Fairy tales -- Canada; Folklore -- Canada; Indians of North America -- Canada -- Folklore
Poor Rabbit was more frightened than before, and he ran home and told
his old grandmother what had happened. And his grandmother was also
very frightened, for she thought that no good could come of it. And
she told Rabbit to go back at once and untie the Man in the Moon, for
the night was almost spent, and the dawn would soon be breaking. So
poor Rabbit, trembling in his fear, went back to his traps. From a
great distance he cried, "I will untie you if you will never again rob
my snares, and if you will never come back to earth." And the prisoner
in the trap promised, and said, "I swear it by my white light." Then
Rabbit approached very carefully. He had to shut his eyes and grope
his way because of the bright light, and his lip quivered because of
the great heat. At last he rushed in and cut the bow-string snare with
his teeth, and the Man in the Moon hurried on his way, for he could
already see the dawn in the East. But Rabbit was almost blinded while
he was about it, and his shoulders were badly scorched. And ever since
that time Rabbit blinks and his eyelids are pink, and water runs from
his eyes when he looks at a bright light; and his lip always quivers;
and his shoulders are yellow, even when he wears his white winter
coat, because of the great light and heat on the winter night long ago
when he loosed the Man in the Moon from the snare. And since that
night the Man in the Moon has never come back to earth. He stays at
his task in the sky, lighting the forest by night; but he still bears
on his face the marks of the black mud which Rabbit threw at him. And
sometimes for several nights he goes away to a quiet place, where he
tries to wash off the mud; and then the land is dark. But he never
succeeds in cleaning himself, and when he comes back to his work the
marks of Rabbit's mud-balls are still upon his shining face.
THE CHILDREN WITH ONE EYE
Two little children, a boy and a girl, lived long ago with their
widowed mother in the Canadian forest. The woman was very poor, for
her husband had long been dead and she had to work very hard to
provide food for herself and her children. Often she had to go far
from home in search of fish and game, and at times she was absent for
many days. When she went on these long journeys she left her children
behind her, and thus they were allowed to grow up with very little
oversight or discipline or care. They soon became very unruly because
they were so often left to have their own way, and when their mother
returned from her hunting trips she frequently found that they would
not obey her, and that they did pretty much as they pleased. As they
grew older they became more headstrong and disobedient, and their
mother could do very little to control them. And she said, "Some day
they will suffer for their waywardness."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account