Post by Okwes on May 24, 2007 13:42:34 GMT -5
Crow And Hawk - Cochiti
Crow had a nest and she had been already sitting on her eggs many days. But
she got tired of sitting there, and she flew away. While she was gone day
after day, Hawk came by. She found nobody sitting on the nest. Hawk said to
herself, "The person who owns this nest no longer cares for it. I am sorry
for those eggs lying in that empty nest. I will sit on those poor little
eggs and they will be my children." She sat many days on the eggs and nobody
came to the nest. Finally the eggs began to hatch. Still no Crow came. The
little ones all hatched out and the mother Hawk flew about getting food for
them. They grew bigger and bigger and their wings got strong. So at last the
mother Hawk took the little ones off the nest.
After all this time, the Crow remembered her nest and she came back to it.
She found the eggs all hatched and the Hawk taking care of her little ones.
One day she met Hawk out feeding with her little ones. "Hawk." "What is it?"
"You must return these little ones you are leading around." "Why?" "Because
they are mine." Hawk said, "Yes, you laid the eggs to be sure, but you had
no pity on the poor eggs. You went off and left them. There was no one to
sit upon them and I came and sat upon the nest and hatched them. When they
were hatched I fed them and now I lead them about. They are mine and I shall
not return them." Crow said, "I shall take them back." "I shall not give
them up. I have worked for them and for many days I have fasted sitting
there upon the eggs. In all that time you did not come near your eggs. Why
is it now when I have taken care of the little ones and brought them up and
they have grown that you want them back?" Crow said to the little ones, "My
children, come with me. I am your mother." But the little ones answered, "We
do not know you. Hawk is our mother." At last when she could not make the
little ones come with her, she said, "Very well, I shall take this to court,
and we shall see who will have the right to these little ones." Hawk
answered, "That is good. I am willing. We will go to court."
So mother Crow took the mother Hawk before the king of the birds. Eagle said
to Crow, "Why did you leave your nest?" The Crow hung her head and had
nothing to say. At last Crow said, "When I came back to my nest, I found my
eggs already hatched and the Hawk taking charge of the little ones. I have
come to ask that the Hawk be required to return the children to me." Eagle
said to Mother. Hawk, "How did you find this nest of eggs?" "Many times I
came to this nest, and found it empty. No one came for a long time, and at
last I had pity upon the poor little eggs. I said to myself, 'The mother who
made this nest can no longer care for these eggs. I should be glad to hatch
these little ones.' I sat upon them and they hatched. Then I went about
getting food for them. I worked hard and brought them up and they have
grown." Mother Crow interrupted mother Hawk and said, "But they are my
children. I laid the eggs." Mother Hawk answered, "It is not your turn. We
are both of us asking for justice and it will be given to us. Wait till I
have spoken." Eagle said to mother Hawk, "Is that all?" "Yes, I have worked
hard to raise my two little ones. Just when they were grown the mother crow
came back and asked to have them back again, but I shall not give them back.
It is I who fasted and worked, and they are now my little ones." The king of
the birds said, "The mother hawk is not willing to return the little ones to
the mother crow, and if you had really had pity on your little ones, why did
you leave the nest for so many days, and now are demanding them back? The
mother hawk is the mother of the little ones, for she has fasted and hatched
them, and flew about searching out their food and now they are her
children." Mother Crow said to the King of the birds, "King, you should ask
the little ones which mother they will choose to follow. They know enough to
know which one they will take." So the king said to the little ones, "Which
mother will you choose? "Both little ones answered together, "Mother Hawk is
our mother. She is all the mother we know." Crow cried, "No, I am your only
mother." The little Crow children said, "In the nest you had no pity on us,
and you left us. Mother Hawk hatched us and she is our mother." So it was
finally settled as the little ones had chosen that they were the children of
Mother Hawk who had had pity on them in the nest and brought them up.
Mother Crow began to weep. The king said to Mother Crow, "Do not weep. It is
your own fault that you have lost your children because you left the nest.
This is the final decision of the king of the Birds that they shall go with
the Mother Hawk." So the little ones stayed with mother Hawk, and Mother
Crow lost her little children.[1]
VARIANT:
On a high bank two crows had nests near each other. They used to go hunting
together. One stayed away a long, while. Her little ones suffered from
hunger. When the other crow came back with her food she fed her own children
and then she used to go to the children of the other crow and give them food
too. They grew stronger and they knew this other crow as their mother. As
they grew up, they got used to the other crow in their mother's place.
At last their own mother returned. Her little crows had already flown from
the nest. She said, "I wonder where my children have gone. I have brought
buffalo meat for them." They were at the neighbor crow's nest with the other
little crows. The mother passed by where they were all together. Her little
crows said to their foster mother, "Look, somebody is going to our nest."
She answered, "That is your mother, children." "No, she is not our mother.
You are our mother." The (newly returned) crow went to the other nest and
said to the other crow, "I've come after my children." "Did you remember
your children? I shall not return them to you for I have brought them up."
"But I was the one who laid the eggs. I made them in the nest." "I suppose
it didn't hurt your children to leave them alone all this time. I cared for
them. I won't give them up." "I will have them back." "I won't give them
up." "I will have the judge settle this between us." "All right, we'll see
who will get back these little ones." "I won't ask here. I will ask way
across to the south where the king is."
She went off crying. The little crows that she had hatched did not want to
go back to her, so they stayed with the mother who had brought them up. The
mother crow went off and flew south. She got to the king's house and there
was a soldier outside. "Do you want the king?" he asked. "Yes." So the
soldier said to the king, "King, they want you out-doors." The king said to
her, "Who are you?" "I am Crow." "What is it?" "I am bringing suit. Another
crow has taken away my children." "Is that so?" The King brought her inside.
As she went in, they told a soldier outside to go for the other crow and all
the children. He brought them into the king's house and told them to sit in
a row. The king said, "You are ready now. Here are the children of both; it
is your turn to answer whatever I ask." He said to the little crows, "Which
is your mother?" The little crows said, "This is our mother." The mother
that had left her children spoke up and said, "She took them from my nest
when I was away hunting." Her two little crows said, "We don't know her as
our mother. This is the only mother we know. She fed us and brought us up.
She is our mother. It was just yesterday this (stranger) crow came back. She
came to get us and wanted to take us to her nest. We don't know her as our
mother. This mother that came with us brought us up. We know her as our
mother." So the crow took the two little crows away and kept them as her own
children.
Footnotes:
[1]This judgment would hold good in human society too. If a mother neglects
her child and another takes him in, even it the mother comes back and claims
him she would not be likely to get him back.
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
Crow had a nest and she had been already sitting on her eggs many days. But
she got tired of sitting there, and she flew away. While she was gone day
after day, Hawk came by. She found nobody sitting on the nest. Hawk said to
herself, "The person who owns this nest no longer cares for it. I am sorry
for those eggs lying in that empty nest. I will sit on those poor little
eggs and they will be my children." She sat many days on the eggs and nobody
came to the nest. Finally the eggs began to hatch. Still no Crow came. The
little ones all hatched out and the mother Hawk flew about getting food for
them. They grew bigger and bigger and their wings got strong. So at last the
mother Hawk took the little ones off the nest.
After all this time, the Crow remembered her nest and she came back to it.
She found the eggs all hatched and the Hawk taking care of her little ones.
One day she met Hawk out feeding with her little ones. "Hawk." "What is it?"
"You must return these little ones you are leading around." "Why?" "Because
they are mine." Hawk said, "Yes, you laid the eggs to be sure, but you had
no pity on the poor eggs. You went off and left them. There was no one to
sit upon them and I came and sat upon the nest and hatched them. When they
were hatched I fed them and now I lead them about. They are mine and I shall
not return them." Crow said, "I shall take them back." "I shall not give
them up. I have worked for them and for many days I have fasted sitting
there upon the eggs. In all that time you did not come near your eggs. Why
is it now when I have taken care of the little ones and brought them up and
they have grown that you want them back?" Crow said to the little ones, "My
children, come with me. I am your mother." But the little ones answered, "We
do not know you. Hawk is our mother." At last when she could not make the
little ones come with her, she said, "Very well, I shall take this to court,
and we shall see who will have the right to these little ones." Hawk
answered, "That is good. I am willing. We will go to court."
So mother Crow took the mother Hawk before the king of the birds. Eagle said
to Crow, "Why did you leave your nest?" The Crow hung her head and had
nothing to say. At last Crow said, "When I came back to my nest, I found my
eggs already hatched and the Hawk taking charge of the little ones. I have
come to ask that the Hawk be required to return the children to me." Eagle
said to Mother. Hawk, "How did you find this nest of eggs?" "Many times I
came to this nest, and found it empty. No one came for a long time, and at
last I had pity upon the poor little eggs. I said to myself, 'The mother who
made this nest can no longer care for these eggs. I should be glad to hatch
these little ones.' I sat upon them and they hatched. Then I went about
getting food for them. I worked hard and brought them up and they have
grown." Mother Crow interrupted mother Hawk and said, "But they are my
children. I laid the eggs." Mother Hawk answered, "It is not your turn. We
are both of us asking for justice and it will be given to us. Wait till I
have spoken." Eagle said to mother Hawk, "Is that all?" "Yes, I have worked
hard to raise my two little ones. Just when they were grown the mother crow
came back and asked to have them back again, but I shall not give them back.
It is I who fasted and worked, and they are now my little ones." The king of
the birds said, "The mother hawk is not willing to return the little ones to
the mother crow, and if you had really had pity on your little ones, why did
you leave the nest for so many days, and now are demanding them back? The
mother hawk is the mother of the little ones, for she has fasted and hatched
them, and flew about searching out their food and now they are her
children." Mother Crow said to the King of the birds, "King, you should ask
the little ones which mother they will choose to follow. They know enough to
know which one they will take." So the king said to the little ones, "Which
mother will you choose? "Both little ones answered together, "Mother Hawk is
our mother. She is all the mother we know." Crow cried, "No, I am your only
mother." The little Crow children said, "In the nest you had no pity on us,
and you left us. Mother Hawk hatched us and she is our mother." So it was
finally settled as the little ones had chosen that they were the children of
Mother Hawk who had had pity on them in the nest and brought them up.
Mother Crow began to weep. The king said to Mother Crow, "Do not weep. It is
your own fault that you have lost your children because you left the nest.
This is the final decision of the king of the Birds that they shall go with
the Mother Hawk." So the little ones stayed with mother Hawk, and Mother
Crow lost her little children.[1]
VARIANT:
On a high bank two crows had nests near each other. They used to go hunting
together. One stayed away a long, while. Her little ones suffered from
hunger. When the other crow came back with her food she fed her own children
and then she used to go to the children of the other crow and give them food
too. They grew stronger and they knew this other crow as their mother. As
they grew up, they got used to the other crow in their mother's place.
At last their own mother returned. Her little crows had already flown from
the nest. She said, "I wonder where my children have gone. I have brought
buffalo meat for them." They were at the neighbor crow's nest with the other
little crows. The mother passed by where they were all together. Her little
crows said to their foster mother, "Look, somebody is going to our nest."
She answered, "That is your mother, children." "No, she is not our mother.
You are our mother." The (newly returned) crow went to the other nest and
said to the other crow, "I've come after my children." "Did you remember
your children? I shall not return them to you for I have brought them up."
"But I was the one who laid the eggs. I made them in the nest." "I suppose
it didn't hurt your children to leave them alone all this time. I cared for
them. I won't give them up." "I will have them back." "I won't give them
up." "I will have the judge settle this between us." "All right, we'll see
who will get back these little ones." "I won't ask here. I will ask way
across to the south where the king is."
She went off crying. The little crows that she had hatched did not want to
go back to her, so they stayed with the mother who had brought them up. The
mother crow went off and flew south. She got to the king's house and there
was a soldier outside. "Do you want the king?" he asked. "Yes." So the
soldier said to the king, "King, they want you out-doors." The king said to
her, "Who are you?" "I am Crow." "What is it?" "I am bringing suit. Another
crow has taken away my children." "Is that so?" The King brought her inside.
As she went in, they told a soldier outside to go for the other crow and all
the children. He brought them into the king's house and told them to sit in
a row. The king said, "You are ready now. Here are the children of both; it
is your turn to answer whatever I ask." He said to the little crows, "Which
is your mother?" The little crows said, "This is our mother." The mother
that had left her children spoke up and said, "She took them from my nest
when I was away hunting." Her two little crows said, "We don't know her as
our mother. This is the only mother we know. She fed us and brought us up.
She is our mother. It was just yesterday this (stranger) crow came back. She
came to get us and wanted to take us to her nest. We don't know her as our
mother. This mother that came with us brought us up. We know her as our
mother." So the crow took the two little crows away and kept them as her own
children.
Footnotes:
[1]This judgment would hold good in human society too. If a mother neglects
her child and another takes him in, even it the mother comes back and claims
him she would not be likely to get him back.
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