North Wind and South Wind

Hey.

Here's a new version of an old story.

Once the North Wind and the South Wind had an argument as to which
was the stronger. They put a wildcat in a tree, and had a contest to
see which could get it out. The South Wind blew and blew, but the cat
stayed in the tree. Then the North Wind blew slow and cold; it froze
the cat, causing it to drop out of the tree.

This is a story told by a Chemehuevi Indian (in English) and is found
in _Mirror and Pattern: George Laird's World of Chemehuevi Mythology_
by Carobeth Laird. It is obviously a variant of the "North Wind and
the Sun". The author speculates that the narrator may have heard the
story from Mexican settlers along the lower Colorado River.

Given that we've been known to use "The North Wind and the Sun" as a
translation exercise, I thought it would be fun to see this other
version of the tale. I won't attempt a Miapimoquitch rendition yet; I
think I have all of the words, but I'm just too busy with RL to
pursue it right now.

It would be fun to see retooled versions from you all, though ...

Dirk
--
Dirk Elzinga                  Dirk_Elzinga@byu.edu

Man deth swa he byth thonne he mot swa he wile.
'A man does as he is when he can do what he wants.'

- Old English Proverb

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