An Onondaga Legend about the Stars

1. An Onondaga Legend about the Stars A long time ago, some Indians went through the woods to look for a good place to hunt. They traveled for several days through a very wild country. They went slowly and camped every night. At last they reached Kan-ya-ti-yo, "the beautiful lake," where the gray rocks were covered with great forest trees. Many fish swan in the waters, and at every shore the deer came down from the hills to bathe or drink from the lake. On the hills and in the valleys were huge beech and chestnut trees, where squirrels chattered, and bears came to eat their morning and evening meals. The chief of the band was Hah-yah-no, "Tracks in the water," and he stopped his party on the lake shore so he could give thanks to the Great Spirit for his people’s safe arrival at this peaceful place. "Here we will build our houses for the winter, and may the Great Spirit, who has helped us on our way, send us plenty of food, health and peace." The Indian is always thankful.

2. Continued… The pleasant autumn days passed on. The houses had been built, and hunting had gone well. The children of the village took a fancy to dance for fun. They were getting bored so they met daily in a quiet spot by the lake to have their jolly dance. They did this many times. One day, a very old man came to them. They had seen no one like him before. He was dressed in white feathers, and his white hair shone like silver. If his appearance was strange, his words were unpleasant as well. He told them they must stop their dancing, or evil would happen to them. The children did not listen, for they loved their dance. Again and again the old man appeared to repeat his warning. Just dancing did not make the children happy enough so a little boy, who liked a good dinner, suggested a feast the next time they met. The food had to come from their parents, so they all asked when they got home. "You will waste our food," said one parent. "You can eat at home as you should," said another, and so the children got nothing at all. They were sorry for this but they still met and danced as before. A little to eat after each dance would have made them happy. Empty stomachs cause no joy.

3. Continued… One day, as they danced, they found themselves rising little by little into the air, their heads being light from hunger. How this happened they did not know, but one said, "Do not look back, for something strange is taking place." A woman, too, saw them rise, and called them back, but with no effect, for they still rose slowly above the earth. She ran to the camp, and all rushed out with food of every kind, but the children would not return, though their parents called after them. Only one child looked back, and he became a falling star. The others reached the sky, and are now what we call the Pleiades stars, and what the Onondagas call Oot-kwa-tah. Every falling or shooting star recalls the story, but the seven stars shine on continuously, a pretty band of dancing children.

4. Why Rabbit Has a Short Tail Back when the world was young, the Rabbit had a very long, big tail. In fact, his tail was longer and bigger than the tail of the Fox. Now Rabbit was very proud of his tail and he was constantly telling all the other animals about how beautiful his tail was. One day Fox became so tired of hearing Rabbit talk about his tail that he decided to put an end to it once and for all. The weather was getting colder. One day it finally became so cold that the waters in the lake and streams froze. A few days later, Fox went down to the lake carrying four Fish. When he got to the lake, he cut a hole in the ice. He tied those four Fish to his tail, then sat down and waited for Rabbit to come.

5. Continued… • Soon Rabbit came over the top of the ridge. When Fox saw Rabbit, he quickly dropped his tail into the cold water. Rabbit came right up to Fox and said, "What are you doing, Fox?" Fox answered, "I'm fishing". And Rabbit asked, "With your tail?" Fox replied, "Oh yes, that's the very best way to catch the most Fish." • Rabbit asked, "How long have you been a fishing?" Fox lied and said, "Oh, only about fifteen minutes." Rabbit asked, "Have you caught any Fish yet?" Then Fox pulled up his tail, and there were those four Fish hanging on it. • Rabbit asked, "What do you plan to do with the Fish you catch?" Foxsaid, "Well, I figure I'll fish until I catch enough fish to take to the Cherokee Village and then trade them for a pair of beautiful tail combs. There is only one set of tail combs left and I really want them. "Fox could see that Rabbit was thinking. Rabbit thought to himself, "If I fished all night long, I bet I would have enough fish by morning to trade at the Cherokee Village. Then I could get those tail combs for myself."

6. Continued… • Fox said, "It's getting late and I'm cold. I think I'll come back and fish some more in the morning. See ya, Rabbit.." Then Fox ran off over the top of the hill. As soon as Fox was out of sight, Rabbit dropped his tail down into the icy water of the lake. Brrrrr, it was cold! But Rabbit thought, "Oh, no. I want those tail combs more than anything." So he sat down on the hole in the ice and fished all night long. • Soon after the sun came up, Fox ran over the top of the hill. He ran right up to Rabbit. He said, "What are you doing there, Rabbit?" The teeth of Rabbit began to chatter. "I'm ffffissshing, Fffox." Fox asked, "Well have you caught any fish?" Rabbit started to get up but he found he couldn't move. He said, "Fffox you've ggott to helppp me. I'mmm ssstttuck." • So Fox, with a big smile on his face walked behind Rabbit. He gave Rabbit one great big push. Rabbit popped out of that hole with a BANG and landed on the other side of the lake...But his tail...was still stuck in the frozen water. And that's why from that day, Rabbit has such a very short tail.