232 BIRDS IN LEGEND 



roof, but got stuck there. Seeing this Petrel built a birch- 

 wood fire under him, so as to make much smoke. The 

 raven was white before that time, but the smudge 

 blackened him forever. 



The Greenland Eskimos account for the change in the 

 raven from white to black by the story of its vexing the 

 snow-owl, which was its fast friend in the ancient days 

 before marvels became marvellous. One day the raven 

 made a new dress, dappled black and white (the summer 

 plumage), for the owl, which in return fashioned a pair 

 of whalebone boots for the raven, and also a white dress, 

 as was proper for ravens at that time ; but the raven would 

 not stay quiet while it was tried on. The owl shouted 

 angrily, "Sit still or I shall pour the lamp over you!" 

 Nevertheless the bird kept hopping about until the owl, 

 out of patience, picked up the soapstone saucer-lamp and 

 drenched him with the sooty lamp-oil. Since then the 

 ever-restless raven has been black all over. 



The Haidas say that the crow likewise was originally 

 white, and that on one occasion Raven turned it black as 

 a spiteful sort of joke. 



It is interesting to recall that in classic myth ravens 

 were once as white as swans and as large ; but one day a 

 raven told his patron, Apollo, that Coronis, a Thessalian 

 nymph whom he passionately loved, was faithless, where- 

 upon the god shot the nymph with his dart, but hating 

 the telltale bird 



... he blacked the raven o'er 



And bid him prate in his white plumes no more, 



as Ovid sings in Addison's translation. Some accounts 

 say that one of Odin's messenger-ravens was white. 

 To this day the peasants about Brescia, in Italy, speak 



