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Witches, princesses and enchanted frogs were not strictly for Europeans storytellers. This example of the Toad Woman shows how Native Americans explored these themes.
There once was a beautiful princess. She served her tribe in many ways. She was a hard worker, but she was also very vain. One day, a deer came and asked who the princess thought was the most beautiful woman in her village. The princess answered herself. The deer asked her, "What about your wise grandmother? She tells tales and weaves baskets. Surely, she has great beauty." But the princess laughed and said, "She is so old. My grandmother could never be as beautiful as myself." The deer then turned into a witch. And the witch was none other than the princess� grandmother. To punish the princess for her vanity, the witch turned her into a toad! Also, she was not a regular toad, but she became a toad woman! You see, toads are content to hunt flies and sit in the sun. But as a toad woman, she would be subject to her own ego and the ugliness of a toad. And she remained that way for a while, until she learned how to be beautiful inside and out. |
