And the hunter was told by their sister that when they went forth,
which was every few days, their father said to them, "Sons, arise! it
is time now for you to go forth over the world and save our friends. Go
not too near the trees, but if you see aught that is harmful to those
whom we love, strike, and spare not!" Then when they went forth they
flew on high among the clouds; and thus it is that the Thunder and
Lightning, whose home is in the mighty Katahdin, are made. And when the
thunder strikes, the brothers are shooting at the enemies of their
friends.
Now when the day was done the hunter returned to his home, and when
there, found he had been gone seven years. All this I have heard from
the old people who are dead and gone.
This tale was told me by Tomah Josephs (P.). It seems to have nothing
in common with the very widely spread myth that the thunder is the
flapping of the wings of a giant bird, and the lightning the flashes of
its eyes. The tradition is probably of Eskimo origin, supernatural
beings partially of stone being common to Greenland and Labrador. There
is a strange but entirely accidental resemblance between this story
and Rip Van Winkle, as in the distant sound of the nine-pins like
low-muttered thunder, the hospitable entertainment, and finally the
seven years as one day. Apparent resemblances are very deceptive.
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