Brynlee's Thoughts on Mythology and Folklore

The Woman Stolen by Killer Wales  by Stith Thompson Living in the country is fun. It is quiet and serene. The most difficult part is finding food. One day, a fisherman was out on the water, attempting to find food for him and his wife. Recently this has been proving to be a challenge. He was alone on his boat. He had just dropped a line when he felt a tug. It was stronger than he had ever felt before. He tied the cast line to his canoe and rowed as fast as he could so he wouldn't lose it. He had never used more muscle to paddle than in that moment. He made it to the beach and called out for his wife. She ran out to help pull the line in. Between the two of them they managed to rope the fish onto land and kill it before it had the chance to escape. They cleaned and readied it to be cooked.  After that, she went to clean her hands off in the water. There was nothing grosser to her than fish guts. But, as soon as she put her hands in the water she was pulled in. She was frantical...

 The Piqued Buffalo Wife by Blackfoot Stories This story tells a tale of a family torn apart. It begins with the birth of a child. He was born from a buffalo and therefore every night he would turn back into a calf. But, since his father was a human, every day he was a child. During the days he would run and play with the tribe's children and learn their games. Every night he would depart and spend the night in the field with his mother. One day his curiosity got the best of him. He had to know who his father was. He went to the chief and asked him to help him find his dad. The chief called for the eldest men of the tribe and asked him to identify his dad. He could not find his father among the group. The chief then sent out for the age group underneath. He could not identify his father from this group either. Finally, he called for the unmarried men. The child quickly was able to identify his father! His father wanted to meet his mother. He took him to the field. There his mother...