Legends from around the world

Story 4

Legends from around the world

Adapted by Cecily Van Kleef

47

The Legend of the Dreamcatcher

Native American Legend

Glossary

hoop: (n.) a circular band or ring of metal or wood. spin: (v.) to make or produce a thread or web from the body using a substance that hardens in the air. feathers: (n.) plural. Light horny structures that cover birds. beads: (n.) plural. A small object of glass, wood, etc. with a hole through it that can be used to put on a string. offerings: (n.) plural. Something offered in devotion. A long time ago, a Lakota leader was sitting on top of a mountain. There, he had a vision. In his vision, Iktomi – the teacher of wisdom – appeared in the form of a spider. Iktomi spoke in a language only great leaders could understand. Iktomi took the leader’s willow hoop and began to spin a web. The hoop had feathers, horse hair, beads and offerings on it.

As Iktomi spun the web, he also spoked about life cycles. He explained how we start our lives as infants. Then comes childhood and next adulthood. Finally, we get to the old age where we are taken care of as infants. This is the way the cycle is complete. “In each time of life,” Iktomi explained, “there are many forces, good and bad. Good forces take you to the right direction. Bad forces take you on the wrong direction. These forces can help or interfere with the harmony of nature.”

The spider continued to weave his web, from the outside to the center. When Iktomi finished speaking, he gave the Lakota leader the web and said, “Look, the web is a perfect circle. There is a hole in the center of the circle. Use the web to help yourself and your people reach your goals and to use your people’s ideas, dreams and visions. The web will catch the good ideas and the bad ones will go through the hole.” The Lakota leader shared his vision with his people. The Sioux now use dreamcatchers for their daily lives. Traditionally, they hand them above their beds or in their homes so that they only experience good dreams and visions.

Glossary

web: a thin silken material spun by spiders and other insects.

Why the spider has long thin legs

A legend from West Africa

(Taken and adapted from:http://africa.mrdonn.org/anansi.html)

Once upon a time, many years ago there was a spider called Anansi. His wife was a good cook, but Anansi loved trying the food cooked by his friends in the village. One day he was walking along when he smelt vegetables cooking at Rabbit’s house. ‘What wonderful vegetables!’ he said. Rabbit said: ‘Stay and eat them with me, but they aren’t ready yet.’

‘I have a few things to do’ said Anansi. He didn’t want Rabbit to ask him to help with jobs around the house. ‘I’ll spin a web and tie one end to the pot of vegetables and the other to one of my legs. When the vegetables are ready, pull on the web and I’ll come.’ Rabbit agreed and Anansi continued his walk.

Soon he came to the house of the monkeys. ‘What a delicious smell of beans!’ he said to the monkeys. ‘Come and share them with us,’ said the monkeys. ‘They’ll be ready soon.’ Anansi said: ‘I will spin a web and tie one end to the pot of beans and the other to one of my legs. When the beans are ready, pull on the web and I will come quickly.’ The monkeys thought that was a good idea and Anansi continued his walk.

When Anansi got to the river at the end of the village, he had a piece of web tied to each of his eight legs. He had visited all his friends on the way! ‘Whose pot of food will be ready first,’ he wondered. Glossary Just then he felt a tug on one of his legs. Then on another. tug: (n.) a hard or sudden pull. And then on another. Soon, all of his eight legs were being pulled hard!

Anansi managed to get into the river. Here the water washed away his webs. His legs were hurting. ‘’Maybe that was not such a good idea after all,’ he thought, and he went home to bed without anything to eat. And since that day, all spiders have had long thin legs!

Why the Sea is salty

A legend from Norway

(Taken and adapted from: www.longlongtimeago.com/once-upon-a-time/folktales/why-the-sea-is-salt)

Many, many years ago, there were two brothers. One brother was rich and the other brother was very poor. When the poor brother found that he had no food for his wife, he went Glossary to his rich brother to ask for selfish: (adj.) when help. He did not want to go you don't care for other people; when because he knew his brother the only concern is one's own personal was mean and selfish, but profit or pleasure. he needed food.

The rich brother didn’t want to help. He threw a cow’s foot at him, shouting ‘Go to Hiysi!’, meaning ‘Go away!’

Hiysi was a wood goblin who Glossarylived in the dark forest. The goblin: (n.) an ugly poor brother was an honest creature that looks like a dwarf. man, and he thought ‘This meat is not mine. My brother told me to take it to Hiysi.’ So he walked into the forest until he found the goblin. ‘Why are you here?’ asked the goblin. ‘I have a gift for you,’ said the poor brother. When the goblin saw the meat, he jumped up and took it and ate it. ‘I’ll give you this millstone in return,’ said the goblin.

‘It’s a magical millstone and it will give you anything you want. When you want it to stop, just say ‘Enough!’ said the goblin. When the poor brother returned home, he tried out the magical millstone. ‘Give us a feast!’ he said. The millstone began to grind and produced the best feast that the poor brother and his wife had ever seen. Then the brother said ‘enough’ and the millstone stopped.

Soon the rich brother heard that his poor brother was getting rich. He went to see why. His brother told him the whole story. ‘Sell me your millstone!’ he said. ‘No, but I will lend it to you for a day,’ said the kind and generous brother. The selfish brother put the millstone in his boat and began his journey back home by sea. He saw some fishermen with a large catch Glossary of fish. ‘They will need salt,’ lend: (v.) to allow he thought. ‘They will pay someone to use or take something me a lot of money.’ knowing that it will be returned.

So he commanded the millstone to make salt. The millstone did, and soon his boat was full. Stop! Stop!’ shouted the man, but the millstone didn’t, because he didn’t say ‘enough!’.

The millstone kept grinding and making the whitest salt. The boat soon sank to the bottom of the ocean, taking the greedy brother with it. And the magic millstone kept grinding. It still does today. And that is why the ocean is salty!