Raven Brings the Light (3 page)

The Chief kept the Daylight Ball in a bent box. Weget knew he must go to the Chief and ask for the Daylight Ball so he could take it back to light the world.

He took off his raven skin and left it right beside the hole, and he started walking up to the Chief of the Heavens' house. There were two men standing by the door and they stopped him.

Weget said, “My name is Weget and I come from the darkness down below. All my people live in darkness. I have come to the Chief of the Heavens because he has the Daylight Ball and I must bring that ball back to my people down below.”

And so they let him in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weget walked up to the Chief of the Heavens and explained who he was, where he came from, and the difficulty his people had living all their lives in darkness. He told the Chief of the Heavens about everything he had done on his journey, and that getting the Daylight Ball was his last task.

The Chief of the Heavens looked at Weget and said, “You cannot have the Daylight Ball.”

Weget thought to himself, “This isn't supposed to happen. I'm supposed to get the Daylight Ball and take it to my people. What am I going to do now?”

Weget left the longhouse and began to walk back to the hole in the sky. All he wanted was to put his raven skin back on and leave, because he felt defeated. But then he remembered he had some tricks.

He saw a cedar tree by a little creek, not far from the house. He put on the raven skin and flew up into the branches.

Weget sat patiently and looked around, watching everything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eventually a beautiful young woman walked out of the Chief of the Heavens' longhouse. She was the Chief's daughter. She came down to the creek carrying a waterproof cedar box. It was a really hot day, and she was getting water for the house.

She dipped a ladle into the water and began to fill the box. After a few dips she looked around and thought to herself, “Is there anyone around? I know my father said I'm not supposed to drink the water until it's blessed, but I'm so thirsty. ”

She looked around again.

Then she took a sip,
slrrrp.

Once again she looked around to make sure she was not seen. Then she took the box back to the longhouse.

But Weget was watching. “Ahhh! She's a tricky one. She's just like the kids back home, doing things they are not supposed to do when nobody is watching. Now I know how I'm going to get the Chief's Daylight Ball.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next time the young woman came, Weget flew up the creek and took the raven skin off. He hid it underneath some bushes, grabbed a leaf and studied it. Then he changed himself into a leaf and floated down the river and right into the young woman's dipper.

The young woman spotted the leaf in her dipper and threw the leaf back in the water before drinking.

Weget, the little leaf, floated away thinking, “Oh, that didn't work. I've got to figure out a better way.”

He flew into a fir tree and began to think. Weget noticed that the branch of the tree did not have any leaves. Instead, fir trees have very soft, tiny little needles.

So along came Weget, as a tiny little needle, floating down the river. He floated right into the young woman's dipper. Once again she looked around and took a sip,
slrrrp,
swallowing Weget whole!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soon after the Chief's daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, never suspecting it was really tricky little Weget.

The Chief of the Heavens loved his new grandson and did everything he could to make him happy.

The baby would scream “Waaaaaah!” while pointing at the box that contained the Daylight Ball.

Grandpa would lovingly take down the box, open the lid and give the baby the Daylight Ball to play with. Baby Weget was happy, playing around with the Daylight Ball at his grandpa's house.

As he would play, he would inch his way closer to the door. Grandpa would scold, “That's enough, grandson!” Then Grandpa would take the Daylight Ball and put it back in the box.

This happened every day. Weget would cry until he got the ball, then he would play with it.