Retold by:Dana Brashear
redsun image
The day was growing hotter as the sun arose and the two warriors had not seen anything besides a squirrel lurking in a nearby tree. They were no longer thirsty nor hungry since they had the pause by the stream. Sweat started to bead up on Ududu's brow and Morning-Dawn began to feel the stickiness of the air.
"Grandfather the sun is shining so brightly! Maybe, we could seek shelter under one of those towering oaks for a little while."
"Morning-Dawn, we have already wasted enough time down by the stream. We must keep going. You can be strong. Tie your harness around these feathers and put it on top of your head. That will provide you enough shade."
"Has the sun ever been so hot, Ududu? I think that she wants to scorch us with her angry flames just like Selu did to her husband!" Morning-Dawn put the band of feathers around his head and lifted his bow to the sky. "Do you think that my arrow could pierce the sun and she will hide behind a cloud for the rest of the day?"
"Little one, you have lots to learn and though you are a great hunter, your arrow would not hurt the sun mother." Ududu wiped his brow and tilted Morning-Dawn's headdress back. "Have you ever heard of the story of mother sun and her daughter?"
Morning-Dawn followed his grandfather's path and listened intently.
"The sun lived on the tip of the earth. You can see her flames in the morning and the evening. Her daughter lived straight above the earth and sometimes the sun would climb up the sky to visit with her daughter and have lunch. The sun hated the men that lived on the earth. She told her brother the moon that she could not stand the little men because they could not look at her without screwing up their faces. She did not like the ugly faces that they made at her beauty."
Morning-Dawn stopped in the middle of the path and looked upward towards the sky. "Ududu, I cannot look at the sun without closing my eyes. She is too bright and her flames seem too near!"
"Yes, I know, Morning-Dawn. She is very powerful and only a few can look at her in all her glory. She was very angered by this. Her moon brother told her not to worry and that he liked the men. They always smiled and greeted him whenever he was present. The men loved to see his glow in the night sky. The sun's heart was hardened against the men and she became envious of her brother. She decided to kill the men" Ududu looked at the boy standing behind him, and seeing his scared face he replied "But she did not get her wish. "
"The sun decided that whenever she would go visit her daughter that she would make herself so hot that the men could not stand it and started to die of fever. The men grew very angry, for they had lost some great friends to the sun's wrath. The men did not know what to do so they went to the little people for help. The men knew the little people had special powers and could help them get rid of the sun."
"What could the little people do? Where they also dying of fever? Tell me, Ududu, what happened?" Morning-Dawn did not know much of the little people, other than they helped others in need and were very kind.
"No, Morning-Dawn, the little people lived in the woods where there was plenty of shade, so the sun's wrath did not harm them. The little people came up with a plan to turn two of the men into snakes. The two snakes then went up into the sky vault and waited for the sun. The sun was shining too bright and it blinded the snakes when she came near. The snakes were afraid and came down from the sky and the sun continued on with her day."
"The snakes were afraid? How did they get up to the sky vault?" Morning-Dawn looked very confused.
"The snakes were afraid because they were really men and the little people helped them up into the sky vault. Listen, little one, do you hear the rustling in the bush? Be quiet and you will hear the breath of the deer. " The two stopped in the path and waited for the deer to make a sound. They could not see it, but they knew he was near. Morning-Dawn gripped his bow and took hold of the arrow. The deer heard the crackling of the brush and ran. Morning-Dawn let his arrow fly but the deer was already gone.
" You will get another chance. Perhaps you would like to know more about the sun and the men? The men were disappointed and went to the little men again. This time they made one of the men into a wild beast called Uktena, or water monster. The other man was made into a rattlesnake. The two darted towards the sun's daughter's house. The rattlesnake made it there first and coiled up inside. Just then the sun's daughter opened the door and the rattlesnake was so excited that he sprung at her and bit her. He did not get the sun. However, he killed the sun's daughter! Uktena was so mad that he grew fierce and angry. The men of the earth began to fear him and sent him to the end of the world."
"The end of the world? " Morning-Dawn had heard of this place.
"They sent him to Galun'lati, the end of the world. The sun found out that they had killed her daughter and began to cry. She then turned her face from the earth and hid. The men did not like the darkness either, so they asked the little people for help. The little people chose seven brave men and gave them each a rod. They then received a box. They were to travel to Tsusgina'i, the ghost country, and find the sun's daughter dancing in the circle of the dead. " Morning-Dawn shivered. He thought to himself how brave the men were.
"The men went into the darkening land of the west and found the sun's daughter. They hit her seven times with their rods and put her into the box. On the way home she began to cry and ask to be let out. The men took pity on her and opened the box. Out flew a little redbird. The sun's daughter had been turned into a redbird. The brave men failed to bring the sun's daughter back to her so she cried and cried. The men of the earth had to dance for her and play the skin drums so she would be happy. The men were never allowed to bring back anyone else from the dead."
Author's note: I changed some of the story. I left out a lot of details because the original was way too long! The original story had more details about how the sun felt when her daughter died and I thought that it was too much. It also had the little people playing a bigger part. I thought this story was interesting because the people and the sun interact along with various other animals. It is also important to note that the Cherokee believe that when one dies their spirit can be recirculated and come back in the form of an animal. The sparrow shows this. The sparrow is considered sacred to many of the Cherokees and is found in a lot of their rituals and other tales. I included some more Cherokee words and made the interaction between Ududu and Morning-Dawn more realistic. They were on a hunting trip so seeing other animals was integral to the frametale. To view my "Selu" and "The Goodluck Berries", click on the links provided. Click on storybook to go back. You can email me at Dana.L.Brashear-1@ou.edu. The original story was found at wayaadisi.