Story: Pa the Storyteller

Story source: American Indian Fairy Tales by W.T. Larned, with illustrations by John Rae (1921)
Based off of Iagoo, the Story-Teller and Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind

My personal picture of my Pa: Over 80 years old and still building cars!

There was once an amazing grandfather who was simply called Pa. He was loving to all of his grandchildren and would tell them stories in order to teach them life lessons. He would also tell these stories to help his grandchildren face their fears of the world, and to know that courage and intelligence can get you anywhere.

One day, one of his granddaughters asked him to tell her about tornadoes. As a young girl growing up in Oklahoma, she was very afraid of tornadoes. So, Pa told her about the invention of storm shelters. He told her that long ago, man and nature had a quarrel.....

Man was the new ruler of the world, afraid of nothing. This was something that the wind did not take lightly. The wind used to be feared by all, but man make a mockery of the wind. Man would show no fear when wind blew fiercely across the land, even when animals would tremble in fear. The wind decided to gather as much strength as possible, and soon a tornado was up and roaring. It headed straight for the man, chasing him for many miles. Soon, they reached a large hole in the ground. The wind found this as a perfect chance to trap the man. However, when the man jumped in the hole, the tornado couldn't reach him. Therefore, something that the wind thought would be the downfall of man, actually ended up saving him.

Author's Note: I decided to write this story because Iagoo reminded me of my Pa immediately. He is someone who is always teaching me something and telling me stories, both silly and serious. I wanted to keep the wind and man as the main characters, but I also decided to put my own personal twist into the story as well. Growing up in Moore, OK has been a challenge, but it has also made me stronger as a person as well. I hope that this story was relatable and still was close to the original as well.

Reading Notes: American Indian Fairy Tales- Part A

Story source: American Indian Fairy Tales by W.T. Larned, with illustrations by John Rae (1921)

The Beautiful Stars by Maxpixel

Iagoo, the Story-Teller: He was the great Indian who knew all and would teach his children all. Most of all, he knew all the stories of the world. Winter is the time for story telling. For example, when a little girl is afraid of the wind, he said he will tell a story of how it won't hurt her.

Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind: The story goes that the North wind wishes that the world would essentially be frozen over. The South wind was the opposite, bringing green grass to the land. When fisherman wanted to fish, a layer of frost would cover the water. One fisherman was not afraid of the wind, as he would just cut a hole in the ice. His friends laughed and warned him that he would need to be a bear or something to last.

Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind (cont.): The fisherman was left alone and he decided to make a fire to keep warm. He even thought of a song that completely challenged the north wind. Of course the north wind felt challenged and paid a visit to the man. However, the man was still happily cooking his fish, making fun of his friends for leaving. The north wind tried to prove the man wrong, but actually ended up helping the man out even more. The two quarreled, as the north wind was weakened by the fire. This proved that happiness and courage can overcome even the wind.

The Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds: A little girl then asked Iagoo if the mountains were always there, and he answered with a story. Essentially there was once a wonderful land of no worries or ear. Animals ran free and were happy, along with the children of the and who would love them too. The jack rabbit and antelope were of the favorites. Children would splash around with beavers in shallow pools.

The Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds (cont.): They stayed in the pool so long that when they got out, they needed to nap. They slept on a rock that grew and grew. Soon, the parents tried to look for their children. The got help from a coyote, who told them that he smelled them on top of the rock. The animals gathered to try and find a way to help the children down. They decided to try jumping, but none of them could make it. Then a little worm said that they would crawl to the children, and he did. Then he had the children follow down a safe path. It doesn't matter now big you are, but how brave.

The Child of the Evening Star: There once was a hunter with 10 beautiful daughters. Many came to bring presents and show the girls of their skills as suitors. Soon, 9 were married and started a little village. The 10th girl was difficult, as she was not easily impressed. She revealed that she was able to see the true nature of a man's heart, and soon married an ugly poor man.

The Child of the Evening Star (cont.): In reality, he had been cursed and was actually beautiful on the outside as well. He was a descendant of a star as well. A feast was called in the village of the family, but while walking they made fun of the poor man when they had to step over a log. But at this time the curse was lifted, and he turned beautiful yet again. Sadly, as his beauty and youth returned, the girl's vanished. the man claimed he did not care, as they were in love with each others hearts, not looks.

The Child of the Evening Star (cont. again): The sisters became jealous of the now gorgeous husband, but did not pity their poor sister at all. Soon the voice of the star was heard, and spoke of the curse being completely lifted. soon, the sisters and their husbands turned into birds. The girl was afraid that she soon was going to be turned into a bird too, but in reality her beauty and age was restored and the two were sent to the evening star.

The Child of the Evening Star (end): And so the two lived in the kingdom of the stars. They soon had a little boy who grew up to be curious of where his parents were from. He longed to play with some of the children down on Earth. He was envious of the swans on the Earth even. Soon the boy was wanting to release some birds from cages, but he accidentally shot one with an arrow. By causing bloodshed, he and his family could no longer live in the stars. But all was well anyways, because they lived happily on Earth.