Hi Pat,
Thanks so much for that video, this is the first time I saw this one. So lovely.
Hugs,
Myrna
This is cute.
Native American Legends
How the Red Bird got his color
A Cherokee Legend retold by Barbara Shining Woman Warren
Gv-li loved to tease wa-ya. One day gv-li teased wa-ya so much that
wa-ya became very angry. Wa-ya began to chase gv-li through the woods.
Gv-li, being the clever animal that he is, kept ahead of wa-ya.
Gv-li came to a river. Instead of jumping in the river, he quickly
climbed a tall tree and peered over a branch to see what wa-ya would do
next.
When wa-ya came to the river, he saw the reflection of gv-li in the
water. Thinking that it was gv-li, wa-ya jumped in and tried to catch
him. Wa-ya continued to search for gv-li for such a long time that he
became so tired he nearly drowned. Finally, tired and exhausted, wa-ya
climbed up the river bank and fell fast asleep. After a while, gv-li
quietly climbed down the tree and slipped over to the sleeping wa-ya.
While wa ya slept, gv-li began to plaster the eyes of wa-ya with mud.
Then when he had finished, gv-li ran off through the woods laughing to
himself thinking of the clever trick he had played.
Later, wa-ya woke up. He began to whine, "Oh, someone please help
me. I can't see. I can't open my eyes." But no one came to help him.
At long last, tsi-s-qua u-wo-di-ge heard the cries of wa-ya. He flew
over to wa-ya and landed on his shoulder. He said, "What's the matter
Brother Wolf? Can I help you?" wa-ya cried, "I can't open my eyes. Oh,
please help me to see again."Tsi-s-qua u-wo-di-ge said, "I'm just a
little brown bird but I will help you if I can." Wa-ya said, "
tsi-s-qua u-wo-di-ge , if you can help me to see again, I will take you
to a magic rock that oozes red paint. We will paint your feathers
gi-ga-ge."
Tsi-s-qua u-wo-di-ge began pecking away at the dried mud on the eyes
of wa-ya. Soon wa ya could open his eyes again. True to his promise
wa-ya said, "Thank you, my brother; now jump up onto my shoulder." Away
they ran through the woods to the rock that oozed red paint.
When they came to the rock, wa-ya reached up and plucked a twig from
a tree branch. He chewed the end of the twig until it was soft and
pliable like the end of a paint brush. Then he dipped the end of the
twig into the red paint and began to paint the feathers of tsi-s-qua
u-wo-di-ge.
When all of his feathers were gi-ga-ge, tsi-s-qua flew off to show
his family and friends how beautiful he was. That is why, from that day
to this, you can see to-tsu-wa flying around the woods in Cherokee
country.
Cherokee Words:
- wolf - wa-ya
- raccoon - gv-li
- bird - tsi-s-qua
- brown - u-wo-di-ge
- red - gi-ga-ge
- red bird - to-tsu-wa