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野牛刚出现在大地上时，对人们并不友好。猎人们为了村里人的利益诱骗它们翻过悬崖，他们可不愿奉献自己。他们不喜欢被变成毛毯，或被做成干肉，成为人们冬天的食物，也不想让自己的蹄和角被做成工具和器皿，更不希望自己的筋腱被用来缝东西。“不，不，”他们说，“我们不会掉进你们的陷阱，不会掉下去上当受骗的。”所以当猎人们诱他们走向深渊时，他们总会在最后一刻转身离去。捉不到野牛，看起来整个冬天村民们都要忍饥挨饿，衣衫褴褛了。 其中一个猎人有一个女儿，她对父亲射箭的本领感到非常骄傲。每到盛夏，猎人总是能给女儿带回最好的兽皮做衣服，女儿会把鹿皮做成最柔软、最洁白的衣服给父亲穿以作为回报。她自己的衣服就像是雪雁的绒毛，她为村里的孩子和老人们做的鹿皮鞋是最受欢迎的礼物。 但现在寒风带来了雪的迹象，柳丛间的鹿更加稀少了，猎人的女儿意识到野牛物种不愿配合，会造成严重的后果，她决定做点什么来解决这个问题。 她走到悬崖脚下，抬头往上看，用轻柔的声音唱起歌来，“哦，野牛家族，下来看看我吧。如果你们能下来让我的亲戚们在喜筵上吃饱，我就加入你们的家族，嫁给你们最强壮的勇士。" 她停下来听了听，似乎听到远处传来轻微的雷鸣般的隆隆声。 她又唱道：“哦，野牛家族，下来看看我吧。让我的家族在喜筵上吃饱，我就做你们的新娘。" 这时雷鸣声更大了，顷刻间野牛家族从天而降，落在她的脚边。 一头强壮的大公牛落在牛群顶上，他踩着亲戚们的背走过来站在猎人女儿的面前。 "我来向你求婚，要你做我的新娘。”大野牛说道。 "噢，但我现在害怕跟你走。”猎人的女儿说。 “哈，但你必须跟我走，”大野牛说，"因为我们的人已经给你的人们提供了一场婚礼筵席。正像你看到的，他们已经奉献了自己。” “是的，但我得赶快去告诉我的亲戚们这个好消息。”猎人的女儿说。 “不，"大野牛说，“不需要送信，你不会轻易逃脱的。” 说完这些，大野牛把猎人的女儿举起来，放在他的两个牛角之间，把她带到了他在滚草山上的村庄。 第二天早上，全村的人都出来寻找猎人的女儿。他们在悬崖下发现了野牛的踪迹，猎人仔细查看着尘土里女儿的脚印，因为他既是一个技艺高超的猎人，也是一个优秀的追踪者。 “她跟着一头野牛走了。”他说，"我要跟着他们把她带回来。" 就这样，猎人沿着草原出发了，只有弓和箭与他为伴。他走啊走啊，走了很远，累得他筋疲力尽，不得不在野牛休息的一个水塘边坐下来歇息。 一只喜鹊飞过来坐在他旁边。猎人用尊敬的口气对喜鹊说：“哦，见多识广的鸟儿啊，我的女儿是不是被一头野牛偷走了？你见过他们吗？你能不能告诉我他们去了哪儿？ ” 喜鹊非常同情地答道：“是的，我看到他们走过了这条路，正在山那边休息呢！ ” “那么，猎人说，“可不可以麻烦你给我女儿送个信？请你告诉她我就在山的这边。” 喜鹊飞到大野牛那里，他正躺在族人中间，在干燥的草原上睡觉。喜鹊跳到猎人女儿身边，她忠诚地守在熟睡的丈夫身边做着鹿皮鞋。“你父亲在山那边等你呢。" 喜鹊在她耳边小声说道。 '‘噢，这太危险了，”她告诉喜鹊，这些野牛对我们并不友好，我父亲到这儿来的话他们会伤害他的。请让他在那等我，我会想办法过去看他的。” 就在这时，她的丈夫大野牛醒了，他摘下一个牛角来。"去山那边的水塘给我打点水来。"她丈夫吩咐道。 猎人的女儿接过牛角，借这个偶然的机会去了山那边。 父亲弯身蜷在草丛中，悄悄对她说让她跟他回去。 “不行啊，”她低声说，“咱们的人杀害了他们的人，野牛非常愤怒。他们会追上我们把我们踩到泥土里的。我要回去看看可以做点什么来抚慰他们的感情。” 猎人的女儿带着一牛角水回到了丈夫那儿。他喝了水，打了个大大的响鼻。响鼻变成了一声怒吼，把所有的野牛都惊醒了。他们都把尾巴翘在空中，在山那边跳起了野牛舞，把还在野牛水塘边等女儿的可怜猎人踏成了碎片。 女儿坐在水塘边上痛哭起来。"你为什么哭呢？"她的野牛丈夫问道。 “你们杀了我父亲，而且我也是个囚犯。"她抽泣道。 "那么，我的人呢？ ”丈夫回答道，‘'我们已经献出了我们的孩子、父母和妻子们给你的亲戚们来交换你到我们这儿来。交易就是交易。” 但大野牛考虑到妻子的感受，便在她身边蹲下来说：“如果你能再救活你父亲，我们就让他带你回家，回到你们的人中间。” 猎人的女儿开始唱一支小歌："喜鹊，喜鹊请帮我找到一些我父亲的碎片，我可以把他修复完整。" 喜鹊出现了，头翘在一边坐在她前面。 "喜鹊，喜鹊，请看看你能找到什么。”猎人的女儿对着风，轻柔地唱起来，风轻轻地把草吹向两边。风不断地叹息，吹拂着草丛，喜鹊把头翘到一边，仔细地在层层草丛间寻找。突然他迅速从草丛中啄起一片藏在那儿的猎人的碎片，那是一小块骨头。 "这就肯定成了。”猎人的女儿说道，她把骨头放在地上，用毯子盖上。 然后她唱起一首催人复活的歌曲，这首歌有神奇的力量，可以把受伤的人们带回到人间。歌是奶奶教给她的，她安安静静地唱着，优美的歌声过后，毯子下面鼓起了一个大包。她和喜鹊看了看毯子下面，看到了一个人，但是他还没有呼吸，躺在那儿像石头一样冰凉。猎人的女儿继续唱，唱得越来越轻柔，这样父亲苏醒时就不会受到惊吓了。他站起来了！活了！而且很强壮！野牛族的人们都惊奇极了。他们对猎人的女儿说：“每次你们的人猎杀了我们之后，你都会为我们唱这首歌吗？我们愿意教你们跳野牛舞，这样的话只要你们在狩猎之前跳起野牛舞，我们保证你们可以满载而归。然后请你为我们唱这首歌，我们就会再活过来。” When the buffalo first came to be upon the land, they were not friendly to the people. When the hunters tried to coax them over the cliffs for the good of the villages, they were reluctant to offer themselves up. They did not relish being turned into blankets and dried flesh for winter rations. They did not want their hooves and horn to become tools and utensils nor did they welcome their sinew being used for sewing. “No, no.” they said. “We won’t fall into your traps. And we will not fall for your tricks.” So when the hunters guided them towards the abyss, they would always turn aside at the very last moment. With this lack of cooperation, it seemed the villagers would be hungry and cold and ragged all winter long. Now one of the hunters’ had a daughter who was very proud of her father's skill with the bow. During the fullness of summer, he always brought her the best of hides to dress, and she in return would work the deerskins into the softest, whitest of garments for him to wear. Her own dresses were like the down of a snow goose, and the moccasins she made for the children and the grandmothers in the village were the most welcome of gifts. But now with the hint of snow on the wind, and deer becoming more scarce in the willow breaks, she could see this reluctance on the part of the buffalo families could become a real problem. Hunter5s Daughter decided she would do something about it. She went to the base of the cliff and looked up. She began to sing in a low, soft voice, “Oh，buffalo family, come down and visit me. If you come down and feed my relatives in a wedding feast, I will join your family as the bride of your strongest warrior.” She stopped and listened. She thought she heard the slight rumbling sound of thunder in the distance. Again she sang, “Oh, buffalo family, come down and visit me. Feed my family in a wedding feast so that I may be a bride.” The thunder was much louder now. Suddenly the buffalo family began falling from the sky at her feet. One very large bull landed on top of the others, and walked across the backs of his relatives to stand before Hunter’s Daughter. “I am here to claim you as my bride.” said Large Buffalo. “Oh，but now I am afraid to go with you.” said Hunter’s Daughter. “Ah，but you must.” said Large Buffalo, “For my people have come to provide your people with a wedding feast. As you can see, they have offered themselves up.” “Yes，but I must run and tell my relatives the good news.” said Hunter’s Daughter. ‘No.” said Large Buffalo, “No word need be sent. You are not getting away so easily.” And with that said, Large Buffalo lifted her between his homs and carried her off to his village in the rolling grass hills. The next morning the whole village was out looking for Hunter’s Daughter. When they found the mound of buffalo below the cliff, the father, who was in fact a fine tracker as well as a skilled hunter, looked at his daughter’s footprints in the dust. “She’s gone off with a buffalo.”he said. “I shall follow them and bring her back.” So Hunter walked out upon the plains, with only his bow and arrows as companions. He walked and walked a great distance until he was so tired that he had to sit down to rest beside a buffalo wallow. Along came Magpie and sat down beside him. Hunter spoke to Magpie in a respectful tone, “O knowledgeable bird, has my daughter been stolen from me by a buffalo? Have you seen them? Can you tell me where they have gone?” Magpie replied with understanding, “Yes，I have seen them pass this way. They are resting just over this hill.” “Well，，，said Hunter, “would you kindly take my daughter a message for me? Will you tell her I am here just over the hill?” So Magpie flew to where Large Buffalo lay asleep amidst his relatives in the dry prairie grass. He hopped over to where Hunter’s Daughter was quilling moccasins, as she sat dutifully beside her sleeping husband. “Your father is waiting for you on the other side of the hill.” whispered Magpie to the maiden. “Oh, this is very dangerous.” she told him. “These buffalo are not friendly to us and they might try to hurt my father if he should come this way. Please tell him to wait for me and I will try to slip away to see him.” Just then her husband, Large Buffalo, awoke and took off his horn. “Go bring me a drink from the wallow just over this hill.” said her husband. So she took the horn in her hand and walked very casually over the hill. Her father mentioned silently for her to come with him, as he bent into a low crouch in the grass. “No.” she whispered. “The buffalo are angry with our people who have killed their people. They will run after us and trample us into the dirt. I will go back and see what I can do to soothe their feelings.” And so Hunter’s daughter took the horn of water back to her husband who gave a loud snort when he took a drink. The snort turned into a bellow and all of the buffalo got up in alarm. They all put their tails in the air and danced a buffalo dance over the hill, trampling the poor man to pieces who was still waiting for his daughter near the buffalo wallow. His daughter sat down on the edge of the wallow and broke into tears. “Why are you crying?” said her buffalo husband. “You have killed my father and I am a prisoner, besides.” she sobbed. “Well, what of my people?” her husband replied. “We have given our children, our parents and some of our wives up to your relatives in exchange for your presence among us. A deal is a deal.” But after some consideration of her feelings, Large Buffalo knelt down beside her and said to her, “If you can bring your father back to life again, we will let him take you back home to your people.” So Hunter’s Daughter started to sing a little song. “Magpie，Magpie helps me find some piece of my father which I can mend back whole again.” Magpie appeared and sat down in front of her with his head cocked to the side. “Magpie, Magpie, please see what you can find.” she sang softly to the wind which bent the grasses slightly apart. Magpie cocked his head to the side and looked carefully within the layered folds of the grasses as the wind sighed again. Quickly he picked out a piece of her father that had been hidden there, a little bit of bone. “That will be enough to do the trick8.” said Hunter’s Daughter, as she put the bone on the ground and covered it with her blanket. And then she started to sing a reviving9 song that had the power to bring injured people back to the land of the living. Quietly she sang the song that her grandmother had taught her. After a few melodious passages, there was a lump under the blanket. She and Magpie looked under the blanket and could see a man, but the man was not breathing. He lay cold as stone. So Hunter’s Daughter continued to sing, a little softer, and a little softer, so as not to startle her father as he began to move. When he stood up, alive and strong, the buffalo people were amazed. They said to Hunter’s Daughter, “Will you sing this song for us after every hunt? We will teach your people the buffalo dance, so that whenever you dance before the hunt, you will be assured a good result. Then you will sing this song for us, and we will all come back to live again.” |
