Native American Legends
The Boy and the Beast
A Pima Legend
Once an old woman lived with her daughter and son-in-law and their
little boy. They were following the trail of the Apache Indians.
Now whenever a Pima Indian sees the trail of an Apache he draws
a ring around it; then he can catch him sooner. And these Pimas
drew circles around the trail of the Apaches they were following,
but one night when they were asleep, the Apaches came down upon
them. They took the man and younger woman by the hair and shook
them out of their skins, just as one would shake corn out of a sack.
So the boy and the old woman were left alone.
Now these two had to live on berries and anything they could find,
and they wandered from place to place. In one place a strange beast,
big enough to swallow people, camped in the bushes near them. The
grand-mother told the boy not to go near these bushes. But the boy
took some sharp stones in his hands, and went toward them. As he
came near, the great monster began to breathe. He began to suck
in his breath and he sucked the boy right into his stomach. But
with his sharp stones the boy began to cut the beast, so that he
died. Then the boy made a hole large enough to climb out of.
When his grandmother came to look for him, the boy met her and
said, "I have killed that monster."
The grandmother said, "Oh, no. Such a little boy as you are
to kill such a great monster!"
The boy said, "But I was inside of him. just look at the stones
I cut him with."
Then the grandmother went softly up to the bushes, and looked at
the monster. It was full of holes, just as the little boy had said.
Then they moved down among the berry bushes and had all they wanted
to eat.
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