"The Maiden who Loved the Star"
(Photo from Wikipedia)
“The Maiden Who Loved a Star,” is a love story between an
Indian girl and a star dweller. She snuck off to the desert every night to see
him. She was sad he was out of reach so a witch offered to help her. She told
the girl to drink a potion she had made and the girl turned in a shrub. The sky youth saw what happened and he reached
out for her. He reached out so far he fell down and was changed into a purple
blossom while the star broke into pits and sprinkled over her. Today, they are
known as purple sage.
“Old Quanah’s Gift” is about a man who made blankets and
people came from all over for his blankets or to watch him work. He made many
blankets but there was one that he worked on for years. People would ask him
why and he wouldn’t answer. One day, he was dying. The blanket was finished and
he told his people the blanket should go to a member of the tribe who has
earned in and be passed on so their people will always strike to be good and
work for the tribe. He died. The people decided he deserved it and because of
this he gave the earth a new flower, the gaillardia (aka blanket flower aka
fire wheels).
“How Sickness Entered the World” was interesting. The tribe
people killed snake only to find out later that they killed the messenger of
the Great Spirit. They thought they could bring the snake back and everything
would be fine, but that wasn’t the case. The snake came back when they were
asleep and laid an aid, each egg held a different illness.
“Why the Irises Hold Hands,” is another tale of how
something came to be and why. “The Pecan Tree’s Best friend” is a story of how
the tree and and birds became friends and
why the birds live in them. “When the Rainbow was Torn” is about a rainbow that
hit a cactus and it’s colors were spread on to the flowers of the cactus. “Paisano,
Hater of Rattlesnakes” is a tale of a bird trying to escape the dangers of the
rattle snake and why he lays in nest and eggs in cactus.
Similar to Part A, these stories explain how and why things came to be. Along with birds though, flowers were also a dominant symbol in this section.
Bibliography. Florence Straton. "When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends. Web source.
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