Stories as told by a Cherokee
by: Gail Lang

The following are traditional Cherokee stories handed down from one generation to the next. The storyteller wants to remain anonymous as these stories are not his own; they belong to the people and are shared among all.

Creation

Many, many moons ago, in the beginning of time, the earth was all water. There was no land. All the four-leggeds, all the animals, all the winged-ones, lived up in the sky on the clouds. They were waiting for the land to dry, but it would not dry. They would send one animal but he would come back unable to find dry land. The animals would regularly check the water below. Finally, after a dog had looked and reported back that it was still wet, they sent the water beetle. The water beetle dove into the water, grabbed a handful of mud at the bottom, brought it up and placed it on top of the water; and it started to dry, started to build land. He brought more and more; and still they waited for it to dry, still they waited and waited.

Finally, they sent grandfather buzzard, the mighty buzzard, down and the land was almost dry. As the buzzard flew, he'd fly down close to the land; and every time he would flap his mighty wings, he would form a mountain and a valley. That's why the Cherokee land has mountains and valleys in it today. All the animals came down and settled on the earth.

After they did, they realized they had no light. So they called to Grandfather and asked would he give them light, and he did. He brought to them the sun. He put the sun down right by the ground, and it was too hot for the animals. So they pushed and pushed, till finally they got it far enough out that it would not burn all the time; but it was still so hot that the crawfish was baked. That's why, if you look at him today, he is red from the sun being too close.

Finally, they got the sun far enough out so it would not burn and we would have night. And Grandfather told them, "Now that I have done this for you, I ask that all the four-legged, and all the animals, and all the plants stay awake for seven days and for seven nights." This is why today, when a warrior goes to cross his manhood, he fasts and sweats for seven days.

All the animals and all the plants fell asleep except for some. The owl stayed awake, and that's why he has vision to hunt at night now. The plants, the Douglas fir, the cedar, the pine, and a few others stayed awake for seven nights and for seven days. That's why only these, among all the plants, are allowed to stay green all the year round. The other plants fell asleep and so must sleep part of every year.

Such was the beginning of our lands as told by a Cherokee grandmother to her grandson.

How We Got Fire

For many moons we did not have fire. People on the other side of the earth, they had fire; and the four-leggeds knew it. They held a council to determine how to obtain the fire. The first one to volunteer to go and bring back the fire was the great buzzard. He flew halfway across the earth, swooped down into the other's camp and, with a mighty claw, grabbed up a handful of the fire. As he was flying away, he hid it in the feathers on the back of his head. The fire was too hot and burned his feathers off. That's why, when you see the buzzard today, you'll see he has no feathers there. That's why he's bald. So the buzzard returned to camp.

Now the possum decided it was his turn to try. He would go and bring back the fire for his people. "I can sneak into camp," he thought. "I can get the fire." So he traveled halfway across the earth, waited till nightfall, sneaked into the camp, grabbed some of the fire and hid it in his tail. Before he could leave, the fire burned off all the fur on his tail. That's why the possum has no fur on his tail now. He used to have such a beautiful furry tail! He went back to camp, and they all thought that it was lost. They could not do this. They could not get the fire. But all the while, the small grandmother spider kept saying, "I can do this. I know I can!" Everyone laughed at her, but still the small spider kept insisting that she could do it! Still she wanted her chance to try! So they all agreed to let her try. First, she dug up some clay and made a pot, then began spinning her web. Halfway around the world she traveled, spinning her web and carrying her pot, all the way to the other's camp. She waited till night and sneaked into their camp. She took a bit of their fire, put it into the clay pot, then carried it back to their side of the earth to share with her people. That's how we got fire, and that's also the beginning of how the Cherokee people learned pottery making.

How the Bluebird and Coyote Got Their Color

The bluebird is very blue, as blue as a brilliant lake. Many moons ago the bluebird used to be white. One day he was flying and came upon a lake and saw how blue and beautiful it was. He stopped and asked Grandfather, "Grandfather, can I be as blue as that lake?" So Grandfather gave him a song to sing. He told him what to do. Every morning for five mornings the bluebird would dive down into the lake singing the song taught to him by Grandfather then come back up. The whole time he was doing this the coyote was watching him. On the fifth day, the bluebird dove into the lake, and when he came back out, he was as blue as he is today.

The coyote saw this and thought to himself, "Hmmmm... I'd like to be as blue as that bluebird." So he said to the bluebird, "Teach me your song." So every morning for the next five days the coyote would take a bath and sing the song from Grandfather. And on the fifth day the coyote came out and was just as blue as the bluebird. The coyote looked at himself in the reflection of the water and thought, "My, I'm the prettiest coyote there is. There is none prettier than me." So he strutted down the road, not unlike a peacock, looking around to make sure all the other animals could see him and see how truly beautiful was his color. He was so intent on having everyone know how colorful and beautiful he was that he paid no attention to where he was going in the road. He ran into a tree, fell down into a dirt road, rolled around and came up. That's why, when you look today, he's brown and dirty. That's how he got the color of his fur.

Some universal tales have variations shared worldwide. Stories carry lessons for young and old. Stories do not always represent reality so much as they teach lessons, values and morals. The following is a very old story told by Cherokee, Seneca, Hindu, and many other people all around the world.

The Little Boy and The Rattlesnake

The little boy was walking down a path and he came across a rattlesnake. The rattlesnake was getting old. He asked, "Please little boy, can you take me to the top of the mountain? I hope to see the sunset one last time before I die." The little boy answered "No Mr. Rattlesnake. If I pick you up, you'll bite me and I'll die." The rattlesnake said, "No, I promise. I won't bite you. Just please take me up to the mountain." The little boy thought about it and finally picked up that rattlesnake and took it close to his chest and carried it up to the top of the mountain.

They sat there and watched the sunset together. It was so beautiful. Then after sunset the rattlesnake turned to the little boy and asked, "Can I go home now? I am tired, and I am old." The little boy picked up the rattlesnake and again took it to his chest and held it tightly and safely. He came all the way down the mountain holding the snake carefully and took it to his home to give him some food and a place to sleep. The next day the rattlesnake turned to the boy and asked, "Please little boy, will you take me back to my home now? It is time for me to leave this world, and I would like to be at my home now." The little boy felt he had been safe all this time and the snake had kept his word, so he would take it home as asked.

He carefully picked up the snake, took it close to his chest, and carried him back to the woods, to his home to die. Just before he laid the rattlesnake down, the rattlesnake turned and bit him in the chest. The little boy cried out and threw the snake upon the ground. "Mr. Snake, why did you do that? Now I will surely die!" The rattlesnake looked up at him and grinned, "You knew what I was when you picked me up."