·
In this story, humans could (still) talk with
other animals
·
Some children were playing outside while their
mother was inside
·
The mother heard the children scream, and she
ran out to find a rattlesnake
o
She promptly killed it with a stick
·
Meanwhile the father was out hunting in the mountains
when he came across a company of rattlesnakes that seemed to be mourning
·
The rattlesnakes reveal to the man that his wife
had killed their chief and that they were about to send the Black Rattlesnake
to exact revenge
·
The hunter gave his condolences, but they stated
that if he was really sorry, then he must be ready to sacrifice his wife for
the life of their chief
·
The hunter consented simply because he did not
know what would happen if he rejected them
·
The snakes told the hunter that the Black
Rattlesnake would go home with him and strike his wife after he sends her out
for water from the spring
·
The hunter does as he was told and sends his
wife out. As soon as she steps out the door, she is bitten. Then the man runs
out to find his dying wife and he stays by her
·
The Black Rattlesnake states that his tribe is
satisfied, and he teaches the hunter a song to sing so that rattlesnakes will
not bite his people. If the snake does bite, then they must sing the song and that
person will recover
Bibliography: This story can be found here. Story source: Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).
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