"It used to come up a storm, cyclone, whole tree root and all would come up. Trees twisted off, blow houses down, blow the tops off. They tell me you can take an axe and go out and hit it on the back and turn the blade up, they say that splits the storm. Just like the wind is thundering and lightning, storm's coming, youhear that wind a roaring. You can go out there and take that axe, talking about the one with the one blade, and draw it back and hit it in the ground, flat of its back and it'll stick up. It'll cease down, look like it'll quieten down.
I seen my momma do that when I was a boy. She'd go out there and them dark clouds was raining, lightning and thunder. She'd go out there and take the axe and I'd say, "What you did momma?" She said, "I done split the clouds son. They say it will." I was standing back and looking. "Y'all be quiet now, y'all be quiet," and we'd be good. Sure did, yes sir. Fasten the door. Sometimes that wind hit that door and lightning would pop, "Wow! wububu." "Y'all get down and sit down!" We'd all sit down." ~Othar Turner
Not exalting the gifted prevents quarrelling.
Not collecting treasure prevents stealing.
Not seeing desirable things prevents confusion of the heart.
~Lao tzu
We can hold back neither the coming of the flowers
nor the downward rush of the stream;
sooner or later, everything comes to its fruition.
~Loy Ching-Yuen
Why God Made Adam Last
God wuz through makin' de lan'an' de sea an' de birds an' de animals an de fishes an' de trees befo' He made man. He wuz intendin' tuh make 'im all along, but He put it off tuh de last cause if He had uh made Adam fust an' let him see Him makin' all dese other things, when Eve wuz made, Adam would of stood round braggin' tuh her. He would of said: "Eve, do you see dat ole stripe-ed tiger over dere? Ah made. See dat ole narrow geraffe over dere? Ah made 'im too. See dat big ole tree over dere? Ah made dat jus' so you could set under it."
God knowed all dat, so He jus' waited till everything wuz finished before He made man, cause He knows man will lie and brag on hisself tuh a woman. Man ain't found out yet how things wuz made.....he ain't meant tuh know.
---James Presley as told to Zora Neale Hurston
...a poor boy, took all he had
and started down the road...
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, "Father, give me my share of the estate." So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, "How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men." So he got up and went to his father.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father said to his servants, "Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." So they began to celebrate.
There's a Buddhist version of this story also. I always wonder which direction some of these parables traveled or if they just occurred in different places on their own...Click to read the far eastern version.
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a
pole, which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it,
while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of
water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked
pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only
one and a half pots full of water to his house. Of course, the perfect pot
was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which it was made. But the
poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it
was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After 2 yrs of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the
water bearer one day by the stream." I am ashamed of myself, and I want to
apologize to you. I have been able to deliver only half my load because this
crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.
Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full
value from your efforts, " the pot said. The bearer said to the pot, "Did
you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on
the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw,
and I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we
walk back, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these
beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you
are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house!"
Coyote plays tricks on man and other animals, and in doing so often teaches them a lesson at the same time. Here he teaches humility in a contemporary story from "Coyotes Journal."
Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. "Your brother has come," he replied, "and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound." The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, "Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!" "My son," the father said, "you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." (Luke 15:11-32)
The First Tears
retold by
S. E. Schlosser
Once long ago, Man went hunting along the water's edge for seals. To Man's delight, many seals were crowded together along the seashore. He would certainly bring home a great feast for Woman and Son. He crept cautiously towards the seals. The seals grew restless. Man slowed down. Suddenly, the seals began to slip into the water. Man was frantic. His feast was getting away.
Then Man saw a single seal towards the back of the group. It was not moving as quickly as the others. Ah! Here was his prize. He imagined the pride on Woman's face, the joy in Son's eyes. Their bellies would be filled for many days from such a seal.
Man crept towards the last seal. It did not see him, or so Man thought. Suddenly, it sprang away and slipped into the water. Man rose to his feet. He was filled with a strange emotion. He felt water begin to drip from his eyes. He touched his eyes and tasted the drops. Yes, they tasted like salty water. Strange choking sounds were coming from his mouth and chest.
Son heard the cries of Man and called Woman. They ran to the seashore to find out what was wrong with Man. Woman and Son were alarmed to see water flowing out of Man's eyes.
Man told them about the shore filled with seals. He told how he had hunted them, and how every seal had escaped his knife. As he spoke, water began to flow from the eyes of Woman and Son, and they cried with Man. In this way, people first learned to weep.
Later, Man and Son hunted a seal together. They killed it and used its skin to make snares for more seals.
The Parable of the Cracked Pot
John Lee's Blues
"…the blues was here the day that the world was born. Sadness, loneliness; it come from man and woman. A woman gets sad 'bout her man done left her, man gets sad 'bout his woman done left him … started hummin' sad songs. Somethin' 'bout a woman. You can't say nothin' … a man can't say nothin' that ain't about a woman. A woman can't say nothin' without sayin' somethin' about a man. That's what it come from, now, 'cause even Adam was in the garden. It's no sin. Do you see in the Bible anywhere where singin' is a sin? This leads into what I'm going to say. God, if there is such a thing as God, because we all believe in a Supreme Being: he wants you to do right, love people all over the world, and that's what I'm doing. I'm serving people all over. I'm serving people, I'm reachin' out, getting' people, helpin' people. I do benefits, I gives 'em. That's treatin' 'em as God want. And I never see 'em, I never will see 'em. But my voice is all over the world. John Lee Hooker on a record. I'll be here for ever, but my body won't. Accordin' to the Bible, you doin' what God want you to do: help people." John Lee Hooker
click above for the story
Why Dogs Smell Each Others Butts
by Lowell Jaeger
When he asked, the dogs refused him.
you are unclean, they told Coyote,
you are not a dog.
So the dogs undressed for their sweatbath
and entered the sweatlodge without him.
Coyote envied the glossy fur coats
the dogs had hung outside the lodge.
He thought of stealing them,
but he decided not to.
Instead he threw the long coats
in a great pile,
and wiped his muddy feet across them.Then he set fire to the sweatlodge roof
and said in a low voice:
Oh what will the dogs do now,
Coyote has taken their fur!
From behind a rock Coyote sat laughing
as the naked dogs rushed
into the cold out-of-doors,
grabbing for a coat,
afraid there might be too few
to cover everyone.
Years later as the story goes,
with every dog zipped in someone else's fur,
dogs smell each others butts,
looking for their own.
Meanwhile Coyote is still grinning,
off in the hills somewhere,
rolling in the red dirt
thinking how crude
to be a dog,
how much more clean,
how much more fun
to be a Coyote.
How it Was...
"....At that time, there was mostly farm work, and sometimes it got pretty critical. Low wages and...well, people kind of suffered a little during some of those years. Suffered right smart. In some places, they got along a little better than they did in others. But they stayed up against it mostly. Bad housing and all that kind of stuff. Of course, they'd get plenty of just old common food, but they didn't make enough money to do any good. Some of those that grew crops..if they paid their debts for the the food they ate during the year, why, if they came out and cleared as much as forty or fifty dollars for a year, they were satisfied. Out of a whole year's work!
Of course, along then, they didn't see into it too much because they'd been used to it for so long. They didn't worry over it bedcause they always knew if they didn't have the money, they was still going to eat and have a place to stay, such as it was. So they didn't complain and worry too much about it.
After they commenced waking up, some started going different places and came back with the news that they were doing so much better. "Up in such-and-such-s-place, they pay so-much-and-so-much. That's wat I make." Well, that wakes the other guys up. He sees his old buddy all dressed up and looking so nice, and so they comment from one to another and commence to easing out to these different places. If they get far as St. Louis, O Jesus! They thought they was way somewhere!"
~Son House as told to Mr. Julius Lester, Sing Out, XV, 3. (1965)
Why There Is Day and Night
There used to be a time when there was no night or day. There was some light so that everyone could see, but it did not change.
In that time, there was a village in which all the women had children but one. She wanted children badly, but all she could do was watch as the other wives had more children. The women teased her and insulted her, telling each other that she must be evil. "You must be a terrible person to have been punished like this," they said to her face as she wept. She herself knew that she was no worse than anyone else. At last she heard of a medicine man who could make a woman pregnant simply by touching her belly with the palm of his hand. She walked a long way to find him, for he lived in a land beyond seven hills.
When she found him, he invited her into his home and heard her story. "I can help you," he said kindly, "but first you must wait a little while. I am given babies to bring into the world. I also know what kinds of babies they are. Right now, there are only bad babies. There is no reason why you should be cursed with a bad baby. Wait till there is a good one for you."
The woman could not bear to wait any longer. Neither she nor the medicine man knew how long it would be. "Any baby is better than no baby," she pleaded. Seeing her impatience, and seeing that she would not let him rest till he helped her, the medicine man sadly consented. He rubbed the palm of her hand on her belly. Instantly she knew she would have a baby.
Joyfully she rushed home. Soon she delivered a boy. He had a bad temper and was hard to keep from crying, but she had seen worse children, and was so content with him that she did not worry about having more children.
The boy grew as all children do, but he became more and more evil. He began killing small, helpless animals and tormenting other children. As he grew into a young man, he delighted in hurting others and bringing misery to all those around him. There was nothing anyone, including his parents, could do to change him.
Finally the boy decided to kill everyone who was trying to change him. He went to a magician and got from him a magic charm. Among other things, this charm would protect him by causing darkness so he could hide if need be. He began his evil work by killing the magician.
He hurried back to his village and began his attack. An old woman there also had a magic charm. She fought him with it. Her charm would expose enemies by making a great light, He would use his charm to cause darkness; she would use hers to cause bright light. Back and forth they went with their magic, till both of them died.
Because the old woman, the evil youth, and the magician were all dead, no one knew how to use the charms. The charms are still working against each other, causing day and then night. ~An African Folktale
