Told By: ShaunaSay WhiteFeather
Cherokee Legend Keeper/StoryTeller
There was a drought, and it had not rained for many days, many nights, many weeks. And as these many days, many nights, many weeks, all of the waterways dried up, the creeks dried up, the rivers dried up, the lakes dried up, everything dried up! And there was no water anywhere, they had no water to cook with, no water to drink, no water to do anything with.
There was a family that lived not far from town, and early one morning, father got up and said, �Today, I am going to look for water!�
So he picked up the bucket and started walking, and he came home that evening with no water.
The next day, mom, she picked up the bucket and started on her way, and she came home that evening with no water. The next day, the oldest son he said, �I�ll go look for water!� And he picked up the bucket and started on his way, and he came back with no water. Then the next oldest, and the next, and the next, until it came to the youngest it then became her turn because nobody else could find water.
The youngest, she got up early, and she picked up the bucket and said, � today I shall go look for water!� They all said, �No, No, No! You are far too young to go look for water on your own!
She said, � No, everybody else got a turn, why can�t I have one too? Am I not part of this family even though I am young?�
The rest of the family had to agree and said, �Yes, you are part of this family even though you are quite young, you may go look for water like everyone else.� So, she picked up the bucket and started on her way�..
Mom and Dad said to each other, �What is going to happen to her when she comes back with no water? What is this going to do to her? This is what they thought all day long�����
And the girl with her empty bucket, she started walking, and as she started walking she saw this lizard doing push-ups under this leaf, she went over to the lizard doing push-ups under this leaf. Then she started singing to the lizard�.. �Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay, Hillon Gully rider, Hillon ga lay, Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay��..
Then she walked on, she came across a spider spinning it�s web, and as she went to the spider spinning its web, she again started singing this song��..
Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay, Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay, Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay��
She walked on, and as she walked on, she sang to herself�. �Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay, Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay, Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay.� When all of a sudden, there appeared before her a crystal clear pool of water, and a huge fish stuck his head above the water, and the fish said, �Ah! You�ve come to sing to me! Sing to me some more please!�
�Ah!� she asked the fish, �You liked my song?�
�Oh yes!� said the fish, �Sing to me some more please!�
So, she did, all the day long did she sing to the fish. As the day was coming to a close, the little girl said, �It is time for me to go back home, but; before I go back home, may I have a bucket of your water�
�Only�, said the fish, �If you promise to come back tomorrow and sing to me some more.� �I will! I promise! I will be back tomorrow to sing to you some more!� said the young girl. �Ah!� said the fish, �Then you may have a bucket of my water.� The girl dipped the bucket into the water, and went home that evening, with a bucket full of water. The family could not believe it, �Where did you find water? We looked every where for the water, when did you find the water?� �Oh� she said, �I have my secret place!�
Ah, there was great rejoicing in the house that evening, and they gave a special place around the supper table, and a special chair they gave her in the family room.
Early the next morning, the girl again woke up, and took the bucket and said, �Today, I want to go and find water again.�
The family said, �You found water yesterday, you can go to your secret place and find water again.�
She started on her way with the empty bucket, she saw the lizard doing push ups under the leaf. So, she went over to the lizard doing push ups under the leaf and began to sing�.
�Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay, Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay, Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay.�
She walked on, and as she walked on, she saw the spider spinning her web, and she sang to it�..
�Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay, Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay, Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay.�
She walked on, and as she walked on she sang to herself, �Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay, Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay, Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay.�
There appeared before her a crystal clear pool of water, and a fish stuck his head above the water. �You came back! You�ve come back to sing to me!� And the girl said, �Oh yes! Yes I have come back to sing to you!�
So, all day long she sung to him�.. �Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay, Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay, Hillon gully rider, Hillon ga lay.�
So, at the end of the day the young girl said, �It is time for me to go home, but; before I go home, may I have a bucket of your water?�
�Only� said the fish, �If you promise to come back and sing tomorrow, I will let you have a bucket of my water.� �I promise� said the young girl, �I promise to come back and sing to you tomorrow.� So, she went on her way home singing all the way.
When she returned with the water that evening, the family rejoiced with great gladness and celebrated throughout the night�.
Come early the next morning, as all was fast asleep, she left with the bucket to go find water. Again she found the lizard doing push ups, the spider spinning a web, and again the crystal pool of water appeared, where a fish was waiting to hear the girl�s song�..
She started to sing, and the great fish thanked the girl for keeping her promises each time. The great fish was so grateful, he too made a promise that her family would always be provided for, along with her people, if she would stay with him and sing her sweet song forever. She agreed, all her family, and her family�s family, and generations after generations of her peoples to this day, still can come see her in the crystal pool of water that they draw water from, that never run dry, even in the worst of droughts just as the great fish kept his promise�.
But, when you go to draw from the waters of the crystal pool, look towards the center of the pool�� There is a rock, a huge rock, and there will be little sister with her children, and they say if you look at sister, she is still sister, except from the waist down, she has fins, and a tail of a great fish! She has become a fish!
For it is said that she was the very first mermaid��..
