Week 11 Story - The Dream of the Plain

An Empty Plain
In the beginning, there was nothing more than a great, dusty plain with not even so much as grass upon it. In this plain, nothing changed and nothing was born, until at last the plain began to dream. Its dream was occupied by thoughts of grasses, bushes, trees, and birds, and soon, those things began to spread over the whole of the plain. The birds began to chatter amongst themselves, so lucky to have been given an infinite world of food and shade, but quickly found themselves parched. They echoed a cry to the plain, and soon, water began to flow over some parts of the plain, and the west of the plain became an infinite sea. The birds were happy, and they found themselves contented as before.
This contentment did not last long, as the birds began to grow tired of eating, drinking, and flight from tree to tree. Once again, they expressed their discontent to the world, and once again, the world began to dream something new - the land itself began to leap up and fall down, forming into great mountains and valleys all around the forests and plains. The birds now had a brilliant landscape to explore, and could migrate all across the lands. At last, they were happy.
After many years of exploration, the birds had seen all the land had to offer. They grew tired of flying over mountains and out of valleys, and again expressed their discontent to the world. Fed up with such ungrateful people, the world dreamt a new idea - a new species to populate the earth. Thus the world created humans, intelligent, strong, and careful. These humans quickly took to making the most of the world around them, but grew tired of a diet of fruit and vegetable. They fashioned spears of wood, and began to hurl them at the birds, killing some for food. The birds were nearly hunted to extinction, and begged the world for reprieve. Believing they'd learned their lesson, the world birthed many more species of animal, from bug to caribou, taking the focus of man away from birds to bigger prey.
Author's Note: For this story, I wanted to try and create my own creation story based in Native American motifs, and integrate a moral story to it akin to the Alaskan legends. I rather like how this one turned out, even if it's a bit surreal.
Bibliography: Alaskan Legends, Untextbook

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 6, 2019 at 2:29 PM

    Hey Gage!

    First off I just wanted to say thank you for sharing this story with us. I think you did a great job of writing a new story with a much older feel. You did a great job of not only keeping the feel of a Native American story while at the same time adding in the Alaskan narrative. Great job!

    Best,
    - JD

    ReplyDelete
  2. cwbullerApril 8, 2019 at 11:49 AM

    Gage, I really enjoyed your story and thought you did a great job incorporating the Native American motifs. The flow of the story was great and it all worked out wonderfully. I also liked that you incorporated the Alaskan legend aspect into. It definitely adds to the overall story arch and it ties in nicely altogether. I can't wait to read your other stories, great job!

    ReplyDelete
  3. CarlApril 22, 2019 at 2:52 AM

    Hey howdy Gage! Great story, super to the point and short, while still engaging for us readers. The description that you include is very vivd, I felt like I was there on the plain, waiting to see the critters around me. It seemed like a narrative from a train of thought, and I definitely connected with the narrator, despite the identity not being super clear.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Chase GaddisApril 22, 2019 at 11:32 AM

    Hey Gage,

    I really enjoyed getting to read your story! It was really engaging, short, fun, and flowed really well from this reader's perspective. I loved how detailed the descriptions of the world you created were, and I also really appreciate how naturally the story flowed. I really thought it was cool how you took the Native American aspect and added the Alaskan perspective as well. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Baylor BoydApril 29, 2019 at 5:51 AM

    Hey Gage!

    You were going for a creation story and you nailed it. The style you use and the way the story is presented, it really does read like an origin story that has been passed down over countless generations. Before I read your note, I genuinely thought that this was an authentic genesis story. And I don't think it was overly surreal. Instead, it resonates the idea of a Mother Earth and that earth is its own creator. And I love how you worded the act of creation as being a dream. Great work!

    ReplyDelete

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