Week 10 Reading: Tejas Legends, Part A

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).