Raven and the Whale’s Burning Heart

Raven was drowning in the open ocean and a whale took him in.

Once inside, Raven saw a young woman by the light of a seal oil lamp. The girl bid him welcome, but warned him not to touch the burning lamp. She came and went frequently from the place, and Raven, feeling curious, disregarded her warning.

He bumped the lamp in his clumsiness, causing it to go out. The young woman, just returning, fell in a dead faint as the inside of the whale went black, and bloody.

The lamp had been the whale’s heart, and the girl its soul, going out and returning with the great creature’s every breath.

When Raven finally managed to escape from the huge animal’s carcass, he transformed himself into a man and told the approaching people he was a great hunter.

“I killed the whale, I killed the whale!” he crowed, rather than saying,

“I meddled with something too great and precious for me to understand and destroyed it.”

2 thoughts on “Raven and the Whale’s Burning Heart

  1. Pingback: Untangling Tales » Blog Archive » “Trickster” Tales

  2. I loved “Raven….” (we are such meddlers) and i get a “welcome” feeling from your site. I can’t stay right now, but i’d love to come back and visit. I’d need to investigate Tuesday Tales further to know if and how i might contribute. For now, thank you.

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