My-Stu-Bun and His Horses

My-Stu-Bun and his horses

My Stu-Bun came mysteriously. No one knew where he had come from and just himself knew who he really was. He had transformed himself into another being, Crowfeather Arrow was really Oldman Napi.  He was put here on Mother Earth by Creator Sun to teach the children, but he had turned bad and now used his power entrusted to him by Creator Sun to make mischief.  

He just arrived one day, riding into the Blackfoot encampment on a fierce black horse with another few horses in tow.  His aim was to find himself a wife and he had seen the Chiefs daughter and thought she would do.

The Chief, Bellyfat, had a good look at the horses and was very agreeable to exchange a few of them for his eldest daughter and the deal was agreed upon. But his daughter did not want to go with My-Stu-Bun and become his wife. She had looked deep into his eyes and knew that he was not who he said and that she could not trust him. The Chief Bellyfat was a very wise Chief and he said to My-Stu-Bun that he would never force her and she would have to follow him freely into his tipi for them to be wed.

Laying there in that tipi, My-Stu-Bun couldn’t sleep out of disappointment.  Also those coyotes were something else, all that noise they were making, howling and the puppies yelping. All at once he sat up and had an idea. In the morning he used his powers to change himself into a cute little puppy. Right away he began to cry and to whimper in front of the Chiefs daughters tipi and when she came out, she followed the cute little puppy right into the tipi of My-Stu-Bun. As soon as he was in his tipi, he quickly changed into himself and when the maiden came in he was ready for her.  He embraced her and took her as his wife. She could not do anything, as she had come freely into his Tipi and the Chief had to agree, even so he knew that his daughter had been tricked.  My Stu-Bun and his wife settled down at a nearby tribal settlement and lived reasonably happy for a while.

The next summer, the Blackfoot people called for a big Pow Wow of all the tribes living in the Great Plains, which is now Montana, Alberta, Saskatchewan & Manitoba to come together. They came from far and near and prepared for days of feasting and talks.  Bellyfat proudly showed everyone around and also showed them his fine horses which his Son-in- law had given him in exchange for his daughter. The Chief of the Cree nation looked closer at the horses and threw down his medicine bundle furiously. He exclaimed:  “Those are our horses, they were stolen from us by a visitor who said he was Napi and who made himself invisible when he stole our horses and we have not seen him since.”

Both chiefs were angry at having been betrayed and rode as fast as they could to where Napi lived with his wife. Napi saw the dust of the riders approaching and recognised the Cree Chief. He knew only his special powers could help him now and he quickly escaped by changing himself into a bird and escaped by flying away.

Chief Bellyfat took his daughter home with him and she never married again. They never saw My-Stu-Bun again but he could have changed himself into someone else later.

Percy Bullchild, The history of the World as my Blackfeet Elders Told it.