Native People |
In Those DaysIn those days, there was only water as far as the eye could see. On it floated a giant raft that was tightly crowded with all animals of the world. The great hare, known for his marvelous powers, looking at the desperate situation promised the troubled animals,
a "piece of land ?" … All the animals then began a frantic search for a grain of sand. The eagle circled in the sky, but saw nothing. The beaver, otter, seal and whale one after another dove deep into the sea but rose to surface again exhausted. Then the tiny muskrat took off on its own. It disappeared into the dark water. The desperate animals awaited its return, but the muskrat had apparently disappeared. Days and nights passed. Everyone on board was in despair when suddenly the giant crow from its lofty lookout cried out: "The muskrat is back! The muskrat is back!" In the distance they could see the muskrat floating on its back bloated and drenched in the water. They pulled the muskrat onto the raft and helped it begin breathing again. The animals formed a circle around it while the great hare examined each of the muskrat's four paws. In the first there was nothing. The second paw was also empty. And the third held nothing either. In despair, the hare opened the fourth paw and in its claws discovered a small shiny pearl that he carefully took out. And then the wind rose a bit, and the hare blew gently onto the pearl. It came alive, expanded, cracks appeared and then it hatched the mountain, and valley. The rivers ran and lakes filled and the forests grew. The raft entered a wide salt water bay filled with small islands. Everyone was charmed by its freshness and beauty. The crow and the fox scouted out the new land, one from the air and the other on the ground. When they returned, they announced, "Yes, there is room for all of us." The polar bear headed north, the beaver selected rivers to build dams, the birds built nests in the trees and reeds and the fox dug its den near the fresh water… From the corpses of the dead animals remaining on the raft grew human beings creating the wolf, tortoise, bear and deer clans. Each selected a way of life and since that day the earth has been inhabited by animals, and men and women living alongside each other in harmony. Based on an Algonquian legend |
In Those Days
by Gary Gangnier , Teacher, Saint Vincent's Elementary School
Central Quebec School Board
Sillery, Quebec