Native American Legends
Why Buffalo has a hump
A Chippewa Legend
Long ago, when the world was very young, the buffalo had no hump.
He got his hump one summer because of his unkindness to birds. He
liked to race across the prairies for fun. The foxes would run ahead
of him and tell the little animals that their chief, the buffalo,
was coming.
One day when Buffalo was racing across the plains, he went in the
direction of the place where little birds live on the ground. They
called to him and to the foxes that he was going where their nests
were, but neither paid any attention to them. Buffalo raced on and
trampled the bird's nest under his heavy feet. Even when he heard
the birds crying, he ran on without stopping.
No one knew that Nanabozho was near. But he had heard about the
birds' ruined home, and was sorry for them. He ran ahead, got in
front of Buffalo and the foxes, and stopped them. With his stick
he hit Buffalo on the shoulders, hard. Fearing that he would receive
another blow, Buffalo humped up his shoulders. But Nanabozho only
said, "You shall always have a hump on your shoulders, from
this day forth. And you shall always carry your head low for shame."
The foxes, thinking to escape from Nanabozho, ran away, dug holes
in the ground, and hid themselves. But Nanabozho found them and
gave them their punishment, "Because you where unkind to the
birds, you shall always live in the cold ground."
Ever since then, foxes have had their homes in holes in the ground
and buffaloes have had humped shoulders.
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