Week 10 Reading: Tejas Legends, Part A

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The Plant That Grows in Trees:
  • mistletoe=grows on trees--only birds can reach berries
  • berries only in summer and winter
  • it is only in trees because a bird once put it there out of pity
  • used to grow on bush--thunderbird ate berries because it was hungry
  • bird thanked the bush--mistletoe said he was going to die soon because green year round and berries only in winter so the animals will chew on branches and he will die
  • thunderbird took mistletoe to tree so it won't get eaten
The Woodpecker's Stumpy Tail:
  • woodpecker has stumpy tail due to fish biting it off
  • spring flood was coming--frogs knew it and told Indians
  • no one listened, frog tried to yell louder but they just laughed
  • other birds listened and flew out of the tree except for woodpecker
  • storm started and washed Indians away
  • woodpecker could not see to fly all night--fluttered from tree to tree
  • long tail was still under water--fish bit it off

(Photo of woodpecker from Wikipedia)

The Cloud That Was Lost:
  • clouds go to sleep on tops of mountain peaks--become tired while waiting for rain
  • wind blows them, bump into another, sun makes them hot
  • like it when the sun goes down--float to mountain tops and curl among trees until morning (fog)
  • one cloud sailed away from siblings--got lost and the sun went down and was still lost
  • cloud rained from crying
  • got sleepy so it stretched out on flat country--flowers liked his colors and began to drink him until he was gone
  • morning=only flowers with color (wild phlox=look like evening clouds)
Grandmother River's Trick:
  • fish had grandmother=river--in danger of being eaten by garfish
  • garfish=long and slim--catch little fish without trouble
  • grandmother river did not like garfish--liked small fish--played a trick on big, hungry fish
  • called down big rain cloud to flood river--grew larger and larger til overflew to land
  • garfish tried to go and eat bushes and bugs, but then the river dried up on land and the garfish were in a pool by themselves
  • tried leaping in air but couldn't get away
  • little fish were safe
Bibliography: When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends retold by Florence Stratton and illustrated by Berniece Burrough (1936).

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