Native American Folktale story - The man who acted as the Sun

   In the land of present US, we can find a large tribal communities of native American people. The Native Americans have their own unique history and culture. This story is one of the very common and famous Native American Folktale story. 

The Man who acted as the Sun

  The man who acted as the Sun

   - A Native American Folktale 

   Once upon a time there lived a woman some distance up the Bella Coola River. She refused the offer of marriage from the young men of the society, because she was desired to marry the Sun. She left her village and went to seek the Sun.

   Finally she reached his house, and married the Sun. After she had been there one day, she had a child. He grew very quickly, and on the second day of his life he was able to walk and to talk. After a short time he said to his mother, "I should like to see your mother and your father"; and the boy began to cry, making his mother feel homesick.

   The Sun saw that his wife felt depressed, and that his son was longing to see his grandparents. Then the sun said, "You may return to the Earth to see your parents. Descend along my eyelashes." His eyelashes were the rays of the Sun, which he extended down to his wife's home, where they lived with the woman's parents.

   The boy was playing with the children of the village. Those children were teasing him to saying that he had no father. He began to cry and went to his mother. He asked for bow and arrows. His mother gave him what he requested. Then the boy went outside and began to shoot his arrows towards the sky. The first arrow struck the sky and fixed in it. The second arrow hit the notch of the first one and thus he continued until a chain was formed, extending from the sky down to the place where he was standing. Then he climbed the chain.

   He found the house of the sun and he entered inside that. He told his father that the boys had been teasing him, and they asked him to let him carry the sun. 

   His father said, "You cannot do it. I am carrying many torches. Early in the morning and late in the evening I burn small torches, but at noon I burn the large ones." But the boy insisted on his request. Then his father gave him the torches and warning him at the same time to observe carefully the instructions that he was giving him in consider to their use.

   Early the next morning, the young man started on the course of the sun and the boy was carrying the torches. Soon he grew annoyed and lighted all the torches at once. Then it grew very hot. The trees began to burn and many animals jumped into the water to save themselves, but the water began to boil. Then his mother covered the people with her blanket, and thus saved them. The animals were hiding under stones.

   The reptile crawled into a hole, which, however, was not quite large enough, so that the tips of its tail stick out from the entrance. It was burned and since that time the tip of the reptile's tail has been black. The mountain-goat hid in a cave and hence its skin is perfectly white. All the animals that did not hide were burned and therefore have black skins, but the skin on their lower side remained lighter.

   When the Sun saw what was happening; he said to his son, "Why do you do so? Do you think it is good that there are no people on the Earth?"

   The Sun took him and throws him down from the heavens, saying, "You shall be the mink, and future generations of man shall hunt you."

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