Reading Notes: Native American Hero Tales Part B

Just like for Part A of the reading, Part B consisted of four stories. The story that stuck out to me and intrigued me the most was the one about the jealous father. This story was about a son who was born to the wife of the jealous father. He had two wives. One day he saw that the son had been on terms of intimacy with one of his wives. He then took the boy out to fish for eggs and once the son left the boat, the father turned around and deserted him on the island. He called for help and cried for hours. A walrus finally came to aid the son. He told the son to let him know if there was any lightning for he had to go underwater if there was. The boy lied which led to the walrus's death, but the son made it back to the island safely. The walrus was from the mother and the thunderstorms were from the father. On the island, an old woman from the mother came to aid the son. She gave him an animal disguise and he went into the forest. He stumbled upon two blind women who had bones sticking out their elbows. The son fooled them both into thinking he was sitting between them and had them stab each other to death. Next the boy came upon a pile of bones and a hut where dogs and people were. He dug a path underneath all the bones, but somehow managed to rustled the bones. This alarmed the dogs and the people so they went to search for him. He fooled them once again and made it back home safely. He burned down the world along with his father, but saved his mother. They both turned into birds and flew off.

Native American Hero Tales by Stith Thompson, link to online reading

 (Blue Jay, Source: Pinterest)