Atondido Stories
brave youth took their old form of men, and in high spirits they
drove the herd of buffaloes back to their hungry people waiting
patiently on the plains.
The people were very pleased to see the Great Chief and the
youth returning to the village with the great herd of fat buffa-
loes, for they knew now that the famine was ended. But as they
drove the animals into a great fenced enclosure, a large grey bird
flew over their heads and swooped down upon them and
pecked at them with its bill, and tried to frighten them and drive
them away. The Great Chief knew by his magic power that the
grey bird was none other than the giant-thief who had stolen the
buffaloes, and who had changed himself into a bird to fly across
the prairies in pursuit of them. Then the Chief changed himself
into an otter and lay down on the bank of the stream, pretending
to be dead. The grey bird flew down upon him, for he thought
he would have a good meal of fat otter. But the Chief seized him
by the leg, and changing back to his own form, he bore him in
triumph to his camp. He tied him up fast to the smoke-hole of
his tent and made a great fire inside. The giant cried, "Spare me,
spare me, and I shall never do you more harm." But the Chief
left him on the tent pole all night long while the black smoke
from the fire poured out around him. In the morning his feathers
were all black. Then the Chief let him down. And he said, "You
may go now, but you will never be able to resume your former
shape. You will henceforth be a raven, a bird of ill-omen upon
the earth, an outlaw and a brigand among the birds, despised
among men because of your thefts. And you will always have to
steal and to hunt hard for your food." And to this day the feath-
ers of the raven are black, and he is a bird of ill-omen upon the
earth because of his encounter with the Great Chieftain long ago.
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