Folktales of the North American Indian - Henry Rowe Schoolcraft

For the native peoples of North America nature was deeply revered, and the spirit world was irrevocably entwined with everyday life. Henry Schoolcraft, from whose collection of Native American stories the selection in this book have been chosen, was one of the first people to study the Indian way of life. For thirty years, in the early part of the nineteenth century, he lived among Native Americans and wrote down their traditional tales which had been passed to successive generations through word of mouth.

In these tales colourful characters abound: the toad-woman who steals babies; the mischievous giant Manabozho; and the man who hops on one leg. There is the girl who weaves a net of her hair to ensnare the Sun; the twelve celestial sisters who come down to earth to dance; and the boy who prefers his guardian spirit turning him into a robin to being endowed with wisdom and strength.