We Shawnee also have a opossum story I tell in my book View From the Medicine Lodge, Here it is... Why the Possum’s Tail is Bare ©2014 Jim Great Elk Waters Shawnee teaching story This is an ancient story told by grandparents to the children to teach them of things important. In this telling, I have given it a modern tone for those who have not heard many of the other stories and are, thus, unaware of the great humor that is in the art of storytelling. In the time before our Grandparents, in the time of the Animal People, there was a great possum. Her name was Grandmother Possum and she was most special. She was an Elder, and the most loved of all the People. But that was not why she was special. She was smart, and all the young animals would come to her for her sage advice. But that was not why she was special. Grandmother Possum was special because of her tail. She had a most beautiful, long and bushy tail. Possum was so proud of the silky furred tail that she combed it every day. Because her tail was so lovely, she would sing her “tail song” whenever the People danced. When they heard her, they would all run to her and ask if they might touch her tail, as it felt so wonderful. Being kind and generous, and well, being a grandmother, she always obliged. She never said no, even when she may be tired or “out of sorts.” All the People agreed, Grandmother Possum’s tail was the most beautiful tail in all the Great Turtle Island. This was important because this was the time when there was no light to illuminate her tail. You see, this was in the time before the sun had been found. It was pitch dark, as black as the inside of a rock. The every day routine was the same. The People would awake and set about their daily jobs. Some would hunt. Others would gather roots and such, and others would just move about as best they could in that darkness. This was difficult. There was a lot of, “Umph! Who’s there?” as Makwa the Bear, who was the leader of all the People in the Valley of Darkness, would say as he bumped into a soft furry mass. “It is only me, Wapiti the Elk,” would come the reply, “and why did you bumpus, into my rumpus brother bear?” “Well, mostly because I could not see you,” the Bear replied. “You don’t even smell like yourself, Wapiti. Did you change your deodorant?” he asked. The Elk let out a whistle grunt and replied, “Ha, change deodorant? What is deodorant?” he asked. You see, deodorant had not yet been invented. “I just was rolling in the new mint that is growing beside the stream, ” Elk offered. “Perhaps that is why I don’t smell like myself?” “Perhaps,” Bear replied. “Perhaps.” “You know, Wapiti, I am really tired of trying to find my way in this blackness, really tired of bumpus’ing into everyone every day,” Bear said sadly. Now Bear was a great leader, and he put much effort into making the lives of the People in the valley as good as possible. So Bear sat down to think on the problem at hand. He thought and thought for a long time. Bear suddenly stood up and stated, “I’ll ask Creator if we could have some light to see by!” he exclaimed. The forest suddenly became dead quiet. The birds ceased their chirping and even the wind in the pines went silent. Not a Person made a noise. “What?” Bear called out. “Now what did I do?” There was no reply. “Okay, what’s the big joke?” Bear asked. For a moment it was still silent, then a voice spoke: “You said you were going to-oooo ask Creator why He had not-ttttttt given us light-ttttttt,” Cricket softly replied. “No one ever asked Creator why!” “Yes!” another voice called out. “W-w-we might l-l-loose all we have if w-w-we ask for more,” stammered the rabbit. “No one ever asked Creator why!” “Well, why not?” Bear asked, now totally confused. “Perhaps it is because no one has ever thought to before,” pondered the old Owl. “Yes indeed, some one should ask!” Owl stated matter-of-factly. Then the forest became very silent. “Who would ask?” they all thought to themselves. A big determined voice sounded out, “Me!” it said. It was Bear again. “If I was the first to think of it, then I should be the one to ask, it’s my job.” Bear stated. The woods were alive with chatter as all the animal People discussed the matter at-hand. “Yes, Bear should do it,” one uttered. “Only Bear is brave enough,” another chimed in. Yet another of the faceless voices called out, “And he is the only one who is stupid enough.” “Stop!” Bear yelled. “Stop before I change my mind.” You could hear the breeze whisper in the treetops high above, “Bear will askssssooooosh!” And with that, Bear raised his head to the black sky and asked, “Oh Great Creator who has given us all, I have a little insignificant question to ask.” Dead silence. “Well, uhmmm, well, I uhmmm was wondering if you might be able to, well, give us just a teensy-weensy ittsy bit of light . . . ” he stammered; then in a rush he finished, “ . . . so-we-wouldn’t-keep-bumpus’ing-into-each-other-all-the-time.” “Whew!” Bear exclaimed, and his voice echoed back and forth through the trees in the valley like leaves being blown by a gust of wind. Then the forest was even more silent, if that was possible. A distant rumble began and grew louder. It came crashing throughout the forest making the leaves quiver in the still air. The noise filled all the places where the animal People lived, and they were very frightened. What had Bear done? What had we done urging him on, they thought. Through the great noise came a stillness that calmed the valley and its inhabitants. Then a deep but gentle voice called out, “Bear, what took you so long to ask?” It was the Voice of Creator. “Well, sir, I uh, well I . . . ” Bear’s voice trailed off as he was now afraid of what he had done. “Bear? Didn’t I provide you with a great sense of smell, and keen hearing?” Creator gently asked. “Yes, oh Great Spirit,” Bear said softly, “But . . . ” “But what, my brother?” Creator asked. “Is there a reason why you ask for light?” Bear was silent. Not that he didn’t have an answer but because he was shaking so much, words wouldn’t pass his throat. At last he spoke. “Good Great Mystery, you have given us all we could possibly need, and we are thankful, it is just . . . ” Bear paused, “. . . it is just that we are always bumpus’ing into each other, and we thought, well, that is, I thought, with light we wouldn’t be bumpus’ing so much, that’s all.” Again there was a low rumbling that filled the forest and all who had raised their heads to hear, ducked back into their hiding places. The rumbling shook the ground and the trees and the People, too. Then it changed from a rumble into, well, into a kind of chuckle, then a chortle, and then a big belly laugh. Creator was laughing, and it shook the entire world. No Person could ever remember when Creator had laughed before. This must be a very important time. Over the roaring laughter and the shaking of the forest and the cries of fear from its inhabitants, a voice could be heard. It was Bear. “Oh, Great Spirit, I am most honored that I could make you laugh, but are you happy or angry?” The laughter slowed to a snicker and then Creator was silent. “Bear, it has been a very long time since I have been so pleased,” Creator spoke. “I gave you wisdom and you resolved a problem. I gave you courage and you came to me. I gave you a voice and you have asked me for a favor. But most important, I gave you free will to choose, and you chose to come to me to help with your problem.” Creator paused. “My dear brother bear, you please me,” the Maker stated. “Now what was it that you asked for . . . ? Oh yes, light. So be it.” Now Creator spoke to all the People. “If one of you can go to the Great Cave where the heat of summer blows forth, and you go deep into the cave, you will find two glowing embers by a great fire. Take the embers from their place beside the fire and bring them out of the cave and into the forest,” He stated. “Then I will give you light.” “Yes, but . . . ” started Bear. But the air was now still and the aura of Creator’s presence was no longer in the forest. “But . . . I was just going to ask who should go for the embers,” Bear said dejectedly. In unison, the many voices of the forest called out, “You silly. You asked; you got the job.” This made sense to Bear, and he started off toward the Great Cave of the summer heat. It was a short journey as the valley was small. Soon he was at the entrance. Turning back to his fellow forest People he said, “Well, here I go! But if I don’t come out soon, please feel free to come find me.” With that, he entered the cave. Soon they could no longer hear the sounds of his giant claws as they clicked on the cave floor. Bear was now deep into the cave. As Bear felt his way along the wall of the winding cave, he soon felt a new experience. His fur was warmer, but he was aware that his eyes were trying to focus on something. This was unique since his eyes had been of no use in the black dark of the forest. Indeed, bear was experiencing a new sensation, sight. As he rounded a curve in the dim glow of the cave, he was able to see a few stones alongside the path. In fact, he could see the path. This newfound sensation of sight hurt his eyes as he was not yet accustomed to it. Soon he was eagerly exploring the cave with his eyes. The light became brighter and brighter and then as he came around yet another bend in the cave, he stepped out before a great fire. Its flames flickered in the darkness of the cave casting wonderfully scary shadows all about. Bear was very excited over all this, and he let out a big roar. “Roooooarrrrr!” he exclaimed and it echoed all through the cave, startling him as it cascaded down the path and out the Great Cave entrance. “Oh my! Bear is hurt,” Crow offered. “Or afraid,” snickered Snake. (Snake was always bad-mouthing the other People.) “Hush up, Snake, before I sit on you,” Badger shouted. The bear was anxious to see more as the fire was most mysterious and entrancing; but remembering his mission, he edged closer to the fire. At first, it felt warm like it was when he, as a cub had slept with his mother in the den. But as he drew closer, he got hotter. It was so hot that he had to pant for relief. At last he was close enough to the coals by the edge of the great fire to touch them. As he gingerly stretched out his arm to take an ember and leave, the heat became so intense that it charred the bottom of his paw black. “EEEyooooo!” he cried out in pain. “That hurt!” He tried again with each paw, with the same painful results. Injured and in pain, he made his way back into the darkness and into the valley of his ancestors. When the bear returned, the People all smelled his singed hair and burnt paws and asked, “What happened?” Bear told them of the bright light and the painful heat, and of the burns he had incurred. “I am a failure,” he told his companions. “You had expected me to bring light but all I bring is my failure and shame.” He lowered his head and sat near a big bolder beside the cave to tend to his injuries. Badger stepped toward the cave and announced, “Bear did not fail. His claws were just not long enough. I have the longest and toughest claws in the valley. I can get the ember,” he stated with great confidence. Into the cave he went. Out of the cave he came . . . with no ember. Same story: The embers were too hot to hold. Animal after animal went into the cave and came back without an ember. The People were becoming sad . . . and disappointed. The promise of light was slipping away as each of them came back without an ember. Now Grandmother Possum had been sitting nearby doing what Grandmother Possum always did, preening her beautiful fur and singing her song softly. But Possum was listening intently. After the last brave soul had attempted to retrieve an ember, and had failed, Grandmother Possum at last stopped preening and stepped toward the cave entrance. “I have been thinking,” she said. “And . . . ?” all the People said in unison. “I have heard that each of our brave friends have failed because they could not hold an ember long enough to bring it out of the cave, right?” she stated. “Yes, that is truth,” they all replied. “I think that the fur on my tail is so thick that I would not get burnt carrying the ember from the cave,” she offered. “If I can just get the ember onto my tail, I will succeed,” she said with great confidence. “Oh my, that is a great idea,” Weasel said as he was licking his burned fingers. “Yes indeed,” said Bear. And the rest of the People agreed. “Be careful, Grandmother Possum,” they all said as she entered the cave. Like the others who had traveled the cave’s path before her, she too had to become accustomed to the light and the heat. Soon she was at the Great Fire. “Mmmm,” she pondered, “it is indeed very hot.” Looking about the fire’s edge, she spotted a single ember that had fallen to the ground and had rolled a short distance from the blaze. Edging closer to the intense heat, she reached out to grab the hot ember in her paw to toss it into her tail fur. “Ouch!” she cried out in pain as the heat burned the hair from her paw, and making her fingers hurt. The beautiful fur on her hands had been singed black-gray, as was much of her fur elsewhere. Only her beautiful tail was still intact. “This is going to be harder than I thought,” she said as she sat down to ponder the situation. With determination that only a grandmother can possess, Possum thought of different plans. At last she was ready. “If I can run quickly up to the fire and scoop up an ember, I can toss it into my tail fur and run it down the cave to the valley and send it skyward to Creator,” she said. “If I can do all this very fast, I may not get burnt too badly.” So, just as she had planned, Grandmother Possum ran up to the fire and with her nose, she flipped the ember into her tail and ran quickly back to the valley. This burnt her nose but she was determined to bring light to her People. And she knew that she could not fail Creator. At the entrance of the cave, she spun around and launched the still red ember into the sky. Instantly, Creator took it and made it into the sun. In that same instant, there was now light. Everyone cheered and pointed to the bright light in the sky, exclaiming their joy. At last there was light in the valley. Now they could see everything . . . just as soon as their eyes adjusted to this new experience of light. The forest was filled with light, and the chattering of the valley inhabitants. Looking about, they were able to see the magnificent trees and the grand mountains and the sweet water that flowed in the stream in the center of the valley. At last they could see how each person looked. “Hey, everybody, Raccoon has stripes!” said Badger with glee, “and the Cardinal Bird is red!” “There is Bear,” Rabbit exclaimed. “See, his paws are black from the time he burned them in the cave.” The chatter rolled across the valley as each person spoke of their being able to see all things. There was great joy in the valley. Then Bear rose and held up his hand to quiet the People. He wanted to speak. “I for one am most thankful that Creator has given us light,” he said. Continuing, “To you, oh Great Creator, we give our thanks and love,” he said in prayer. “Ayeia,” sang out the others in agreement and praise. “And to Grandmother Possum for her bravery and determination, we now have our sun,” Bear continued. Then he looked around to find her. But Grandmother Possum was not to be seen. The People called out for her, but she did not answer. They began to look for their hero who had given them light. They looked in the trees and under the bushes. They looked to the mountain and the stream but they could not find her. At last, Chipmunk looked behind the great rock at the entrance of the cave and found her. She was hiding. “Grandmother Possum,” Bear called out, “are you alright?” “Yes, I am, but please leave me alone,” she replied. “I am no longer beautiful. I am ugly,” she said softly and began to cry. As the People looked upon her they saw that the beautiful fur on her hands and face had been burned away, leaving her mottled with singed fur and bare hands and nose. But the most disturbing sight was her tail. In carrying the ember down the cave and into the valley, she had burned off every strand of the lovely fur from her tail. Her tail was now bare to the pink flesh. Grandmother Possum was mortified. The person that all the People had called the most beautiful of the valley was now a singed and bare, ugly animal. She was so ashamed that she lowered herself even closer to the ground and tried to scrunch herself under a giant stone. Then she heard a great sound. Everyone was cheering. They were shouting her name over and over and calling her to come out to receive the respect due her. They continued until she obliged. The valley was filled with sound as the People all expressed their thanks and love for this most grand and brave person. At last she came out to thank them. She was still ashamed of her appearance, but was most gracious as she thanked them for their praise and love. Then the valley began to rumble again. The wind blew hard and the light became intense at the entrance of the cave. A great voice boomed out. “Our beloved Grandmother Possum has given that which she felt was her most valued asset; her long fur. It is gone forever, and she feels that she is no longer worthy of being in your midst,” Creator’s voice echoed across the valley. “But we all love her and we all wish to honor her,” Creator continued. “How may we do this and yet honor her wishes not to be seen?” The valley was now very quiet as all thought of a solution to their dilemma. Then Creator spoke again. “Why did I not think of this sooner? I will make Grandmother Possum a place to live where she can still be with the People of the valley and yet not be seen. I will divide the light in two and make half the time dark, as it was before she gave us the ember,” Creator stated with great satisfaction. “I will call the light time day and the dark time night.” “That is all grand and wonderful, Creator.” Bear timidly asked, “I don’t want to seem a nitpick, but won’t we still be bumpus’ing into the rumpus in the night?” With that, Creator turned to Grandmother Hummingbird. “Sister Hummingbird, will you fly to the top of the sky and use your long slender beak to punch many holes into the sky?” Quick as a wink, she flew high and darting back and forth she made a fine pattern of holes in the roof of the valley. Then she retired to rest from her work. “Thank you, Grandmother Hummingbird,” Creator exclaimed. “That was just what I had envisioned. As the light of day slowly dims for night, my light will still shine through the holes in the sky.” Creator paused and then stated, “I will call the tiny light that brightens the night sky stars.” “And now I know how we can honor Grandmother Possum,” Creator said. “I will make her the Great Leader of the night and Bear the Great Leader of the day!” It was said. It was done. So it was that the People of the valley had bright light in the day and tiny lights at night, and they never had to go bumpus’ing into each other again. Bear was a good leader of the day making sure that all the questions of the People had a good answer and that all the People were healthy and happy. And Grandmother Possum was most pleased to be the leader of the night, where she could be with the People and yet not have them feel sorry for her looks mostly because they could not see her very well. In time, she developed great night vision and did rule the night in a good and proper manner. So, if you see a possum, you will always remember that it was Possum’s great sacrifice for the People that gave us light and the night with the stars. And you will remember why she looks as she does and know that she is the Great Leader of the night. That is the end of this story Why the Possum’s Tail is Bare ©2014 Jim Great Elk Waters
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 13:29:06 +0000
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