The ocean hasn't always been able to change it height. Along
time ago there was a very large reason that the tide was not allowed to
obey the moon, rising and falling on the shores of the land. There
was a very large man who sat on the tide and kept it mile away from the
shore. This is what the raven learned when he was searching for way
to get the ocean to move. He had learned that there we tasty morsels
hiding in many different kinds of shell, just below the surface of the
water. The raven knew that he could not possibly
possess the ability to make to the ocean move. He was hopeless until
he thought of someone who might know how to control the waves of the ocean.
He knew there was a man who rode in and out with the fog over the ocean
each day. The raven thought that he would have to know how to control
the ocean if he could ride back and forth over its surface each day.
Though the raven knew of the Fog Man, he did not know how to find him.
It was early afternoon and the fog was long gone for the day. The
raven knew he had to find the Fog Man if he wanted to learn how to move
the shores, he thought and thought about how he could find the Fog Man.
Then it finally came to him, he should look for the Fog Man to the North.
The fog always went out to the North, so that is where the Fog Man must
live.
The raven flew north for a very long time, finally he saw an old man
with a wide brimmed hat. Instead of presenting and introducing himself
politely, the raven swooped down behind the old man and stole his hat.
The old man jumped in suprise. When he saw what had happened to his
hat, he demanded that the raven give it back immediately. The raven
said, "Tell me how to make the ocean move so that I will always be able
to feed myself on the shellfish who live on the ocean's floor. Once
my needs are met, then I will return your hat. The Fog Man was perturbed
and wanted his hat back. He was relieved for a moment because he
did not know the secret of the ocean. He told the raven that he could
not help and demanded his hat back once again. The raven still refused
to give the hat back. Finally, the Fog Man thought of something that
might help the raven and help him get his hat back. He called out
to the raven, "I know who you could ask to help you move the ocean, the
Man who sits on the tide!" The raven called out, "I have never heard
of such a man, but if I can find him, then I will return your hat."
The raven had flown far away from the shore and was just about to give
up looking for the Man who sits on the tide when he saw an island just
ahead. He decided that he should stop and take a rest before he began
the long journey home. He was just about to land when he realized
that it was not an island at all. It was a giant man sitting crumpled
over, with his head in his hands. The raven called out to the man,
"What are you doing, sitting in the middle of the ocean, like that?"
The giant looked up slowly and said "I am sitting here because it is my
job to sit on the tide?" The raven thought that this was not a very
good reason to sit all alone in the middle of the ocean, so he asked the
man what would happen if he didn't sit on the tide. The man did not
know the answer to this question because he had been sitting on the tide
forever. The raven was sure that he must figure out what would happen
if the Man was not sitting on the tide. As he thought about how to
get the Man up, he was flying around and around the Man. While he
was flying he notice that part of the Man's rear end was sticking up out
of the water. Without a second thought, he redirected his flight
and pointed his beak directly at the most tender spot of the Man's rear.
Just as he was about to take off, the raven lifted up the hat he had taken
from the Fog Man. As he lifted the hat, a thick fog blinded the Man
who sits on the tide, so he couldn't see what the raven was doing. When
the raven's beak pierced his skin like a sharp needle, the man jumped all
the way out of the water. As the weight was lifted all the ocean
water started to drain into a huge hole and the tides were allowed to recede.
When the water receded, all the tasty shell creatures were revealed.
Too quickly the Man sat right back down and the waters returned to fill
the void where they had been before. The raven tried to convince
the Man to stand up again, but he refused. No matter what he said,
he could not convince the Man that he should quit his job of sitting on
the tide. Meanwhile the raven was starving, he had to get a taste
of those shellfish. In his desperation, the raven decided that he
must puncture the sore wound on the rear of the Man every day in order
to keep himself alive. The raven continued to torment the Man until he
lost count of the days. Then one day, when was flying out to do his
daily deed, he saw the man slowly stand up, look around for a while and
then sit back down. He could not resist asking the Man why he would
stand up only to sit back down again. To which the Man replied,
"I have to, its my job to make the tide come and go!"
The raven is the main character present in many stories stemming
from the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest. In these stories,
the raven is commonly known as a tickster. In this story, the raven
is definitely up to his usual tricks. Though the other characters
in the story know to be wary of him, the raven is still able to influence
the events, including the actions of other characters in the story.
The fact that he is successful in his efforts with the ocean suggest that
change is inevitable whether people want it to come or not. Raven's
persistent efforts in relation to the gradual change of the ocean offer
an example of a transitional period, or a slow evolving towards a specific
change within a society, in this case, the animal world. The story
also provides a lesson in logic, the crow, who knew exactly why he wanted
what he did overcame the will of the man who sat on the tide who did not
know why he did what he did. For children this is story could be
used to teach about the benefits of being persistent, quick witted, and
of knowing the reason behind their actions.
This image was produced by Lisa Konrad. Original story: McWilliams,
Barry. For complete bibliographical reference, please view my Bibliography.
