Storytelling for Everyone/ Raven Steals the Sun

The evil wizard, Tupilak, had a pair of magic shoes that allowed him to move a great distance with one single step. These shoes allowed him to walk up to the sky and cut a hole in it. He moved his wife into that hole so they could have privacy. His wife disliked their new home in the sky because she had no neighbors, so he gave her a child to care for. Still she was unhappy because she there was no light and it was always cold. So, Tupilak returned to this side of the sky where he captured the sun and the moon, tied them into bags and knotted them with strong sinew.

At first, this darkness suited the Raven for he liked to nap. Eventually, the lack of light made the people of the earth weak, for no food would grow in the darkness. The people came to Raven and beseeched his assistance. Once he understood what was happening, he knew it was the work of his old foe, Tupilak.

Raven took to wing soaring across the dark, freezing sky until he found the hole in the sky that Tupilak had gone through. The sun was blazing bright on the other side of the sky. Raven found Tupilak enjoying the heat and called him out. Tupilak laughed at the trickster, saying it took one thief to find another. The old wizard refused to give the sun over and told the Raven to return to the darkness.

Raven watched Tupilak’s little world until one day he saw Tupilak’s daughter out walking. Knowing what he must do to gain access to Tupilak’s home, he balled up his raven cloak and turned himself into a feather, casting himself into the stream where she drew forth her drinking water. Sometime later, she birthed a strong baby boy who was, of course, the Raven himself.

Continue reading the full story here.

"Story Power" by Kate Farrell