Reading Notes: Tales of the North American Indians, Part A

Woods by unsplash

The Jealous Uncle starts off with a gruesome sounding murder. He only kills boys. Child had to pretend to be a girl, but accidentally exposed himself. The uncle took him to the woods… and the boy got trapped in between wedges of wood. He escaped through sour berries and surprised the uncle with not dying. There is something demonically wrong with this uncle, oh my goodness.

Next day, the boy had to meet the uncle again. They went to get some duck eggs. The uncle pushed him to his supposed death trap. The third day, they went to fetch clams. I still don’t understand why this uncle is trying so hard to kill his nephew.

After this, Unnatural Uncle made a box and set him off into the sea. He finally landed on land and two girls appeared before him. They took them to the village chief, their father. The boy provided a whale to the land, but selfish uncle kept it for himself and wouldn’t give to the boy’s parents. He took revenge in a civil way; dropped the uncle into the ocean.

Grouse wasn’t appreciated, and received no good pieces of seal. So he tried to trick them into thinking a wooden one was a real seal? Bluejay wasn’t nearly as interesting as the murderous uncle story right before this.

Granddaughter dug up a stalk and a baby appeared. The baby claimed her as a mother. The old woman took care of him, and the young woman refused to accept this fate. The young man set forth on an adventure and made a few friends in the process.

Animals preyed on humans. Every movement seems to be happening in fours.


Bibliography: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson