A Gewessi Yule tale - part 5

Magpie becomes glad

Now Mr Magpie's fame spread over the world. He didn’t do the things that Magpie's normally do - he followed the way of the nine. In a great Parliament of Magpies held on one sunny Yule day he was declared Leader of the Magpies. However sometimes people still looked at him as just an ordinary magpie, not the great magpie he was, and would call him names or sometimes even throw sticks at him.

On those days he would hop to his branch overlooking the sunset and his tail would droop, whilst his eye would not be as bright as before. He would sigh and say
"Even after all this time and living the life I have, still I wish I was as bright as the sunset and golden as the dawning day, for everyone loves those things."

Sometimes Logi would hear him and from his house up in the clouds he would smile a little smile to himself and say "It's not supposed to be easy Mr Magpie. If you became golden you would have to leave your life - then what would happen to your kids and wife?"
Mr Magpie would hear his words on the wind and sigh an acknowledgement "I think you may be right."

Finally one day Mr Magpie felt the cold of winter come over him. He thought about his life and all that he'd done and he became rather angry that Ostara and her clan had not kept their promise. For sometimes people still looked at him as just an ordinary magpie, not the great magpie he was, and would call him names or sometimes even throw sticks at him. The weather was dark, stormy and sharp stones of ice were hitting his old body. His tail started to droop for the last time and the light in his eye was fading away. As he lay down dying he said
"Have I not done enough to change?"

Logi heard him and from his mountain home sent his spear of magic lightning crashing down. It pierced the Magpie leaving a pile of cinders. Much like scraped charcoal from burnt toast. Mr Magpie was dead!

Logi came to the heap of ashes and stirred them, finding an egg. The egg had a crack in it. Through the crack came a beak. Then a piece of eggshell fell. In no time at all Logi was holding a tiny red and gold bird in his hand. The gold was where the white on a magpie is and the red shimmered blue, green and purple just like the black on a magpie does. In no time at all the bird in his hand had grown as big as an eagle and yet, curiously, it still had a magpie shape. Logi whispered to it
"See I've kept our oath, from now on you shall be known as the Northern Phoenix and you will be a symbol of hope. When the people see your colours in the golden dawn and the bright sunset they shall think of you and everyone will love you." He then raised his hand and cast the new Phoenix skywards, shouting this magic poem to fulfil his clan's oath…

THE PHOENIX

He knows his time is out! and doth provide
New principles of life; herbs he brings dried
From the hot hills, and with rich spices frames
A Pile shall burn, and Hatch him with his flames.
On this the weakling sits; salutes the Sun
With pleasant noise, and prays and begs for some
Of his own fire, that quickly may restore
The youth and vigour, which he had before.
Whom soon as Sunna spies, stopping her rays
She makes a stand, and thus allays his pains......
She shakes her locks, and from her golden head,
Shoots one bright beam, which smites with vital fire
The willing bird; to burn is his desire.
That he may live again; he's proud in death,
And goes in haste to gain a better breath.
The spice heap fired with celestial rays
Doth burn the aged Phoenix, when straight stays
The Chariot of the amazed Moon; the pole
Resists the wheeling, swift Orbs, and the whole
Fabric of Nature at a stand remains.
Till the old bird anew, young begins again.

A Gewessi Yule tale - part 4

How the Magpie showed Justice, Knowledge and Loyalty

A long, long time ago the people and animals hadn't talked for so long that they had forgotten that they used to speak to each other. Sometimes they could still be friends and talked in sign language. In Poitou, in Southern France, you will see heather and laurel tied to the top of the people's houses or a high tree as a sign to say they are friends of the Magpies. It all started in Chauvigny where there was a little boy who was friends with Mr Magpie. Every morning as he headed towards the fields he would give Mr Magpie the nod and throw him a piece of his breakfast. For this Mr Magpie would follow the little boy and keep an eye on him as he tended the herds of sheep in the fields. The little boy used to get bored watching the sheep and would think up tricks and games to keep himself amused. So one day the little boy saw a Knight riding up on his strong white horse and in his hand was a long straight spear. The little boy thought he would play a trick and ran back to the village crying
"Wolf, wolf!"

All the people in the village ran to get their weapons to chase off the wolf. Now Mr Magpie knew the little boy was being naughty, even though he was his friend, and he quickly gathered a twig of Ash tree, flew to the top of the highest tree and dropped the twig in front of the villagers whilst scolding the little boy. The villagers ignored the Magpie and followed the little boy to find the wolf. They were very angry when they realised the boy had tricked them. Then the villagers realised that Mr Magpie had been telling the boy off, and they remembered the Magpie had dropped a twig. They said
"Aha Mr Magpie knew the little boy was lying and dropped the twig of Ash to let us know that a Knight was coming. Everyone knows that a Knight's spear is made from Ash because it grows so straight."

A little later the boy was bored again, the sheep were grazing quietly, when he saw a Druid coming down the road to the village. He ran back to the village as fast as his legs would carry him…
"Wolf, wolf, WOLF!!!!"
The Magpie had already picked a twig of Yew tree - as everyone knows that Yews are sacred to Druids. He flew to the top of the nearest house, scolded the boy and dropped the twig in front of the little boy's parents. The villagers were all running from the village until they saw the Druid!

His parents were very cross and said
"You naughty little boy telling us the Druid was a wolf! It was lucky the Magpie warned us that it was the Druid that was coming."

After that the little boy didn't like Mr Magpie and threw stones at him whilst calling him names. However Mr Magpie continued to keep an eye on the little boy because he was a loyal friend. A few days later a pack of wolves started attacking the sheep. The little boy ran back to the village shouting
"Wolf, WOLF, WOLF!!"
but the villagers ignored him expecting just another visitor. Mr Magpie had quickly picked some Whitethorn and flew with the little boy to the villagers dropping the twig at their feet and chattering loudly at them. The villagers seeing the Whitethorn and hearing his 'Caw, caw, caw' said
"Oh he's brought Whitethorn which means bad luck, the boy must be telling the truth! Quick there must be wolves in the field."
They ran off to chase the wolves away. The boy was busy crying
"Why did no-one believe me?"
An old man in the village heard him, picked up the boy and said "Because you cried 'Wolf' when there was no wolf. The Magpie knew you were lying and told the truth because it was the right thing to do. Even though you stopped being his friend, he remained loyal to you and helped you in the end."
The little boy asked how he could honour his friend, Mr Magpie. The Magpie brought him some Heather and Laurel. Heather to heal him when he's feeling sad and Laurel to stop lightning hitting him (for it was said that he would be killed by a bolt of lightning). So the little boy tied it to the top of his house and told the rest of the villagers that if they wanted a Magpie to warn them of visitors or wolves they should tie a bundle to their house or tree.

A Gewessi Yule tale - Part 3

How the Magpie showed Honesty, Honour and Hospitality

After the Buffalo Race the people and the animals started to drift apart. They stopped talking to each other and were forgetting how to be friends. 

 Now Tigers have always thought of themselves as Lords of the forest, which means they think they are better than everyone else and can do what they like. The Woodcutter was a good, but poor, man and lived in the forest with his sick mother, wife and three children. One day he was walking through the forest deciding which tree he needed to cut down when he heard a terrible noise, a bit like the sound of a police siren underwater
"Owowowowowow, how dare those, those people mess with MY forest" and "Oooooooooooo, they shouldn't be on my land owowowowowow".
The Woodcutter rushed towards the sound where he found a tiger with his paw caught in a rabbit snare. The Tiger shouted at the Woodcutter
"Is this your snare! It has caught me, you people are so careless leaving traps all over my forest!"
The woodcutter replied politely 'that it was not his snare as he didn't use them'. Mr Magpie, who was passing by, shouted down to the Tiger
"Nope Mr Woodcutter doesn’t use them!"
The Tiger shouted back
"Well, my man, get me out of this infernal contraption IMMEDIATELY!"
After thanking Mr Magpie for his honesty the Woodcutter knelt down and released the Tiger's paw from the snare, the Tiger's paw was badly hurt and he couldn't walk. The Woodcutter kindly decided to look after him until he was well. He chopped down two saplings and by tying them together made a harness by which he could carry the Tiger back to his hut. He invited Mr Magpie to come back for some lunch.

When they got back to his hut, the Tiger had complained the whole way, the Woodcutter put on the kettle and offered his guests something to eat. For Mr Magpie he prepared nice fresh eggs and for the Tiger a leg of pork. Mr Magpie thanked him gratefully, as any good guest would, but the Tiger just snatched his food and started eating without so much as a 'Please' or a 'Thank You'. Mr Magpie noticed the Woodcutter and his family were eating plain rice and beans as they had given their eggs and meat to their guests. He thought how hospitable the Woodcutter was in giving him the eggs and promised himself that he would repay the Woodcutter for this debt. The Tiger stayed for some days at the Woodcutters house ordering the Woodcutters family around without so much as a 'Please' or 'Thank You'. He even ordered the Woodcutter's sick mother to fetch him some water from the well!!! Finally the Tiger could walk and left the Woodcutter's house and the Woodcutter's mother shouted
"Good riddance to bad rubbish, you rude ingrate!" after him.

A few months passed and the Tiger was out hunting, it was the time of year when there weren't many deer in the forest and the Tiger was quite hungry. Suddenly he saw a man cutting wood in the forest
"He will be enough to fill my belly", thought the Tiger.
He sneaked up behind the man, and with a quick wiggle of his bottom, pounced on his victim. The Magpie, meanwhile, had been hunting in the forest for fruit, eggs and shiny things but at that moment was busy watching the Woodcutter at his work. Suddenly he saw the ungrateful Tiger about to pounce on the Woodcutter. With a loud "Caw, caw, caw" the Magpie dove at the Tiger saying
"You ungrateful wretch! After all the Woodcutter did for you. He saved you from the trap!"
and pecked him on the head. Still the Tiger pounced. Mr Magpie flew back and pecked him again
"You rude, ignorant boor! The Woodcutter carried you to his home and all YOU could do was complain!"
The Tiger had stopped but Mr Magpie was still so angry at the Tiger's in-hospitable action that he felt honour bound to peck him for a third time saying
"And this is for your lack of manners as a guest! The Woodcutter gave you his best food & bed to help you recover and this is how you repay him."
The Tiger, who now had a very sore head, slunk off back into the forest. The Woodcutter thanked Mr Magpie profusely. Who replied that it was nothing. In fact it was the least he could, in all honour, do after the hospitality shown by the Woodcutter and his family.

A Gewessi Yule tale - Part 2

How the Magpie showed Bravery, Creativity and Discipline

The Buffalo used to eat man. The People argued with the Buffalo saying
"Why do you get to eat us and we don't get to eat you! We shall have a big council to decide who eats who."
Mr Magpie and the Hawk were on the side of the people, for neither ate the other or the people. At the council they determined that a race would be held, the winners to eat the losers. These two birds flew away from the council between animals and men undecided as to whether they should enter the race. Mr Magpie was scared of being with the People when the Buffalo seemed so confident - but was determined to stay with man because he didn't eat magpie's.

The course was long, around a mountain. The swiftest Buffalo was a cow called Neika, "swift head." She believed she would win and entered the race. On the other hand, the People were afraid because of the long distance. They were trying to get medicine to prevent fatigue. Mr Magpie had watched Neika race before and thought up a clever plan. If he flew behind Neika he could shelter from the wind and save his energy for a last sprint at the end.

All the birds and animals painted themselves for the race, and since that time they have all been brightly coloured. Even the water turtle put red paint around his eyes. The magpie painted himself white on head, shoulders, and tail. At last all were ready for the race, and stood in a row for the start. They ran and ran, making some loud noises in place of singing to help themselves to run faster. All small birds, turtles, rabbits, coyotes, wolves, flies, ants, insects, and snakes were soon left far behind. When they approached the mountain the buffalo-cow was ahead; then came the magpie, hawk, and the people; the rest were strung out along the way. The dust rose so quickly that nothing could be seen.

All around the mountain the buffalo-cow led the race, but the two birds knew they could win if they saved their energy for the finish, and merely kept up with her until they neared the finish line, which was back to the starting place. Then both birds whooshed by her and won the race for man. As they flew the course, they had seen fallen animals and birds all over the place, who had run themselves to death, turning the ground and rocks red from the blood. They did not panic on seeing this but stayed behind Neika.

The buffalo then told their young to hide from the people, who were going out to hunt them; and also told them to take some human flesh with them for the last time. The young buffaloes did this, and stuck that meat in front of their chests, beneath the throat. Therefore, the people do not eat that part of the buffalo, saying it is part human flesh. From that day forward the Cheyennes began to hunt buffalo. Since all the friendly animals and birds were on the people's side, they are not eaten by people, but they do wear and use their beautiful feathers for ornaments. Another version adds that when coyote, who was on the side of buffalo, finished the race, the magpie who even beat the hawk, said to coyote,
"We will not eat you, but only use your skin."
Ever since the Cheyenne have loved the magpie for his bravery in taking their side in the race, discipline in saving his energy and creativity in thinking in how to win the race.