Storytelling: Dirty Boy

A large tribe was living together in a region of North America. The chief of the tribe had five daughters. When the daughters reached marriageable age, the chief would inform them that he would be finding husbands for them soon. He would allow each of them one year to find a suitable husband before he would intervene and find a suitor for them. The two youngest daughters were about to reach the age that their father deemed as an appropriate age for marriage. The two youngest daughters had investigated many suitors and had decided none were sufficient for them. The youngest daughter was the most beautiful of all her sisters, but she had yet to find a man who she wished to marry.  The three older sisters were all married. The two oldest had found suitors that they deemed suitable while the chief had found a husband for the middle sister. The chief would hold competitions in order to determine who would marry his daughters. Only men who won the competition could marry them.

Days before the year the chief had allowed both the daughters to find a husband, the youngest daughter, Aiyanna, found a man she wished to marry. He was no ordinary man; he was unkempt and poor. He was unable to leave his bed and required much assistance to achieve everyday tasks. His name was Sike. The youngest daughter could tell he had a pure heart and a kind nature. She knew he was the only man she would want to spend the rest of her life with regardless of his disheveled appearance.

The chief did not approve of her choice. He said she was his most beautiful and prized daughter. For her to marry such a man would be a disgrace. He forbade it and said he would find a more suitable man for her to marry. Heartbroken, she informed the man she loved of what her father had said.

The chief came up with a competition and decided that whoever won the competition would get the honor of marrying both his daughters. The competition to be won was: the man who could set a trap and catch the rare Pygmy rabbit without killing it would win the hand of his two daughters. The chief declared that not only would the men have to catch the rare rabbit, but if they caught nothing on the first day, they would automatically be removed from the competition. All men that caught the rabbit on the first day would have to then set one more trap and capture a different one the next day. The one to catch two first and return to the chief would win his daughters’ hands in marriage.

When Sike heard of the conditions of the competition, he decided he would participate and win the woman he loved. What nobody knew was: Sike had descended from the heavens in order to find the purest human for him to marry. He disguised himself as a man that no woman would love unless the woman was willing to look deeper than appearance and ability. He loved Aiyanna’s pure, kind heart as much as she loved his.

Sike calls to the heavens to help him win the competition because he cannot win in his current state. He goes to sleep and when he wakes up in the morning, he finds a pygmy rabbit trapped in a bush outside his door. The next morning he finds another rabbit in the exact same spot. Sike tells Aiyanna of his victory and she triumphantly takes the rabbits to the chief. The chief was outraged and refused to believe Sike was able to catch the rabbits, and looks for another who was able to capture the rabbits, but no one else has successfully completed the task. At this, the chief decides to hold another competition where the winner will “actually win both the daughters”.

The chief has an eagle in the trees far on the mountain and declares that the man that is able to shot the eagle with only two arrows will win his daughters.

Again, Sike calls to the heavens to provide him with arrows. He aims and prays that the heavens would guide his arrows. Sike successfully shoots the eagle with a single arrow. The chief sees the eagle has been shot and is overjoyed. He seeks out the man who shot it. Once he discovers it was Sike, he is disappointed, but he does not go back on his word.

The chief sends his daughters to Sike to marry. On the way the older daughter finds another man and agrees to marry him; it’s one of her previous interests. She refused to marry the dirty, bed ridden man. The younger daughter is delighted that he has won and she will get to spend the rest of her life with him.

The other sisters make fun of her having to live with a dirty gross man, but she knows in her heart she loves him and any other man could never have been as good as he. Ayianna nurses Sike and takes care of him.

One day she returns to Sike’s home from visiting her father to find the once poor, grungy house is now full of treasures and riches. She does not understand where her house went. She enters the new place to find a beautiful man lying where her husband had lain. Aiyanna is full of confusion. The beautiful man turns over and motions to her. He is Sike, her husband. The heavens had changed him back to his true form which happens to be the most beautiful human with a plethora of riches. The youngest daughter cares for none of this, but her sisters now know the importance of looking further than skin deep.

 

Sike and Aiyanna

Author's Note: I read Native American Hero Tales from Stith Thompson's anthology and really enjoyed the last story in this storybook. I also read American Indian Fairy Tales by W.T. Larned the week before. They both had a story that had a similar theme and moral. I really liked both of the stories about the dirty boy being unloved then loved and becoming beautiful.

Reading Notes: Native American Hero Tales-Part B

I am continuing reading the second part of the Native American Hero Tales from Stith Thompson's anthology.

Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away: I am so confused. These stories don't make much sense. I am confused about what is going on and what the stories mean.

Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away (cont.): This is confusing. There wasn't really a story to this. The boys were thrown then grew up and did things their father told them not to. Eventually, they lived happily ever after...confusing.

The Son-in-Law Tests: I don't understand these stories. I don't like them. They are pretty nonsensical. Things keep trying to kill each other.

The Jealous Father: I like that this story has an animal that helps the young man. I think I will probably incorporate some sort of helpful animal in my story.

The Jealous Father (cont.): I liked this story. It was interesting that the father conjured evil things while the mother conjured things to help the son return home safely. I like that the son survived. I wish the father wouldn't have died, but I guess it was an okay story.

 

whisky jack

Dirty-Boy: This story is interesting as well. I like that there is a competition to win the daughters. I think I may mix the two stories. I will have a daughter of the chief and someone will have to win a challenge. I will have an animal help the man that will win or something like that.

Dirty-Boy (cont.): Yes! I keep getting worried I won't like any of the stories that I read and won't be able to write anything, but fortunately, the last story was great! I am going to write about the girl choosing the man that is sickly instead of someone else. I will have him transform in the end as well.

Reading Notes: Native American Hero Tales-Part A

I decided to read the Native American Hero Tales from Stith Thompson's anthology.

The Jealous Uncle: This is a very strange story. I don't understand why the uncle keeps killing the males in the family. I also don't understand the method. Why would he leave him in the forest instead of just killing him? Not that I want the boy to die.

The Jealous Uncle (cont.): I like that the uncle is unsuccessful. I think it's strange that he keeps trying to kill the boy, and no one does anything about it except be sad that he is going to die. Why wouldn't they banish the uncle or just leave?

The Jealous Uncle (end): That was very strange, but the last section was my favorite because he ends up finding a wife and having a better life than he had previously. I like that he was almost rewarded for his obedience and courage. I like that in the end, the uncle gets what he deserves and the parents go live with their son.

Bluejay and His Companions: I think all the characters are animals. I'm not entirely sure about this story. I think it is entertaining, but not my favorite.

Bluejay and His Companions (cont.): It was unfortunate that the bluejay and companions had to suffer so much just to learn to be nice to the other character. It was an interesting story, but not my favorite.

Dug-From-Ground: Not entirely sure what is going on here. They haven't mentioned any names so it is a little difficult to keep up with who is doing what.

 

Hupa

Dug-From-Ground (cont.): I didn't understand what was going on in that story. I didn't like it because it was confusing to read and didn't really tell much of a story.

The Attack on the Giant Elk and the Great Eagle: Another strange story. I'm not a fan of killing and having enemies. I would rather the story be about morals. I also don't understand why everything is in fours.

The Attack on the Giant Elk and the Great Eagle (cont.): Again, I don't understand the moral or why the story was written. Is everyone an animal in this story, too? Or are they animals except for the guys protecting the humans? It was interesting. I hope the second part inspires me to write more than this one did.

Famous Last Words: Playing Catch Up vs. Relaxing

I am pretty sad that I am already halfway through this course. I am really enjoying reading the mythology and folklore! I am also really enjoying writing and reading other students' writing! As an engineering student, creative writing is something I never really get the option to do. Unlike many of my classmates, I absolutely love fiction writing and creative stories!
I keep feeling like I am getting behind in this class. I am writing the stories or reading the assignments the day I have to have them done. Usually, I am the type of student that has everything done days ahead of time. I don't know why it has been so hard for me to keep up with this course. I got a little ahead during spring break, but I am now back to where I was, unfortunately. I am trying to figure out how to get more on top of this class. It is very hard to come up with good stories to write so frequently. I usually spend a day thinking about what I want to write about and where I want my story to go. It would be very difficult to write more than one story per day. I tried doing this over spring break, but I was only able to get ahead to Week 9.
I am really enjoying the short stories that I get to write every week, but the storybook is what I am super excited about! I love stories that I can develop and have a good story line! I feel like some of my short weekly stories are lacking in depth because of the length cutoff, but I think 1000 words is the perfect length for a story written in one week! It also helps me to learn another type of writing and being more concise!
I really wise there were another class like this I could take or something that I could do that would allow me to write stories weekly like this class does! It is very relaxing and has allowed me to clear my mind and really take a break from my math, science, and computations!

 

Relaxation Meme

Week 9 Storytelling: Evergreen and Neen-i-zu

There once lived a boy named Evergreen. Evergreen was not like other boys. He was special, very special indeed. Evergreen had the most beautiful dark green wings, the color of the deep green leaves in the forest around him. Wherever he walked flowers would bloom and the undergrowth would thrive.

One day Evergreen was in the meadow in the human world tending to the flowers that had suffered winter’s cold breath. He had ventured further than he had ever dared before. Suddenly, he heard the trees rustling behind him, and flew up into the tree closest to him. His mother had always warned him of the dangers of wandering too near the “others”. By “others”, his parents meant the humans. Every now and then a human would wander deep into the woods and reach the place where our world met the humans’, called the in-between. The normal humans mustn’t reach this point for if the wrong human were to cross over into our world it would be most tragic. Humans would only see the things they could take for their own personal gain and would wreak destruction upon our world. In our world there is no winter and the plants are always green and aglow. In the human world, Evergreen could heal the flowers that had been destroyed from the humans’ harsh way of living which is why Evergreen spent much of his time in the in-between. 

Evergreen looked about for the source of the rustling, fearful for what caused it. Slowly, emerged the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. He had never seen a human before. Was that what this was? It had long brown hair that flowed in the wind and such a strong, yet gentle face. The human moved with such grace. He watched as it crouched near the plants Evergreen had been tending to. The human started humming with the most melodious voice he had ever heard as it tended to the plants. It opened a pouch and poured water on the dry plant. Evergreen decided it must be a girl from the gentle nature and high-pitched voice. She then walked over to the river nearby and collected more water and continued to distribute the water to the plants the river could not reach on its own.

 

Neen-i-zu 

Evergreen watched her. Was this the awful human he had heard so much about? Before he knew it, the sun was beginning to go down and darkness started to fall on the forest. The human straightened up and walked away exactly how she had appeared.

Evergreen sat in the tree. He had to see her again. He waited in that tree until the sun rose the next morning. She appeared later that day picking up where she had left off in tending to the forest. As she sang, the birds gathered to heart her song. She collected seeds from the ground and held them in her hand for the birds to eat. She was the gentlest creature Evergreen had ever seen. The leaves rustled as he stood up in the tree which caused the birds to flutter away. She turned and watched the birds fly away. Evergreen gracefully leapt to the ground. As the human turned back toward the plant, she saw Evergreen and let out a startled cry. 

She had never seen anything like him. He had green wings protruding from his back and antlers like deer extending from his head. They stared at each other for a moment just taking one another in. Finally, Evergreen greeted her, and learned her name was Neen-i-zu. They instantly grew a friendship like no other.

 

  Evergreen

Neen-i-zu returned to see Evergreen every day from this point on. Evergreen showed Neen-i-zu his ability to care for and grow the plants and Neen-i-zu taught him the gentle nature with which she cared for the animals. Neen-i-zu had never felt more herself than she did here with Evergreen. Time seemed to stand still in the in-between when they were together. Unfortunately, the sun still set which signaled for Neen-i-zu to return home.

One day Evergreen waited for her regular visit, but she did not come. He listened for the slightest noise that might suggest she was approaching. He soon heard her familiar footsteps; however, they were moving quicker and less graceful than usual. 

He jumped down in front of her path and as she saw him, she ran to him and hugged him with tears streaming down her face. She explained to him that she was to be married, and her mother demanded she stop spending time in the forest and instead spend time doing work with the other women. Neen-i-zu sadly told Evergreen that tomorrow she would be wed at which point she would never return to the forest.

Evergreen’s heart broke at her news; fore he loved her more than she knew. Evergreen begged her to come back tomorrow before she was to be wed. He did not know what he was going to do, but he had to see her one last time. Neen-i-zu agreed.

Evergreen had never experienced such a long night. He lay awake waiting for the time for Neen-i-zu to return. The morning came and he was overcome with great sorrow realizing at last this would be the last time he would see Neen-i-zu. She emerged from the trees looking more beautiful than ever before. Evergreen knew he could not live without her. He knew he must ask her to come away with him to his world. She was the only human that was capable of loving and respecting his world as much as his people did.

Neen-i-zu was never seen by her people again, but she did indeed become a bride that day, after all.

Author's Note: I really love stories about love and fairy tales so this was my kind of story. I originally read American Indian Fairy Tales by W.T. Larned. The last story, The Fairy Bride, is what I modeled my story from. I decided to take the Evergreen's point of view instead of Neen-i-zu's, how the original story did. I decided to add a little detail to their relationship and show their friendship and love growing for one another over time as well.