Reading Notes: Marriage Tales, Part B

The Dog Husband

This story was very different from others... to say the least. It began with a girl who had a dog. Every night the dog would sleep at the end of her bed. However, in the middle of the night the dog would turn into a human. When morning came, the dog turned back from human to dog so no one was aware of the situation. After some amount of time, the girl became pregnant and the parents concluded that the only possible way was that it was the dog. So in order to punish the girl, the father killed the dog and the girl was left in a burning house to die. The entire village moved away, but little did they know that the girl had received help from Crow and had survived the burning fire. Living alone, the girl eventually gave birth to five pups, four males and one female. As the girl and her children grew up, the boys became more mischievous. The girl would catch them doing mischievous acts that would bring more shame to their people. The girl then guided the boys to a more structured upbringing- teaching them how to catch game and eventually even kill whales. Eventually the Crow came to visit the girl and her children, and saw numerous dead whales on the beaches of their land. She reported what she found to the girl, and the girl pleaded that she would not tell the people who abandoned her. The girl wanted the people to think that she had remained dead. When the crow arrived back to the people, she did not do what was asked and instead told the people of the numerous whales that had been caught by the boy children. The people decided to return to the land, and the boys all became the chiefs of the village while constantly supplying people with whale food.

[Beached Whale. Image Information.]

Bibliography

Thompson, Stith. The Dog Husband. Tales of North American Indians. 1929. Link.

Comments

Reading Notes: English Fairy Tales, Part B

Fairy Ointment I was quick to click on this story because I used to love reading about fairies and other mythical creatures when I was growing up. I was very pleased to see that this story was very intriguing and reminded me of similar stories from my childhood. The story began by introducing a nurse named Dame Goody. One night she awoke from her sleep and went downstairs to see a small, strange looking man asking for help with his sick wife. Although she was suspicious, she decided to help him because that was the nature of her job. So, the two hoped onto the back of a horse and rode fast until they reached a small cottage house. Inside the house, she saw a sick woman with children playing on the floor besides her. The mother gave her a baby boy and asked her to rub ointment on his eyelids, and the nurse did so but was curious as to why. When no one was looking, she rubbed the ointment on her right eye as well and when she opened her eyes the small cottage transformed into a eleg...

Reading Notes: English Fairy Tales, Part A

The Old Woman and Her Pig When I read this story, it seemed as if this was written to be more of a riddle than a story. The way the story flowed and the sentences were structured was a bit unusual compared to most stories. However, I really enjoyed reading it because it seemed like something I might have heard in my childhood. The story began with introducing an old woman. She lived in a little house and she noticed one day that it was dirty and needed to be swept. So, she decided to clean the house and while she was sweeping, she came across a crooked sixpence. After discovering the pen, she decided she wanted to use it, however, she had no animals to put in the pen. To solve this dilemma, she went into town and bought a piglet. On her way back from the market with her piglet, the piglet was hesitant and would not go over a stile on the ground. So, in order to fix the problem she goes and finds a dog and asks the dog to bite at the pig so the pig would go over the stile. Af...

Week 11 Story: The Hidden Oasis

The Hidden Oasis In a poor village, there was a boy that was known for this love for animals. Although not getting enough food to satisfy his own needs, he always would give portions of his own food to his animals in order to keep them alive. He had a three dogs and two cats that he loved more than his own family. During one part of the year, there was a terrible drought that cost the village countless lives. Food was scarce and the boy struggled to gather enough food for his animals. He begged his parents to help him gather enough food for his animals, but the parents did no such thing. In fact, they threatened to kill the animals for a source of food for themselves. Although he didn't like the idea of stealing, he knew that is what he must do to keep them alive. He stole food from his parents, friends, and other villagers. Soon enough, people started to notice that his animals were growing stronger and fatter. The village was aware that someone was stealing, so they concluded it ...

Mythology Blogs

Search This Blog