Urban Myths The Story Of The First Grasshopper

The Story Of A Tiger
A certain man had charge of a number of cattle. One day he took them to graze near a quagmire, and leaving them there went in search of jungle fruits. It so happened that one of the bullocks was browsing on the edge of the quagmire when a tiger ca...

The Story Of Ah-ahn-he-eat-toe-pahk Mahkai
And there was an orphan named Ah-ahn-he-eat-toe-pahk Mahkai (which means Braided-Feather Doctor) who lived at a place called Two Reservoirs (Go-awk-Vahp-itchee-kee) north of Cheoff-Skaw-mack, or Tall Gray Mountain. And his only relative was an ...

The Story Of Argilius And The Flame-king
In a certain distant land once reigned a king and queen, who had three daughters and one son. As the king and queen were talking one day together about family matters, the king said to his consort: "Whenever our daughters happen to marry we sh...

The Story Of Big Tusk The Wild Boar
'Twas the tenth night of what might be called the Sa'-zada convention, and Black Panther was making the iron bars of his cage jingle in their sockets with his full-voiced roar. Shoulders spread, and head low to the floor, his white fangs showing, ...

The Story Of Birds Of A Feather
When Sa'-zada the Keeper had gathered all his comrades in front of Chita's cage for the evening of the Bird talk, Magh clambered up on her usual perch, Hathi's head, expostulating against the folly of throwing the meeting open to such gabblers. ...

The Story Of Bitaram
In a certain village there lived seven brothers. The youngest of them planted a certain vegetable, and went every day to examine it to see how it was growing. For a long time there were only the stalk and leaves, but at length a flower appeared, a...

The Story Of Corn And Tobacco
There was a powerful mahkai who had a daughter, who, tho old enuf, was unmarried, and who grew tired of her single life and asked her father to bury her, saying, we will see then if the men will care for me. And from her grave grew the plant tob...

The Story Of Ee-ee-toy's Army
And after Ee-ee-toy was thru speaking Juhwerta Mahkai addressed him, and promised him his help, and that he would lead out to earth again his people, who had sunk down before the flood, that these might fight against the people whom Ee-ee-toy had ...

The Story Of Hare
Once upon a time the animals made a kraal and put some fat in it. They agreed that one of their number should remain to be the keeper of the gate. The first one that was appointed was the coney (imbila). He agreed to take charge, and all the other...

The Story Of Hathi Ganesh The White-eared Elephant
It was very hot. The Summer moon, pushing lazily through the whispering tracery of tall elm trees that cut the night sky, fell upon the same group of forest friends gathered in front of Tiger's cage that had been there the previous evening, when...

The Story Of Hawawk
And when Dthas Seeven had gotten better he meditated on what had happened to him, and studied out that Seeollstchewadack-Seeven was the cause of his trouble, and planned how to get the better of him. Now the Indians have a game of football in wh...

The Story Of Iphigenia
King Agamemnon sat in his tent at Aulis, where the army of the Greeks was gathered together, being about to sail against the great city of Troy. And it was now past midnight; but the king slept not, for he was careful and troubled about many thing...

The Story Of Ivan And The Daughter Of The Sun
There were once upon a time four brethren, and three of them remained at home, while the fourth went out to seek for work. This youngest brother came to a strange land, and hired himself out to a husbandman for three gold pieces a year. For three ...

The Story Of Jhore
There was a lad named Jhore, who herded goats, and every day while with his flock he saw a tiger and a lizard fight. The lizard always vanquished the tiger, and the latter after each encounter came to Jhore and said, "Which of us won?" Jhore throu...

The Story Of Kara And Guja
There were two brothers named Kara and Guja. Guja, who was the elder did the work at home, and Kara was ploughman. One day the two went to the forest to dig edible roots. After they had been thus engaged for some hours, Kara said to Guja, "Look ...

The Story Of Lelha
I. There once lived a certain raja, who had three wives. The two elder had two sons each, and the younger only one, whose name was Lelha. [12] The four sons of the first two wives were very friendly with each other, being seldom separate, but t...

The Story Of Little Tsar Novishny The False Sister And The Faithful Beasts
Once upon a time, in a certain kingdom, in a certain empire, there dwelt a certain Tsar who had never had a child. One day this Tsar went to the bazaar (such a bazaar as we have at Kherson) to buy food for his needs. For though he was a Tsar, he h...

The Story Of Nahvahchoo
Ee-ee-toy was once wandering along when he found some moss that had been left there ever since the flood, and he stood and looked at it, wondering how he could make it into a human being. And while he watched it the sun breathed on it, and it be...

The Story Of Pahtahnkum
And when they came to their journey's end the wife of Kaw-koin-puh had a baby, which grew up to be a fine boy, but the mother cried all the time, where-ever she went, on account of her husband's death. And the people, after they had settled down...

The Story Of Raj Bagh The King Tiger
While the Keeper Sa'-zada was still loitering over his tea, there came to his ears an imperious roaring call "Wah-h-h! Wah-h-h! Wah-houh!" "This is the Tiger's night, indeed," he muttered to himself. "Old Raj Bagh is eager to tell us the tale ...

The Story Of Sa'-zada Zoo Keeper
It was the twelfth night of the Sa'-zada stories. For eleven evenings Tiger, and Leopard, and the others had told of their manner of life, with more or less relevancy. This night Sa'-zada, the little Master, was to speak of his jungle and forest e...

The Story Of Sindura Gand Garur
In a certain village there lived a mother and her son. The boy tended goats in the forest. One day he found a spot of ground, where he thought rice would grow well. So he went home, and asked his mother to give him some seed to sow there. She said...

The Story Of Sit And Bosont
There was a certain raja who had two sons named Sit and Bosont. Their mother the rani had been long ill, and the raja was greatly dejected on her account. From the bed on which she lay, the rani could see two sparrows who had made their nest in a ...

The Story Of Sohahnee Mahkai And Kawkoinpuh
Now when the bands were going thru this country they had selected the places for their homes, expecting to return, and each band, as it selected its place, drove down short sticks so as to know it again. And after returning across the Rio Colora...

The Story Of Tawquahdahmawks And Her Canal
And after this the people had long peace, increased in numbers, and were scattered all around. Some lived where the old vahahkkees now are in the Gila country, and some lived in the Papago country, and some in the Salt River country. And those who...

The Story Of Tcheunassat Seeven
Stcheuadack Seeven wanted to gamble with Tcheunassat Seeven, who lived at Kawtkee Oyyeeduck, and sent a man with an invitation to come and play against him, and bring all his wives. And Tcheunassat Seeven said: "I will go, for my wives are used ...

The Story Of The Bees And The Flies
There were once two tribes of little people who lived near together. They were not at all alike, for one of the tribes looked for food and carried it away to put it up safely for winter, while the other played and sang and danced all day long. ...

The Story Of The Beginning
The people who lived long ago, in the far-off lands of the north, watched the wonderful things that happened out of doors every day, just as we do; but they did not know about the one loving God, who is the Father of all, who made them and the wor...

The Story Of The Children Of Cloud
There was a woman who lived in the mountains, who was very beautiful, and had many suitors, but she never married anyone. And one day she was making mats of cane; and she fell asleep and a rain came and a drop fell on her navel. And she had t...

The Story Of The Creation
In the beginning there was no earth, no water--nothing. There was only a Person, uh-wert-a-Mah-kai (The Doctor of the Earth). He just floated, for there was no place for him to stand upon. There was no sun, no light, and he just floated about in...

The Story Of The Earth And The Sky
The sky used to be very close to the earth, and of course the earth had no sunshine. Trees did not grow, flowers did not blossom, and water was not clear and bright. The earth did not know that there was any other way of living, and so she did not...

The Story Of The First Ants
"This jar is full of smoked flesh," said one voice. "This has fish, this is full of honey, and that one is almost running over with oil," said another voice. "We shall have all that we need to eat for many days to come." These are the words t...

The Story Of The First Butterflies
The Great Spirit thought, "By and by I will make men, but first I will make a home for them. It shall be very bright and beautiful. There shall be mountains and prairies and forests, and about it all shall be the blue waters of the sea." As the...

The Story Of The First Diamonds
The chief of an Indian tribe had two sons whom he loved very dearly. This chief was at war with another tribe, and one dark night two of his enemies crept softly through the trees till they came to where the two boys lay sound asleep. The warriors...

The Story Of The First Emeralds
In the days of long ago there was a time when there were no emeralds on the earth. Men knew where to find other precious stones. They could get pearls and diamonds, but no one had ever seen an emerald, because the emeralds were hidden away in the ...

The Story Of The First Frog
Once upon a time there was a man who had two children, a boy and a girl, whom he treated cruelly. The boy and the girl talked together one day, and the boy, Wah-wah-hoo, said to his sister, "Dear little sister, are you happy with our father?" "...

The Story Of The First Grasshopper
In a country that is far away there once lived a young man called Tithonus. He was strong and beautiful. Light of heart and light of foot, he hunted the deer or danced and sang the livelong day. Every one who saw him loved him, but the one that lo...

The Story Of The First Mocking-bird
Far away in the forest there once lived the most cruel man on all the earth. He did not like the Indians, and he said to himself, "Some day I will be ruler of them all." Then he thought, "There are many brave warriors among the Indians, and I must...

The Story Of The First Moles
A rich man and a poor man once owned a field together. The rich man owned the northern half, and the poor man owned the southern half. Each man sowed his ground with seed. The warm days came, the gentle rain fell, and the seed in the poor man's ha...

The Story Of The First Pearls
There was once a man named Runoia, and when he walked along the pathways of the forest, the children would say shyly to one another, "Look, there is the man who always hears music." It was really true that wherever he went he could hear sweet mu...

The Story Of The First Snowdrops
An old man sat alone in his house. It Was full of shadows; it was dark and gloomy. The old man cared nothing for the shadows or the darkness, for he was thinking of all the mighty deeds that he had done. "There is no one else in the world," he mut...

The Story Of The First Whitefish
One day a crane was sitting on a rock far out in the water, when he heard a voice say, "Grandfather Crane, Grandfather Crane, please come and carry us across the lake." It was the voice of a child, and when the crane had come to the shore, he saw ...

The Story Of The First Woodpecker
In the days of long ago the Great Spirit came down from the sky and talked with men. Once as he went up and down the earth, he came to the wigwam of a woman. He went into the wigwam and sat down by the fire, but he looked like an old man, and the ...

The Story Of The Flood
Now Seeurhuh was very powerful, like Juhwerta Mahkai, and as he took up his residence with them, as one of them, he did many wonderful things which pleased Juhwerta Mahkai, who liked to watch him. And after doing many marvelous things he, too, m...

The Story Of The Forty-first Brother
There was once upon a time an old man who had forty-one sons. Now when this old man was at the point of death, he divided all he had among his sons, and gave to each of the forty a horse; but when he came to the forty-first he found he had no more...

The Story Of The Gambler's War
And after this, for a long time, there was peace toward the Apaches, but it happened, once, that two brothers of the country went to gamble with the Awup, playing the game called waw-pah-tee in which the gamblers guess in which piece of cane a lit...

The Story Of The Indian Corn
Some years ago the Ottawa Indians inhabited the Manatoline Islands. Their enemies were the Iroquois Indians, who lived on the lake shore near the islands. One night they came and attacked the Ottawas. The two tribes fought for a long time, but at ...

The Story Of The Monkeys
Such a row there had been all day in Animal Town. Sa'-zada, the Keeper, had told Magh, the Orang-outang, that the Monkeys were to tell stories that night at the usual meeting. That was the cause of the excitement. All day the Monkeys, living ...

The Story Of The Oriole
The king of the north once said to himself, "I am master of the country of ice and snow, but what is that if I cannot be ruler of the land of sunshine and flowers? I am no king if I fear the king of the south. The northwind shall bear my icy breat...

The Story Of The Picture On The Vase
On some of the beautiful vases that are made in Japan there is a picture of a goddess changing a dragon into an island. When the children of Japan say, "Mother, tell us a story about the picture," this is what the mother says:-- "Long, long ago...

The Story Of The Tortoise
There was once a man who had two wives. Now as everybody knows it is always the chief wife that the husband loves best, while the other instead of being Mae Long, is only Mae Noi, and this often causes jealousy and trouble in the family. It was so...

The Story Of The Tribe Of King Cobra
It was the fifth night of the Sa'-zada tales. As usual, Hathi, Grey Wolf, and all the other animals, jostling each other merrily like a lot of schoolboys, had gathered in front of Tiger's cage. Said the Keeper: "Comrades, you must all be very ...

The Story Of The Turquoises And The Red Bird
And at the vahahkkee which the white men now call the Casa Grande ruins was the home of Seeollstchewadack Seeven, or the Morning green Chief. And one morning the young women at that place were playing and having a good time with the game of the ...

The Story Of The Unlucky Days
At the end of a village on the verge of the steppe dwelt two brothers, one rich and the other poor. One day the poor brother came to the rich brother's house and sat down at his table; but the rich brother drove him away and said, "How durst thou ...

The Story Of The Wind
Once upon a time there dwelt two brethren in one village, and one brother was very, very rich, and the other brother was very, very poor. The rich man had wealth of all sorts, but all that the poor man had was a heap of children. One day, at ha...

The Story Of Tremsin The Bird Zhar And Nastasia The Lovely Maid Of The Sea
There was once upon a time a man and a woman, and they had one little boy. In the summertime they used to go out and mow corn in the fields, and one summer when they had laid their little lad by the side of a sheaf, an eagle swooped down, caught u...

The Story Of Two Princesses
A certain raja had two daughters, who were in the habit of amusing themselves out side of the palace walls. One day they saw a crow flying towards them with a ripe Terel [21] fruit in his beak. They then said to each other, "What fruit is it? It l...

The Story Of Unlucky Daniel
There was once upon a time a youth called Unlucky Dan. Wherever he went, and whatever he did, and with whomsoever he served, nothing came of it: all his labour was like spilt water, he got no good from it. One day he took service with a new master...

The Story Of Unt The Camel
The clink of a loose chain; the complaining wail of a swinging iron door; the squeak of a key turning an unwilling lock--a heavy-bolted lock; a flutter of wings; the crunch of giant feet on the echoing gravel; huge forms slipping through the moonl...

The Story Of Vandaih The Man-eagle
And thus Ahahnheeattoepahk Mahkai became famous for the killing of game; and there was another young man, named Van-daih, who wanted to be his friend. So one day Vandaih made him four tube-pipes of cane, such as the Indians use for ceremonious smo...

The Story Of Wayhohm Toehahvs And Tottai
And Seeollstchewadack Seeven wondered what this action of the bird meant, and he studied about it till he found out who it was that had sent the bird and for what purpose. And he sent a cold rain upon the home of Dthas Seeven. And it rained a h...

The Strange Builder
Once upon a time, when the gods were building their abodes, a certain builder came and offered to erect them, in the space of three half-years, a city so well fortified that they should be quite safe in it from the incursions of the forest-giants ...

The Strange Dream
A warrior and his wife once had a beautiful boy, for whom they made many plans. But when he grew up, and reached the right age, he would not consent to the fast. They wished him to blacken his face with charcoal, and not to eat anything for three ...

The Strange Guests
Many years ago there lived, near the borders of Lake Superior, a noted hunter, who had a wife and one child. His lodge stood in a remote part of the forest, several days' journey from that of any other person. He spent his days in hunting, and his...

The Straw Ox
There was once upon a time an old man and an old woman. The old man worked in the fields as a pitch-burner, while the old woman sat at home and spun flax. They were so poor that they could save nothing at all; all their earnings went in bare food,...

The Strong Man
There was once a Strong man but no one knew of his strength. He was in the service of a farmer who made him headman over all his labourers. In those days much of the country was still covered with jungle. One day the farmer chose a piece of forest l...

The Student Who Was Forcibly Made King
A student started on a journey, and as he went over a field he found some peas which were cracked. He thought that they might be of use to him as he was a poor lad, and his father had advised him to pick up anything he saw, if it was worth no more...

The Study Of Magic Under Difficulties
In the island of Sicily, and in the fair and famous city of Messina, dwelt a man, Lactantius by name, who was a great proficient in two different arts. By day, and ostensibly to his fellow-citizens, he carried on the trade of a tailor; but by ...

The Sturgeon
The Convent of Schwartz-Rheindorf was founded in the year of our Lord 1152 by the Bishop of Cologne, Arnold Graf von Wied, for the reception of noble ladies alone, and was placed by him under the strict rule of St. Benedict. The prelate, who died ...

The Summer-maker
Once in the far north there lived a Manitou whose name was Ojeeg, or the fisher. He and his wife and one son lived on the shore of a lake and were very happy together. In that country there was never any spring or summer, and the snow lay deep o...

The Sun A Bushman Legend
Outa, having disposed of his nightly tot, held his crooked hands towards the cheerful blaze and turned his engaging smile alternately on it and his little masters. "Ach! what it is to keep a bit of the Sun even when the Sun is gone! Long ago Ou...

The Sun And The Frogs
Rejoicing on their tyrant's wedding-day, The people drown'd their care in drink; While from the general joy did AEsop shrink, And show'd its folly in this way. "The sun," said he, "once took it in his head To have...

The Story Of The First Grasshopper

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