55. The Story of the Two Brothers
Two brothers living by themselves in the forest believed that they were the only persons in the world. They were greatly devoted to each other. The younger did the thinking and the planning for both, for whatever he said the elder brother did.
One day the younger brother exclaimed, “Go yonder and kill that turkey, for I want its feathers.” “I will,” answered the elder. So going to the point indicated, the elder killed the turkey and brought its carcass to his brother, asking, “What do you want to do with its feathers?” “I want to wear them, because it will be a pleasure to know that I have them on my head,” declared the younger brother, plucking two feathers from the body of the turkey, for he required no more for his purpose. Then he ordered his brother to fasten these in a socket attached to a chin band, so that they would turn with the wind when worn on the head. Having done this, the elder brother placed the socket so fastened on his brother’s head. This gave the younger brother a distinguished aspect.
Every night before retiring the younger brother would remove the chin band with the socket containing the two plumes and hang it on the side of the lodge. When daylight came the first thing he did was to fasten on his head the chin band with the socket with its latchet of buckskin thongs, exclaiming, “I take pleasure in these feathers, for I am going to have a festival in their honor.”
One day the younger brother went into the forest adjoining the lodge. His brother, watching from a distance, saw him go back to a fallen tree. In a short time the elder brother heard singing and the sound of dancing, whereupon he said, “I verily believe that my younger brother is crazy,” for he had never seen such things done before. When the younger brother returned to the lodge his brother asked him bluntly: “What were you doing? Were [[278]]you not dancing behind the tree? Why do you go so far away from the lodge? You should have your dance right here in this lodge. Why should you go off alone?” “You do not know the tune I sing, and so I must sing alone,” was the answer. The elder brother replied, “I should learn the tune, too, so that I could take part in the singing of the song.” “No,” declared the younger brother, “I know the tune, and if you want to take part with me, you may dance.” The elder brother rejoined: “No; it is not right that I should dance while I have no feathers in my headgear.” Answering, the brother said: “You may change places with me if you wish. Then you shall hunt the smaller game. I kill birds, and it is from them that I learn the songs. The animals which you hunt and kill do not sing; but, perhaps, I could not kill the large game because I am so small, and it may be that you could not kill the birds because you are so large.” “Well,” replied the elder, “you may have it all to yourself, and I will merely watch you sing and dance.”
So the elder brother continued to hunt large game, and at times he would hear the singing and the dancing as he came near their home. When the younger brother would hear him approaching he would pretend to be doing something quite different from dancing and singing. This conduct caused the elder brother to wonder and to fear that something peculiar was about to happen to both of them. Often he would say to his brother: “Why did you stop hunting? You do not go to hunt any more.” The younger brother answered: “I listen to the singing of the birds and so learn their songs; this is why I do not shoot them.” “It is well,” rejoined the elder brother, who continued to hunt such game as he required. But one day his younger brother said to him, “My feathers are nearly worn out, and I want you to kill another turkey for me.” So the elder brother killed the largest turkey he could find, and then said to his brother, “Skin this turkey instead of plucking its feathers.” He did as requested, and the elder brother having made a pouch of the skin, asked his brother, “Do you like this robe?” “I like it very much, and I am thankful to you, brother,” was the answer. As the skin of the turkey began to dry, the younger brother, getting into the pouch, would walk around looking just like a turkey, and he seemed to enjoy greatly this new form of dress. When he walked into the lodge, he would come out of the skin, which he would hang up among his belongings. The elder one said to him: “Brother, you must not go far from the lodge; it will not be safe for you to do so.” “No,” said the younger brother, “I will stay at home and take care of our things.” Matters continued thus for some time.
One day the younger brother said: “You must stay at home, not going to hunt today. Instead, you must learn to sing my songs. What I do now shall be the practice of our people hereafter, if we [[279]]ever have any people or kindred; hence you must learn these songs.” So he made a rule that people of his tribe should wear feathers as insignia. The elder meditated on this matter, wondering how the younger brother could have such prophetic thoughts. “Now,” said the youth to his brother, “I am going to sing, and you must listen and must learn what I sing.” So he sang a war song. His elder brother asked him, “What kind of a song is that?” The youth replied: “It is a war song.”
From the time that the youth had commenced to study the singing of the birds he had begun to grow wise and had become experienced in the ways of the world (i.e., of the world of daimons). He kept saying, “These are songs which the people shall sing, and they, too, shall wear feathers on their heads.” The people had never heard anyone else sing, but the youth had studied out the matter from hearing the birds sing. He declared to his brother the dangers connected with singing the songs, saying, “You must be very careful about singing this song; if you are not, it will bring you senseless to the ground.” Then he added: “I am singing praises, for I have learned to sing from the birds. I give thanks as I have heard them given in my hunting expeditions. I dance to my own songs because I hear the birds sing, and I see them dance. You and I must do the same, for it will rouse a feeling of joy in our hearts.” Thus, the youth was the wiser of the two brothers.
Once when they were out hunting the younger brother saw a large bird sitting over them on a large tree. When the bird began to sing the elder brother knew that his brother must have learned a song from this bird, for he recognized a song which had been taught to him. “You are wise,” said he to the youth, “and now I shall believe that a higher magic power directs the birds to teach us songs which possess powerful orenda (magic power).” Thereupon he began to sing a song of his own, which was different from that of his brother. “Do you think that I can dance to your song?” asked the youth. “I shall try, at any rate.” Instead of singing it, the elder said, “I will tell you the words of the song, namely: ‘I am glad to see the day dawn. I am thankful for the beautiful sunbeams.’ ” “I know what that song is,” said the youth; “it is different from mine, and it has not so much joy in it; whenever we are sad we will draw our words from it; we will sing it and gain courage and strength thereby.”