Reading Notes: Pacific Northwest, Part A

In the story "How Beaver Stole Fire," animals and trees walked and talked and there we no men on the earth. Pine Trees had the secret of fire and refused to share with anyone else, no matter how cold it got. One winter, it got so cold that many animals came close to freezing to death. The animals held a council because they wanted to steal fire. At the same time, the Pines held a council on the Grande Ronde River and had a fire to keep them warm. They had guards watching for animals so they could not steal fire. Before the guards took place, however, Beaver hid near the fire. When a lit coal rolled towards him, he grabbed it and ran away. The Pine Trees started chasing after him, but Beaver kept running. Sometimes he ran side to side and sometimes he ran straight, and this is why the Grande Ronde River curves in some places and is straight in others. Many of the Pines grew tired and stopped along the river. That is why there are thick groves of trees in some places along the river. Cedar also chased after Beaver. Cedar ran to the top of a hill to see how far away Beaver was. Beaver was far away; he had reached where the Grande Ronde River met the Big Snake River. Beaver swan across Big Snake River and gave fire to Willows, Birches, and other trees. These trees have fire inside them, and that is why people can start fires by rubbing two pieces of their wood together. Cedar still lives alone on the top of the hill.

While reading this story, I realized that many of the sentences are very short, and sometimes can read choppy. This may be an interesting technique to include in my story if I choose to write based on this story.

Bonfire by Jens Mahnke

Story source: Myths and Legends of the Pacific Northwest, especially of Washington and Oregon, by Katharine Berry Judson (1910)

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