Story: The Feathers

 P is for pride.

If you let yourself become too proud,

Your reality will start to cloud.

And when your ego becomes inflated,

everyone around will feel nauseated.

 V is for vengeance.

Severe anger and

plotting continuous harm

will consume your soul.

“Papa, tell me the story about the peace pipe’s feathers again,” the young boy chirped. 

“Sure, my boy,” the grandfather replied.  “Many years ago the Omaha people gathered to make peace pipes to use for settling conflict between tribes.  They made the pipe out of the bark from an ash tree, but to complete the pipe they needed the feathers of an eagle.  They performed a ceremonial dance, and called for the feathers of a great and mighty bird to help them bring peace.  A Bald Eagle, a Spotted Eagle, and an Imperial Eagle all offered their feathers to the tribe, but the chief only allowed the Imperial Eagle’s feathers to be used, because he was the only moral bird.”

“What about the feather of the Bald Eagle?” the boy asked. 

“No, they could not use them,” the man replied. 

“Why not?”

A Bald Eagle feasts on a carcass.  Courtesy of USFWS' Flickr

“The Bald Eagle is a mighty bird, but is also the proudest bird, and this quality has caused it grief.  The Bald Eagle is proud because, many years ago, the other birds admired a Bald Eagle’s beauty, and they were quick to let her know.  Soon the eagle felt superior to the other birds, and demanded that they serve her.  At first, many of the birds complied – they brought her food, built her nest, and defended her eggs while she was away.  She ruled over the other birds, but soon forgot how to do many things herself.  As winter approached, the other birds prepared to migrate south, but not the Bald Eagle.  The Bald Eagle had become very proud; she did not think the cold would cause her trouble, and she did not expect the other birds to leave her.  She barely made it through that winter, so she was happy to see the other birds return in the spring.  When the Bald Eagle demanded that the other birds serve her once again, they refused. The Bald Eagle decided she would still not hunt for herself, and thus began stealing the prey of other birds and searching for dead creatures to eat.  She remained in the north throughout the harsh winters, even if it meant suffering or losing an egg to the weather.  The Bald Eagle would have had a much better life without her pride. Still to this day Bald Eagles steal prey, feast on dead animals like vultures, and refuse to migrate south to more suitable weather, because they are too proud to ask for help.”  

The boy nodded and then asked, “What about the feather of the Spotted Eagle?”

“No, they could not use them,” the man replied.

“Why not?”

Spotted Eagle. Courtesy of Wikimedia

“My boy, the Spotted Eagle is a creature of revenge.  Many years ago, a snake was crawling through the grass searching for food. He had not eaten in many days and was very hungry.  He came upon a nest containing three very large eggs.  He began to eat of one of the eggs, but before he could finish, he heard a loud shriek behind him.  The mother of the eggs, a large Spotted Eagle, had returned from gathering food and caught the snake in her nest.  To punish the snake, she slaughtered him and displayed his corpse near her nest to warn other intruders.”

“Yes, Grandpa, but he was eating her children!” the boy exclaimed with wide eyes.

“Yes, boy, and his punishment may very well have been appropriate, but I am not yet finished with the story,” the man replied.  “As I was saying, the mother Spotted Eagle was still very angry at the snake for trying to harm her children, so she began to hunt for other snakes too.  She wanted to kill them before they could get to her eggs.  Hunting for snakes soon turned into hunting for other lizards, but her lust for revenge still was not satisfied.  The eagle began killing lizards, destroying their eggs, and making their nests into her own.  The mother taught all her offspring the same habits, and now to this day, all Spotted Eagles continue her endless desire for revenge.”

“Grandpa, tell me more about the Imperial Eagle! Why were his feathers chosen for the pipe?” the boy begged.

“That is a story for another night, my boy, for now you must go to bed.”







Author's Note:
My source story was The Legend of the Peace Pipes from Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by  Katharine Berry Judson (1913).  In this story, people of the Omaha tribe come together to construct a peace pipe.  Peace pipes are usually ceremonial pipes that represent war and peace within and between tribes, and in this story the Omaha chief wants the pipe to be made of certain materials. The pipe is made out of the bark of an ash sapling, but is missing something... Three types of eagles - the Bald Eagle, the Spotted Eagle, and the Imperial Eagle - offer their feathers to the tribe to use to finish the peace pipes.  The chief declines to use the feathers of the Bald and Spotted Eagles, but is satisfied with the Imperial Eagle's feathers.  The story does not explain why the other feathers are unappealing to the chief, so my story works to fill in those gaps.  I think that the chief would have had spiritual reasons for not using the feathers of the Bald and Spotted Eagles, and I assume they would be related to the character (or morality) of the birds.  The theme of an immoral alphabet comes from A Moral Alphabet by Hilaire Belloc, 1899. The letters P and V are courtesy of Maelle K on dafont.com