THE UNKTOMI (SPIDER), TWO WIDOWS, AND THE RED PLUMS
Sioux

 

 

There once lived, in a remote part of a great forest, two widowed sisters,
with their little babies. One day there came to their tent a visitor who was
called Unktomi (spider). He had found some nice red plums during his
wanderings in the forest, and he said to himself, "I will keep these plums
and fool the two widows with them." After the widows had bidden him be
seated, he presented them with the plums.

On seeing them they exclaimed "hi nu, hi nu (an exclamation of surprise),
where did you get those fine plums?" Unktomi arose and pointing to a crimson
tipped cloud, said: "You see that red cloud? Directly underneath it is a
patch of plums. So large is the patch and so red and beautiful are the plums
that it is the reflection of them on the cloud that you see."

"Oh, how we wish some one would take care of our babies, while we go over
there and pick some," said the sisters. "Why, I am not in any particular
hurry, so if you want to go I will take care of my little nephews until you
return." (Unktomi always claimed relationship with everyone he met). "Well
brother," said the older widow, "take good care of them and we will be back
as soon as possible."

The two then took a sack in which to gather the plums, and started off
towards the cloud with the crimson lining. Scarcely had they gone from
Unktomi's sight when he took the babies out of their swinging hammocks and
cut off first one head and then the other. He then took some old blankets
and rolled them in the shape of a baby body andlaid one in each hammock.
Then he took the heads and put them in place in their different hammocks.
The bodies he cut up and threw into a large kettle. This he placed over a
rousing fire.

Then he mixed Indian turnips and arikara squash with the baby meat and soon
had a kettle of soup. Just about the time the soup was ready to serve the
widows returned. They were tired and hungry and not a plum had they.
Unktomi, hearing the approach of the two, hurriedly dished out the baby soup
in two wooden dishes and then seated himself near the door so that he could
get out easily. Upon the entrance of the widows, Unktomi exclaimed:
"Sisters, I had brought some meat with me and I cooked some turnips and
squash with it and made a pot of fine soup. The babies have just fallen
asleep, so don't waken them until you have finished eating, for I know that
you are nearly starved."

The two fell to at once and after they had somewhat appeased their
appetites, one of them arose and went over to see how her baby was resting.
Noting an unnatural color on her baby's face, she raised him up only to have
his head roll off from the bundle of blankets. "'My son! my son!" she cried
out.

At once the other hastened to her baby and grabbed it up, only to have the
same thing happen. At once they surmised who had done this, and caught up
sticks from the fire with which to beat Unktomi to death. He, expecting
something like this to happen, lost very little time in getting outside and
down into a hole at the roots of a large tree. The two widows not being able
to follow Unktomi down into the hole, had to give up trying to get him out,
and passed the rest of the day and night crying for their beloved babies. In
the meantime Unktomi had gotten out by another opening, and fixing himself
up in an entirely different style, and painting his face in a manner that
they would not recognize him, he cautiously approached the weeping women and
inquired the cause of their tears.

Thus they answered him: "Unktomi came here and fooled us about some plums,
and while we were absent killed our babies and made soup out of their
bodies. Then he gave us the soup to eat, which we did, and when we found out
what he had done we tried to kill him, but he crawled down into that hole
and we could not get him out."

"I will get him out," said the mock stranger, and with that he crawled down
into the hole and scratched his own face all over to make the widows believe
he had been fighting with Unktomi. "I have killed him, and that you may see
him I have enlarged the hole so you can crawl in and see for yourselves,
also to take some revenge on his dead body." The two foolish widows,
believing him, crawled into the hole, only to be blocked up by Unktomi, who
at once gathered great piles of wood and stuffing it into the hole, set it
on fire, and thus ended the last of the family who were foolish enough to
let Unktomi tempt them with a few red plums.

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~Native Pride Wisdom~