Paradise Valley[1]
Laggan, Alberta, Canada
Courtesy of Canadian Pacific Ry.
Lakes in the Clouds
Laggan, Alberta, Canada
Courtesy of Canadian Pacific Ry.
RAVEN AND MOON WOMAN
Haida
Raven became the son of Moon Woman. He cried a great deal. When he cried, he said, “Boo-hoo, moon!” Then his mother said, “He talks about a thing beyond his reach, which the supernatural beings own.” So Raven began to cry again, “Boo-hoo, moon!”
Then, when Moon Woman’s mind was tired out with his noise, she stopped up all the holes in the house. She stopped up the smoke hole, and all the small holes as well.[2] Then she untied the strings of the box. Although they were very strong, she untied them. She did this because the moon was inside the box. Then she took the moon out and let Raven play with it. She did not give it to him; she only let him play with it to quiet him.
After his mother had gone out, Raven took up the moon in his beak. He turned himself into a raven and flew about the house with it. He made himself small. Just before his mother returned, he made himself a child again. Then he again played with the moon.
Then Raven again began crying loudly, when his mother returned. He cried, “Boo-hoo, boo-hoo, smoke hole!” So he cried, “Boo-hoo, boo-hoo, smoke hole!” He cried this way for a long time. Then he tired his mother’s mind with his crying, and she opened the smoke hole a little. Raven cried, “Boo-hoo, more! Boo-hoo, more!” for a long time. Then she made the opening in the smoke hole larger, and he kept crying, “Boo-hoo, more!” until she had made it quite large.