It happened a long time ago, before
the white man first came to our lands. There was a chief who had a very
beautiful daughter, He wanted to make sure that she married a strong
and healthy warrior. As the young men began to come around to court her,
the chief became worried. He decided to reduce the odds by having a
race. He told all of the young men that the one with the strongest legs
could marry his daughter. Coyote, was the crafty one and a good runner
with a lot of power, so he came first. He showed how long his legs were
and how fast he could run. Then Deer came , a very handsome and strong
Buck. Now he showed how powerful his legs were at jumping , although
they were somewhat knotted . Then Grizzly Bear came along. Well now, BEAR
stood up and growled ...so everyone could see that he had very powerful
and strong legs. legs. So he claimed the girl. But Blue Jay hollered, "
Hey, that's not fair." " There are others that should be considered."
While the others were showing their legs, Blue Jay hid behind an old
hollow log. Where he had gathered a lot of moss, and he used clay to pack
the moss around his legs. This made them look stronger and bigger than
anyone else's legs. Even Grizzly Bear's. But just to sweeten the pot.,
Blue Jay, also offered all kind of feathers, that he had obtained form
many of his bird relatives. The old chief was fooled by this, and let
his beautiful daughter go with Blue Jay. Now Blue Jay had to carry his
new wife across a stream of water in order to reach his lodge., on the
other side. As he began this hard journey, the water softened the moss
and clay , so they fell from legs. When he climbed up on the other side
of the stream bank. everyone began to laugh and laugh. So Grizzly Bear
came down to the stream and claimed his prize. and with his strong
legs, carried his new wife, up the side of the mountain. And anytime that
Bear tries to come back and visit, Blue Jay will start squawking all
over the forest and he makes a terrible noise. Blue Jay does this because
he is so jealous and doesn't like to be laughed at.