Who Makes the Wind?

By: Autumn

Once there was a man named Howler. He lived with his wife, Saya, his son, Anthony, and his daughter, Tulip. They lived in a little hut by some small hills. The hills were surrounded by trees and bushes. It was peaceful there, except for an old, selfish woman named Foxarora.                                                                                                                                                                    

One day, as Howler and Anthony were sharpening their spears, Tulip came running up to them and handed Anthony a small, brown object. It was a dead bird. Tulip told them what happened: the bird had eaten all of the raspberries, so Saya killed it out of fear. That night, the family prayed that the birds would go away. As they slept, Cloudonius, the sky god, rained down on the land. He had hoped to wet the birds’ feathers so they would stop eating the people’s food.

The next day, news of the birds had spread to the selfish, old woman, Foxarora. She laughed and mocked,” They should get a cat to eat the birds!” That night, as Anthony and his father were coming home for dinner, Saya ran out. “Have you found anything to eat for dinner?” she asked.” No. Why?” asked Howler. “Have the birds come back?” he asked softly. Her answer was, “Yes,” so the family had to eat the few leftover squirrels they had been saving for winter. That evening, they prayed that the birds would go away again. Cloudonius heard them, and made thunder, hoping to scare the birds away. That did not work either.

The next morning, when Saya was on her way to the market, she passed Foxarora. Foxarora said,” Where’s your little birdy?” She laughed and walked away. That night, Tulip anxiously watched her mother cook. So far, there hadn’t been any more birds. Then there was a sound like a howl. Saya shivered. “What was that?” she thought. “Ah! The gods must be trying to blow the greedy birds away! Hurray!” shouted Tulip. And the birds disappeared.

So now, every time Cloudonius sees a bird, he makes the wind to remind them not to be greedy. The birds never bothered the family again. As for Foxarora, she never bothered them again either, and nobody knows why.