a canoe of iron moving across the sea directly towards him. He stopped and waited for it. A young, pretty girl was seated in the canoe. She had in her hands a large double paddle, also of iron, but she did not paddle at all. Nevertheless, the canoe moved on, cutting the water like a living thing. It came to the shore. The girl extended the iron blade toward the man, and said to him “Here, young man! put your pretty head upon the iron blade. I want to louse you with my gentle fingers.” — “No,” said he, “I have no lice, and so I do not want to do as you request.” — “Ah! at least lay your pretty cheek upon this iron blade. I want to admire your gentle beauty.” He felt flattered, and stooped down toward the iron blade.

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All at once his face stuck firmly to the iron. She drew the paddle back, and pulled him down along with it into the canoe. Immediately the canoe moved off across the sea, going back the way it had come. He prayed to the girl, “Oh, please, let me go! I want to go back to my father and mother, or at least to bid them farewell.” — “No,” said the girl, “I shall not let you go. In former times, whenever your parents sent you for water and for wood, or tried to urge you to go hunting, you were too indolent to follow their advice: now I shall hunt for you and fetch everything. You shall stay at home and be my husband.” He cried aloud, and asked her to let him go; but she refused.

They crossed the sea and went to another country. They arrived at a large house on the shore. It had three sets of drying poles, all well filled with human flesh, heads, and whole arms with heads, and legs with feet. He cried still louder than before, and refused to enter. She called to him; but he went away along the seashore, down the village, from house to house. The last house of all was small, a mere hut. A small old man lived in it, quite lean and bowed down. His head was white, like that of a polar hare. The old man addressed him, and said, “O, young man! are you also a human being, as I am? If you are, why did you come here? The people who live here are man-eaters. They feed on human flesh, and they even tried to induce me to do the same; but I refused. Therefore I am so lean, that they will not even eat me.” The old man continued, “This young woman is the worst of all. She feeds on her husbands after their bridal night. Bear this in mind: After supper you will go to sleep and she will try to induce you to lie down next to the wall, while she herself will take her place on the outer side. You must be firm and take the place on the outer side. Even though she should ask you with fair words, and abuse you with bad words, and push you and crawl over you, be firm and hold your place! If you succeed in keeping it, you will live; if not, you will perish, and I shall perish along with you. Then you will copulate. She will try to tire you out and put you to sleep; but you must be stronger than she, and tire her, in your turn, and make her sleep. Then you will know what to do to her. Now go home! It is growing late. She is looking for you, and she may come here also. Rather go of your own will. She will give you human flesh to eat. Be sure not to swallow even a single morsel. Try to hide the meat in your clothes or on your body. Otherwise you will also turn into a man-eater, and will never get back to your native place.”

The young man went back to the house of his cannibal bride. She cooked plenty of fat human meat, and gave some to her father and mother to eat. Then she invited her husband to sit down to the meal. He took one morsel after another; but he ate none, and hid every one of them in the bosom of his coat. After the meal they prepared to lie down. Then began their struggle for places. Neither wanted to lie nearest the wall. They crept over each other; the girl scratched him in doing so, and he paid her in kisses. Still each time he returned to the outer side. At last she was conquered by his kisses, and let him stay. After that they copulated; and he proved so strong and untiring that he exhausted all her strength and made her sleep. As soon as she began to snore, he lifted his head and groped gently in the darkness beneath the pillow. He found just beneath the pillow, at the outer side, which the woman wanted for herself, two iron instruments, — a long awl and a very sharp and narrow knife. She used these to kill the men in their sleep. He took both, and pointed the knife straight at her heart, and the awl at her anus. Then he exclaimed, “Iron to iron,” and both entered and met within her body. Iron scratched iron. The woman died instantly. He cut off her head, took a long narrow bag filled with odd shreds of skins and pieces of clothing, put this bag under the coverlet, and then placed the head on it. He tucked the cover in all around; then he made a fire, and cooked the flesh of the woman for the breakfast meal. When it was done, he cut it up carefully and laid it in a dish in good order. He skimmed off the fat from the soup, and put it in a cup close to the dish.

This breakfast he carried off to the sleeping room of the old people. Then he crept out, and hurried to the shore. There on the sand lay two canoes, one of iron, and the other of wood. He took the iron awl and pierced the wooden canoe in twenty places. Then he called the old man who had given him advice, and bade him go aboard the iron canoe. He himself followed, and said to the iron canoe, “O, canoe of iron! go to the place from which you brought us!” And the canoe rushed across the sea, going to the shore inhabited by human kind.

The old people heard him get up and work; but they thought it was their daughter, because she was wont to kill her husbands in the night time and to cook their flesh in the morning for breakfast, so they dozed again most quietly. Finally, when they awoke, they saw their breakfast close by, quite ready and waiting for them. “Ah, ah!” said the old woman, “our gentle child has made everything ready, but where is she? Why does she not come to eat with us? Go, man, and look into her sleeping room.” He looked there and came back. “She is sleeping,” said he. “The night must have been quite tiresome.” So they took their meal. The old woman took one morsel, but she could not swallow it. “Ah, old man! I cannot eat alone. It is perhaps because our daughter does not eat with us. I am sure she is hungry. Please go and waken her! Let her eat, and then go to sleep again!” So he went once more to the sleeping room and to their daughter’s bed. “Get up, child!” said he merrily and tugged at the coverlet. The head fell off the bed and rolled to the door.

It opened the door and rolled down the slope toward the sea. It rushed into the sea and rolled on over the billows in pursuit of the fugitives. The old people also hurried down to the sea. “Ah!” they shouted, “where is he? We will catch him, and swallow him alive.” But the iron canoe was gone, so they took the wooden one and set off in it. After a while it filled with water. “Why,” said the old man, “you old one! cease passing water!” — “No,” said his wife, “it is you who are passing water.” They quarrelled for some time and then sank to the bottom of the sea.

The two fugitives arrived safely at their own place. The woman’s head followed behind; but, on coming to the shore it turned into a big round boulder, which is there even now, and is called “Woman’s Head.” The canoe is also there; turned to stone. The double paddle is broken in two. Whoever passes by must give a sacrifice to the owner of the place, then he will be successful in love-suit not matrimonial.

[The stone canoe and the woman’s head are said to lie on the Arctic shore somewhere near the mouth of the Baranikha River, east of the Kolyma River, in a part of the country at present uninhabited. The natives say that in former times, before the coming of the Russians, a considerable village stood here, but at present there are no visible traces of it.]

The tale of La’la (Anadyr version)

La’la, a strong warrior, seeks revenge after his family is attacked by the Chukchee. With his brother’s help, he defeats the Chukchee and kills hundreds. Following the battle, La’la decides to find a wife. He disguises himself in shabby clothes, is mocked by women, but wins the heart of the youngest daughter of a village chief, eventually marrying her.

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

Revenge and Justice: La’la seeks retribution against the Chukchee for attacking his family, leading to a confrontation to restore honor and balance.

Transformation: La’la’s brother transforms into a fox as part of their strategy to defeat the Chukchee, highlighting themes of change and adaptation.

Trickster: La’la employs cunning tactics, including disguise and deception, to outsmart his enemies and achieve his goals.

► From the same Region or People

North Asia
- Chuvan Lore

Learn more about the Chuvan people

Told by Mary Alin, a Russianized Chuvantzi woman, and noted down by Mrs. Sophie Bogoras, in the village of Markova, the Anadyr country, summer of 1900.

There were some Chuvantzi people, among them was an old man who had four sons. The middle one was of great strength. His name was La’la. He fought all the time against the Chukchee, and killed a great number of them, hundreds and thousands and more. The Chukchee sought revenge. One time La’la went into the woods to cut down a birch tree which he was going to use for making a new sledge. He took along his youngest brother. The latter climbed to the top of a birch tree and all at once muttered, “Ah! The Chukchee are coming!” La’la asked from beneath, “What are you saying? I cannot hear you.” — “Oh, nothing. I only said ‘Ravens and crows are coming.’” In truth the Chukchee were going to their father’s house. After a while, the youngest brother muttered, “Ah! the Chukchee have attacked father and our brothers!” — “What are you saying? I cannot hear what you say.” — “Oh, nothing. I say that some ravens and crows are attacking one another.”

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After a while he muttered, “Ah! they have killed father and our brothers. They have driven off our herd; and mother is following in the rear, dragging the tent poles like a pack-reindeer.” — “Ah!” said La’la, “let us go home! Oh, oh!” answered the brother, this time you did hear what I said.”

They hurried home. Their father and their brothers lay there murdered. The herd had disappeared; and the ground had been trampled down by the feet of the invaders. “Let us make haste!” said La’la. They hurried along on their snowshoes. After some time they saw the Chukchee caravan. Their old mother, in the very rear, was dragging some heavy tent poles. She looked back and laughed softly. “Ah! now I am safe.” The brothers saw that the Chukchee were stopping for the night. The women scraped the snow from the ground and pitched the tents. The brothers overtook their mother and said to her, “Mother, you stay behind here, and we will go on.” They approached the Chukchee camp. Then La’la said to his brother, “You also stay here, and I shall go round about until I am in front of them. Then I shall come back to you. And when I make a sign with my first finger, thus, you must turn into a fox, and run about in full view of them. In this manner we shall vanquish them.” He made a circuit, and boldly went straight to the Chukchee camp. “Who are you?” — “I live farther away than you. I came too late. I wanted, though to kill La’la.” One man retorted, “La’la has been killed.” Another contradicted, “No, he has not been killed.” An old man said, “I am not sure. His weapons though, have been taken, — his bow, quiver, and arrows.” — “Show them to me!” said La’la. It took six men to bring the bow, so heavy was it, and eight men to bring the quiver. “Ah! here they are!” He took the bow and tried to string it, and then he let it go. “It is too strong. I cannot string it.” All at once he interrupted himself, and pointed at something far ahead. “Look there! What is that there?” It was his younger brother, who had turned into a fox, and was running about in full view of them. All the Chukchee looked at the fox, and forgot everything else. Then La’la seized the bow and shot them. In three hours he had killed five hundred people. Only a few were left. Then he laughed aloud, and said, “Ah! that is enough; but another time do not come here with such evil plans.” The others, who were glad to be spared, immediately broke camp and drove away.

La’la went to his mother, and said, “O mother! now that our brothers are dead, how shall we live? I think I must look for a wife. You are too old. So I am going. Please get an overcoat ready for me of the worst shreds of skin. I want it for my journey.” He put on his best suit of clothes, — trousers of white reindeer legskins, and a coat of spotted fawnskin, all embroidered around the skirts, — and over all this he donned a poor and shabby overcoat made of shreds of skin. He went along on his snowshoes, and came to a river. There was a village there of thirty houses. Near a water-hole he saw a number of women and girls. He went there and lay down close to the water-hole. When the women saw him, they laughed and scoffed at him. “What do you want, you shabby one, you dog of the springtime?” They spat at him, kicked him with their boots, and even poured water over him. Finally, three sisters came there too. The two elder ones also laughed at him, but the youngest did not laugh. They wanted her to ill-use him, but she would not do so. “Ah, ah! scoffed the others, “it seems that you like him! Perhaps you will marry him.” At last they filled their pails and went away. “Who are you?” asked the girl, “and why are you lying here? Better get up and come to our house!” — “And how can I find your house? I do not know the way.” — “Our house is the one farthest away, it stands by itself. It is the highest of all, and its skin cover is dazzling white. My father is the chief of the village. He is the strongest man, and the best hunter. If you want to do so, you may follow me.” She went off, and he followed her. They came to the house. Her father said, “Who is it, so poorly clad, that you bring with you here?” — “He is to be my husband.” — “Ah! if he is to be your husband, bid him welcome.” She made him sit down, and brought reindeer fat and dried tongues. They ate heartily. After that she arranged the bed, and they lay down. He married her.

The She-Monster

Three orphaned sisters fend for themselves until the eldest becomes a cannibalistic monster. The younger sisters flee, one falling prey to the monster, while the youngest escapes and marries a man. Years later, the She-Monster returns, harming her niece and nephew. The husband kills her, destroying her remains. The family moves away, finally finding peace.

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

Family Dynamics: The narrative centers on the relationships between three orphaned sisters, highlighting the complexities and eventual tragedy within their family.

Transformation: The eldest sister undergoes a horrifying change, becoming a cannibalistic monster, which drives the plot and the actions of the other characters.

Cunning and Deception: The youngest sister employs cleverness to escape her monstrous sibling, showcasing the use of wit for survival.

► From the same Region or People

North Asia
- Yukaghir Lore

Learn more about the Yukaghir people

Told by Katherine Rumiantzev, a Russianized Yukaghir woman, in the village of Pokhotsk, in the Kolyma country, summer of 1896.

There lived a family. They had three daughters and no sons. After some time the father and the mother died. The girls remained alone. They hunted game and caught fish, and in the summer time picked berries and gathered roots. They never knew a man. One time the eldest sister stayed at home. The other two went berrying. They came home. The youngest wanted to be petted: so she dropped into the other sister’s lap, and said, “O, my sister! I am so very hungry! Give me something to eat.” The eldest sister said, “Why, then go to the storehouse, and pick out a piece of the very best dried fish. That is the food for you.” Then she laughed.

The youngest sister looked up at her, and saw pieces of raw meat sticking out all around between her teeth. She felt frightened, and whispered to her second sister, “Why, sister, look about! all our stores of dried meat, reindeer, and elk, are gone! and why are the teeth of our eldest sister filled with pieces of meat?”

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The second sister refused to believe it; and, still, she also was afraid to look up, lest she should see those horrible teeth. After a few days the two younger sisters went for a visit to the graves of their parents. They invited the eldest one to go with them, but she refused. They arrived at the graves, and found that they had been dug open. The body of the father had been eaten up, and of the body of the mother only a part was left. This was the doing of their eldest sister. They sorrowed and cried aloud. Then they went back, and on the way they talked to each other. “O, sister! we cannot go home. She will finish eating our mother, then she will come for us. Let us rather leave in time! Let us run to the open country, or let us flee across the blue sea!” Just then they saw on high a flock of wild geese flying. They shouted upward to the geese, “O geese! drop down to us a feather apiece!” The geese, ever so many, dropped down for them a feather apiece. The girls gathered the feathers and stuck them between their fingers. Then they flew up, and followed the geese. The youngest sister said to the second one, “O sister dear! she will doubtless pursue us. Take care, though, if she should call to you, and shout, and ask for an answer, not to take any heed! and especially do not look back at her.”

Then the eldest sister actually went in pursuit. They flew on high, she ran below on the ground, and cried out, “O sisters dear! why have you forsaken me? Have we not been nursed at the same mother’s breast? Have we not been begotten in the same mother’s womb? And now you leave me behind! How shall I live alone, without your company?” The second sister was moved with compassion: so she looked back and down. In a moment the She-Monster opened her mouth, and the girl fell directly into it. The She-Monster swallowed her without chewing. The youngest sister flew on, and did not look back, notwithstanding all her cries and entreaties. She flew onward; the eldest sister ran in pursuit. At last the She-Monster gave up, and at the last only shouted, “This time you do not want to look at me! But later you will be married, and you will have a boy and a girl. The girl will sit on an earth bench, [the Russian log cabin and the Yakut hut are surrounded by a low earth wall up to the window-sills. This wall serves also as a bench] and she will play with her little scissors; and the boy will play with his bow and arrows. Then I shall come to you.” The other one flew on.

At last she saw a small house, standing all alone. She sat down near the chimney-hole, and looked down through the chimney. A young man was sitting near the fireplace, feathering his arrows. He did this for some time. Then he was lacking a white feather for the last arrow. So he said, “Oh, I wish I had one more feather!” In a moment she tore away one of her feathers and let it drop through the chimney. He caught it, and looked up, but no one was there. So he finished the arrow, and brought some more arrows and feathers, and resumed the feathering. After a while he was again lacking one feather for the last arrow. This time it was a black feather. “Oh,” said he, “I wish I had one more feather.” And immediately she let drop a black feather. After that she dropped a third feather. Then he said, “Who are you? If you are really human, come down and let me look at you, and if you are an evil spirit, then remain invisible.” She took off her feathers and turned into her former self. Then she descended into the house. He took her for a wife.

They lived together for a long time, and she brought forth, first a boy, then a girl. The husband went out every day to go in search of game. The children were growing up. One spring day they were playing on the earth bench in front of the house. Then suddenly appeared her eldest sister, the She-Monster. She hugged the children and kissed them. In doing this she bit off the upper lip of the boy and the under lip of the girl. They shrieked, and ran to their mother. Their faces were covered with blood. O, she became so frightened! “Who has been treating you like this? Or perhaps you have been fighting with others?” — “Oh, no! It was our aunt, who kissed us.” Then the eldest sister entered. They did not even salute each other. Then the human sister wanted to go out. “Do not do that,” said the Monster. “But I want to ease myself.” — “All right! but make the utmost haste. Hardly step out of the house before you are back again.” She sat down near the fireplace and waited for her. The human sister went out of the house, and the boy slipped out after her. They ran to one of their storehouses. Standing there was an old wooden box. They squeezed themselves into this box. Then the woman said, “O, wooden box! henceforth be an iron storehouse standing high upon twelve iron supports.” The wooden box turned into an iron storehouse with twelve supports, and they were safe within. The boy called for his father, and she called for her husband. The eldest sister went out and saw the girl: so she caught her and swallowed her. Merely the feet stuck out from her mouth.

After a while, she spit out her small bones. She came to the iron storehouse and gnawed at the supports, and splinters of iron flew in all directions. Then the iron storehouse rocked to and fro, with only three supports left. All of a sudden the man came up. He struck the She-Monster with his sword and killed her. He chopped her into small pieces and burned her in the fire. She was burning, and every kind of worms and vermin crawled out of her body. He gathered them all, scraped them up with a shovel, and thrust them back into the fire. At last her body was destroyed, and he threw the ashes to all four winds. The remaining bones he threw into the sea. Then they went to another country. They lived there.

Yukaghir tale

A woman eats a magical pike and gives birth to a daughter who rapidly grows into a cannibalistic monster. The son escapes and marries a magical woman. Returning home, he finds his parents devoured. Fleeing from his monstrous sister, he uses magic and his wife’s wolves and bears to destroy her, burning the remains. Peace follows.

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

Transformation: The rapid growth of the daughter into a monstrous being and the son’s marriage to a magical woman highlight significant physical and situational transformations.

Conflict with Nature: The narrative involves struggles against natural and supernatural forces, such as the son’s battle with his monstrous sister and the use of magical animals.

Cunning and Deception: The son employs clever strategies and magical assistance to outwit and ultimately destroy his cannibalistic sister.

► From the same Region or People

North Asia
- Yukaghir Lore

Learn more about the Yukaghir people

Told by Anne Korkin, a Russianized Yukaghir woman, in the village of Sukharnoye in the Kolyma country, in the autumn of 1896.

There was a man and his wife. They had a little boy. One time the woman felt a yearning for some pike. Her mouth watered at the thought of it. Then she said to her husband, “Do go to the lake and set your nets! I want some pike to eat.” He went to the lake, and on the same day he caught a large pike. The woman immediately cooked it. She ate the fish beginning at the intestine and ate as far as the head. When she came to the mouth and opened the teeth, she saw that they were of iron. She was scared, and threw away what was left of the pike; but from that time on she grew with child, and after due time gave birth to a girl. The girl grew up rapidly, not like an ordinary child from year to year, but hourly; so that on the next day she was playing out of doors with her brother, who, although older, was nevertheless much smaller than she. In playing, she said, “One day more, or perhaps two days, and I shall eat all of you.”

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The boy went to his father and mother and told them of her words; but they did not believe him, and even punished him. “You do not like your sister, and therefore you slander her.” The same happened in the evening and again the next morning. The boy could not stand it any longer. He felt angry, frightened, and sore. So he left his parents and fled. Far away in the tundra he saw a house with an outer room. He entered there. Two wolves and two bears were tied up in front of the inner door. The animals wanted to attack him; but he whistled three times, and they grew quiet and lay down. Then he entered the inner room. In the middle a white reindeer skin was spread. On the skin slept a naked girl, dazzling white of body. Her tresses were auburn and as long as the sleeve of an overcoat. He hid under her tresses and slept with the girl. In due time she awoke, sniffed about, and said, “Who are you? Make yourself visible. If you are an old man, I will have you for a father; if a young man, I will take you for a husband.” So he appeared from under her tresses. She married him, and they lived together. After some time he wanted to visit his father and mother; so he asked his wife to give him some animal to drive, even if it were a wolf or a bear. She gave him a reindeer with six legs. He set off. When near the house of his parents, he tied the reindeer to a tree and went on foot. Then he arrived at the house and opened the door. The Pike-Girl had eaten up his father and mother long before, and was playing with the bare skulls. As soon as she saw him, she threw the skulls under the bed. The young man felt afraid. She rushed up to him, however, and said, “O brother dear! you have come at last.” In the evening she asked him, “Where are you going to sleep?” He said, “I am going to sleep on the roof.” “Why do you do so?” said the girl, “I do not want to sleep alone. I have not seen you for such a long time.” — “Well, then,” said the brother, “I will lie down close to the chimney-hole, and will thrust my legs down the chimney-hole, so that you may look at them, when going to sleep.” He did just so, and feigned sleep. The girl tried to catch at the legs, but the chimney was too narrow; and feeling tired, she desisted. After a while she was snoring. Then with great caution he left the roof and went away. He found his reindeer and raced off.

He drove the whole night through, then he looked back and saw that the pike girl was following in pursuit. He urged on the reindeer and it galloped off; but the Pike-Girl galloped still faster, just like a winged bird. After a while she overtook the reindeer, and at first tore off one of its extra legs. While she was eating that leg, the reindeer hurried on. She finished the leg, and again gave pursuit. This time she tore off the other extra leg. The reindeer galloped off with four legs. Then she overtook it again, and tore off one leg more. Then the reindeer could run no longer so the young man left it and hurried on afoot. He had one blunt arrow. Holding this, he ran onward. When the Pike-Girl had eaten the reindeer leg she gave pursuit again. When she was close to him, he lifted up the arrow and said, “There, arrow mine! You were an arrow. Now turn into an iron tree. I want to be safe on top of that tree.” Instantly, it turned into a big iron tree, and he was high up on its top. The tree was as thick through as a man can embrace. The Pike-Girl came to the tree, and said, “O brother mine! your iron tree is not tempered, but my iron teeth are tempered and hard.” So she gnawed at the tree, and iron splinters flew around like rotten wood. A jay flew by, and he said to it:

O jay! fly to my wife!
Bid her send off her dogs!

But the jay answered with a man’s voice, “I will not fly. When you were living with your father and mother, whenever I came to your drying poles and wanted to peck at the pike-roe, your blunt arrow would instantly hiss by close to my head. I will not fly.” A snow-bunting flew by, and he said to it:

O, snow-bunting! fly to my wife,
And bid her send off her dogs!

So the bunting flew away and came to his wife’s house. It perched upon the window-sill, and twittered:

Pititi pititi,
Send off the dogs!

She heard this, and in a moment she sent off two wolves and two bears. They ran off and reached the tree. The Pike-Girl, as soon as she saw them, turned into an ermine and went under the roots of the tree. The bears dug at the roots to get at the ermine, and at last caught it. The young man descended from the tree with his ax and chopped up the ermine. He gathered the pieces and burnt them in the fire, and the ashes he let fly to the winds. Then he went back to his wife and told her all. After that they lived in peace, and they are still living.