Post by blackcrowheart on Jan 21, 2008 10:22:54 GMT -5
Fish Story - Cherokee
We are often told that the Cherokee man never does woman's work. But this is
not always true. One story tells how the man learned from the fish to do the
work of the home.
A man had been hunting for many days and when he returned home, he found his
family very, very ill. They were so ill his wife could not cook and she
could not tell him what to do for her. He was afraid that his wife and two
children would die if he didn't find out what to do for them. He knew his
wife prepared herbs and plants when they were sick and he knew a little
about the cooking. So, he took some of the meat he had brought from the hunt
and made a simple stew in the cooking pot. He offered a gourd full to his
wife and children.
His wife was too sick to eat the stew and the children became sicker. He was
very worried. He had no close neighbors and he thought he had very little
time before something must be done.
That night he could not sleep, so early in the dark morning he went out to
the river bank to think and worry. "What can I do? What does she do for us?
He worried and thought. Down the river he heard a splash and he saw some
bugs flying around. He knew that meant there was fish in the water. Up the
stream, he saw a mother fish and some babies. Then he saw the father fish
bringing a bug for their breakfast. He watched the fish parents taking care
taking care of the babies. It was a calm and pretty little scene.
He looked down at the hands he had that the fish didn't have and he looked
at the legs that he had that the fish did not have. He remembered that the
Great Creator had given him a mind. So he said to himself, "get up and do
something."
He thought very hard and tried to remember the medicine plants. He stepped
on a plant and recognized the smell as one his wife had used in their stew
when someone felt bad. He took the plant and put a bit of it in the water
with the meat. He fed the broth to his wife and children and before night,
they felt better. Then his wife could tell him more about what could be used
for medicine.
The Cherokee know that the water and land animals have much to teach people
about how to provide for their families.
Reposted with Permission from Brother to Horse
www.manataka.org/page42.html
We are often told that the Cherokee man never does woman's work. But this is
not always true. One story tells how the man learned from the fish to do the
work of the home.
A man had been hunting for many days and when he returned home, he found his
family very, very ill. They were so ill his wife could not cook and she
could not tell him what to do for her. He was afraid that his wife and two
children would die if he didn't find out what to do for them. He knew his
wife prepared herbs and plants when they were sick and he knew a little
about the cooking. So, he took some of the meat he had brought from the hunt
and made a simple stew in the cooking pot. He offered a gourd full to his
wife and children.
His wife was too sick to eat the stew and the children became sicker. He was
very worried. He had no close neighbors and he thought he had very little
time before something must be done.
That night he could not sleep, so early in the dark morning he went out to
the river bank to think and worry. "What can I do? What does she do for us?
He worried and thought. Down the river he heard a splash and he saw some
bugs flying around. He knew that meant there was fish in the water. Up the
stream, he saw a mother fish and some babies. Then he saw the father fish
bringing a bug for their breakfast. He watched the fish parents taking care
taking care of the babies. It was a calm and pretty little scene.
He looked down at the hands he had that the fish didn't have and he looked
at the legs that he had that the fish did not have. He remembered that the
Great Creator had given him a mind. So he said to himself, "get up and do
something."
He thought very hard and tried to remember the medicine plants. He stepped
on a plant and recognized the smell as one his wife had used in their stew
when someone felt bad. He took the plant and put a bit of it in the water
with the meat. He fed the broth to his wife and children and before night,
they felt better. Then his wife could tell him more about what could be used
for medicine.
The Cherokee know that the water and land animals have much to teach people
about how to provide for their families.
Reposted with Permission from Brother to Horse
www.manataka.org/page42.html