Spirits, Fairies, and Merpeople Page 3

  The Great Spirit heard Three Crow’s pleas. “You are a good man and think only of the people. I will lessen their punishment. When the people die, I will give them a form Evil Minded cannot harm.”

  With that, Three Crow saw all the souls turn into swirling mists, mists that clung to the lowlands for three days as they waited without harm to make their journey to the heavens and the Great Spirit – or to Evil Minded and the underworld.

  AFTERWORD

  This gathering of mystical creatures and powerful spirits has been stirred into a magical brew. It is flavored by the love between humans and merpeople, as described in the west-coast Coos legend of Water Lily and the east-coast Mi’kmaq story, “The Mermaid.” The attraction between beings of this world and others is also evident in the Ojibwa tale, “The Fairy Village.”

  The Cree sweeten the mixture with their version of the eternal struggle between the powers of good and evil, so common to many cultures. The Ute “Spirits of Heaven and Earth” tints the concoction with images of the land’s riches and shooting stars. The Mohawk storytellers of Kahnawake contribute a pinch of greed, wastefulness, and forgiveness to the mix, while the Dakota add robust flavor with a wise chief and his brave warriors.

  I hope you have drunk deeply and enjoyed every ingredient of this elixir, for it contains the tang of seawater, the pungent warmth of the soil, the refreshing mists of the sky, and the sweet voices of storytellers from a time gone by. Nia wen. Thank you.

  C.J. Taylor