298 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 
THE THIRD PERIOD: THE PRESENT. 
5¢. THE WOMAN WHO MARRIED A STAR.* 
One night a long time ago, after the stars in the heavens were 
created, some bright and some dim, just as we see them now, there 
was a certain woman looking up in the sky watching the stars. She 
noticed that some of the stars were bright and some very dim. Those 
that were bright she thought to have once existed as fine-looking men. 
The dim ones she thought might have been old people. As she was 
looking at the stars she pointed out one bright star, and said: “That 
star twinkles so bright, it must have been a fine-looking young man. 
I wish I could have him for my husband.” After saying this she 
watched the rest of the stars. On the same night, after she had gone 
to bed and to sleep, it seems that in her dream she was with this man 
whom she had pointed out and desired for her husband. When she 
awoke she found herself in a strange place, and sitting there by the 
fire was an old man. There she sat, not knowing what to do. Finally 
the old man woke up and spoke to her, saying: “My woman, I am the 
star that twinkled so bright at night when you were looking at the stars 
in the sky, and whom you selected as a fine-looking man. All the 
brightest stars are old people, and the dim ones are young people. You 
made a mistake when you desired me. Hereafter you shall be my wife.” 
The woman had to stay there and live with the star, and was his 
wife. Some time afterward the woman noticed a large rock lying on 
the ground, and this she was told never to move. One time she decided 
to remove the rock, and when she looked down she could see the earth, 
but she was far away from the earth. Then she moved the rock back 
into its place. She began to study what to do in order to get down. 
In some way she found bunches of soapweed, which she cut and braided 
so that it was strong enough to hold her whenever she wanted to go 
down. Of course, it took lots of soapweed, though they were very 
stout. It took her a long time to make the rope. When she thought 
that it was long enough to reach to the ground she tied it to the stone, 
knowing that the stone could not go down. Then she let herself down 
on the rope. It is not known how long it took her to climb down to 
the end of it, but when she reached the ground she found that she could 
barely reach the tops of the highest trees. She could only hang there. 
In time a Buzzard flew close to her and asked her if she was still alive. 

*Told by Burgess Hunt (Wichita). 
