Join us at the campfire for tales from around the world, told by storytellers of all backgrounds and creeds. From the heros and heroines of old, let us relearn and rediscover the wisdom of our ancestors. Shhh..the story begins..
The Sun is a woman who lives in the sky vault to the East. Her brother, the Moon, lives in the West. Long ago, Sun's daughter lived directly above the Earth and, every day, as Sun made her long journey across the sky to the West, she would stop at her beloved daughter's house to linger for a little while and maybe share dinner.
In those days, Sun had no love for the people of Earth because they could never look at her without wrinkling their faces or squinting their eyes. Her light was so hot and so bright. "My grandchildren are ugly," Sun told her brother, Moon. "They frown all over their faces when they look at me."
Moon, however, thought the people of Earth were very handsome and beautiful because they always smiled when they saw him in the sky at night. His light was soft and gentle. In time, Sun grew very jealous of Moon.
As Sun's hatred and anger grew, she decided to kill all the people on Earth. Every day, when she came near to her daughter's house, she let her fury burn fiercely. Soon, a great fever spread across the land and the people began to die. Before too long, every family had lost a loved one and the people began to be very afraid that there would shortly be nobody left at all. So, they sought the help of two little men, the twin sons of the Thunder Beings, who lived in the Darkening Land.
The little men told the people of Earth that the only way to save themselves was to kill Sun. Using their potent magic, the little men changed two people into snakes--one a spreading adder and the other a copperhead. Then, they sent the two snakes into the sky to hide at the door of Sun's daughter so they might bite Sun when she came to dinner.
When Sun approached her daughter's house, the spreading adder draw up as though to strike, but the bright hot light of Sun blinded him and he could only spit a yellow slime (as he does to this day when he tries to bite). Sun called him a nasty creature and walked by him into her daughter's house. The adder was ashamed and returned to Earth. After seeing what had happened to the adder, the copperhead slithered away and also returned to Earth.
People continued to perish, so the twin sons of the Thunder Beings were consulted again. This time, the little men used their power to change one man into a rattlesnake and another into the great Uktena, the Spirit Serpent of the Cherokees. The Uktena is large and ferocious with horns on his head. He was so savage that everyone thought he would surely be the one to kill Sun. But the rattlesnake dearly loved his people and was determined to be the one who would save them.
Eagerly, the rattlesnake raced ahead and oiled up outside the door of Sun's daughter. When Sun's daughter opened the door to see if her mother was coming, the rattlesnake struck and bit her. She fell dead in the doorway. Seeing what he had done, the rattlesnake was remorseful and frightened. He did not wait for Sun to arrive but returned to Earth. When the Uktena saw what the rattlesnake had done, he became very angry and immediately followed the rattlesnake to Earth.
Today, the Cherokees honor the rattlesnake, pray to him and do him no harm because he is kind and will never bite unless he is disturbed. But the Uktena's rage grew until he became so fierce and treacherous that no man could so much as look him in the face without members of his family dying. Finally, the people held a great council and decided that the Uktena was too dangerous to live on the land. They dispatched him to the sky vault to live, and he resides there to this very day.
Now, when Sun found the body of her daughter, it broke her heart. She went into her daughter's house and grieved. There she stayed. The people were no longer dying; instead the world was cold and dark. Sun refused to leave her daughter's house so the people went once more to the little men. The twin sons of the Thunder Beings told the people that if they wished to see Sun again, they must bring back her daughter from the Spirit World--the ghost country--in the Darkening Land.
The little men selected seven people to go to the Darkening Land. To each of these, they gave a staff of sourwood, polished and carved. The little men told them that when they came to the Darkening Land, they would find all the spirits of the dead dancing. "When a young woman dances by each of you," said the twins, "one by one, touch her with your staffs and she will fall to the ground in a deep sleep. Then, you must place her in the box and, as quickly as you can, return to your own country. Be very sure not to open the box until you are safely home again."
The little men were adamant. "Remember," they cautioned, "no matter what you hear, no matter what you think, do not open the box until you are home." The seven men took their staffs and the box and traveled seven days and seven nights until they came to the Spirit World. There, they found all the spirits dancing. As a young woman skipped past the seven men, one reached out and touched her with his staff and she turned her head to look at him. As she continued to dance on by, each of the other six men touched her with his staff and she fell to the ground in a deep slumber. The men quickly put her in the box, closed the lid, and started for home.
After a while, the girl awoke and began to plead with them to let her out. "Please," she called. "Please open the box." The men refused to answer and hurried on their way. Soon, she called again. "I'm hungry, please open the box." They did not pause but instead hastened their stride. Shortly, she spoke again, calling for something to drink, but they hurried even faster.
At last, when they were very near their own country, the girl called once more and begged them to raise the lid just a little. "I'm smothering," she wailed. "I'm afraid I will die!" The men were also afraid of this, so they lifted the lid just a little to give her some air. As they did, they heard a faint fluttering sound and felt something brush past them, flying into the thicket. Then, they heard the sweet, piercing call of a bird's song and, looking into the bushes, saw a bird unlike any they had ever seen before.
The feathers were a deep, rich red--as red as Sun herself when she leaves her home in the East in the early moments of Dawn. When the bird turned its head, they saw it looked at them with the eyes of the young woman. They rushed home but when they arrived and threw open the box, it was empty.
If the men had kept to box securely closed, as they had been told to do, they could have brought the young woman home safely. Then perhaps, all loved ones might be brought back from the Spirit World...maybe, maybe not...but to this day, the Redbird is honored as a Daughter of the Sun.
Sun had been overjoyed when the men began their journey but when they came back without her daughter, she mourned anew. She wept until her tears flooded the Earth and the people feared they would drown. So, another council was held, and the most handsome young men and most beautiful young women were sent to sing and dance for Sun so she would stop crying. They danced before her and sang their best songs, but for a long time Sun kept her face covered and would not look at them.
Finally, the drummer quickened his beat and a singer began a song with the melody of the Redbird's call. When Sun heard the people singing of their love for her daughter, she lifted her face from her hands and saw that the people were singing and dancing for her. She put aside her grief and forgave her grandchildren.
Sun returned to her home in the East to resume her daily journey across the sky vault to the West and, to this day, Sun and the people love and honor one another. Now, at noon, when Sun reaches the highest part of the Heavens, she seems to stand very still for just a moment...and the people know that she is remembering the wonderful days when she could linger at the house of her cherished daughter.