The Call of the Owl (Cherokee)

Long ago there was a widow who had a very beautiful daughter. When the
girl was old enough to marry, her mother took her aside.

"It's time, my child, to find yourself a husband," she said. "Your
father was a famous hunter. Only another man like him is good enough
for you."

Her daughter agreed, but she was a difficult, temperamental girl, and
none of the young men of the tribe pleased her. One was too small,
another too ugly, a third too poor and a fourth too simple. But one
day a very handsome young man appeared at the widow's wigwam. She had
never seen him before."

"I am U-gu-ku," he said. "I would like to marry your daughter. I've
always wanted a wife as beautiful as her."

"My daughter," replied the woman, "must marry a good hunter, so she
never goes hungry. My husband was a famous hunter, and we always had
plenty of meat."

"I'm a very good hunter," answered U-gu-ku."

He was a pleasant young man, and so the widow called her daughter.
"This is U-gu-ku," she told her. "He wants to marry you."

The girl liked the look of the young man, and so the marriage took
place. Next day the widow went to her new son-in-law.  "There's no
more meat in the house," she said.

"Don't, worry, mother of my wife," replied U-gu-ku. "I'll go hunting."
And off he went. But when he came back, all he had were three paltry
little fish.

"I'm sorry," said U-gu-ku. "I had no luck hunting today, so I decided
to go fishing. I've brought you three fish. No doubt I'll have better
luck tomorrow."

Their supper that evening was not very lavish. But worse was to come,
for the next day all that U-gu-ku brought back from the hunt were
three lizards. "It's as if there's a curse on me," said U-gu-ku sadly.
"But don't worry; tomorrow you'll have meat."

On the third day U-gu-ku returned very tired from the hunt, and handed
the widow three scrawny little bits of meat that the other hunters had
left behind. His wife and mother-in-law could not understand it. They
began to wonder if U-gu-ku could be trusted.

"He told me he was a good hunter," said the widow, "but he has hardly
killed a thing. Don't you think you should follow him secretly and see
what he's doing?"

The girl agreed, and on the fourth day of her marriage she followed
her husband into the forest, hiding behind the trees. WHen they came
to the river, to her surprise and horror, U-gu-ku turned into an owl.

"U-gu-ku - oooooooo - ooooooo," he cried, flying up into the air and
out over the river. Then suddenly, he swooped down to the water and
seized a little crayfish.

The young woman was horrified to think she had an owl as a husband.
She ran back home as fast as she could, weeping as if her heart would
break.

That evening, when U-gu-ku returned, the crayfish was all he had. "Is
that all you caught?" asked the wife.

"An owl stole the rest from me," he replied.

"But you're the owl!" cried the young woman furiously. "You've lied to
me, you've tricked me, and what's more you're a dreadfully bad
hunter!"

"No, I'm not," protested U-gu-ku. "I may be a bad hunter for a man,
but for an owl I'm a very good one."

"Get out of my sight!" shouted his wife. "I never want to see you
again."

So the owl flew away into the forest, crying and hooting dolefully. He
was terribly unhappy, for he loved his wife with all his heart.

"U-gu-ku - oooooo - oooooo - oooooo," went the sorrowful voice, as U-
gu-ku mourned his loss. And every night since then, the owl's lament
has been heard, as he sings of his lost love.