Week 10 Storytelling: Raven

Before there were humans on Earth, there were Animals. Animals like Bear roamed the silent forests, Snake slithered across fallen leaves, Beaver built sturdy dams, and so on. One such Animal was Raven. Raven was different from some of the other Animals because he could create things. Beaver might have been able to create dams, but Raven could create plants, new animals, and anything else he wanted. 

When Raven first started creating, he created grass. Before, the land was covered in dirt as far as the eye could see. Raven found this rather boring, and wanted something better. So, Raven landed on the dirt and used his beak to pull at it, as if pulling something out of it. After a few tries, Raven pulled up a single blade of fresh, green grass. He continued this way for years and years until grass grew in most places.

(Agriculture Grass on Wikimedia)

After creating many types of plants, Raven decided to create something more. He started small and created a caterpillar. He did this by taking a small bit of wet clay from the ground and wrapping it in a dark green leaf from one of the trees. He flapped his wings over the small form and watched as it started to wriggle with life. Over the next few days, Raven watched the caterpillar closely, studying its movements. 

(Papilio machanon Caterpillar on a leaf from Wikimedia)

Eventually, Raven wanted to create something bigger. Starting with tiny mice, Raven began creating all sorts of animals. Bears, snakes, beavers, and more were created day after day. It took many years, but Raven created all the different animals, one animal at a time. This filled Raven with great pride, and he spent many happy years among his animal creations.

One day, Raven decided his life could be better if he gave some of the other animals the ability to think like he did. Raven chose one animal of each species, and granted them a sort of higher thought. These animals became known by their names, Bear, Snake, Beaver, and so on, just like Raven. All of these higher animals made up a great court which operated under Raven. And so it was for many millennium. 

(Kamchatka Brown Bear from Wikimedia)

Years and years later, Raven was flying through a forest that rested on the edge of a beach when he saw something strange. A large pod had been hanging from a vine, similar to when caterpillars transformed, but much larger. Raven flew closer to investigate. As he drew nearer, he noticed the large pod was broken open at the bottom, and beneath it in the sand was a strange creature.

Raven landed on the sand beside the creature and looked over it curiously. Being the creator of all other creatures, Raven was confused because he certainly did not remember creating this one. While he was pondering, Raven remembered something. Using his wing, he lifted his beak which suddenly transformed into a type of mask and was lifted away from his face. It had been thousands of years since Raven had changed from his bird form, and he had forgotten what his other form felt and looked like.

Now that he was transformed, Raven could see this strange creature very much looked like his non-bird form. Raven shook the creature awake. When it woke up, it seem dazed and unsure of where it was. After talking for a bit, Raven called the creature Man, and decided this man was to be the first of many. 

(People on pixabay)

Over the next few years, Raven taught Man how to navigate the world they lived in. Raven even created more men and some women so that Man could have a community. Raven and Man went on this way, teacher and student, until the day Man could teach what he had learned to the other people.

As humanity expanded, Raven was always there watching, proud of the people, animals, and plants he had created.

(Planet Earth by Dawn Hudson on publicdomainpictures.net)

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Author's note: In the original story, Raven creates all sorts of animals, plants, and non-living things. He finds Man on the ground one day, where Man had broken out of a pod. Raven then takes Man and creates many animals for him to hunt and eat, and explains which animals are good to catch. Raven eventually makes Woman out of clay for Man. More men and women are created and they all live together while Raven continues to teach Man different things about the world.  

I wanted to tell more about the world before Man came to be. In that way, I guess this is sort of a prequel to the original story. I also wanted to challenge myself to keep the story shorter this time, instead of right at the max word limit. 

Bibliography: Bibliography: Alaskan Legends Unit from Myths and Legends of Alaska, edited by Katharine Berry Judson (1911). (Web Source)