Reading Notes: British North America, Part A

The story I chose for today is called “Why the Sun is Bright,” from Katherine Berry Judson’s Myths & Legends of British North America.

Reading Notes

• A village moved, and abandoned a boy with his grandmother because they were angry at the boy.
• To avoid starvation, the grandmother told the boy to trap small animals and shoot birds.
• The boy did as he was told, and managed to shoot many birds with bright feathers.
• His grandmother used the plumage from the kills to make the boy a brightly colored robe, which he would wear when he went to spear fish.
• The sun, as he passed overheads, saw the robe many times.
• Eventually, the sun went to visit the boy, wearing his goatskin robe as always.
• Sun told the boy he wanted to exchange blankets.
• The boy initially refused, but Sun showed that the long fringe on his blanket could be used to catch many more fish than the boy could ever spear.
• The boy immediately agreed to exchange blankets when he saw that.
• Before the exchange, Sun was no brighter than the moon; now he was so bright that people could no longer look directly at him as they once had.

Source