stories

The beginning of thunder

by Miwok Indians of Tuolumne county

Bear's sister-in-law, Deer, had two beautiful daughters, called Fawns. Bear was a horrible, wicked woman, and she wanted the Fawns for herself. So this is what she did.

One day she invited Deer to accompany her when she went to pick clover. The two Fawns remained at home. While resting during the day, after having picked much clover, Bear offered to pick out lice from Deer's head. While doing so she watched her chance, took Deer unaware, and bit her neck so hard that she killed her. Then she devoured her, all excepting the liver. This she placed in the bottom of a basket filled with clover, and took it home. She gave the basket of clover to the Fawns to eat.

When they asked where their mother was, she replied, "She will come soon. You know she is always slow and takes her time in coming home." So the Fawns ate the clover, but when they reached the bottom of the basket, they discovered the liver. Then they knew that their aunt had killed their mother. "We had better watch out, or she will kill us too," they said to one another.

They decided to leave without saying anything and go to their grandfather. So the next day when Bear was away they got together all the baskets and awls which belonged to Deer and departed. They left one basket, however, in the house. When Bear returned and found the Fawns missing she hunted for their tracks and set out after them. After she had tracked them a short distance, the basket, left at home, whistled. Bear ran back to the house, thinking the Fawns had returned. But she could not find them and so set out again, following their tracks.

The Fawns, meanwhile, had proceeded on their journey, throwing awls and baskets in different directions. These awls and baskets whistled. Each time Bear thought that the Fawns were whistling, and left the trail in search of them. And each time that Bear was fooled in this manner, she became angrier and angrier. She shouted in her anger. "Those girls are making a fool of me. When I capture them I'll eat them." The awls only whistled in response and Bear ran toward the sound. There was no one there.

Finally, the Fawns, far ahead of Bear, came to the river. On the opposite side they saw Daddy Longlegs. They asked him to stretch his leg across the river so that they might cross safely. They told him that Bear had killed their mother and they were fleeing from her. So when Bear at last came to the river, Daddy Longlegs stretched his leg over again, but when the wicked aunt of the two Fawns, walking on his leg, reached the middle of the river, Daddy Longlegs gave a sudden jump and threw her into the river. But Bear did not drown.

She managed to swim to the shore, where she again started in pursuit of the Fawns. But the Fawns were far ahead of their aunt, and soon reached their grandfather's house. Their grandfather was Lizard. They told him of the terrible fate which had overtaken their mother. "Where is Bear?" he asked them. "She is following us and will soon be here," they replied.

Upon hearing this Lizard threw two large white stones into the fire and heated them. When Bear arrived outside of Lizard's house she could not find an entrance. She asked Lizard how she should enter, and he told her that the only entrance was through the smoke hole, so she must climb on the roof and enter that way. He also told her that when she entered she must close her eyes tightly and open wide her mouth. Bear did as she was instructed, for she was very anxious to get the two Fawns, whom Lizard had told her were in his house. But as Bear entered, eyes closed and mouth open, Lizard took the red hot stones from the fire and thrust them down her throat. Bear rolled from the top of Lizard's house dead.

Lizard then skinned her and dressed her hide, after which he cut it in two pieces, one large and one small. The larger piece he gave to the older Fawn, the smaller piece to the younger. Then Lizard instructed the girls to run about and see what kind of noise was made by Bear's skin. The girls proceeded to run around, the skins making all kinds of loud noises. Lizard, watching them, laughed and said to himself, "The girls are all right. They are Thunders. I think I had better send them up to the sky."

When the Fawns came to Lizard to tell him that they were going to return home, he said, "Do not go home. I have a good place for you. I shall send you to the sky." So the girls went up to the sky. There Lizard could hear them running about. Their aunt's skin, which they had kept, makes the loud noises, that we call thunder. When the Fawn girls ran around in the sky Rain and Hail fell.

So now whenever the girls (Thunders, as Lizard called them) run around above, rain begins to fall.

The little mice

Once upon a time a prairie mouse busied herself all fall storing away a cache of beans. Every morning she was out early with her empty cast-off snakeskin, which she filled with ground beans and dragged home with her teeth. The little mouse had a cousin who was fond of dancing and talk, but who did not like to work. She was not careful to get her cache of beans and the season was already well gone before she thought to bestir herself. When she came to realize her need, she found she had no packing bag. So she went to her hardworking cousin and said:

“Cousin, I have no beans stored for winter and the season is nearly gone. But I have no snakeskin to gather the beans in. Will you lend me one?”

“But why have you no packing bag? Where were you in the moon when the snakes cast off their skins?” “I was here.” “What were you doing?” “I was busy talking and dancing.” “ And now you are punished,” said the other. “It is always so with the lazy, careless people. But I will let you have the snakeskin. And now go, and by hard work and industry, try to recover your wasted time.”

Moral: Get your work done before you play, or hire someone to gather your beans for you.

papago

The Papago {pah’-puh-goh} Indians a brief history

The Papago are north American Indians believed to be descendants of the prehistoric Hohokam culture. The Papago speak dialects of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic family. Papago means "bean-eating people". The Papago learned to use all available water, conserving the overflow from summer storms in primitive reservoirs, or charcos, and growing maize, beans, and squash. The charcos would be dry by harvest time, and the Papago had to migrate to nearby mountains, where they camped close to springs. Under these difficult conditions they were able to raise about 25 percent of their food, supplementing their crops with rabbits and edible wild plants. Their principal ceremony is the July rainmaking ritual, at which they drink wine made from the fruit of the saguaro cactus. Although Spanish missionaries came to the area in the late 17th century, the Papago remained remote and seldom visited by whites until recent decades. Consequently, they have retained far more of their native culture than have the Pima. The Papago of southern Arizona are famous for their coiled basketry. The Papago on or near the reservation numbered about 16,500 in 1989, but many members have moved from the reservation in search of employment. The world's biggest solar telescope, is situated on the Papago Indian Reservation, near Tucson

Papago {go-PA-pa-go} Indians a recent history

The Papago are north American Indians of the Sioux Nation closely related to the Havasupai, Navajo, Mojave, Hopi, Zuni and Apache. The Papago speak dialects of the Can-twhipme linguistic family. Papago means "race-winning people". The Papago became expert wood carvers and fashioned long wooden rails and impressive totem poles. The wood carving resulted in a special totem pole that they used to slide down the long wooden rails. The Papago’s principal ceremony is the sacred December pinewood derby ritual, at which they race their totem poles against other tribes and serve hotdogs and drinks to all. The Papago became fierce warriors and were almost unbeatable at their craft. The Papago tribe of the Sioux Nation currently numbers twenty one.

Submitted by Running Fox (Cory Wilson)

Grizzly Bear (Tyler Wilson)

Grizzly Fox (Terry Wilson).

The lame warrior and the skeleton

(Arapaho)

In the days before horses, a party of young Arapahos set off on foot one autumn morning in search of wild game in the western mountains. They carried heavy packs of food and spare moccasins, and one day as they were crossing the rocky bed of a shallow stream a young warrior felt a sudden sharp pain in his ankle. The ankle swelled and the pain grew worse until they pitched camp that night

Next morning the warrior's ankle was swollen so badly that it was impossible for him to continue the journey with the others. His companions decided it was best to leave him. They cut young willows and tall grass to make a thatched shelter for him, and after the shelter was finished they collected a pile of dry wood so that he could keep a fire burning.

"When your ankle get well," they told him, "don't try to follow us. Go back to our village, and await our return."

After several lonely days, the lame warrior tested his ankle, but it was still too painful to walk upon. And then one night a heavy snowstorm fell, virtually imprisoning him in the shelter. Because he had been unable to kill any wild game, his food supply was almost gone.

Late one afternoon he looked out and saw a large herd of buffalo rooting in the snow for grass quite close to his shelter. Reaching for his bow and arrow, he shot the fattest one and killed it. He then crawled out of the shelter to the buffalo, skinned it, and brought in the meat. After preparing a bed of coals, he placed a section of ribs in the fire for roasting.

Night had fallen by the time the ribs were cooked, and just as the lame warrior was reaching for a piece to eat, he heard foot-steps crunching on the frozen snow. The steps came nearer and nearer to the closed flap of the shelter. "Who can that be?" he said to himself. "I am here alone and unable to run, but I shall defend myself if need be." He reached for his bow and arrow. A moment later the flap opened and a skeleton clothed in a tanned robe stood there looking down at the lame warrior.

The robe was pinned tight at the neck so that only the skull was visible above and skeleton feet below. Frightened by this ghost, the warrior turned his eyes away from it. "You must not be frightened of me," the skeleton said in a hoarse voice. "I have taken pity on you. Now you must take pity on me. Give me a piece of those roast ribs to eat, for I am very hungry." Still very much alarmed by the presence of this unexpected visitor, the warrior offered a large piece of meat to an extended bony hand. He was astonished to see the skeleton chew the food with its bared teeth and swallow it.

"It is I who gave you the pain in your ankle," said the skeleton. "It was I who caused your ankle to swell so that you could not continue on the hunt. If you had gone on with your companions you would have been killed. The day they left you here, an enemy war party made a charge upon them, and they were all killed. I am the one who saved your life."

Again the skeleton's bony hand reached out, this time to rub the warrior's ankle. The pain and welling vanished at once. "Now you can walk again," the ghost said. "Your enemies are all around, bit if you will follow me I can lead you safely back to your village."

At dawn they left the shelter and started off across the snow, the skeleton leading the way. They walked through deep woods, along icy streams, and over high hills. Late in the afternoon the skeleton led the warrior up a steep ridge. When the warrior reached the summit, the ghost had vanished, but down in the valley below he could see the smokes of teepees in his Arapaho village

the sioux who wrestled with a ghost

A young Sioux warrior went out alone to live with the animals and birds for a time. He was seeking a vision from Wakantanka, the Great Mystery, so that he would know what direction to take in life. After meeting and overcoming many difficulties he reached a wilderness. One day as he was walking along through a forest he heard a voice. He searched all around, but could find nothing but an owl sitting in a tree.

When night came on, he made a fire and sat down to warm himself. Suddenly he heard the voice again, singing very loudly. The Sioux shouted to the singer, but no one replied, and after a while the sound died away. The only food the Sioux had was a small pouch of wasna, or buffalo fat mixed with dried meat and wild cherries. He was reaching for the pouch when the sound of singing came again, eve louder than before, and when the Sioux looked up he saw a ghost standing on the edge of the firelight.

"I want some of your food," the ghost said.

"I have nothing whatever," the young warrior replied.

"Not so," said the ghost. "I know that you have some wasna."

"All right, I will share it with you."

After they had eaten some of the wasna, the Sioux filled his pipe with tobacco and offered it to the ghost. When the ghost reached for the stem, the young man saw that the hand had no flesh, being nothing by bones. At the same time the ghost's robe dropped from its shoulders to its waist so that all its ribs were visible, there being no flesh on them. Although the ghost did not open its teeth as it smoked, the smoke was pouring out through its ribs.

When it had finished smoking, the ghost said to the Sioux: "We must wrestle each other. If you can throw me, I will make you rich in horses."

As the young man owned no horses, he agreed to wrestle the ghost, but before beginning he gathered a pile of brush for his fire so as to light up the forest. While he was doing this the ghost rushed upon him, seizing him with its bony hands and squeezing him most painfully. He tried to push the ghost away, but its legs were very powerful.

After a time, the Sioux noticed that when the wrestled near the fire, the ghost became weak, but the farther they moved away from the fire the stronger the ghost became. As the fire burned lower and lower, the strength of the ghost increased. The young man struggled harder, but the ghost's bones grew tighter around him. After a desperate effort he managed to get near enough to the fire to kick a piece of dry wood into the coals.

As soon as the fire blazed up, the ghost fell upon the ground as though it were coming to pieces. "You have won," the ghost said hoarsely. "Now follow me."

Just as dawn was breaking, the ghost led the Sioux out through the woods into a valley filled with hundreds of horses. The young man roped as many as he could lead back to his village. He never saw the ghost again, but after that he believed in ghosts and whatever they might have to say to people.

the big toe

A boy was digging at the edge of the garden when he saw a big toe. He tried to pick it up, but it was stuck to something. So he gave it a good hard jerk, and it came off in his hand. Then he heard something groan and scamper away.

The boy took the toe into the kitchen and showed it to his mother. "It looks nice and plump," she said. "I'll put it in the soup, and we'll have it for supper." That night his father carved the toe into three pieces, and they each had a piece. Then they did the dishes, and when it got dark they went to bed.

The boy fell asleep almost at once. But in the middle of the night, a sound awakened him. It was something out in the street. It was a voice, and it was calling to him.

"Where is my to-o-o-o-e? " it groaned.

When the boy heard that, he got very scared. But he thought, "It doesn't know where I am, It will never find me." Then he heard the voice once more. Only now it was closer.

"Where is my to-o-o-o-e? " it groaned.

The boy pulled the blankets over his head and closed his eyes. I'll go to sleep," he thought. "When I wake up it will be gone." But soon he heard the back door open, and again he heard the voice.

"Where is my to-o-o-o-e? " it groaned.

Then the boy heard footsteps move through the kitchen into the dining room, into the living room, in the front hall. Then slowly they climbed the stairs. Closer and closer they came. Soon they were in the upstairs hall. Now they were outside his door.

"Where is my to-o-o-o-e? " the voice groaned.

His door opened. Shaking with fear, he listened as the footsteps slowly moved through the dark toward his bed. Then they stopped.

"Where is my to-o-o-o-e? " the voice groaned.

(At this point, pause. Then jump at the person next to you and shout:)

YOU'VE GOT IT!

the walk

My uncle was walking down a lonely dirt road one day. He came upon a man who also was walking down that road. The man looked at my uncle, and my uncle looked at the man. The man was scared of my uncle, and my uncle was scared of that man.

But they kept on walking, and it began to get dark. The man looked at my uncle, and my uncle looked at the man. The man was very scared of my uncle, and my uncle was very scared of that man.

But they kept on walking, and they came to a big woods. It was getting darker. The man looked at my uncle, and my uncle looked at the man. The man was really scared of my uncle, and my uncle was really scared of that man.

But they kept on walking, and deep down into the woods they went. It was getting darker. The man looked at my uncle, and my uncle looked at the man. The man was terribly scared of my uncle, and my uncle was terribly scared of -

(Now SCREAM "Everything"!)

the attic

A man named Rupert lived with his dog in a house deep in the woods. Rupert was a hunter and a trapper. The dog was a big German shepherd named Sam. Rupert had raised Sam from a pup. Almost every morning Rupert went hunting, and Sam stayed behind and guarded this house. One morning, as Rupert was checking his traps, he got the feeling that something was wrong at home.

He hurried back as fast as he could, but when he got there he found that Sam was missing. He searched the house and the woods nearby, but Sam was nowhere to be seen. He called and he called, but the dog did not answer. For days Rupert looked for Sam, but he could find no trace of him.

Finally he gave up and went back to his work. But one morning he heard something moving in the attic. He picked up his gun. Then he thought, "I'd better be quiet about this." So he took off his boots. And in his bare feet he began to climb the attic stairs. He slowly took one step - then another - then another, until at last he reached the attic door.

He stood outside listening, but he didn't hear a thing. Then he opened the door, and -

(Now SCREAM!)

(At this pint, the storyteller stops, as if he has finished. Then usually somebody will ask, "Why did Rupert scream?"

The storyteller replies, "You'd scream too if you stepped on a nail in your bare feet.")

The viper

A widow lived alone on the top floor of an apartment house. One morning her telephone rang.

"Hello," she said. "This is the viper," a man said. "I'm coming up." "Somebody is fooling around," she thought, and hung up.

A half-hour later the telephone rang again. It was the same man. "It's the viper," he said, "I'll be up soon." The widow didn't know what to think, but she was getting frightened.

Once more the telephone rang. Again it was the viper. "I'm coming up now," he said.

She quickly called the police. They said they would be right over. When the doorbell rang, she sighed with relief. "They are here!" she thought.

But when she opened the door, there stood a little old man with a bucket and a cloth. "I am the viper," he said. "I vish to vash and vipe the windows."

the dark attic

At the end of a long, dark road is a long, dark path.

At the end of the long ,dark path is a lone, dark house.

And the lone, dark house has a single, dark door.

Behind the single, dark door is a long, dark hall.

At the end of the long, dark hall are some tall, dark stairs.

At the top of the tall, dark stairs is a long dark balcony.

At the end of the long, dark balcony is a big dark room.

In the big dark room is a big dark closet.

In the big dark closet is a big, dark door.

Behind the big dark door are some steep, dark stairs.

At the top of the steep, dark stairs was a dark, damp attic.

In the dark, damp attic was a big, dark chest.

In the big, dark chest was a small, dark box.

And in the small, dark box was a pink jellybean

Red sloppity lips

A young man was driving along and old road and had become lost. He was trying to find his way back to a gas station to get directions when he ran out of gas. So he grabbed his gas can and began to walk. He had been walking for half an hour without seeing a single other car passing when it began to rain. He pulled his jacket up over his head to help keep the rain away, but it began to rain harder. Then it began to thunder and lightening, so he knew that he must find shelter quickly. Up ahead he saw an old abandoned house, so he ran onto the porch. Certainly nobody would mind. But the wind began to blow and blew the door right open. The wind blew so hard, that it blew the rain onto the porch soaking the man even more. So he went inside to get out of the rain. The house was very large and though it was abandoned, dirty, full of cob-webs and in need of some repair it kept the man dry.

A big gust of wind blew in the door and then back out again, slamming the door shut. The man tried to open the door, but the rain had caused the door to swell, wedging it in the door frame when it slammed. He could not open it.

Just then, he heard a voice call out "Do you know what I do with my red sloppity lips and my long green fingers?" Next to the door was a large, green hairy monster with huge red lips, pointed fangs and gangly legs & arms with very long fingernails. The man panicked and ran down the hall. The monster followed.

Again, he heard the monster say "Do you know what I do with my red sloppity lips and my long green fingers?" as he followed him down the hall. The man ran up some stairs at the end of the hall. And the monster pursued him.

The monster was getting closer, so he heard the monster say louder "Do you know what I do with my red sloppity lips and my long green fingers?". The man ran away from the monster down the hall at the top of the stairs and into a room at the end of the hall, closing the door behind him. But he heard loud footsteps coming down the hall. And he had run into a room with no windows, so he hid in the closet.

The bedroom door flew open and again he heard the monster say even louder "Do you know what I do with my red sloppity lips and my long green fingers?" The man tucked himself into a corner of the closet and hid as best as he could.

The closet door opened wide and the huge hairy monster stood before him. Again, so loud that it hurt the mans ears the monster once again said "Do you know what I do with my red sloppity lips and my long green fingers?"

The man shook as he answered with fear in a quiet voice "no".

The monster smiled and said "Then I'll show you."

BLBLBLBLBLBLBLBL (Put your fingers to your lips and strum them across your lips while you make a "b" sound. Cross your eyes when you do this if you can. This should result in the desired silly effect.)

tag, you're it

Two children about your age were out playing in the woods behind their house one cold day. They played and played, running around, playing tag, climbing trees. The did not notice it, but they kept wandering further and further from their house. By the time they began to get hungry, they were very lost. They searched and wandered through the woods, looking for something that looked familiar, but they could see nothing that they recognized. It began to get very cold and the children realized that they needed to find shelter or they would freeze.

As the wandered, the came upon a cave. They looked into the cave and it seemed very dark. They realized they must go into the cave or freeze. Gathering up their courage, they went into the cave. They huddled together just inside the cave opening, but the wind began to blow into the cave so they went a little deeper into the cave to escape the wind.

That's when they noticed the monster: big and black, looking like a giant lizard but oozing slime from head to foot. It stood upright on its hind legs and began to walk toward the children, slowly. The children ran into the back of the cave, barely able to see where they were going. And slowly, plodding after them, came the monster. The children ran back further into the cave, able to barely see from a hole in the cave far, far above them. But they came to the end of the cave. And slowly the monster came towards them, step by step. As it came closer, it stretched out one of it's arms and stuck out a menacing claw. The children were filled with fear, too afraid to move.

The monster came closer and closer until it was close enough to strike. Then it took the claw and with a single swift movement of it's arm, tapped one of the boys.

"Tag, you're it!"

(this works better if you tag one of the kids listening to the story.)

Misc. Stories	Scary Stories	Silly Stories
The Beginning of Thunder	The Sioux who wrestled with a Ghost	Tag, You're It
The Little Mice	Once Bitten	Red Sloppity Lips
Spirit Beads	The Big Toe	The Dark Attic
Papago	The Walk	The Viper
	The Attic
	The Lame Warrior and the Skeleton	End/Print Page

The beginning of thunder

The little mice

spirit beads

papago

The lame warrior and the skeleton

the sioux who wrestled with a ghost

the walk

the attic

once bitten

The viper

the dark attic

Red sloppity lips

tag, you're it