How Raven Stole the Sun tells how Raven, through his art of trickery, was able to fool the rich chief who greedily kept the sun, moon, and stars hidden away in boxes in his home. I especially liked the portion of the story that told how Raven came to be black. Raven transformed himself into a baby who was born to the greedy chief’s daughter. Raven cried and cried, pointing to the box that held the sun, until the chief gave the box to him. When the chief wasn’t looking, he transformed himself back into a bird and flew through the smoke hole in the ceiling. The sun flew up into the sky as the soot covered him from his beak all the way down to his feet.
I would give this story 3’s all across the board. Maria Williams is Tlingit author, who credits her father for passing this story down to her as a child. The story was easy to follow and fun to read. I feel like secondary students would appreciate Raven’s trickster qualities. Though Raven played tricks to get what he wanted, his desire was not of selfish intent as it benefited everyone in the world. And it would be a great way to introduce a unit on mythology.
You could use it as a way to teach students how to play pranks on each other. Best prank gets extra credit. (Note: Previous statement was to be read with sarcastic tone.)
Hehe
This is one of the most well-known stories to me. I have been told this story multiple times. It isn’t exactly a creation story, but reminds me of one. I think it would be a way to bring up creation stories, myths, and demonstrate how fables work.
Thanks Mason!