How Turkey Got His Beard & Gobble

[Spirithawk]

Here are a couple more traditional Cherokee stories I thought you might enjoy....SH ^i^

WHY THE TURKEY GOBBLES

This is what I was told as a boy.....The Grouse used to have a very fine voice and a good halloo in the ballplay. All the animals and birds used to play ball in those days and were just as proud of a loud halloo as the ball players of today.

The Turkey had not such a good voice, so he asked the Grouse to give him lessons. The Grouse agreed to teach him, but wanted pay for his trouble, and the Turkey promised to give him some feathers to make himself a collar. That is how the Grouse got his collar of turkey feathers.

They began the lessons and the Turkey learned very fast until the Grouse thought it was time to try his voice. "Now," said the Grouse, "I'll stand on this hollow log, and when I give the signal by tapping on it, you must halloo as loudly as you can." So he got upon the log ready to tap on it, as a Grouse does, but when he gave the signal the Turkey was so eager and excited that he could not raise his voice for a shout, but only gobbled, and ever since then he gobbles whenever he hears a noise....So says Adanvdo Towodi ( Spirit Hawk ^i^ )

HOW TURKEY GOT HIS BEARD

This is what I was told as a boy.....When the Terrapin won the race from the Rabbit, all the animals wondered and talked about it a great deal, because they had always thought the Terrapin slow, although they knew that he was a warrior and had many conjuring secrets beside.

But the Turkey was not satisfied and told the others there must be some trick about it. Said he, "I know the Terrapin can't run, he can hardly crawl, and I'm going to try him."

So one day the Turkey met the Terrapin coming home from war with a fresh scalp hanging from his neck and dragging on the ground as he traveled.

The Turkey laughed at the sight and said: "That scalp don't look right on you. Your neck is too short and low down to wear it that way. Let me show you."

The Terrapin agreed and gave the scalp to the Turkey, who fastened it around his neck.

"Now," said the Turkey, "I'll walk a little way and you can see how it looks." So he walked ahead a short distance and then turned and asked the Terrapin how he liked it.

Said the Terrapin, "It looks very nice; it becomes you."

"Now I'll fix it in a different way and let you see how it looks," said the Turkey. So he gave the string another pull and walked ahead again.

"O, that looks very nice," said the Terrapin.

But the Turkey kept on walking, and when the Terrapin called to him to bring back the scalp he only walked faster and broke into a run.

Then the Terrapin got out his bow and by his conjuring art shot a number of cane splints into the Turkey's leg to cripple him so that he could not run, which accounts for all the many small bones in the Turkey's leg, that are of no use whatever; but the Terrapin never caught the Turkey, who still wears the scalp from his neck.......So says, Adanvdo Towodi (Spirit Hawk) ^i^

[powderman]

SPIRITHAWK. I hope you have somehow recorded all of these stories  because they are a very important part of history. Too much history dies with each generation, and thats sad. Mom is the last of her generation and will be 85 next month. She's had cancer which is still there but going nowhere. Each visit I ask about everything from the past I can think of so these things will not be forgotten. Thank you for sharing. POWDERMAN. 

[Spirithawk]

SPIRITHAWK. I hope you have somehow recorded all of these stories  because they are a very important part of history. Too much history dies with each generation, and thats sad. Mom is the last of her generation and will be 85 next month. She's had cancer which is still there but going nowhere. Each visit I ask about everything from the past I can think of so these things will not be forgotten. Thank you for sharing. POWDERMAN.  

I'm working on two books. They will be finished when I take the long walk into the Great Mystery and can write no more but my wife just informed me of a way I might get done sooner. If it works out I'll let you know where to get one and will sign it for you. This story here I wrote tells how I feel about the stories;

The Story Teller
An old man sits beneath the shade of a tree deep in thought. The years have taken their toll on his body, his face is heavily wrinkled and his skin is like dried leather and covered with scars. He knows his time on Mother Earth is growing short and he is thinking about how things once were with his people, and about what now has become of them. He sees the past and the present through eyes that now grow dim, but behind which is stored much wisdom gained over the years. He is not afraid to take the long walk into another realm, into the " Great Mystery", but what weighs heavy on his mind is that he feels that his people are lost, that they have forgotten " The Way". The reason this disturbs the old man so, is not just his love of his people, but because the old man is a Story Teller. Few these days know what that really means. Yes there are many who repeat the stories of his people, and yes there are even many who listen, but there are few indeed who truly understand or even care about the meanings the stories hold. To most they are just entertainment, a pleasant way to pass a short period of their valuable time and mainly just for children. The old man smiles a bit at the thought that those who understand the stories the most are the children. He knows why this is so too. It is because they listen with open minds and hearts, not yet hardened and darkened by the world that has become so foreign to his peoples true nature. The smile slowly fades though because he knows that with time, as the children grow older, they too will become hardened to the White Man's world. Then they too will forget the true meanings of the stories. A tear slowly runs down the old man's face and softly lands at his feet to be absorbed by the land he holds so dear. You see, as I have said, the old man is a Story Teller. He is not just a teller of tales. In being a Story Teller he is the keeper of his people's customs, their history, their religion and a guide to the true path the Creator gave them to walk. Yes, there are those who repeat the ancient stories, but to them that's all they are, just stories, mere words. The people no longer care about the lessons the stories hold, and in throwing their meanings away, little do they realise that they throw away their very own heritage as well. Yes the old man is saddened knowing this, for once he is gone.....who will take his place? Who will be the true Story Teller? Who will take the time, to not just tell the stories, but to teach their meanings as well. And who, he wonders, will not just listen....but will take the stories to heart and understand that they are more than just words.....they are a way of life. The life of his PEOPLE! The old man's heart is breaking. I am that old man....So says, Adanvdo Towodi....Spirit Hawk ^i^