The Project Gutenberg EBook of Old Indian Legends, by Zitkala-Sa

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Title: Old Indian Legends

Author: Zitkala-Sa

Release Date: July 5, 2008 [EBook #338]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLD INDIAN LEGENDS ***

Produced by Judith Boss

OLD INDIAN LEGENDS

Retold By Zitkala-Sa

ITKALA-SA.

CONTENTS

IKTOMI AND THE DUCKS
IKTOMI'S BLANKET
IKTOMI AND THE MUSKRAT
IKTOMI AND THE COYOTE
IKTOMI AND THE FAWN
THE BADGER AND THE BEAR
THE TREE-BOUND
SHOOTING OF THE RED EAGLE
IKTOMI AND THE TURTLE
DANCE IN A BUFFALO SKULL
THE TOAD AND THE BOY
IYA, THE CAMP-EATER
MANSTIN, THE RABBIT
THE WARLIKE SEVEN

OLD INDIAN LEGENDS

IKTOMI AND THE DUCKS

IKTOMI is a spider fairy. He wears brown deerskin leggins with long soft
fringes on either side, and tiny beaded moccasins on his feet. His long
black hair is parted in the middle and wrapped with red, red bands.
Each round braid hangs over a small brown ear and falls forward over his
shoulders.

He even paints his funny face with red and yellow, and draws big black
rings around his eyes. He wears a deerskin jacket, with bright colored
beads sewed tightly on it. Iktomi dresses like a real Dakota brave. In
truth, his paint and deerskins are the best part of him--if ever dress
is part of man or fairy.

Iktomi is a wily fellow. His hands are always kept in mischief. He
prefers to spread a snare rather than to earn the smallest thing with
honest hunting. Why! he laughs outright with wide open mouth when some
simple folk are caught in a trap, sure and fast.

He never dreams another lives so bright as he. Often his own conceit
leads him hard against the common sense of simpler people.

Poor Iktomi cannot help being a little imp. And so long as he is a
naughty fairy, he cannot find a single friend. No one helps him when
he is in trouble. No one really loves him. Those who come to admire his
handsome beaded jacket and long fringed leggins soon go away sick and
tired of his vain, vain words and heartless laughter.

Thus Iktomi lives alone in a cone-