Reading Diary B: Native American Hero Tales

Here are my favorites from the second half of the Native American Hero Tales unit:

The Son-in-Law Tests: What is it with the men in these stories killing of their family members? This time it's a family member by marriage, specifically sons-in-law. A (demon?) man named Wemicus continues to "test" his daughter's husbands in order to kill them and marry her to another one. If I knew what had happened to the rest of them, I wouldn't have agreed to marry her. But maybe she was really pretty or the guys thought they would be the one that wouldn't die. The unnamed hero of this story only avoids his fate because he wife tells him what her father is going to do. Why didn't she help any of her other husbands? Maybe she did but they were still outwitted by her father still. After he is defeated by his son-in-law, Wemicus turns into a pike, another animal I did not know about. Apparently, it is the fish you see below. I find it kind of creepy looking.

Pike
(Wikimedia Commons)

The Jealous Father: It seems like the heroes in these stories have some pretty messed up family members. The father in this story thinks his son from one of his two wives has "played tricks" on his stepmother (yes, that's a euphemism) so he leaves him on an island all by himself. The boy must undertake an adventurous journey home, avoiding the traps his father has laid in his way. He's assisted by people his mother sent to help him get home and their aid is what allows him to succeed. The story takes a dark turn when the boy sets the forest on fire and convinces his father that hiding in grease will save him. The father ends up being burned alive. Yikes. That's a bad way to go.

Dirt-Boy: Finally, a story with more than one person that you like. The Sun and his sister Star come down from the sky so he can make his claim to marry the sought-after daughters of a chief. The one who doesn't care that they are (disguised as) poor and ugly people is thoroughly rewarded. Though her father tried to avoid giving his daughters to Dirt-Boy (Sun in disguise), he was only thinking of their happiness and it's hard to hold that against him. I could see myself rewriting this story because I like the protagonists and its positive message. I'm not sure yet if I want to make it more modern, more realistic, or stick close to the original.