By Dr. Jeanette Weaskus
For Identity FA16 students. Keep the tale lights burnin’ yo’.
And it was in the long ago time that Turkey was known amongst all his animal brothers and sisters as the most handsome and strongest of Creator’s sons.
Turkey often admired himself by looking into the calm water at his own reflection and enjoyed walking in front of the women so as to feel good about his fine looks as they blushed and swooned over him. It came about as he was showing off in front of the women that he noticed one who wasn’t paying any attention to him.
“This cannot be,” he said to himself, “I am so beautiful that I cannot be ignored.”
Turkey w
alked several times by the small brown woman, but he may as well have been invisible for she did not even know he was there.
“Why do you not look upon my magnificent beauty?” Turkey demanded of her.
“You can see that I am busy washing my husband’s clothes and I do not have time for you,” she said and went back to her work.
Now Turkey was insulted by not having the attention of this one woman and began to follow her around relentlessly. One day her husband, Coyote, found Turkey bothering his wife.
“Brother why do you follow my wife when you have crowds of maidens who want you?” Coyote asked.
Turkey could not answer this but he did not leave Coyote’s wife alone, in fact it was the next day that he stole her and flew away far up into the sky. She was terribly frightened and screamed out to the Creator, the Great Maker of Us All for help. It was at this time that Coyote’s wife was able to bite Turkey’s leg with her sharp teeth. Turkey cried out in pain and opened his claws.
Coyote’s wife screamed and fell to the Earth. Creator came to see why Coyote’s wife was screaming and saw what Turkey had done.
“You have stolen your brother’s wife and dropped her from the sky, for this I will punish you,” the Creator told Turkey.
And from that day on Turkey was not beautiful or strong anymore. He was punished by losing his power to fly and was also made to taste very delicious. And it is true that Coyote’s wife did not want Turkey, but on certain human holidays, we want Turkey.