Week 9 Storytelling: The Owl's Wife

Dear Diary,

My mom said that it's time for me to find a husband, but said I need to be very picky when choosing one. I know how well my father took care of her, and how much she struggles now that she's gone, so I want to make her to completely approve of the man I marry. She's offered up some very good advice that I need to keep in mind while finding a suitor. She said I'm supposed to find a man who will be a good hunter, since I need to be taken care of. She told me that this is one of the most important characteristics to look for in a man. I know that my mother is always right, so I'll make sure that my husband knows how to provide well for me.

Dear Diary,

I didn't think I'd ever find a suitor, but that changed today. A man approached my mother about me becoming his wife. She spoke with him a bit and decided that he would be a good husband for me. I was kind of reluctant at first, but he swore to my mother that he's a good hunter, and she believes him, so she really wants him to court me. If my mother thinks he's good enough to be my future husband, then he most likely is.

Dear Diary,

I'm a married woman now! My mother allowed us to live together and be married and I'm very happy. I can't wait to start our life together. I know that he will provide so well for me and our future family. He already goes out and spends the whole day hunting to find food! He hasn't really come back with anything big yet, but it's to be expected since he's not used to hunting in this area. I know that he'll get better with time though!

Dear Diary,

There's something weird going on with my husband. He claims to be out hunting all day, but only brings back little scraps of food. He always makes up excuses, but I'm having a hard time believing him. He should be bringing back more food than just scraps, especially since he's spending the entire day out hunting. My mom is getting suspicious. She thinks that something weird is going on and wants me to follow him the next time he hunts. I'm worried that he'll never trust me again if he catches me, but I need to know what's going on. What if he's not really hunting and just steals food from other people? He could also just be a really awful hunter, which means he lied to my mom. She won't be happy if he lied to her. I'm ready to figure out what's going on.

Dear Diary,
I finally figured out why my husband was so bad at getting food, and you're never going to believe why. I followed him out to his hunting spot and found out that he's actually an owl. I'm married to an owl! I don't even know what to do. I can't be married to an owl. Especially an owl who can't provide for me at all. I'm not sure what to do. I need to confront him, but I think I'll talk to my mother first.

Dear Diary,
Well, I'm no longer married. I confronted the owl and ran him out of the house. He was so sad, but what was I supposed to do? We could never stay married. I moved back in with my mother and will continue to look for a suitable husband. Hopefully the next one can provide well for me, and isn't an owl.

(Owl)

Bibliography: This story is based off of "The Owl Gets Married" in the Cherokee Myths Unit. 

Author's Note: My story this week is based off of "The Owl Gets Married". It's about a girl whose widowed mother tells her that she needs to find a husband who is a good hunter so that she can always have plenty of food to eat and be taken care of. After awhile, a man comes and asks if he can marry the girl. The mom tells him that he must be a good hunter and the man says that he is a great hunter. The mom agrees to letting them get married and the man takes the girl away to be his wife. The girl and her mother become suspicious of the man's hunting skills after he claims to hunt for hours and hours, but never returns with more than just a few scraps of food. The mother has her daughter follow the man out when he hunts, and she finds out that he's actually an owl. The girl was furious, confronted the owl, and forced him to leave their home. The owl dies of a broken heart because he loved the girl so much. I really enjoyed this story, and thought it would be interesting to write a diary from the girl's point of view and give her a voice in the whole thing.