Tag: 39. Guardian Figures

Protectors or mentors who guide or test the protagonist

The four wind brothers

Four elemental brothers—North, South, East, and West—live in a cavern and stand above a great hole to blow the world’s winds. The youngest, West, blows fiercest gusts, but the eldest, North, warns him to restrain his strength to protect their mother (the Earth) and the people. Together they balance their powers, ensuring the winds are strong enough to serve yet never so wild as to harm.

Source: 
Some Naskapi Myths 
from Little Whale River 
by Frank G. Speck 
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.28, No.107, pp. 70-77
January-March, 1915

► Themes of the story


Origin of Things: This tale explains the natural phenomenon of wind by personifying its four directional forces.

Family Dynamics: The story centers on sibling relationships, hierarchies of age, and mutual influence among the four brothers.

Guardian Figures: The eldest (North) moderates his younger brother’s power to protect “their mother” (the Earth) and its people.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Naskapi people

There were four brothers in a family which lived in a great cave in the earth. Of these four brothers, one was the North, another was the South, another the West, and the other the East. These were the Wind brothers, who made the winds. The West was the youngest of them; the North was the oldest; the South was the next to the oldest; and the East was the next to the West, the youngest. To cause the winds they would stand up, so as to be head above the great hole, and blow. Then the wind would come according to which of the brothers made it, the north, south, east, or west. And so it continued. The West was very wild when he raised a wind. But the oldest, the North, said to him, “No, no! Don’t do that! You will raise such high winds that it will destroy the people, the Indians.”

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Then when the youngest, the West, jumped up again to blow a wind, the North would tell him, “No, no! Stop, you will kill our mother!” Well, so they lived, these brothers, causing and regulating the winds of the world.

It happened that the North wind was the softest, and the East wind a little stronger, harder. The South also came with gusts, strong, but not as bad as the West wind, the youngest brother, who was the worst. When these brothers made the winds, they were satisfied with doing just enough not to destroy the people, but tried to manage things rightly. They would say, all of them, “We must try to look after our people, not to destroy them with our winds!”

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Wemishus

After their family is slaughtered by a cannibal, two young brothers escape by digging underground and unleashing magical obstructions to hinder their pursuer. They enlist a Walrus’s aid to cross a lake, then the elder is captured by the magician Wemishus, who becomes his father-in-law. Through trials of cunning and magical contests, the youth ultimately overpowers Wemishus, reunites with his brother—raised by polar bears—and they journey onward together.

Source: 
Notes on the Eastern Cree 
and Northern Saulteaux 
by Alanson Skinner 
The American Museum 
of Natural History
Anthropological Papers
Volume IX, Part 1
New York, 1911

► Themes of the story


Loss and Renewal: The story begins with the tragic loss of the boys’ entire family and culminates in their eventual reunion and new lives.

Hero’s Journey: The older brother leads a transformative adventure, overcoming death, monstrous foes, and magical trials.

Guardian Figures: The Walrus and two polar bears serve as protective guides, ensuring the boys’ survival.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Cree people

Albany Cree

A whole family was once killed by the devil [a cannibal or Wetigo], excepting two very small boys. The Cannibal kept them, for he intended to fatten and eat them. The oldest boy discovered this and said to his brother, “Do you know where our mother’s awl is?” “Yes,” replied the little one. “Find it as quickly as you can, our parents have been killed and eaten by the Cannibal.” The little fellow found the awl and gave it to his big brother who took it and bored a hole down into the ground. Then the little boys went into the hole and the oldest brother carried with him a piece of wood and a bit of stone, besides the awl. Early in the morning, the Cannibal discovered the boys were gone so he came into the hole to look for them. When the boys heard the Cannibal coming, the oldest brother took the youngest on his back and fled through the hole under the ground. A root projecting from the roof of the hole tore the little one’s cheek very badly as they brushed by.

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Soon the Cannibal began to gain on them. Then the older brother threw away the piece of wood. “Let a forest grow up,” he cried, and up sprang a dense forest which hindered the progress of the Cannibal. At length, the Cannibal began to catch up again. This time the older brother tried throwing away the rag. Thick briars grew up where it fell and the Cannibal was again delayed, this time longer than before, but after a time he got through. When the older brother heard him coming, he threw away the stone, it became a very large boulder and shut up the hole. This time, it took the Cannibal a very long time to get through. Then the fugitives came out by the side of a lake. When the boys got to the shore they were frightened lest they could not escape. They saw some large animal (Walrus) in the lake and they called to him to take them across. Walrus agreed. “Keep a sharp lookout for Thunder,” he told them, “I only come out when it is a fine clear day, otherwise I stay beneath the surface.” The little chaps promised and got on his back. As soon as they started out, it began to cloud up. Walrus saw the clouds and thought he heard it thunder. He was not sure, however, and he trusted the little boys to tell him. The boys were afraid that Walrus would dive under the water with them, so they dared not tell him. At last they reached the shallow water near the other shore, where they knew they would be safe, so they told Walrus.

Walrus said to the boys, “There is an old man named Wemishus who always travels up and down the lake near this place. If you see him coming, hide and never fire your arrows in the water, for if he sees them in the water he will find you. If you should shoot your arrows in the water, don’t try to get them again, let them go.” Then Walrus returned. When Walrus returned, the Cannibal was waiting on the shore. He called to Walrus, to take him across. “Sit on my back then,” said Walrus, “but don’t move, for if you do you will hurt my neck.” The Cannibal promised, but when they were off he did move and hurt Walrus, who dove down and drowned him.

Walrus often warned the boys about Wemishus. At last, one day, the old man came around a point all at once and caught the boys unaware. Just then, the older boy’s arrow fell into the water and Wemishus called to the boy to come and get it. For a long time, the lad was afraid. Wemishus said, “Come and take your arrow, I won’t touch you. You can see I am far off in my canoe and could not reach you anyway.

The boy approached. “Come a little closer,” said Wemishus. The boy hesitated although Wemishus spoke to him several times. At last, the boy came so close that Wemishus hooked him up into his canoe with his paddle. Then he took the boy away, crying. The younger brother he left behind on the bank also crying. The older brother begged Wemishus to take the little one too, but he refused. “One is enough. For if I take your little brother there will be two of you against me and you will be able to beat me in conjuring.”

The little brother sat on the bank crying all day, for he thought that he would surely starve to death now that his brother was gone. At last, two polar bears came to him. “Don’t cry any longer,” said they, “we will bring you up.” So they looked after him, and were just like dogs to him until he became a man.

The older brother was taken home by Wemishus. When his daughter saw him, she said, “So you are bringing another one home to kill.” Wemishus had brought the boy to be her husband, for he had already become a man.

So the older brother took the girl to wife and lived with her for a while. He was continually contesting with his father-in-law with the bow and arrow, and he always beat the old man. At last, the boy said one day to Wemishus, “I wonder where we can get some gulls’ eggs?” “Oh,” said Wemishus, “I know where to go.” So off they went. As they walked along, they came to a great rock which was split open, and they had to jump over the crack. “You jump first,” said Wemishus to the youth. Although the crack was very wide the boy jumped over. The old man was to jump next, but he drew back once, for he knew he would not succeed because the young man’s power (medicine) was stronger than his. (It seems the old man had caused the split rock to be where it was by his magic, for he hoped to trap his son-in-law.) At last the old man jumped but he fell into the crack. The rock came together and would have killed him if he had been an ordinary man. Instead, however, it quickly released him. The old man’s head was broken in four pieces but he tied the fragments and his head became whole again. They started off again; this time in their canoe. By and by, they came to the island where they expected to obtain the gulls’ eggs and feathers. As they walked about, the old man kept sending the young man farther and farther away from the shore, until at last he had a chance to run to his canoe and get away. Wemishus did not paddle. He rapped on the bottom of his canoe with his staff and off it went. The young man killed a gull and collected some eggs. He skinned the gull. Then he crawled into the skin and flew off. He flew over Wemishus as he passed by. Wemishus was lying on his back in the canoe. The young man defecated full in his face as he flew by. “Oh, the odor,” cried the old man, “the gulls have finished my son-in-law already.”

The young man flew home. He lit near by and took off the skin and went to his tent before the old man arrived. His wife asked him where her father was. “I’m not taking care of him,” said the young man, “but he is coming along over there.”

Finally, the old man arrived. When he came ashore he saw his two grandsons shooting with their bows and arrows. Their arrows were feathered with gulls’ feathers and they had gulls’ eggs to eat. “Where did you get those?” asked Wemishus of his grandson. “Our father gave them to us,” they replied. “Oh, your father, the gulls have eaten him by this time,” said the old man, “for I found the smell of him as I came along in my canoe.”

When the old man really saw his son-in-law in the tent he was surprised. He sat there feeling very much frightened. He could not take his eyes off the young man. “No wonder you feel sad,” said his daughter, “you always used to be trying to beat someone, but now you have someone to beat you.” The old man had nothing to say, so to divert attention he cried out, “Oh, see that louse running about on my son-in-law’s face.” The old man began to get frightened for he could not vanquish his son-in-law however hard he tried.

It was nearing winter, and the two men were camping alone. They used to hang their leggings and moccasins to dry in the tent every night. The younger man did not trust Wemishus and watched him all the time. He changed moccasins and leggings with the old man. Then the old man got up in the night and made a great fire. The young man lay still and pretended to be asleep but he watched his father-in-law all the time. The young man saw” Wemishus go to where he thought his son-in-law’s moccasins were and threw them in the fire. When he thought they were burned up he cried out, “Your leggings are burning.” Then his son-in-law jumped up. “Mine are safe,” he cried. “Where are yours?” Then Wemishus found that he had been tricked into burning his own moccasins and leggings. They had a long way to go from their camp to their home. It was so cold the next day that the trees fairly cracked. The old man didn’t know what to do, but he blackened his legs with charcoal to look like leggings, and he hoped that would keep out the cold.

They started out. Soon the old man began to freeze. He said to his son-in-law, “The best thing I can do is to turn into a juniper (tamarack) tree. It will be good for my descendants to use for firewood.” When the young man looked back where his father-in-law had stood, there was a juniper tree.

The young man reached home. His sons were grown up now. His wife knew something had gone wrong, so she asked her husband where her father was. “Your father has got what he wanted now,” said he. Then she guessed the old man was dead and began to cry. Then her husband told her the old man had burned all his clothes and turned into a juniper tree.

“Now, I am going away,” he told her, “our grown-up sons will look after you. I may come back again, and I may not.” He really couldn’t tell, for he meant to go and look for his younger brother, who was now a grown man. So he went to the place where Wemishus had left the little fellow and sure enough, there he saw signs of his brother. He saw his tent and approached it. The younger brother knew someone was coming and came out with his bow and arrow drawn. “Don’t shoot, I am your older brother,” said the other. So the young man did not fire, for he heard him. Though he could just remember the time he had lost his older brother, for a long time he would not believe that this stranger was he.

At last when the older brother asked the younger one many questions about his parents, he partly believed. “Did you ever look in the water to see yourself?” said the older brother. “Yes,” replied the younger. “Did you see that scar on your face? Do you remember the root that caught you and scratched you?” “Yes, I remember that now,” said the young man and now he was sure of his brother, and they lived together. The elder brother wanted him to go home with him, but the young man would not go, nor would he let his older brother go home. The young man asked him if he had a wife and family, but he said that he did not. The younger brother continually found the older one crying. “You must have a family if you cry so.” “Yes,” said he, “I have two grown-up sons.”

The two polar bears still lived with the youth, but he told them they must go now, for he had his brother. The bears were very sorry and when he did drive them away they came back two or three times. At last he said to the bears, “The next time you come back, I will be gone, and you will not see me.” The two brothers went away, but in what direction, I did not hear.

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Story of lynx-man

The story narrates the experiences of a man and his wife who, while hunting in the mountains, encounter the enigmatic Lynx-Man. This being abducts the wife, leading the husband on a journey aided by a benevolent Eagle to rescue her. The couple ultimately reunites and overcomes Lynx-Man.

Source: 
Kaska Tales
by James A. Teit
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.30, No.118, pp. 427-473
October-December, 1917

► Themes of the story


Cunning and Deception: The couple’s strategic planning and execution of Lynx-Man’s demise showcase the use of wit to achieve their objective.

Guardian Figures: The Eagle serves as a protector and guide, assisting the husband in locating and rescuing his wife.

Love and Betrayal: The narrative centers on the husband’s deep affection for his wife and the lengths he goes to in order to save her from abduction.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Kaska people

Once a long time ago a man was hunting in the mountains with his wife. At that time there was no game in the low parts of the country. People lived on sheep, marmots, and ground-squirrels, all of which abounded in the mountains. The man wanted to procure some eagle feathers: so, taking a rope with him, and accompanied by his wife, he went to a cliff where there was an eagle’s nest. He tied the rope around his waist, and got his wife to lower him down. Just when he had reached the ledge where the nest was, Lynx-Man appeared at the brink of the cliff, and ordered the woman to let go the end of the rope. Being afraid, she did as directed. Lynx-Man then took her away to a place in the bottom-lands where the brush was very thick and there were many Jack pines.

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Here he set many snares, and always caught plenty of rabbits. He cooked and offered the woman rabbits, but she would not eat. On the way to this place the woman had carried some grouse that Lynx-Man had caught, and, as she went along through the brush, she plucked the birds and dropped the feathers along the way as a sign.

When the Mother-Eagle came back to the nest, she found the man there. She said, “What are you doing here?” and he answered, “I came here to get some eagle-feathers. My wife let me down, and I had barely reached the ledge when for some reason the rope fell down. Now I have no means of getting up or down.” Eagle said, “Why, Lynx has stolen your wife; that is why the rope fell down. Get on my back, and I will take you down and show you where to find your wife.” The man did not answer, as he was afraid, and Eagle knew it. She said, “There is no danger. I am able to carry you. Put that big stone on my back, and I will show you.” The man did as directed, and the Eagle flew away with the stone on her back, and threw it off on the opposite mountain. Returning, the man got on her back, and she flew down with him. Eagle then said, “Watch my flight. I will fly to where your wife is. When I circle four times, you will know she is directly below where I am.” Eagle flew off, and the man watched. After flying some distance, Eagle circled twice, and then went on. After a time she circled four times, and then returned. On arriving back, Eagle asked the man if he had noticed where she went, and he answered, “Yes.” Eagle then told him there was a large Caribou below where she had circled twice, and his wife’s camp was underneath where she had circled four times. Eagle plucked a number of feathers from her body and gave to the man, saying, “I will now leave you. My children are hungry, and I must go and feed them.”

The man went to where the Eagle had circled twice, and found a caribou there, which he killed. He then went on, and came to Lynx’s camp, where he found his wife alone. She was glad to see him, and said to him, “When Lynx comes, you must say you are my brother, and address him as brother-in-law.” Towards evening Lynx came to camp, carrying a load of rabbits. When he saw the man, he drew his bow and was about to shoot at him. The woman cried out, “This is my brother come to visit me. Don’t shoot at him!” Lynx said, “Oh, my brother-in-law indeed!” and came into camp. He cooked many rabbits for his supposed brother-in-law. That night, when Lynx-Man was asleep, the man and woman killed him. Then they shifted camp to where the carcass of the caribou was.

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A man scares off the Cree with a gun

An elderly man, sensing impending danger, warned his people to stay vigilant. The next morning, the Cree attacked. Positioned at the end of the row of tipis, the old man used a gun he had found earlier, with only four bullets. He shot and killed the lead attacker, causing the others to retreat, believing he was well-armed. This act of bravery protected his community.

Source: 
The Beaver Indians
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 4
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story


Cunning and Deception: The old man devises a clever plan to use his limited resources effectively, deceiving the Cree into believing he poses a greater threat.

Conflict with Authority: The story involves a confrontation between the man’s community and the attacking Cree, representing a struggle against an opposing force.

Guardian Figures: The elderly man acts as a protector for his people, taking decisive action to safeguard them from harm.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

They were living there when one of them felt there was something wrong. He asked the people to keep good watch. The next morning the Cree attacked them. This old man had one gun and four bullets. His tipi was the last one in the row. When the Cree were coming there he fired the gun. He had planned what he would do. He killed the Cree who was running ahead and the others ran back. The Cree thought he had a gun and were afraid. That was a tough old man. They say he wintered on his flesh.

The old man had found the gun with four bullets lying beside it at a place where some people had been killed. He had kept it without firing it and now he killed a man with it. Then they say the old man had the use of it.

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The killing of the large human mosquitoes

Enormous mosquitoes once preyed upon humans. A woman, encountering one, climbed a tree to escape. She tricked the mosquito into giving her his spear, then fatally wounded him. The mosquito returned to his camp, where others attempted to aid him, but he died. The remaining mosquitoes pursued the woman but were thwarted by a medicineman’s strategy, leading to the extermination of the giant mosquitoes.

Source: 
The Beaver Indians
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 4
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story


Cunning and Deception: The woman’s clever tactics to deceive and ultimately kill the mosquito highlight the use of wit to overcome danger.

Mythical Creatures: The presence of giant, human-like mosquitoes introduces elements of mythical beings within the narrative.

Guardian Figures: The medicineman acts as a protector, devising a plan to safeguard the community from the mosquito threat.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

Obtained from Ike, in English through John Bourassa

Long ago there used to be large mosquitoes which killed people. Once when a company of people was traveling along, a dog lost the load off his back. As a woman was looking for the lost bag she suddenly saw a canoe with someone in it paddling around a point. The woman thought immediately as she saw him that he must be one of the kind who were accustomed to kill people and that he would kill her. She climbed a tree to escape him. As he was coming up the tree after her she called to him, “Do not come up the tree for your moose,” meaning himself. “The tree leans over the river and your moose will fall in the river and be lost if you kill me here. Wait, and I will come down and then you can kill me.” Agreeing to this, he went a little way from the tree while the woman came down.

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She started to run and cross the point around which the river made a long bend. The mosquito jumped into his canoe and paddled around the point. When the woman saw him coming she climbed another tree which leaned over the river. He was about to pass under the tree when the woman let fall some urine on him. He wondered where water could be coming from for the sun was shining. Looking up he said, “Oh, my moose is sitting on the tree.” He started to climb the tree after her, holding his spear in his hand. When he was close the woman told him to give her his spear while he climbed up. “I will give it back to you when you get up here and you may stab me with it,” she said. He gave her the spear and she went further up the tree with it. When he came up close to her she speared him on the crown of his head. The man fell down. Holding the spear up as it was still sticking in his head he started home, crying, “The moose is killing me; the’ moose is killing me.”

He came back to the camp still holding the spear which he was unable to pull out. When he came near the camp the mosquitoes all ran out saying, “Oh, the moose killed a man.” When they had tried in vain to get the spear out they sent for a smart man to see if he could do it. This man advised driving the spear down through as the easiest way to remove it. They did this, driving the spear down through so it came out under his chin. The man died.

The mosquitoes then decided to follow the woman’s track since she could not be far from the camp. When the mosquitoes were near the camp of the people a medicineman advised that mooseskins should be hung all around where the mosquitoes were camped, so that the larger ones at least would not be able to come through. They did this and only the small mosquitoes, those of the present size, were able to come through the holes in the skins. All the big ones were killed with the aid of the medicineman.

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The boy who was cared for by the wolf

A man with many children lost his wife during winter and abandoned an orphaned child he had been caring for. Upon returning in spring, he found the boy alive. The child revealed that a wolf had cared for him, providing warmth, fire, and meat. The boy survived into middle age before succumbing to illness.

Source: 
The Beaver Indians
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 4
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story


Guardian Figures: The wolf acts as a protector and caretaker for the boy during his time of need.

Loss and Renewal: The boy experiences the loss of his caretakers but finds renewal through the wolf’s guardianship and his eventual reintegration into human society.

Ancestral Spirits: The narrative reflects the belief in animal spirits or ancestors taking care of humans, a common motif in indigenous cultures.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

This story was affirmed to be true by the narrator, John Bourassa, one of the most intelligent of the mixed-bloods in the vicinity of Vermilion. Lowie has a story of a bear who gave suck to a grown man.

One time there was a man who with many children was living by himself. In the middle of the winter his wife died, and he went to join the other people. He had been taking care of an orphan child, but now could do nothing for him, so he deserted him, leaving him alone in the camp.

When he passed by the next spring, he found the child was still alive and took him along, “How did you get through the winter without freezing?” he asked the child. “A wolf took care of me. He slept with me and made a fire for me. That is why I did not freeze to death. He also fed me with meat,” the boy said.

The boy lived long after this, until he was of middle age and finally died of some ailment.

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Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

A young man is taken to another world by fledgling geese

A hunter captures young geese and asks them to take him to their mother’s land. He falls asleep in his canoe and awakens in a different world. Following a wolf, he encounters a man who offers his daughter in marriage. After hunting together, the man advises the hunter to return to his own people, which he eventually does.

Source: 
The Beaver Indians
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 4
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story


Journey to the Otherworld: The protagonist is transported to another realm by the fledgling geese.

Sacred Spaces: The otherworldly lake and the land he arrives at can be seen as sacred or significant locations.

Guardian Figures: The wolf guides the man, acting as a protector or mentor.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

A man was hunting in a canoe when he saw some young yellow geese. He paddled up to them and caught them. He thought they were too small to kill. Tying them to the canoe, he told them to tow him to their mother’s country. He lay down in his canoe and fell asleep. He slept very soundly and a long time passed before he woke up, and then the geese were nearly large enough to fly.

It was not this earth on which he stood when he woke up, but he thought he was still in his own country. It was a large lake. He waded ashore and walked along by the lake, thinking intently. Suddenly in the distance he saw a wolf running along. The wolf was looking toward the man.

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The wolf ran down until he came to the water which he entered. As he walked through the water he kept looking back toward the man who began to follow the wolf. They continued this way, the wolf running ahead and the man following until after they had gone a long distance when land appeared. He went ashore and walked along by the water.

He came where a man was living who had many children. This man gave the stranger a daughter in marriage. The man who lived there went hunting by himself and killed a moose. The other man killed nothing. The first man thought much about it. “He is my son-in-law and a relative, let him hunt with me once anyway. Let him hunt with my snowshoes.” He loaned him a pair of his own snowshoes and he went hunting. He had not gone very far when he killed a female with young. When he came back to the camp he saw many tracks. They thought they were the tracks of a good many people but they were really their own tracks. He returned the snowshoes to his father-in-law. “Go back to your relatives,” the old man told his son-in-law. He went hunting, paddling in his canoe. In the distance something was moving. When he crossed to them he found they were his relatives.

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Young-Man Wolf and Old-Man Gull

The story follows a young man who awakens fully grown beneath a spruce tree, equipped with a bow, arrows, fire-stick, and hunting knife. He learns to hunt, fashioning clothing from deer hides, and eventually builds a winter home. Curious about others, he embarks on a journey, discovering an old man who reveals he had been anticipating his arrival.

Source: 
Ten’a Texts and Tales
(from Anvik, Alaska)
by John W. Chapman
The American Ethnological Society
Publications, Volume 6 (ed. Franz Boas)
E.J. Brill, Leyden, 1914

► Themes of the story

Hero’s Journey: The young man’s adventure from self-discovery to gaining wisdom under the mentorship of Old-Man Gull aligns with the classic hero’s journey narrative.

Transformation: Throughout the story, the protagonist undergoes significant personal growth, evolving from an inexperienced individual to a knowledgeable and capable person.

Guardian Figures: Old-Man Gull serves as a mentor and protector, guiding the young man through his journey and helping him overcome various challenges.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Koyukon people

Told by Blind Andrew, of the Kuskokwim

There was a young man who was not born, but who found himself full grown, lying under a spruce-tree He sat up, and found at his side a bow and arrows. There were also a fire-stick and a hunting-knife. “How shall I make a living?” thought he. He took up the things that were beside him, and set out to get something to eat. As he went on, he became very hungry, and made a camp, putting spruce-boughs around himself for warmth, and began to think whether he could make a fire with the fire-stick. At last he succeeded in doing this; but still he had no food, and he was hungry. He lay awake all that night, thinking how he should get something to eat. In the morning he took his bow and arrows, and started out ‘to hunt. He climbed a hill; and when he reached the top, he saw that it was a fine place to hunt.

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He looked around and saw some deer; and, although it was the first time that he had ever seen any, he was not afraid, but went straight down to them, without making any attempt to conceal himself. He did not know how to use the bow and arrows, so when the deer ran, he threw down the bow and ran after them, and finally caught one by the neck, and strangled it, and put it on his shoulders and took it to his camp. On his way back, he picked up his bow and arrows and took them along with him. When he reached camp, he cut off the feet of the deer, and stripped off the skin, as one skins a rabbit. Then he tied a string around the ends of the hind-legs, and pulled them on for trousers, and wiggled himself into the skin. Then he ate some of the flesh to satisfy his hunger, but by and by the sun came up, and his new clothes began to shrink and grow stiff, so that he had hard work to keep the joints soft, so that he could move about.

After he had his clothing fixed to his satisfaction, he went off to look for a good place to live, leaving the deer-meat where the camp was made. He went on until he came to a fine river, and ascended it until he found a place which suited him. Then he made a winter house and a cache, and started in to get his living by hunting. He killed deer and bear by choking them to death. He took the meat and the skins to his house; and as his old garments wore out, he made himself new ones. He was an industrious hunter, and got abundance of meat and skins. He remained at this place all winter.

Toward spring he began to wonder whether there were any other people in the world beside himself; and he made up his mind that he would try to find out, and that he would never stop looking until he found some one. So he started off, walking day after day, and camping when night overtook him. One evening, as it was about time for him to go into camp, he came upon a waterhole, and concluded that at last he had come to a place where he should find human beings. So he hid his pack, and followed the path from the water-hole up the bank, and found that it led to a large house, like a kashime. At first he was afraid; but when he went in, he found no one inside. After he had waited a while, he heard a noise outside, and a little old man came in. This man turned and saw the young man; and at first he was surprised, for this was the first time that a stranger had ever come to his house. “My child!” said he; and then he told the young man that he had come because he had been wishing so earnestly for him. He had known of him, and showed the young man that he knew of all his adventures. Then the young man told the older one that he had come to him weeping, for his great desire for human companionship. The old man told him that he was to stay, and the fire should be made immediately. So the curtain was removed from the smoke-hole, but without the agency of hands; and in the same way wood was brought in, and laid for the fire. The young man wondered how this should be, but he said nothing. When everything was ready, the old man told the younger one that he was about to take a bath, and asked him to go out for a while; so he went out, and walked around, but found no house where he could go in and sit down. He looked through the grass that stuck out of the snow at the edge of the bank, thinking that he might find a path, but he found none. Finally, when he thought that the old man had finished his bath, he went back, and found that the coals had been thrown out and the curtain put back; so he went in, and found the old man there.

So they sat down together, and the old man told him all about himself and how he made his living. As they sat talking, the skin that covered the entrance-hole in the middle of the floor was pushed aside, and a delicate, white hand appeared, holding a dish of food, which the young man saw to be fine whitefish. The old man got down and took the dish, and the hand disappeared. The young man found the fish so good, that he ate it all; and then the old man took the dish and set it down again near the curtain, and the same hand appeared and took it away. The two men sat together for some time, the younger one wondering all the time to whom the hand might belong. At length the old man said that he was going out, but that the younger one was to stay where he was. The young man urged the other not to leave him; but the old man said, “No,” that he must go, and that the young man was to stay, but that he would send two children in to stay with him, and that he must never leave them.

So the old man went out; and the young man sat for some time, waiting for the children to come in. At length he heard two children talking together outside, each urging the other to go in first. The house was of the kind that has the entrance in the middle of the floor. At last two beautiful girls came up through the entrance. They had bowls of food; and they went to the young man in the most friendly manner, and offered it to him, and sat down on either side of him. Neither of them said anything; and the young man said nothing, but he thought how kind it was of the old man to send in such beautiful girls, when he had been expecting boys. After they had eaten, they all went to bed.

In the morning they all got up, and the two girls went out; and when they returned, each brought in a dish of fish. When they had eaten this, they said that they would cook some more, and they went out again. While, they were gone, the old man came in and greeted the younger one, and asked him how he had passed the night. “Why,” said he, “I thought that you were going to send two boys in to stay with me. That is why I said that I would stay when you said that you would send in two children.” Then the old man told him that the mother of the two girls would not show herself to him until he. had taken the girls up to his own village and brought them back again. He also told the young man that all he would be expected to do while he remained with them would be to sit in the house and make a fish-net. The young man answered that he could not do this, because he was a hunter, and this was work to which he was not accustomed; but the old man said that he must do as he told him, “for,” said he, “I have given you the two girls. This is the way we live, and you must do as we do.” So he gave him some twine made of willow-bark, and showed him how to make a net, and told him that his own work was to go to the nets and take out the fish, and that he did nothing else from sunrise until sunset.

So after the old man had left to look after his nets, the young man set to work to make a net; but he found it tiresome, and after a little he stopped working and went out to see what had become of the girls. He went all around the place, looking for their tracks; and finally, under some overhanging grass, he found a narrow trail, which led him back, and up a little slope; and there he saw a house, with sparks coming out of the smoke-hole. He was curious to see the mother of the two girls, so he crept cautiously up to the top of the house and peeked down through the smoke-hole. He saw the two girls cooking some fish, and in one corner of the room sat a woman whose hair was so long that it afforded her a cushion. The young man took some snow and wet it in his mouth, and threw it down and struck her. Then he ran down off the house as fast as he could, toward the house where he had been at work on the net; but he heard the roar of water following him, and he kept on across the river, and up a hill on the other side. Still the water followed him up the hill; but just as he reached the top, it stopped, and when he turned around, he saw nothing but water where the houses had been, and three gulls flying around over the place. They flew directly over where he stood; and then he heard the voice of the old man, asking him why he had not done as he told him. Then they flew away, and the young man began to walk around; and soon he found that fur was growing out upon the back of his hands, and he turned into a wolf.

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The boy and the giant

A young boy, fond of hunting, encounters a forest giant and reluctantly joins him on adventures. The giant teaches him survival skills, including hunting beavers, but warns of a rival giant. When the second giant attacks, the boy helps defeat him with a magical beaver-skeleton club. After many seasons, the boy grows homesick, and the giant gives him a guiding stick to find his way home, reuniting him with his family.

Source: 
Tlingit Myths and Texts 
by John R. Swanton 
[Smithsonian Institution] 
Bureau of American Ethnology 
Bulletin 39 
Washington, 1909

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The boy encounters a giant, a being beyond the ordinary human realm, who becomes his companion and mentor.

Quest: The boy embarks on an adventure with the giant, learning survival skills and facing challenges, including the confrontation with a rival giant.

Guardian Figures: The giant acts as a protector and guide to the boy, teaching him valuable lessons and ultimately helping him return home.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Tlingit people

Myth recorded in English at Wrangell, Alaska, in January-April 1904

At a certain place in the interior lived a manly little boy who was very fond of hunting. He would take his lunch and go off hunting very early in the morning and stay all day, bringing home two or three porcupines in the evening. One morning he started earlier than usual and came upon a giant as tall as the trees. He was very much frightened and ran away with the big man in pursuit.

As the giant was not a very fast runner, the boy kept ahead of him until he came to a sort of cave like a house at the foot of a hill and entered it. When the big man saw this, he said, “Come here, my grandson.” The boy refused, and the giant continued his entreaties for a long time. At last the boy consented to go with him, so the giant said, “Get inside of my shirt. I will carry you that way.” Then the boy vaulted in there, and they started off.

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After they had gone, along in this manner for some time, the boy, who had his head out, saw a very small bird called old-person (Lagu-qa’ku) and said, “Grandpa, there is a bird I would like to have.” Then the big man stopped and let him down, and he shot the bird with an arrow and put it into his bosom, after which he crawled back into the big man’s shirt. But now this bird had increased the boy’s weight so much that the giant could scarcely move along. At every step he took he sank deep into the moss. When the boy noticed this, he said to himself, “How is it that, since I picked up this small bird, I have gotten very heavy, and it is hard for him to walk?” Then he threw the bird away and the giant walked on again as lightly as before. The boy enjoyed so much being with this giant that he had forgotten all about his father and mother. After that they traveled on together until they came to a very large lake. In it the boy saw beaver houses, and the beaver dam ran right across it. He thought, “This is a beaver lake. This is the kind of place my father has told me about.” Then the big man tore a hole through the top of a beaver house, took all of the beavers out, and made a fire right back of the lake at which to cook them. They camped there for several days, living on beaver meat and drying the skins. But the first evening the giant said, “Keep a look out. If you hear any noise during the night, wake me up. There is a bigger man than I of whom I am much afraid.” He also said to the boy, “Sleep some distance away from me, or I might move against you or throw my leg on you so as to kill you.”

The second night they encamped there the boy heard the bushes breaking, and sure enough the second giant came along. He was so tall that his head was far up above the trees, and they could not see it. This second giant had been looking for the other for a long time unsuccessfully, so he rushed upon him, threw him down, and lay on top of him. Then the boy’s friend cried, “Grandson, take that club of mine out and throw it at him.” The boy ran to the big man’s bed, took his club, which was made from the entire skeleton of a beaver, out from under it, and threw it at the intruder. As soon as he let it go out of his hands it began chewing at the second giant’s leg, and, as he was unable to feel it, the club chewed off both his legs. Then the other, who had been almost smothered, killed him and threw his body into the lake.

After this the boy’s companion had nothing to fear, and wandered from lake to lake, and the boy was so fond of hunting that he forgot all about his father and mother. It was now winter time, and that winter was very severe. From the time the second giant had been killed he had been doing nothing but killing beaver.

One evening, however, the boy began thinking of his father and his mother, and was very quiet. Then the big man said, “Why is it that you are so quiet this evening?” The boy answered, “I have just thought of my father and mother. I feel lonely (i.e., homesick) for them.” Then his companion said, “Would you like to go to them?” “I can’t go to them because I don’t know where they are. I don’t know which way to go to get to them.” Then the big man said, “All right, you can go,” but the boy did not know what he meant. Now the big man went to a small tree, broke it off, trimmed it well for the boy, and said to him, “Take this along and as soon as you feel that you are lost, let it stand straight up and fall over. Go in the direction in which it falls. Keep on doing this until you get to, your father’s place.”

At first the boy was afraid to start off alone, but finally he did so. Whenever he was in doubt about the direction he let the tree fall, and it led him at last right down to his father’s village, where all were exceedingly glad to see him.

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The Hawks and Their Friends

A family of Hawks faced danger when hunters targeted their nest. The Father Hawk sought help from the Kingfisher, Turtle, and Lion, each playing a vital role to thwart the hunters. The Kingfisher extinguished fires, the Turtle disrupted their plans, and the Lion’s roar scared them away. Together, these friends showcased the strength of unity and the value of true friendship in times of need.

Source: 
More Jataka Tales 
by Ellen C. Babbit 
The Century Co., New York, 1922

► Themes of the story

Good vs. Evil: The hawks and their allies (Kingfisher, Turtle, and Lion) collaborate to protect their young from the hunters, embodying the struggle between benevolent creatures and human threats.

Guardian Figures: The Kingfisher, Turtle, and Lion act as protectors, each using their unique abilities to safeguard the hawk family, highlighting the importance of guardianship and support in times of danger.

Community and Isolation: The hawk family’s initial isolation prompts them to seek friendships, demonstrating how forming a supportive community can provide security and assistance when facing external threats.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Jataka Tales

A family of Hawks lived on an island in a lake not far from the great forest. On the northern shore of this lake lived a Lion, King of Beasts. On the eastern shore lived a Kingfisher. On the southern shore of the lake lived a Turtle.

“Have you many friends near here?” the Mother Hawk asked the Father Hawk.

“No, not one in this part of the forest,” he said.

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“You must find some friends. We must have some one who can help us if ever we are in danger, or in trouble,” said the Mother Hawk.

“With whom shall I make friends?” asked the Father Hawk.

“With the Kingfisher, who lives on the eastern shore, and with the Lion on the north,” said the Mother Hawk, “and with the Turtle who lives on the southern shore of this lake.”

The Father Hawk did so.

One day men hunted in the great forest from morning until night, but found nothing. Not wishing to go home empty-handed, they went to the island to see what they could find there.

“Let us stay here to-night,” they said, “and see what we can find in the morning.”

So they made beds of leaves for themselves and lay down to sleep. They had made their beds under the tree in which the Hawks had their nest.

But the hunters could not go to sleep because they were bothered by the flies and mosquitoes. At last the hunters got up and made a fire on the shore of the lake, so that the smoke would drive away the flies and mosquitoes. The smoke awoke the birds, and the young ones cried out.

“Did you hear that?” said one of the hunters. “That was the cry of birds! They will do very well for our breakfast. There are young ones in that nest.” And the hunters put more wood on the fire, and made it blaze up.

Then the Mother bird said to the Father: “These men are planning to eat our young ones. We must ask our friends to save us. Go to the Kingfisher and tell him what danger we are in.”

The Father Hawk flew with all speed to the Kingfisher’s nest and woke him with his cry.

“Why have you come?” asked the Kingfisher.

Then the Father Hawk told the Kingfisher what the hunters planned to do.

“Fear not,” said the Kingfisher. “I will help you. Go back quickly and comfort my friend your mate, and say that I am coming.”

So the Father Hawk flew back to his nest, and the Kingfisher flew to the island and went into the lake near the place where the fire was burning.

While the Father Hawk was away, one of the hunters had climbed up into the tree. Just as he neared the nest, the Kingfisher, beating the water with his wings, sprinkled water on the fire and put it out.

Down came the hunter to make another fire. When it was burning well he climbed the tree again. Once more the Kingfisher put it out. As often as a fire was made, the Kingfisher put it out. Midnight came and the Kingfisher was now very tired.

The Mother Hawk noticed this and said to her mate: “The Kingfisher is tired out. Go and ask the Turtle to help us so that the Kingfisher may have a rest.”

The Father Hawk flew down and said, “Rest awhile, Friend Kingfisher; I will go and get the Turtle.”

So the Father Hawk flew to the southern shore and wakened the Turtle.

“What is your errand, Friend?” asked the Turtle.

“Danger has come to us,” said the Father Hawk, and he told the Turtle about the hunters. “The Kingfisher has been working for hours, and now he is very tired. That is why I have come to you.”

The Turtle said, “I will help you at once.”

Then the Turtle went to the island where the Hawks lived. He dived into the water, collected some mud, and put out the fire with it. Then he lay still.

The hunters cried: “Why should we bother to get the young Hawks? Let us kill this Turtle. He will make a fine breakfast for all of us. We must be careful or he will bite us. Let us throw a net over him and turn him over.”

They had no nets with them, so they took some vines, and tore their clothes into strings and made a net.

But when they had put the net all over the Turtle, they could not roll him over. Instead, the Turtle suddenly dived down into the deep water. The men were so eager to get him that they did not let go of the net, so down they went into the water. As they came out they said: “Half the night a Kingfisher kept putting out our fires. Now we have torn our clothes and got all wet trying to get this Turtle. We will build another fire, and at sunrise we will eat those young Hawks.” And they began to build another fire.

The Mother Hawk heard them, and said to her mate: “Sooner or later these men will get our young. Do go and tell our friend the Lion.”

At once the Father Hawk flew to the Lion.

“Why do you come at this hour of the night?” asked the Lion.

The Hawk told him the whole story.

The Lion said: “I will come at once. You go back and comfort your mate and the young ones.” Soon the Lion came roaring.

When the hunters heard the Lion’s roar they cried, “Now we shall all be killed.” And away they ran as fast as they could go.

When the Lion came to the foot of the tree, not one of the hunters was to be seen. Then the Kingfisher and the Turtle came up, and the Hawks said: “You have saved us. Friends in need are friends indeed.”

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page