XML version dated February 14, 2024. © Douglas R. Parks, Indiana University.
88
The Foolish Ones Who
Killed the Beloved Snake Child
Ella P. Waters
| tiwenatunaaʾiitštáNI | tiráʾ | naaʾiitUxpakúhtuʾ. |
| What I am going to tell | it is | an old story. |
| wewi- | tipsiraaNIhuúʾU | nút | AhnatakuxtaakanéʾIs. |
| It has | been many winters | the snakes | since they ate us. |
| wenaraanátA | naawiinakuúnuʾ | wehnaaRAhkaaʾiš- | waáhu | – |
| When they had gone | (on) the warpath | when they were coming | home | – |
| AhništaaWIhkaʾaáhNA | – | pítkUx | wiináxtš | nooWIšitee- | hatUhkawáʾ. |
| after their hunting, | – | two | boys | then they (du) | were coming in the rear. |
| – | WIšitohneesaRIšwaáhnuʾ. |
| – | They (du) were horsing around. |
| – | WIši- | tihnaaʾíhkuʾ | sakAhuúnuʾ. |
| – | They | (du) were called | Foolish Ones. |
| nooWIšituuteéRIt | – | nút | – | nuutIsUxkátox. |
| Then they (du) saw it | – | a snake | – | a Western hognose snake. |
| noowitiišá. |
| There it lay. |
| – | kanawitiičeéʾIs. |
| – | It was not long. |
| – | kanawitiRIhuúʾU | nút. |
| – | It was not big | the snake. |
| áxkUx | wiináxtš | noowitiírut | natš. |
| One | boy | then he picked it up | a stick. |
| na | tinaáxA | tičé nuutaánuʾ. |
| "And | this one (lying) | what is he doing?" |
| wenapAxwínu | nootikoótIt. |
| Hitting it on the head | then he killed it. |
| uunaaríčI | – | wiináxtš | – | nootiwaákoʾ | – | wah | – | ku | nakUsuxtee- |
| The other | – | boy | – | then he said: | – | "Now | – | kno | w (be aware |
| siíšuʾ | niiweNAxuutaáNA. |
| of) it | what you have done!" |
| nooWIšitiisAhkaʾíšWA | niišohnaanunuunakaá- | WI. |
| Then they (du) went into the village | where their (du) home | was. |
| WIšitiisAhkaʾíšWA. |
| They (du) went into the village. |
| tsu | wewitiiNAsšxeéroʾ | wiináxtš | šohnuxtíRA | suxteesiíšuʾ | niiweNAxuutaáNA. |
| But | he reminded him | the boy | his companion: | "Know it | what you have done!" |
| na | – | nooWIšitiriškarookUxítIt | – | ??? |
| And | – | then they (du) began making arrow | – | (and) |
| – | tinaátš. |
| – | bows. |
| – | uu | kanawituhnaaninoosičiraʾá | wešohnariškaroóku. |
| – | Oh, | there was a huge number of them | after they were making arrows. |
| wah | noowitIsakUhtaʾuúkUt | na | noowiteekateeháxaʾ | nút. |
| Now | then the day arrived | and | there there was a wide column coming | snakes. |
| číkuʾ nuukanawitiRAhkateéhAt | tiwehnaaraána. |
| It was an immensely wide column | as they came. |
| tsu | tišinaákUx | wiiteešútš | WIšituhneesiíšuʾ. |
| But | these (du) | young men | they knew it. |
| tiwešohnaapanikú | wešohnaapániku | čituúʾuʾ | šikanawitiiraanoswaníkuʾ. |
| As they were shooting them, | as they were shooting them | all | there they (du) were not shooting them dead. |
| nuu | hUhtiísuʾ | nooWIšitikUxtáWA | haakaRAhnaaWIhíniʾ. |
| There | finally | then they (du) scrambled up it | onto a scaffold. |
| tsu | WIšiteepaníkuʾ | tsu | WIšitee- | paníkuʾ | tsu |
| But | they (du) were shooting them, | but | they (du) were shooting | them, | but |
| AhnaaRAsawaʾaáhu | nút. |
| while they were coming up | snakes. |
| na | hUhtiísuʾ | nuu | wehnuhnaanuuxitikú | tinaátš | niišuʾ |
| And | finally | there | when they were running short of them | bows, | arrows |
| – | a | – | noooWIšitihtsaswaawaʾá | kaskaraaníniʾ. |
| – | and | – | then they were eating flesh | on the calves. |
| na | štoh | nikuWIšituúta | nooWIšitutkaaxIštawí- | ʾAt | a | nooWIšituhkaaxiwá. |
| And | again | this is what they (du) did: | then they (du) stroked | their legs | and | then their (du) legs were good. |
| hUhtiísuʾ– | nooWIšitihwirít | wiiteešútš | – | nii- |
| Finally– | then they knocked him down | the young man | – | the |
| šeenuhnaáNU | wehnakootíkA | nút. |
| main one | who had killed it | the snake. |
| a | čiišaáʾA | piiraasštawíʾuʾ | tiwehnakootíkA | nut. |
| And | here it was | the beloved child | the one he had killed | snake. |
| wewititii- | niiwásuʾ | nút | tiwehnaakateexá |
| Now they were | defending themselves | the snakes | when they came in a column |
| wehnikuraapaawáʾA | saNIsáhniš. |
| when they ate us | Indians. |
| weWIšitirištaaNIsuúwot | tinaátš | šohnaRAh- | pínu |
| Now they (du) used up their arrows | (with) bows | their (du) | hitting them, |
| šohnaakawoótiku | tsu | AhnaRAsawaʾaáhu | haakaRAhnaawíkAt | niiwešohnakUxtawáNA. |
| their (du) killing them, | but | their coming up | onto the scaffold | where they (du) had quickly climbed up. |
| nikunoowituutAxítIt | niišohnuhnaáNU |
| Then that is what happened: | the ones (du) who had done it |
| WIšitihwirít | – | a | – | noowitiRAhkatáhAt | nút. |
| they knocked them (du) down | – | and | – | then they withdrew | snakes. |
| štoh | – | noowitiraáNAt | – | wešohnihkootíkA | šeešinuh- |
| Back | – | then they went | – | after they killed them (du) | the main |
| naáNU | – | wiiteešútš | – | wešohnakootíkA |
| ones (du) who did it | – | young men | – | the ones (du) who killed it |
| piiraasštawíʾuʾ | nút. |
| the beloved child | snake. |