In Search of Fire
When the world first started, there was no warmth until the Thunder came. The lands were cold and nights were so dark. One day, a great storm brought the Thunder and struck a huge tree on an island and filled it with fire. Smoke rose from the island, so the animals knew it was there, but could not reach it for the water. They held a council to determine who among them could bring the fire back to them.
All of the animals were very eager to volunteer. It seemed that everyone thought they were more than capable of reaching the island and bringing home the fire. All of the birds were there and the council decided one among them should try first, since they could easily fly over to the island.
It was decided that the first to try would be the eagle. He was a very smart and strong bird, so the council agreed he would surely be able to do it. He was the strongest flier among the birds and unmatched in his hunting skills. The council thought that if any bird could retrieve the fire, it would be the eagle. The eagle flew over to the island and searched for the fire, but the smoke was very thick and ashes covered the eagle's head. He flew home to the council, but his head was forever white.
The otter volunteered to try next. He was a very strong swimmer, so there was no doubt that he could reach the island. So off he swam across the water to the island. Once there, though, the flames burned too hot. The otter picked up a coal to carry home, but the otter could not hold it. The coal burned the otter's paws black so he left the island and quickly swam home. His paws remain black to this day.
Next, the little tree frog tried. He was a fairly good swimmer, but his best skills were jumping high and climbing through the trees. He swam quickly over to the little island and climbed the trees. While in the trees looking for a way to bring some fire back, embers rose and some hit the little tree frog, burning black spots into his back and so he fled the island. His back remains spotted to this day.
The red fox came forth and offered her aid. She was the most clever in the council, so they trusted her help. The fox was the best hunter among them and was very quick on her feet. Surely she could bring the fire home. She swam to the island in search of the fire. The fox picked up a branch that burned with red hot flames and began to return. As she was leaving the island, the flames rose and burned her legs, but she continued on and reached the water. She swam back with the fiery branch and gave it to the council. The fox's legs remain blackened for all of time. Since this day, fire has been in the Cherokee lands.
***Author's Note:
The original story, The First Fire, is from Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900). In the original story, The First Fire, the animals gather to decide how they can bring fire back to the lands. First the raven flies over and tries, but the heat burned his feathers black and he flew home. Next, the screech owl tried, but the smoke made his eyes red and they stayed that way. Then the screech owl and the horned owl tried, but the smoke was too much and the ashes made rings around their eyes. The snake decided he would try next, but when he reached the island, the fire was too hot and he darted about to avoid the flames. Then another snake tried to go to the island and climb the trees, but he fell out and became blackened, so he returned. Finally, the water spider went across the water to try. She made a small bowl from her web and put a coal from the fire into her bowl and fastened it to her back. She brought the fire and every since, there has been fire in the lands.
I decided I wanted to keep the same idea of the story, but thought it would be fun to use different animals and explain why they have certain characteristics today. I chose to include some of my favorite animals and I tried to stick to ones that I thought would be found in the Cherokee lands.
All of the animals were very eager to volunteer. It seemed that everyone thought they were more than capable of reaching the island and bringing home the fire. All of the birds were there and the council decided one among them should try first, since they could easily fly over to the island.
It was decided that the first to try would be the eagle. He was a very smart and strong bird, so the council agreed he would surely be able to do it. He was the strongest flier among the birds and unmatched in his hunting skills. The council thought that if any bird could retrieve the fire, it would be the eagle. The eagle flew over to the island and searched for the fire, but the smoke was very thick and ashes covered the eagle's head. He flew home to the council, but his head was forever white.
The otter volunteered to try next. He was a very strong swimmer, so there was no doubt that he could reach the island. So off he swam across the water to the island. Once there, though, the flames burned too hot. The otter picked up a coal to carry home, but the otter could not hold it. The coal burned the otter's paws black so he left the island and quickly swam home. His paws remain black to this day.
Next, the little tree frog tried. He was a fairly good swimmer, but his best skills were jumping high and climbing through the trees. He swam quickly over to the little island and climbed the trees. While in the trees looking for a way to bring some fire back, embers rose and some hit the little tree frog, burning black spots into his back and so he fled the island. His back remains spotted to this day.
Image: Red Fox
The red fox came forth and offered her aid. She was the most clever in the council, so they trusted her help. The fox was the best hunter among them and was very quick on her feet. Surely she could bring the fire home. She swam to the island in search of the fire. The fox picked up a branch that burned with red hot flames and began to return. As she was leaving the island, the flames rose and burned her legs, but she continued on and reached the water. She swam back with the fiery branch and gave it to the council. The fox's legs remain blackened for all of time. Since this day, fire has been in the Cherokee lands.
***Author's Note:
The original story, The First Fire, is from Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900). In the original story, The First Fire, the animals gather to decide how they can bring fire back to the lands. First the raven flies over and tries, but the heat burned his feathers black and he flew home. Next, the screech owl tried, but the smoke made his eyes red and they stayed that way. Then the screech owl and the horned owl tried, but the smoke was too much and the ashes made rings around their eyes. The snake decided he would try next, but when he reached the island, the fire was too hot and he darted about to avoid the flames. Then another snake tried to go to the island and climb the trees, but he fell out and became blackened, so he returned. Finally, the water spider went across the water to try. She made a small bowl from her web and put a coal from the fire into her bowl and fastened it to her back. She brought the fire and every since, there has been fire in the lands.
I decided I wanted to keep the same idea of the story, but thought it would be fun to use different animals and explain why they have certain characteristics today. I chose to include some of my favorite animals and I tried to stick to ones that I thought would be found in the Cherokee lands.
Caitlyn,
ReplyDeleteThis retelling was really great! The way you you have your blog set up, and the word font/size you use makes it very easy to read and enjoyable. I like that you kept the same overall idea and plot but got creative with the different animals. It was fun to read how they all got a few of their characteristics that they have today. Great work!
Wow! What a nice story, Caitlyn! I really love to read origin type stories, so this one was an exciting read. I liked how each animal that was put up to the task failed, receiving defining characteristics for their failure, until the red fox volunteered. The fox was also burned, but continued on anyways. I have noticed a lot of these Native stories are substitutions for explanations for why we have certain animals or for why they look a certain way. Anyways, great job!
ReplyDeleteOoh, I read the original story too! I like the change you made - instead of just birds, snakes, and spiders, you have an eagle, an otter, a frog, and a fox!
ReplyDeleteThe original story was already a sort of "origin story" for various animals' characteristics, so keeping that theme but changing the animals is really neat. I like that the fox, despite being the successful animal, still was affected with blackened legs, since I remember the water spider being unaffected by the fire.
Hi Caitlyn! I really liked your story In Search of Fire. I liked how you made the this story an origin story for why foxes have black feet. It was so cool how when an animal tried and then failed they got to keep a reminder of when they tried to get the fire. It was not only an origin story for why foxes have black feet but also for why tree frogs have black spots and why otters have black paws.
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlyn! I really liked your story and the animals you chose to include in it. I also loved how you gave it animal history -- why certain animals are the way they are. This was a fun inclusion to the retelling of the story! I like how you had the animals interact and told the story smoothly. Great work, good luck in the future!
ReplyDeleteHey Caitlyn! Great job with this story! I always find stories with animals really interesting because they usually have a deeper meaning behind them. I liked how you made it more relatable to yourself and chose animals that are your favorites because a lot of the time, it makes us enjoy the story even more! I also love how unique the animals are and they don't necessary live in the same climate! So cool! Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlyn! I really like this retelling of the story. I find stories that explain why natural things look the way they do interesting, and you did a good job of fitting these explanations to different types of animals than the original.
ReplyDelete