Week 10 Reading: Tejas Legends, Part B

There are several different stories (11 in total) from part B of the Tejas legends, so I will only recap some of my favorites below:

Why hummingbirds drink only dew: One day a hummingbird and a great blue heron who lived in a big lake together made a bet. They decided to race from one side of the lake to the other, and whoever won would no longer drink from that lake or any other. Flying across the lake took a very long time, and as it got dark, the hummingbird (with a sizable lead) decided to rest for the night because it could not fly in the dark. The heron flew through the night, and was at the other side of the lake already when the hummingbird arrived the next day. Thus, the hummingbird only drinks dew today.

How Sickness Entered the World: Long ago, there were no diseases which killed men, but only age. A great medicine man could cure all, but his time was coming himself, so as he lay dying in bed, he sent two young boys to receive a message. This message was to come from the great spirit, and it would allow the medicine man to pass on his knowledge to someone else. The boys went to receive the message, and as they were waiting, they killed a snake which frightened them as it came up. This snake turned out to be the messenger of the great spirit! The people were cursed with disease from here on out.

When the Rainbow was Torn: The cactus plants, with their white flowers, would always admire the rainbow that came after rainy weather. However, the end of the rainbow always seemed to avoid the cactus, perhaps because it was afraid of its spiky thorns. However, after one storm, a rainbow came down on a patch of cactus plants hidden in tall grass. Only some of the rainbow hit the cactus flower, giving its red, orange, and yellow colors to the plant.

Image Source. Cactus flower