Week 11 Story: Foolish Iktomi
The Great Spirit watched all his children on earth, but there were some he watched more closely than others. Now depending on the specific child, this could be a good thing or a bad thing. Some of his children impressed him often, achieving great things that made the Great Spirit swell with pride and beam down upon them. Other children found themselves in trouble so often that the Great Spirit felt it was his duty to keep an eye on them in order to make sure they did not disrupt the balance of the earth too much.
Iktomi was one of the latter children.
Known as a trickster by many on earth already, Iktomi still found ways to cheat his way through life. The Great Spirit had started balancing out Iktomi's actions, for fear that Iktomi would continue harming others on earth. The Great Spirit figured a few unsuccessful tries would push Iktomi back on the right path, since Iktomi never was the strongest willed.
Looking down on Iktomi, the Great Spirit sighed. The trickster was now working to con some ducks into being slaughtered. The ducks were joyous children, always eager to sing and dance, and the Great Spirit loved them for it. Watching Iktomi take advantage of their eagerness made the Great Spirit feel heavy. About half the ducks had been slaughtered and laid still at Iktomi's feet, while the rest continued to dance in circles with their eyes closed, unaware of the imminent danger.
Luckily, one of the ducks caught onto Iktomi's plot, and warned the ones remaining alive. The remaining ducks quickly flew away, but Iktomi wasn't bothered. After all, he already had half a dozen fat ducks to roast and prepare. The Great Spirit knew Iktomi needed a harsher consequence to his actions if he was ever going to be set straight.
As Iktomi set to work sharpening sticks, starting a fire, and preparing the ducks, the Great Spirit pondered what an appropriate response would be in order to balance out the trickster's actions. As the Great Spirit was deep in thought, he noticed a pack of wolves running through the forest, nearing Iktomi.
The Great Spirit chuckled to himself, and with just a thought, his plan was set in motion.
A strange call for help sounded from a tree nearby Iktomi, and although the trickster ignored it the first time, after ten minutes of irritating screams, Iktomi could ignore the cries no longer. The Trickster stood up from the roasting ducks, and went to climb the tree from which he had heard the calls for help.
As he climbed, however, the tree grew a wooden hand, which caught hold of Iktomi's ankle and held on tight. Iktomi howled, and the Great Spirit felt satisfied knowing that the trickster was about to receive an appropriate punishment for his actions.
As Iktomi was caught in the tree, the pack of wolves stumbled onto the roasting ducks, with a little nudge from the Great Spirit to guide their path. Iktomi screamed at the wolves to leave his supper alone, but the wolves only laughed and devoured every last bit of the ducks.
The Great Spirit thanked the wolves for their help, sent them on the way, and bid the wooden hand to release Iktomi. Iktomi fell to the ground in a heap, with no supper to comfort him. The Great Spirit nodded in approval, and hoped this would be the last time he had to correct the actions of his troublesome child.
Author's Note
For this story, I wanted to keep the same sort of simple and straight-forward storytelling from the original, but change the perspective to be told from the Great Spirit's point of view. Although the Great Spirit isn't mentioned in the original story, I thought that the mysterious "wooden hand" from the tree was too perfect of timing to just be coincidence. So, I wrote my story as if the Great Spirit had orchestrated the punishment of Iktomi in order to balance the "good and bad" of the universe and also try to set Iktomi on a better, less evil path. Whether it works remains to be determined, but the Great Spirit will watch and determine if Iktomi needs another lesson.
Bibliography
"Iktomi and the Ducks" from Old Indian Legends by Zitkala-Sa, Read it here
Iktomi was one of the latter children.
Known as a trickster by many on earth already, Iktomi still found ways to cheat his way through life. The Great Spirit had started balancing out Iktomi's actions, for fear that Iktomi would continue harming others on earth. The Great Spirit figured a few unsuccessful tries would push Iktomi back on the right path, since Iktomi never was the strongest willed.
Looking down on Iktomi, the Great Spirit sighed. The trickster was now working to con some ducks into being slaughtered. The ducks were joyous children, always eager to sing and dance, and the Great Spirit loved them for it. Watching Iktomi take advantage of their eagerness made the Great Spirit feel heavy. About half the ducks had been slaughtered and laid still at Iktomi's feet, while the rest continued to dance in circles with their eyes closed, unaware of the imminent danger.
Luckily, one of the ducks caught onto Iktomi's plot, and warned the ones remaining alive. The remaining ducks quickly flew away, but Iktomi wasn't bothered. After all, he already had half a dozen fat ducks to roast and prepare. The Great Spirit knew Iktomi needed a harsher consequence to his actions if he was ever going to be set straight.
As Iktomi set to work sharpening sticks, starting a fire, and preparing the ducks, the Great Spirit pondered what an appropriate response would be in order to balance out the trickster's actions. As the Great Spirit was deep in thought, he noticed a pack of wolves running through the forest, nearing Iktomi.
The Great Spirit chuckled to himself, and with just a thought, his plan was set in motion.
A strange call for help sounded from a tree nearby Iktomi, and although the trickster ignored it the first time, after ten minutes of irritating screams, Iktomi could ignore the cries no longer. The Trickster stood up from the roasting ducks, and went to climb the tree from which he had heard the calls for help.
As he climbed, however, the tree grew a wooden hand, which caught hold of Iktomi's ankle and held on tight. Iktomi howled, and the Great Spirit felt satisfied knowing that the trickster was about to receive an appropriate punishment for his actions.
As Iktomi was caught in the tree, the pack of wolves stumbled onto the roasting ducks, with a little nudge from the Great Spirit to guide their path. Iktomi screamed at the wolves to leave his supper alone, but the wolves only laughed and devoured every last bit of the ducks.
The Great Spirit thanked the wolves for their help, sent them on the way, and bid the wooden hand to release Iktomi. Iktomi fell to the ground in a heap, with no supper to comfort him. The Great Spirit nodded in approval, and hoped this would be the last time he had to correct the actions of his troublesome child.
Justice for the ducks!
(Image source: Snapwire)
Author's Note
For this story, I wanted to keep the same sort of simple and straight-forward storytelling from the original, but change the perspective to be told from the Great Spirit's point of view. Although the Great Spirit isn't mentioned in the original story, I thought that the mysterious "wooden hand" from the tree was too perfect of timing to just be coincidence. So, I wrote my story as if the Great Spirit had orchestrated the punishment of Iktomi in order to balance the "good and bad" of the universe and also try to set Iktomi on a better, less evil path. Whether it works remains to be determined, but the Great Spirit will watch and determine if Iktomi needs another lesson.
Bibliography
"Iktomi and the Ducks" from Old Indian Legends by Zitkala-Sa, Read it here
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