Oban's Myths & Legends
How Corn Came To Be (continued)
Native American - Choctaw Story
retold by Sanjit
When the woman had finished eating, she smiled and stood up, ready to leave. “You boys are kind to people, and you share what you have” she said. “So I’m going to give you something in return. Go home now – no more hunting today. Leave the fire to me – I’ll put it out. Come back tomorrow to this spot and see what you find.”
The boys picked up their bows and arrows and walked off, back to their village. They were still hungry and they knew their families would be disappointed that they had no fresh meat from their hunt.
The next day the boys returned, as the woman had told them. They looked at the place where their fire had been, but there were no ashes or burned embers. The ground was covered by strange plants with big yellow stalks growing on them. The boys had never seen anything like it. They pulled off a couple of the stalks and smelled them. They smelled good. They stripped the outer leaves away and ate some of the pieces of the stalk. They were crunchy and tasted good.
“Let’s take some more of this home and ask somebody what it is” they said, as they gathered more stalks in their arms. Their families didn’t know what it was and nor did anyone in the village. But everyone who tasted it enjoyed it.
Everyone wondered what they should call this delicious present. The boys said, “We shall call it Tanchi.”
And that is how Tanchi, or corn, came to be.
The End
