Oceti Šakowiŋ · the northern plains — Lakota · Dakota · Nakota country
The heroes of this story.
Eight quick legs, quick tongue, mischievous — never cruel. "I could catch anything. Even the sky's berries." Beaten by his own appetite; learns to look up before he grabs. He speaks.
Paints the winter-count hide so the year will remember. "Cleverness is a basket. Fill it for someone else." Raises one eyebrow; grandmothers know things.
Keen-eyed, soaring, a little proud. Circles crying once — LOOK HERE — and folds his great wings: fly up, and look again. Never speaks; never carries the child.
Iktomi sees fat red berries shimmering in the creek and builds traps — a web, a leaf-boat, a stick-net — each working perfectly, each catching nothing. High above, Wanbli circles crying LOOK HERE, but Iktomi looks left, right, down — never up. Finally he webs the whole creek and dives in headfirst: a mouthful of mud, a minnow on his nose, and — lying on his back, too tired to scheme — the real berry bush, heavy and red, ABOVE the creek. The thing he chased was only its reflection. He picks the real berries, eats them too fast, gets the hiccups so hard he bounces — and fills Unci's parfleche box with berries for the elders. "The year will remember you learned."
Free coloring pages from this book · how-to-draw the friends · watch the episode on YouTube.
