Week 9 Storytelling: Man's Best Friend

As a young dog, I spent a lot of time around the First People, who came from the skies. They were curious of their surroundings and explored everywhere that they could. In those early days I did not go with the elder First People to explore, but instead I stayed back with the little ones because I was still a young dog, or "pup," as they call it. We spent all day together, running around the village and playing a game they call "fetch." It's actually a great game! And it never got old, even when I did.

As I grew older, the First People started to take me along with them on their exploration trips. We saw many different lands, but we never saw any other people. I didn't care to meet any other people anyway, because the First People treated me good and kept me fed. Of course I did my part for them and helped them haul heavy loads, along with some of the other dogs in my pack. As a matter of fact, we dogs loved to haul around heavy loads, because it made us bigger and stronger.

After more time had passed I was a fully grown dog who had earned my own eagle feather. This was a great honor among the First People because it symbolized one's experience and wisdom. However, my true test came when the Water People came into contact with us. The Water People suddenly appeared one day and for the most part they seemed like honorable people with good intentions.

We established hunting grounds for the First People and hunting grounds for the Water People, but anyone was allowed to hunt as long as there was plenty of game. For a while we both lived in peace, but one night I noticed something off. As I was laying down enjoying the night breeze, I smelt one of the Water People off in the distance. Naturally, I picked up and followed the scent until I was close enough to see the person I was tracking.

When I got close enough, I was shocked from what I saw, the Water Person was putting a boy inside of a log and closing it up. I had no idea what his intentions were, I just knew that I didn't like it. The Water Person was fully covered from head to toe in a thick hide and carried both a bow and knife made from the shoulder blade of a deer. Needless to say, I knew that I couldn't take him by myself, so I circled the Water Person in hopes of finding a weakness, but there was none.

I waited in the bushes, silently, until the Water Person left, then I went over to the log and barked softly to the boy inside. There was no response. In a panic, I began to scratch and claw at the bark of the log until I made a hole big enough to get the boy out of. I managed to pull the boy out of the log by my teeth, but he still did not wake up. Thinking that the Water Person was far away by now, I began to bark to let the pack know I needed help.

To my surprise, a spear flew right past my ear, barely missing me. Without looking back, I hurriedly dug myself under the boy and stood up, having the boy on top of my back. I ran faster than I thought my four paws could take me. However, it wasn't fast enough. The Water Person tackled me from the side and knocked the boy off my back, but he woke he boy up in the process. Startled, the boy took off running back toward the village. I stayed back to give the boy any time that I could.

I took a wide stance on my four paws and gave a low growl to the Water Person, hoping that I could intimidate him to leave. He didn't take the hint, but rather he drew his deer knife and stood ready for an attack. Growing impatient, he made the first move, lunging toward me for a kill strike, but I managed to side step and bite down hard on his wrist. He dropped the knife and I made my move. Jumping at his face, I began to claw and bite any skin that was exposed from the thick hide that he wore.

I wasn't very successful and the Water Person managed to throw me off of himself. I landed on my side, but I quickly got back on all fours, only to realize that I couldn't breathe properly. Looking to my side, the Water Person's spear was sticking out of me and I collapsed. The Water Person approached me with his deer knife and was just about to stab me when my pack appeared and overwhelmed him. After that, I lost consciousness.

I woke up back in the village with my wounds bound up by the First People and with the boy sitting beside me. I looked around some more and I noticed my pack was there too. As a matter of fact, the entire village was there. I guess they thought I wasn't going to make it through my injuries and came to pay their last respects. Then, the village chief walked up to me and said, "that was my boy you saved, you really are man's best friend."







Author's Note: I based my story on the Jealous Uncle story from the Native American Hero Tales unit. In the original story, the uncle attempts to kill his nephew, but each time the nephew escapes using toys from the previous nephews that the uncle had killed. In my story, I wanted to take the perspective of an animal who would end up saving the nephew and thus demonstrate that dogs are loyal to the end.

Bibliography: Native American Hero Tales by Stith Thompson

Image: Hunting dog