The Women Who Hid: A Catawba Tale

This happened a long time ago.

Bad men were coming who wanted to kill the women.

But the women had the power to change themselves.

One woman changed herself into a blacksnake.

Another woman changed herself into a lizard.

Another woman changed herself into a cricket.

The bad men came. "Where are the women?" they shouted. "Where did the women go?"

But the women were hiding. The men could not find them.

Blacksnake. Lizard. Cricket.

"Where are the women?" the men kept shouting, and then they went away.

The next day, the women became themselves again. 

The women came home.

(cricket)

This is another one of the stories in Catawba Texts told by Margaret Brown. Here is the story as recorded in the book, and a link to more Catawba stories here.