Native American Folktale

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Retold by The Legendary Connection

TLC#00066

Long before humans lived on Earth, while Creator was still creating the Earth, the animals did not know what winter was. The animals had never seen snow, or ice, or knew the cold touch of a winter’s wind. One day the animals were startled to see small white flakes falling from the sky.

They were confused and thought the clouds were starting to fall. Soon they realized that Creator had made something new. They were so as they tried to catch the tiny flakes in their paws and on their tongues. But the flakes would quickly melt away. Creator had just made snow and he loved making the snow and sent it to Earth for all the animals to play in.

At first, the animals loved playing in the snow. They made snow animals, rolled around in the snow, and had the first snowball fight. Everyone was laughing and playing around as the snow quietly grew deeper and deeper and the air grew colder and colder. Still they played on. Soon the littlest animals began to disappear in the snow, Mouse had to burrow through the snow. The snow was so high that only Rabbit’s ears could be seen. The little ones started to shiver from the cold and had to climb on to the back of the larger animals to get out of the snow.

Soon the animals had another problem. They started to get hungry, and when they looked around all the grass and vegetation was covered by the snow. They started to get worried because they were now cold and hungry, but the snow kept falling and growing deeper. The air grew colder and colder until they had to seek shelter in a cave.

So all the animals gathered into the cave and they held a council meeting. “Some one has to go to Creator and tell him to uncreate the snow. If this keeps snowing like this we will all die!” said the wise old owl.

“Yes! Yes!” Agreed the other animals. “But who should we send who can go to where Creator lives?”

“What about Bear?” piped up Rabbit. “Bear is strong and brave. I am sure he can make it to the place where Creator lives.”

“But look at him,” cried Deer. “The cold is making him fall asleep. If we send him then he will only get part way there before he falls asleep completely. What about Raccoon? He is crafty and can get into places humans can’t go.”

“But Raccon cannot fly!” You have to travel beyond the moon, beyond the sun, all the way to the place the stars dwell, before you can get to Creator.” answered Fox.

“What about Owl?” suggested the mouse. “She is wise and can fly to Creator.”

“But Owl only flies at night and will get confused when the sun comes out,” replied Mouse.

“I’ll do it.” said a beautiful voice. Everyone turned to the entrance of the cave and saw the most beautiful bird in the world, Rainbow Crow. Rainbow Crow’s feathers and singing voice were unmatched by all the birds on Earth.

“I’ll fly to Creator and ask him to uncreate the snow,” said Rainbow Crow.

“Yes! You are perfect!” shouted the other animals.

So Rainbow Crow set out right away. He flew higher than the mountains. He flew higher than the moon. He flew higher than the sun. He flew all the way to the place where the stars dwell. There he saw Creator. Creator was deep in thought, thinking about what he wanted to make next.

“Creator, Creator! We need your help,” shouted Rainbow Crow. “We need you to uncreate the snow so we don’t all freeze and die!”

But Creator did not hear him, he was too busy thinking of what to create next. Again Rainbow Crow shouted and again Creator did not hear him. So Rainbow Crow began to dance and sing. He danced his most beautiful dances, and he sang his most beautiful song. Finally, Creator looked up and saw Rainbow Crow singing and dancing. Creator was delighted and asked what Rainbow Crow needed.

“Please uncreate the snow so we don’t freeze.” Creator then explained that once something was created it could not be uncreated, but he would send Snow to the mountains to spend half the year. "I will create a way for you to stay warm and survive the winter while you wait for Snow to leave.” And with that Creator reached into the sun and pulled out a flaming log.

“Hurry and fly home with this. If you make it back to the ground before the fire burns out, you will always have fire to keep you warm.”

So Rainbow Crow thanked Creator and flew as fast as he could back to Earth. At first, flying was uncomfortable as the log was heavy, but the longer Rainbow Crow flew the more uncomfortable he became. The fire burned the log down and the fire got closer and closer to Rainbow Crow. Soon his feathers started to turn black from the heat. The smoke started to fill his eyes and lungs. But he kept on flying. Just when Rainbow Crow thought he would not make it, he saw the cave with all the animals waiting for him.

Rainbow Crow made it back to Earth just in time. All the animals were so happy, everyone cheered. Everyone was happy except Rainbow Crow. While he was flying the heat from the fire turned his feathers black and the smoke clogged up his voice and made it harsh and unpleasant to listen to. Creator saw this and came down to Rainbow Crow and told him that he would be honored for his sacrifice. No one would keep him as a pet for his lack of beauty and singing voice, no one would hunt him because smoke made him taste bad. But he would always carry who he was with him. In the sun his feathers shine and show him for who he really is, Rainbow Crow.

Source: The origin of this story has been attributed to Bill "Whippoorwill" Thompson, principal chief of the Eastern Lenapé Nations, but it may ultimately derive from a Tsalagi [Cherokee] story. It is not clear where the tale first came from, but it is not considered a traditional Lenape Tale. The crow does not hold any special place in Lenape traditions and many Lenape do not see it as a Lenape tale.

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