Week 10 Storytelling: The Secret

The Secret

At my age, I knew that it was only a matter of time before I had to find a wife. The task proved difficult for me for I was not like other “men.” As a matter of fact, I was not a man at all. I searched and searched for a wife until I finally came across a widow looking for a suitor for her daughter. The only condition she had was that the man who would marry her daughter had to be a good hunter. I was not the best of hunters but I was desperate for love that I lied and told her that I was a great hunter. Soon, our marriage was arranged and I went to live with my new wife.

Hiding my secret from my new wife and her mother was a difficult task. When I felt the change happening, I would rise early in the morning and leave and not return until late that night. The first time this happened, my wife’s mother questioned my sudden departure. When she asked where I was going, I almost made the mistake of saying hunting but quickly changed my mind. Hunting was definitely not the smartest thing I could have said. As I mentioned before, I was a terrible hunter. If I traveled down that path, she would definitely grow suspicious. Instead, I simply said, “Fishing.” This too was a dumb decision because I realized that she would expect me to come home with a mountain of fish.  Before returning home, all I could find were three measly guppies. I saw the questioning look in her eye and tried to curb her doubt by telling her that I would be more successful tomorrow. This became a never-ending cycle until one day; I finally had to change up my excuse. Once again my mother in law asked where I was going but this time I said, “Hunting.” I returned later that night with only two duwë'gä (lizards) and I knew I was in trouble. The other men of the tribe had gone hunting that day too but unlike me, they came home with many cuts of deer.

I knew my time was running out but as hard as I tried I could not stop the change. Once again, I rose early and left my wife and mother in law. I went down to the river like I did every morning and waited for my transformation to begin. Once in my true form, I dove down into the water and caught a crawfish. Crawfish were my favorite snack and I was quite pleased with how swiftly I spotted and captured my prey. With the crawfish in hand, I flew back down to the shore and took my human form and began to walk home. When I walked through the door, my wife began to question me about my lack of fish. I quickly explained to her that as I was fishing, an owl swooped down and scared away the fish. Then, my wife gave me a look; a look that I knew meant that my secret was out. She yelled at me and said, “You’re the owl! I thought I married a man but I married an owl!” Those were the last words my wife ever spoke to me. She ran me out of the house and I took shelter in the woods. That is where I have been ever since; grieving the love that I once had. The love that I wanted more than anything else in the world. The love that I knew I would never have again.  

(Barn Owl or Lulu)

Author's Note: In this story, an old woman tries to find a good hunter to marry her daughter. The man that the old woman picks, turns out to have a secret; he is not a man but an owl. In the end, the two women find out the husband's secret and drives him out of the house. The story is told from the two women's point of view but I wanted to write about the husband/owl's side of the story.

Bibliography: This story is based on the story, The Owl Gets Married from the book, Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).