Post by Okwes on Apr 14, 2008 13:07:54 GMT -5
Glooskap Gets Two Surprises - Abenaki
One morning Glooskap sat on his favorite sand dune and looked at the sea.
Sun glinted off a thousand whitecaps. Indian people bathed in the shallows
and fished from canoes in deeper water Gulls keened overhead, and cliff
swallows somersaulted in the air, chasing the wind.
"I'm in a good mood today," Glooskap said. "A very very good mood."
Just when he had said this, the chief of a nearby village ran up.
"Glooskap," he said, "I'm afraid I have horrible news."
"Nothing can trouble me today," Glooskap said.
"Every wicked magician, every cunning sorcerer, every ghost, every fiend,
every cannibal, every goblin, and every treacherous beast are meeting right
now," the chief said, trembling.
"How rude of them!" Glooskap laughed. "They didn't even invite me!"
"Don't you want to know what the meeting is about?" said the chief.
"Oh, most certainly," said Glooskap. "Forgive me, yes, go on, tell me."
"They are plotting to do away with you!" the chief said. Glooskap's smile
turned into a frown so quickly, it was almost as if the world itself had
turned upside-down.
"I knew you would be angry," the chief said.
Glooskap stomped on the ground, so that the chief had to hold his hands over
his ears; it was like being in an earthquake.
"Me? Angry?" said Glooskap. "No, I'm not angry!" He stomped some more,
kicked a few boulders into the sea, yanked at his hair, sat down, and
scowled.
The chief went back to his village.
Glooskap sat brooding. "All the magicians, sorcerers, ghosts, fiends,
cannibals, goblins, and beasts are jealous of my great powers," he said to
himself. "I've known this for a long time. But now their jealousy has turned
evil, and I must tend to this matter quickly."
Glooskap walked to a rocky field. He got down on his knees, put an ear to
the ground, and listened. He heard his enemies plotting to do away with him.
He heard magicians clicking long knives together, sorcerers bubbling up a
poisonous soup in a cauldron. He heard fiends, ghosts, cannibals, and
goblins practicing magic songs to pierce Glooskap's ears - oh, they had
hideous, cackling voices! He heard beasts filing and whittling their teeth
into harpoons.
Suddenly Glooskap heard one fiend say, "It is time. Let us go get Glooskap."
But Glooskap had a plan.
He pushed aside some large rocks, then reached down into the earth, his arm
making a tunnel to the magicians, sorcerers, fiends, ghosts, cannibals,
goblins, and beasts.
When Glooskap drew his arm back, his enemies looked up and saw his face.
Glooskap grinned. He leaned down, put his mouth over the tunnel's entrance,
and hollered, "Ha! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Then he guffawed,
"Guffaw, guffaw, guffaw, guffaw, guffaw, guffaw!" Glooskap's laughter filled
the tunnel.
The sound made his enemies writhe with pain. They stuffed dirt into their
ears, but the laughter pierced straight through and echoed inside their
heads! Glooskap laughed and laughed, until the magicians, sorcerers, fiends,
ghosts, cannibals, goblins, and beasts could hardly stand it. With one,
final laugh - Ha! - an avalanche smothered Glooskap's enemies.
Now there was a vast silence, the kind of silence that arrives only after
Glooskap has stopped laughing and an avalanche has settled to a mere trickle
of dirt and pebbles.
"Now," boasted Glooskap, "there is no one or nothing that can overpower me!"
"Are you certain, Master Glooskap?" Glooskap heard someone say, in a lovely
voice.
He turned around and saw a beautiful woman.
"What do you mean, am I certain?" said Glooskap.
"I think there is still at least one who remains unconquered," the woman
said.
In some surprise Glooskap said, "What is the name of this mighty one?"
"He is called Wasis," replied the woman, "but I strongly advise you to keep
away from him."
"How dare you!" Glooskap cried. "The great Glooskap is afraid of no one!"
"Be careful. This one is quite different," the woman warned.
"Begone with you!" Glooskap ordered, and the woman ran away.
The very next day Glooskap encountered this Wasis. When he saw Wasis, he
laughed to himself. "So this is the unconquerable Wasis!" he said, for Wasis
was only a baby. He sat on the ground sucking on a piece of maple sap and
humming a song. Glooskap had spent little time around children as small as
Wasis, but with perfect confidence he smiled at the baby and beckoned him.
The baby smiled back, but did not budge.
"When Glooskap calls," Glooskap said, "you hurry to him!"
But the baby ignored Glooskap, and went on sucking the candy and humming.
This confounded Glooskap, but then he thought, "Aha! I know a way to draw
this baby nearer. I'll imitate wild and beautiful birdsongs. No one can
resist that!" Glooskap chirped, whistling long and lovely notes and making
whispering coos.
Still, Wasis paid Glooskap no attention. Looking bored, he threw his maple
candy at Glooskap. It stuck to Glooskap's foot. Glooskap was not used to
being disobeyed. He stomped and yanked his hair, and said, "If you don't
crawl over here, I'll throw you into the sea!" Glooskap then made all sorts
of other threats, all the while flailing at a pine tree until its branches
fell all around Wasis.
Wasis wrinkled up his face. "Waaahhh!" he cried.
"Waaahhh! Waaahhh!" He wailed louder and louder, until Glooskap covered his
ears and tossed himself to the ground. "I've never heard such a
bloodcurdling I screech!" he said. Glooskap summoned all his magic resources
to try and quiet down Wasis. He cast his mightiest spells, shouted his most
dreadful curses, recited his ancient chants, and sang his wildest songs loud
enough to raise the dead.
But Wasis only cried more loudly. Finally, as Glooskap fled in frustration
and despair, Wasis stopped his crying, smiled, and looked amused. He softly
said, "Ga ga ga ga goo," the way all babies talk.
This is how Glooskap got two surprises. And it is how he threw a tantrum,
and got one thrown back at him.
Taken from book - How Glooskap Outwits The Ice Giants and Other Tales of the
Maritime Indians Retold by Howard Norman
One morning Glooskap sat on his favorite sand dune and looked at the sea.
Sun glinted off a thousand whitecaps. Indian people bathed in the shallows
and fished from canoes in deeper water Gulls keened overhead, and cliff
swallows somersaulted in the air, chasing the wind.
"I'm in a good mood today," Glooskap said. "A very very good mood."
Just when he had said this, the chief of a nearby village ran up.
"Glooskap," he said, "I'm afraid I have horrible news."
"Nothing can trouble me today," Glooskap said.
"Every wicked magician, every cunning sorcerer, every ghost, every fiend,
every cannibal, every goblin, and every treacherous beast are meeting right
now," the chief said, trembling.
"How rude of them!" Glooskap laughed. "They didn't even invite me!"
"Don't you want to know what the meeting is about?" said the chief.
"Oh, most certainly," said Glooskap. "Forgive me, yes, go on, tell me."
"They are plotting to do away with you!" the chief said. Glooskap's smile
turned into a frown so quickly, it was almost as if the world itself had
turned upside-down.
"I knew you would be angry," the chief said.
Glooskap stomped on the ground, so that the chief had to hold his hands over
his ears; it was like being in an earthquake.
"Me? Angry?" said Glooskap. "No, I'm not angry!" He stomped some more,
kicked a few boulders into the sea, yanked at his hair, sat down, and
scowled.
The chief went back to his village.
Glooskap sat brooding. "All the magicians, sorcerers, ghosts, fiends,
cannibals, goblins, and beasts are jealous of my great powers," he said to
himself. "I've known this for a long time. But now their jealousy has turned
evil, and I must tend to this matter quickly."
Glooskap walked to a rocky field. He got down on his knees, put an ear to
the ground, and listened. He heard his enemies plotting to do away with him.
He heard magicians clicking long knives together, sorcerers bubbling up a
poisonous soup in a cauldron. He heard fiends, ghosts, cannibals, and
goblins practicing magic songs to pierce Glooskap's ears - oh, they had
hideous, cackling voices! He heard beasts filing and whittling their teeth
into harpoons.
Suddenly Glooskap heard one fiend say, "It is time. Let us go get Glooskap."
But Glooskap had a plan.
He pushed aside some large rocks, then reached down into the earth, his arm
making a tunnel to the magicians, sorcerers, fiends, ghosts, cannibals,
goblins, and beasts.
When Glooskap drew his arm back, his enemies looked up and saw his face.
Glooskap grinned. He leaned down, put his mouth over the tunnel's entrance,
and hollered, "Ha! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Then he guffawed,
"Guffaw, guffaw, guffaw, guffaw, guffaw, guffaw!" Glooskap's laughter filled
the tunnel.
The sound made his enemies writhe with pain. They stuffed dirt into their
ears, but the laughter pierced straight through and echoed inside their
heads! Glooskap laughed and laughed, until the magicians, sorcerers, fiends,
ghosts, cannibals, goblins, and beasts could hardly stand it. With one,
final laugh - Ha! - an avalanche smothered Glooskap's enemies.
Now there was a vast silence, the kind of silence that arrives only after
Glooskap has stopped laughing and an avalanche has settled to a mere trickle
of dirt and pebbles.
"Now," boasted Glooskap, "there is no one or nothing that can overpower me!"
"Are you certain, Master Glooskap?" Glooskap heard someone say, in a lovely
voice.
He turned around and saw a beautiful woman.
"What do you mean, am I certain?" said Glooskap.
"I think there is still at least one who remains unconquered," the woman
said.
In some surprise Glooskap said, "What is the name of this mighty one?"
"He is called Wasis," replied the woman, "but I strongly advise you to keep
away from him."
"How dare you!" Glooskap cried. "The great Glooskap is afraid of no one!"
"Be careful. This one is quite different," the woman warned.
"Begone with you!" Glooskap ordered, and the woman ran away.
The very next day Glooskap encountered this Wasis. When he saw Wasis, he
laughed to himself. "So this is the unconquerable Wasis!" he said, for Wasis
was only a baby. He sat on the ground sucking on a piece of maple sap and
humming a song. Glooskap had spent little time around children as small as
Wasis, but with perfect confidence he smiled at the baby and beckoned him.
The baby smiled back, but did not budge.
"When Glooskap calls," Glooskap said, "you hurry to him!"
But the baby ignored Glooskap, and went on sucking the candy and humming.
This confounded Glooskap, but then he thought, "Aha! I know a way to draw
this baby nearer. I'll imitate wild and beautiful birdsongs. No one can
resist that!" Glooskap chirped, whistling long and lovely notes and making
whispering coos.
Still, Wasis paid Glooskap no attention. Looking bored, he threw his maple
candy at Glooskap. It stuck to Glooskap's foot. Glooskap was not used to
being disobeyed. He stomped and yanked his hair, and said, "If you don't
crawl over here, I'll throw you into the sea!" Glooskap then made all sorts
of other threats, all the while flailing at a pine tree until its branches
fell all around Wasis.
Wasis wrinkled up his face. "Waaahhh!" he cried.
"Waaahhh! Waaahhh!" He wailed louder and louder, until Glooskap covered his
ears and tossed himself to the ground. "I've never heard such a
bloodcurdling I screech!" he said. Glooskap summoned all his magic resources
to try and quiet down Wasis. He cast his mightiest spells, shouted his most
dreadful curses, recited his ancient chants, and sang his wildest songs loud
enough to raise the dead.
But Wasis only cried more loudly. Finally, as Glooskap fled in frustration
and despair, Wasis stopped his crying, smiled, and looked amused. He softly
said, "Ga ga ga ga goo," the way all babies talk.
This is how Glooskap got two surprises. And it is how he threw a tantrum,
and got one thrown back at him.
Taken from book - How Glooskap Outwits The Ice Giants and Other Tales of the
Maritime Indians Retold by Howard Norman