Reading Notes: Native American Marriage Tales (B)

Title: The Dog-Husband
Author: Stith Thompson
Link: Story link.

Plot:

• A young girl in a village has a dog.
• Every night, the dog transforms into a man and they sleep together. He transforms back into a dog before the sun comes up.
• Eventually, the girl becomes pregnant and her parents blame the dog. They are mortified and tear the house down, kill the dog, and leave the girl alone to die.
• Crow -- a benevolent spirit -- takes pity on the girl and leaves her with a method of always finding fire.
• The girl finds fire and gives birth to five dog pups. She is forced to raise them on her own.
• After a while, the girl catches her dog-children in human forms, dancing and singing. She scolds them, and tells them that they should have adopted their human forms at all times.
• She forces the children to remain in human form and teaches them how to hunt.
• The family becomes very successful at whaling.
• Crow discovers the site of the family's whaling enterprise and is offered as much food as she can eat.
• Crow tells the village that the family has covered the beach in whale meat and found success -- they are not dead as they are believed to be.
• The boys become powerful chiefs in the village due to their whaling prowess.

"Wait...it's not what it looks like!" Source: Pexels.

Setting:

• This tale comes form the Quinault people who, in addition to sounding like the grain-based superfood "quinoa," were located on the western coast of Washington state -- bordering the Pacific Ocean.

Characters:

• Dog: Pretty much an innocent bystander, if you discard the fact that the relationship is between members of different species.
• Girl: Makes some iffy choices, but she's certainly resourceful and -- for a single mother of five -- she does incredibly well for herself and her family.
• Crow: Kind hearted and merciful. Partly responsible for the rise of the children to "chief" status.
• Children: Mischievous and light hearted. They are content to remain as either humans or dogs and prefer to spend their time dancing and singing.
• They are quick learners and become remarkably successful at whaling.

Writing Style:

• First it the ol' bear-as-a-husband-and-also-a-sister gag, now it's the classic my-dog-is-my-secret-lover scenario. Truly man's best friend.
• Unfortunately, I picked this one as another example of "what not to do." It feels a little bit like a shaggy dog joke: There's a ton of buildup; an elaborate, ridiculous plot line; twists and turns that you don't expect...and no real relevant pay off. 
• What's the moral here...sleeping with a dog will ensure that your children are good at whaling? Single moms should stick to their guns when they ask their were-children not to transform all the time? This one did not jive with me.