Gracie

The Creation of the Mermaid The whale created the oceans, far and wide, deep and shallow, black and blue. He created the plants that bloomed vibrantly through the waving currents, and he created the sand that shimmered abundantly beneath the weight of the water. The whale also created the live that happily swam among the tides. The whale was proud and very content with his creation, but one day he decided there should be another creation, none like he has ever made before. It shall be called a mermaid, because of its man like-features. The whale gathered the animals that lived in his ocean, and held a meeting that would decide what the new creation should consist of. Each animal had its own thoughts of what the new life should be. The clown fish thought the mermaid should be orange and white, just like him. The shark thought it should have razor sharp teeth, so it could hunt better than any other fish. The tuna thought the mermaid should be agile and very large, to cut and dive thr...

Creation of Man Miwok (San Joaquin Valley, Cal.) I really enjoyed this story. Coyote created all of the world, and the decided he should create man as well. He gathered all of the animals in a circle as the Indians do, and asked them what the name should look like. All of the animals suggested the man have qualities and characteristics that matched themselves, but the coyote thought otherwise. He told the animals to disperse and mold what they consider to be the perfect man out of clay. The coyote did the same, and worked all night to complete his masterpiece. After all of the other animals fell asleep, coyote destroyed they molds, and made his man come to life. If I were to rewrite this story, I would make it underwater, and have all of the fish consult to create the mermaid.