The Owl Gets Married
: CHEROKEE TALES: Indian Legends Retold
There was once a woman who had a marriageable daughter. Many men came
wooing, but the mother told the girl never to accept any but a skilled
hunter, who would keep the lodge well supplied with meat.
One evening the Owl called, in the shape of a handsome young man, and
asked the girl to be his wife.
"Are you a good hunter?" she asked.
He said that he was, and upon this she agree
On the day after the wedding, the bridegroom went forth to hunt, and
at night he returned with nothing but some scraps that the hunters had
thrown away. He excused himself by saying that he had had bad luck,
and the next morning he declared that he would try fishing instead.
When at evening he brought home only a worthless minnow or two, the
old lady advised her daughter to follow him quietly the next time and
see what he did. She did so and was horrified to see her husband turn
into a great Owl and fly to the top of a dead tree, where he sat
watching for some small fish that might be dropped by a Hawk or an
Eagle.
She went home in disgust, and presently he returned with a story of an
Owl which had driven away his game.
"I think you are the Owl," declared the young woman, and she turned
him out of doors.
The poor Owl went off by himself and pined away till he lost all his
flesh, and is now nothing more than a big head and a bundle of
feathers.
More
-
The Old Dog
There was once a man who had a dog. While the dog was young he was made much of, but when he grew old he was driven out of doors. So he went and lay outside the fence, and a wolf came up to him and said, "Doggy, why so down in the mouth?"--"While ... The Old Lodger
In 1868 there died in Detroit a woman named Marie Louise Thebault, more usually called Kennette. She was advanced in years, and old residents remembered when she was one of the quaintest figures and most assertive spirits in the town, for until a fe... The Old Man And The Ass
An old man, riding on his ass, Had found a spot of thrifty grass, And there turn'd loose his weary beast. Old Grizzle, pleased with such a feast, Flung up his heels, and caper'd round, Then roll'd and rubb'd upon the ... The Old Man Of The Sea
The Old Man of the Sea (Atui koro ekashi) is a monster able to swallow ships and whales. In shape it resembles a bag, and the suction of its mouth causes a frightfully rapid current. Once a boat was saved from this monster by one of the two sailors ... The Old Mill At Somerville
The old powder-house, as the round stone tower is called that stands on a gravel ridge in Somerville, Massachusetts, is so named because at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War it was used temporarily as a magazine; but long before that it was a wi... The Old Stone Mill
If the round tower at Newport was not Benedict Arnold's wind-mill, and any one or two of several other things, it is probably a relic of the occupancy of this country by Thorwald and his Norsemen. After coasting Wonderstrands (Cape Cod), in the year... The Old Stump
Long ago there was an old woman called Grizzly Bear. She had neither husband nor children, and lived all alone in a lodge on the hillside. As the days went by, she became very lonely, and so she made up her mind to find a daughter for herself. S... The Old Woman And Her Servants
A beldam kept two spinning maids, Who plied so handily their trades, Those spinning sisters down below Were bunglers when compared with these. No care did this old woman know But giving tasks as she might please... The Old Woman And The Tides
Again Raven flew over the waters till he reached the mainland and the wigwam of the old, old woman who holds the tide lines in her hand. At that time the tide would remain high for many days at a time, so that the people could get no clams or other ... The Older Periods Of The Troy Saga
How did the belief that Troy was the original home of the Teutons arise? Does it rest on native traditions? Has it been inspired by sagas and traditions current among the Teutons themselves, and containing as kernel "a faint reminiscence of an imm... The Origin Of Betel And Tobacco
Long, long ago two boys lived in a village on the slopes of the hills, who were very fond of one another and were inseparable companions. The name of one was U Riwbha; he was the son of one of the wealthiest men in the country. The other was calle... The Origin Of Death
The Moon, it is said, sent once an Insect to Men, saying, "Go thou to Men, and tell them, 'As I die, and dying live, so ye shall also die, and dying live.'" The Insect started with the message, but whilst on his way was overtaken by the Hare, who ... The Origin Of Lightning
There was once a great chief who desired above all things to be happy in the future life, therefore he continually made feasts for the priests and the poor; spending much money in making merit. He had ten wives, nine of whom helped him in all the me... The Origin Of Sickness And Medicine
There was a time when man and the animal people were friends, and talked the same language, and even intermarried with one another. Later on, the human race declared war upon the animals and began to kill them in great numbers, using their flesh for... The Origin Of The Hare
Suddenly there was a large house on the top of a mountain, wherein were six people beautifully arrayed, but constantly quarrelling. Whence they came was unknown. Thereupon Okikurumi came and said: "Oh! you bad hares! you wicked hares! who does not k... The Origin Of The Mole
Once upon a time a rich man and a poor man had a field in common, and they sowed it with the same seed at the same time. But God prospered the poor man's labour and made his seed to grow, but the rich man's seed did not grow. Then the rich man cla... The Origin Of The Narran Lake
Old Byamee said to his two young wives, Birrahgnooloo and Cunnunbeillee, "I have stuck a white feather between the hind legs of a bee, and am going to let it go and then follow it to its nest, that I may get honey. While I go for the honey, go you... The Origin Of The Story In Regard To The Trojan Descent Of The Franks
We must now return to the Frankish chronicles, to Fredegar's and Gesta regum Francorum, where the theory of the descent from Troy of a Teutonic tribe is presented for the first time, and thus renews the agitation handed down from antiquity, which at... The Origin Of Tobacco
This is the way that the chewing tobacco began. There was once a Brahmin girl whose relations did not give her in marriage and she died unmarried. After the body had been burned and the people had gone home, Chandu thought "Alas, I sent this woman i... The Origin Of White-fish
An Indian who lived far in the north was so devoted to the chase that he was never at home for the whole of a day, to the sorrow of his two boys, who liked nothing so much as to sport with him and to be allowed to practise with his weapons. Their mo... The Origins Of The Totems And Of Names
Zuni (New Mexico) Now the Twain Beloved and the priest-fathers gathered in council for the naming and selection of man-groups and creature-kinds, and things. So they called the people of the southern space the Children of Summer, and those who love... The Ostrich Hunt
The next day all the time that was not given to lessons and meals was spent by the little boys in scouring the veld for a red tortoise. Disappointment at their fruitless search found vent in no measured terms when Outa Karel appeared in the dining... The Owl
This bird's dismal and persistent screeching near an abode also foretold the death of an inmate of that house. ... The Owl
The hooting of an owl about a house was considered a sign of ill luck, if not of death. This superstition has found a place in rhyme, thus:-- Os y ddylluan ddaw i'r fro, Lle byddo rhywun afiach Dod yno i ddweyd y mae'n ddinad, ... The Owl And The Tortoise
The tortoise[-god] in the sea and the owl[-god] on land were very intimate. The tortoise spoke thus: "Your child is a boy. My child is a girl. So it will be good for us to unite them in marriage. If I send into the river the fish that there are in t... The Owl Gets Married
There was once a woman who had a marriageable daughter. Many men came wooing, but the mother told the girl never to accept any but a skilled hunter, who would keep the lodge well supplied with meat. One evening the Owl called, in the shape of a ha... The Owl Tree
One day in October, 1827, Rev. Charles Sharply rode into Alfred, Maine, and held service in the meeting-house. After the sermon he announced that he was going to Waterborough to preach, and that on his circuit he had collected two hundred and sevent... The Oyster And The Litigants
Two pilgrims on the sand espied An oyster thrown up by the tide. In hope, both swallow'd ocean's fruit; But ere the fact there came dispute. While one stoop'd down to take the prey, The other p... The Paharia Socialists
Formerly before the Santals came into the country the four taluqs of Sankara, Chiptiam, Sulunga and Dhaka formed the Paharia Raj and the whole country was dense jungle. Then the Santals came and cleared the jungle, and brought the land under cultiva... The Palace Of The Proud King
The children slumber sweetly in their curtained beds; the brown dog snores upon the broad hearth-stone; the cows chew the cud behind their screen of broom; and the fading fire-light quivers on the grandsire's old arm-chair. This is the time, de... The Pale Faced Lightning
Twenty miles from the capital of Arizona stands Mount Superstition--the scene of many traditions, the object of many fears. Two centuries ago a tribe of Pueblo dwarfs arrived near it and tilled the soil and tended their flocks about the settlements ... The Partridge Witch
Two brothers, having hunted at the head of the Penobscot until their snow-shoes and moccasins gave out, looked at each other ruefully and cried, Would that there was a woman to help us! The younger brother went to the lodge that evening earlier than... The Party From Gibbet Island
Ellis Island, in New York harbor, once bore the name of Gibbet Island, because pirates and mutineers were hanged there in chains. During the times when it was devoted to this fell purpose there stood in Communipaw the Wild Goose tavern, where Dutch ... The Passing Of Arthur
That story which the bold Sir Bedivere, First made and latest left of all the knights, Told, when the man was no more than a voice In the white winter of his age, to those With whom he dwelt, new faces, other minds. ... The Passing Of Loku
The tale of Loku is applied to a large, ugly lizard which climbs to the rafters of houses and gives the peculiar cry that suggests its name. This lizard, although hideous, is harmless; it lives on centipedes. Its strange cry may be heard everywhere ... The Passover Feast
Very different was the celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the days of Antiochus Epiphanes from what it had been in the palmy times when the children of Israel were swayed by their own native kings. There was now no mighty gathering tog... The Pawnees
When the Territory of Louisiana was still the property of France; when the United States was endeavoring to subdue the savages within its own domain; a wild and unsophisticated people, to whom the vices of civilization were as yet unknown, travers... The Peacock In The Sky
A cloudless sky has a peacock in it, whose servants are the eagles. The peacock lives in the sky, and only descends to earth to give birth to its young. When it has borne one, it flies back with it to the sky.--(Written down from memory. Told by Pen... The Pelican
There was once, I don't know where, there was in the world an old king; one of whose eyes always wept, and the other always smiled. He had three sons. The youngest was twelve, the eldest twenty, and the middle one sixteen. These three sons got tal... The Pentrevoelas Legend
I am indebted to the Rev. Owen Jones, Vicar of Pentrevoelas, a mountain parish in West Denbighshire, for the following tale, which was written in Welsh by a native of those parts, and appeared in competition for a prize on the Folk-Lore of that pa... The Pericos
Throughout the Visayan islands almost every family owns a pericos, kept as American children keep canary birds. The pericos is about the size and color of a Crow, but has a hard white hood that entirely covers its head. The people teach it but one p... The Phantom Dragoon
The height that rises a mile or so to the south of Newark, Delaware, is called Iron Hill, because it is rich in hematite ore, but about the time of General Howe's advance to the Brandywine it might well have won its name because of the panoply of wa... The Phantom Drummer
Colonel Howell, of the king's troops, was a gay fellow, framed to make women false; but when he met the rosy, sweet-natured daughter of farmer Jarrett, near Valley Forge, he attempted no dalliance, for he fell too seriously in love. He might not ven... The Phantom Train Of Marshall Pass
Soon after the rails were laid across Marshall Pass, Colorado, where they go over a height of twelve thousand feet above the sea, an old engineer named Nelson Edwards was assigned to a train. He had travelled the road with passengers behind him for ... The Pious Woman
There was once a very pious woman and her special virtue was that she would not eat or drink on any day until she had first given alms to a beggar. One day no beggar came to her house, so by noon she got tired of waiting, and, tying in her cloth som... The Piper
The sea-breeze blew from the shore of the Black Water, and the stars were rising. The young maidens had gone homewards to the little farms, carrying on their fingers the metal rings their friends had bought them at the fair. The youths went across... The Place And The People
It was winter in the Great Karroo. The evening air was so crisp and cutting that one seemed to hear the crick-crack of the frost, as it formed on the scant vegetation. A skraal windje blew from the distant mountains, bringing with it a mingled odo... The Ploughman And His Sons
_The farmer's patient care and toil Are oftener wanting than the soil._ A wealthy ploughman drawing near his end, Call'd in his sons apart from every friend, And said, "When of your sire bereft, The heritage our... The Poor Widow
Once there was a poor widow who had two children; she lived by daily labour and if she got no work any day, then that day they had to go without food. One morning she went out to look for work and a rich woman called her and asked if she wanted a jo... The Position Of The Divine Clans To The Warriors
The circumstance that the different divine clans had their favourites in the different camps gives the war a peculiar character. The armies see before a battle supernatural forms contending with each other in the starlight, and recognize in them t...