MooNEY] MISCELLANEOUS MYTHS 401 



ii8. BABY SONG, TO PLEASE THE CHILDREN 



Ha'wii/i''-lii/u we', Ila' myc' -hyuue' , 

 Yu'wS-yuuiShe' , Ha'wiyihyu'-uwe' — 

 Yd'n{i une'guhV tsana'sehd'; 

 E'tX une'juhi' tunna' sehd' ; 

 Yd'nd nuMiflnelA' tsa'nadisfcd' . 



Ha'wiyo'-hynwe', Ha'wiye'-hyuwp', 



Yu'wti-yuwehe', Ha'wiyeliyu'-uwe' — 

 The Bear is very bad, so they say; 

 Long time ago lie was very bad, so they say; 

 Tlie Hf-ar did so and so, ttiey say. 



119. WHEN BABIES ARE BORN: THE WREN AND THE CRICKET 



The little Wren is the metisenger of the birds, and pries into every- 

 thing. She gets up early in the morning and goes round to every 

 hou,se in the settlement to get news for the bird council. When a new 

 bab}' is born she finds out whether it is a bo}^ or girl and reports to the 

 council. If it is a boy the birds sing in mournful chorus: "Alas! the 

 whistle of the arrow! my shins will burn," because the birds know 

 that when the boy grows older he will hunt them with his ))lowgun 

 and arrows and roast them on a stick. 



But if the baby is a girl, they are glad and sing: "'Thaiiks! the 

 sound of the pestle! At her home I shall sureh' be able to scratch 

 where she sweeps," because they know that after a while they will be 

 able to pick up stray grains where she beats the corn into meal. 



When the Cricket hears that a girl is born, it also is glad, and says, 

 "Thanks, 1 shall sing in the house where she lives." But if it is a boj' 

 the Cricket laments: G^ne-he! He will shoot me! He will shoot me! 

 He will shoot me!" because boys make little ))ows to shoot crickets 

 and gi'asshoppers. 



When inquiring as to the sex of the new arrival the Cherokee asks, 

 "Is it a bow or a (meal) sifter^' or, " Is it ballsticks or bread?" 



I20. THE RAVEN MOCKER 



Of all the Cherokee wizards or witches the most dreaded is the 

 Raven Mocker {Ka'lana AhyelUd'l), the one that ro])s the dying man of 

 life. They ai'e of either sex and there is no sure waj' to know one, 

 though they usually look withered and old, because they have added 

 so many lives to their own. 



At night, when some one is sick or dying in the settlement, the 

 Raven Mocker goes to the place to take the life. He flies through 

 the air in fiery shape, with arms outstretched like wings, and sparks 

 trailing behind, and a rusiiing sound like the noise of a strong wind. 

 Every little while as he flies he makes a cry like the cry of a raven 

 when it "dives" in the air — not like the coninion raven cry and tliose 



10 ETH— 01 2<) 



