Oban's Myths & Legends
How The Buffalo Came To Be (continued)
Native American - Cheyenne Story
retold by Oban
One of the men knocked, and after a minute or so the door opened and an old woman came out. “What do you want, brave ones?” she asked. “We are searching for new food for our people. There is never enough food for everyone all the time.”
“Are you hungry now?” asked the old woman. “Oh yes, kind grandmother, we are very hungry” said the men. The old woman invited them inside her home and took them over to a window in the rock wall. “Look out there!” she pointed. The men saw a wide plain with herds of buffalo grazing, and they couldn’t believe it was real.
The old woman went to her cooking pot and brought them each a bowl of buffalo meat. It was tender and tasty and the men kept eating – and magically the bowls stayed full.
“You should take these bowls back to the people of your village,” said the old woman. “Tell them I will soon send them live buffalo as well.” “Thank you, thank you, kind grandmother,” said the men.
They carefully wrapped the bowls in their cloaks and climbed back up the hillside through the stream. The hunters were waiting for them at the top. When they smelled the food they crowded round excitedly. “What’s that in the bowls? It smells so good” they cried. The two brave strangers dished out meat for everyone to eat and all the hunters were grateful for the new food. They returned to their village with the news about the new food.
Next morning when the people in the village woke up, they saw a herd of buffalo grazing nearby. The hunters began to hunt and soon they had enough meat to last their people for some time.
The End
