Reading Notes: American Indian Fairy Tales Part B

How the Summer Came (End) by W.T. Larned (1921)

There was a man who was very skilled and could do anything he put his mind to. He also had a son who strived to be just like him. Unfortunately, the earth was always very cold. They had heard, though, that in the sky was a place so beautiful. This place was warm, and had summer. One day, the boy was hunting, and the squirrel he was about to shoot spoke up. The squirrel told him that if someone were to go to the sky and bring back summer, it would be a blessing for everyone.

(Summer)

The boy went home to his dad and asked him if he could go to the sky and bring back summer. After much thought and discussion with the animals, the father learned of a tall mountain that want up past the clouds. It took 20 days for the father and the animals to reach the top of the mountain. Once they reached the top, they took a break, and prayed to the Great Spirit for success in their attempt to bring back summer. The animals took turns jumping and trying to get into the sky. The wolverine, after several attempts, was able to "break" the sky and enter. The father followed him, and inside was a beautiful land. It was warm, and there were so many cages with beautiful birds inside. They stood there admiring the land, as summer started to seep out through the hole in the sky that the wolverine created. They went to open the cages to let the birds out so they could follow. The sky-dwellers saw this, and try to catch the wolverine before he was able to escape back through the hole and down to earth. The father, however, remained opening bird cages. Autumn, Spring, and most of Summer were able to escape before the sky-dwellers closed the hole back up. As they tried to pursue the father, he transformed into the fisher(bird). They continued to chase him and shot their arrows at him until one finally hit him in a spot that was fatal. He asked them to please leave him there alone to die. When they left, he tried to find a hole in the plains where he could escape back to earth. He was unable to, and died on the plain. However, he was happy he was able to keep his promise to his son.