Post by Okwes on Jul 24, 2007 9:49:53 GMT -5
Duck Sings For Her Children - Cochiti
At Whirlpool Place (Koashka) there lived a duck with lots of little
ducklings. She told her children to go to the river and have a bath. She
said, "I will sit on the bank and sing for you." They got to the river. The
mother sat on the bank, and she started to sing (unintelligible words). She
said, "When this song ends, jump in all together." At the last word of her
song, the ducklings jumped in and went under the water and came up again far
off. They swam around and came back to their mother. She sang her song again
and each time they ducked and swam and came back to her.
Coyote heard Mother Duck singing. He said, "What a pretty song you sing to
your children. I must go and get mine too. I have as many children as you
have. I will get them. Why don't your children get drowned in all that
water?" Mother Duck answered, "It is because they have a great power that
they don't get drowned. If your children have a great power like mine they
won't drown either."
Coyote went off to get her children. She brought them all to the river bank
and asked Mother Duck where they were to start. She said, "They must start
from this bank when you sing the song for them." Old Coyote said, "How shall
I sing the song? When you sing it, you call your children by name, but when
I sing it must I call my children by name?" Duck said, "That is right."
Coyote started to sing, but the little coyotes were afraid of the water and
wouldn't go near the river. They all bunched together on the bank. Mother
Duck started to sing for the little coyotes. She said, "When I get to the
end, jump into the water." She got to the end but the coyotes all ran off
home as fast as they could. Some of them Coyote caught and threw into the
river. So she drowned half of them and all the ducks flew up away from
Coyote. She started to cry for her children. She cried and cried until she
died.
Tales of the Cochiti Indians, by Ruth Benedict; U.S. Bureau of American
Ethnology, Bulletin no. 98; US Government Printing Office; [1931] and is now
in the public domain
At Whirlpool Place (Koashka) there lived a duck with lots of little
ducklings. She told her children to go to the river and have a bath. She
said, "I will sit on the bank and sing for you." They got to the river. The
mother sat on the bank, and she started to sing (unintelligible words). She
said, "When this song ends, jump in all together." At the last word of her
song, the ducklings jumped in and went under the water and came up again far
off. They swam around and came back to their mother. She sang her song again
and each time they ducked and swam and came back to her.
Coyote heard Mother Duck singing. He said, "What a pretty song you sing to
your children. I must go and get mine too. I have as many children as you
have. I will get them. Why don't your children get drowned in all that
water?" Mother Duck answered, "It is because they have a great power that
they don't get drowned. If your children have a great power like mine they
won't drown either."
Coyote went off to get her children. She brought them all to the river bank
and asked Mother Duck where they were to start. She said, "They must start
from this bank when you sing the song for them." Old Coyote said, "How shall
I sing the song? When you sing it, you call your children by name, but when
I sing it must I call my children by name?" Duck said, "That is right."
Coyote started to sing, but the little coyotes were afraid of the water and
wouldn't go near the river. They all bunched together on the bank. Mother
Duck started to sing for the little coyotes. She said, "When I get to the
end, jump into the water." She got to the end but the coyotes all ran off
home as fast as they could. Some of them Coyote caught and threw into the
river. So she drowned half of them and all the ducks flew up away from
Coyote. She started to cry for her children. She cried and cried until she
died.
Tales of the Cochiti Indians, by Ruth Benedict; U.S. Bureau of American
Ethnology, Bulletin no. 98; US Government Printing Office; [1931] and is now
in the public domain