My Myth

In the beginning, there was an old wise king who ruled over the whole earth. He was unhappy because the earth was empty and he and his wife were alone. One day he went to his wife and said, “It isn’t good that we should live alone on this earth. Bring forth children so that we may have hands to do our work.” And she gave birth to four sons in four years, and the king was very happy. His sons were born with beautiful feathered wings and with them they cultivated the earth to their father’s liking. They spread seeds that grew into tall oak trees and provided shade. They planted fruits and vegetables for sustenance, and they made flowers grow.

            When Eldest Brother came of age, his father called to him and said, “Your work here has pleased me very much, and you are now old enough that you should have your own wife, and your own land to cultivate as you see fit. Go now towards the north for four days, once you have passed over the mountains you will find a wife and home I have made for you. All the land of the north will be yours.” So Eldest Brother went to the north, but after only two days he grew tired and rested on the top of the mountain.

            As he rested Wind Spirit came to him and said, “Why must you travel so far? I have seen the woman your father has made for you and she is very ugly. Take me as your wife instead and you can live in these mountains.”  Eldest Brother saw that she was very beautiful, so he took her as his wife instead, and made his home on the highest peak of the mountain.

            When The Old Wise King heard this he was furious. So he replaced Eldest Son’s handsome face with an ugly one, and gave him a hard beak so that he could never kiss his wife. And Eldest Brother lived in the highest mountains with Wind Spirit for the rest of his days. His offspring would grow to be the Eagles of the North.

When Second Brother came of age, his father called to him and said, “Your work here has pleased me very much, and you are now old enough that you should have your own wife, and your own land to cultivate as you see fit. Go now towards the east for four days, once you have passed over the Great Lake you will find a wife and home I have made for you. All the land of the east will be yours.” So Second Brother paddled to the east, but after only two days he grew tired and rested on his canoe.

            As he rested Water Spirit came to him and said, “Why must you travel so far? I have seen the woman your father has made for you and she is very ugly. Take me as your wife instead and you can live on this water.”  Second Brother saw that she was very beautiful, so he took her as his wife instead, and made his home in the depths of the Lake.

            When The Old Wise King heard this he was furious. So he replaced Second Son’s beautiful wings with short fins for the water, and took away his speech so that he couldn’t converse with his wife. So Second Brother lived in the deepest waters with Water Spirit for the rest of his days. His offspring would grow to be the wild fish and whale of the East.

            When the Third Brother came of age, his father called to him and said, “Your work here has pleased me very much, and you are now old enough that you should have your own wife, and your own land to cultivate as you see fit. Go now towards the west for four days, once you have passed through the Dense Forest you will find a wife and home I have made for you. All the land of the west will be yours.” So Third Brother traveled to the west, but after only two days he grew tired and rested under an apple tree.

            As he rested Tree Spirit came to him and said, “Why must you travel so far? I have seen the woman your father has made for you and she is very ugly. Take me as your wife instead and you can live in this wood with me.”  The Third Brother saw that she was very beautiful, so he took her as his wife instead, and made his home in the Dense Forest.

            When The Old Wise King heard this he was furious. So he took away Third Son’s feathered wings, and made him walk on four legs instead of two, so that he could not embrace his wife. So Third Brother lived in the deepest forest with Tree Spirit for the rest of his days. His offspring would grow to be the wild bear and elk of the west.

            When the Youngest Brother came of age, his father called to him and said, “Your work here has pleased me very much, and you are now old enough that you should have your own wife, and your own land to cultivate as you see fit. Go now towards the south for four days, once you have passed through the desert you will find a wife and home I have made for you. All the land of the entire earth will be yours.” So the Youngest Brother went to the south, but after only two days he grew tired and rested on a sand dune.

            As he rested Fire Spirit came to him and said, “Why must you travel so far? I have seen the woman your father has made for you and she is very ugly. Take me as your wife instead and you can live in this desert with me.”  The Youngest Brother saw that she was very beautiful, but he would not take her as a wife because he remembered his brothers’ mistakes. Instead he continued on two more days and found his wife and home. He saw that the wife his father had made for him was very beautiful, and would produce many children.

            When The Old Wise King heard this he was overjoyed. So he called to Youngest Son and said, “To you I give all the lands of the earth, and it will be your duty to populate them with your children, and to grow and nourish the land. And I will give you dominance over your brothers and their offspring.” So Youngest Brother lived for many years and his descendants became the inhabitants of the earth.