American Indian Folklore

One day, long ago a traveling party of an Indian tribe was crossing the great prairie and camped by a stream.   Many of the Bear People lived nearby, and they smelled the Indian People. The Bear People were very hungry, and sent off some of the Bear warriors to hunt the Indians. Seven young girls from the tribe were gathering berries, up along the stream, far from the campsite.  The Bears came upon the seven girls and growled to attack.  The girls ran and ran one after the other across the open prairie, until they came to a large gray rock.  They climbed onto the rock, but the bears began to climb the mighty rock also.

The girls began to sing a prayer to the mighty rock, asking it to protect them from the Bear warriors.  No one had ever honored the mighty rock before, so the rock agreed to help them.  The mighty rock that had been lying quietly for centuries at a time began to arise and seemed to be heading for the great blue sky.  The girls were amazed by what they were experiencing.  But suddenly the Bear warriors began to pray and they also began to grow.  And as the mighty rock grew, the warriors did also.

The warriors began to climb the steep and mighty rock as it was growing higher and higher, but the claws of the warriors only stripped pieces of the rock.  Eventually the rock grew out of there reach.  Pieces of the rock were scraped and cut away by the thousands, and fell in piles at the foot of the mighty rock.  The rock was cut and scarred on all of its sides as the bears fought to climb it.

At last, the bears gave up the hunt, and returned back to there land.  But as they were leaving they slowly turned back to normal, Angry by the rocks strong and mighty spirit.

But soon after the Bear warriors left, the Indian people had saw them and broke camp.  They fled in fear, so worried for there tribe.  As they fled they all looked back at the huge rock, thinking the seven girls were already eaten by the Bear warriors.

The girls sang again, only this time to the stars.  The stars were happy to hear their song, and the stars came down and took each girl by the hand and into the sky, where they were safe and returned home.  But each time they passed over Bears Lodge they just smiled with joy to the spirit of the big and mighty rock, and the help of the stars.