Week 11 Storytelling: The Great Flood and the Valley of Death

Once upon a time, there was a man that lived in a small house with his wife and children, as well as his brother and his family. He and his brother hunted across the fields in the day, and their wives would cook what they brought back for their families. One day, as the man was washing his face in a nearby river, a dog came to him. "Shoo, mutt! We have no room for you in my household!" he shouted to scare the dog away.

The dog remained unmoved. The man stood up and walked away, as the dog's stare was troubling him. The next day, after a long day of hunting, he returned to the river to fetch some water for his wife. There, again the dog appeared, a observed him closely. This happened every day for a week. Finally the man threw his hands up and said, "What? What is it you want from me, hound?"

"I am no hound."

The man looked about him, as the voice was not in his ears, but within his head. "What are you? A spirit? A ghost come to take me away?" he asked frantically.

"Nay," said the voice, "I am neither of those. I am a messenger. You must build a boat, for a great storm is coming that will wash away the world. You and your family will survive, but only if you do as I say."

So everyday after, the man would go to the river, where materials for building could be found. The dog would watch him daily. One day, as he was building, he ran out of twine to tie together some beams. He ventured home to find his brother and ask to borrow some. His brother, who did not approve of his foolish endeavors, told him to scavenge some twine from the valley. But as the man began that way, the dog appeared and warned him, "You must sleep now, for you have done all that needed to be done today. Rest now, for the valley holds nothing but death." He was confused by this, but followed the advise and went home.

Soon enough, the great raft was finished, though all the people in the surrounding area mocked him, for they had not seen the dog. Not even a day after the raft's completion, rain began to fall. The people hunkered under their roofs, as water was not known to fall in those days but come from the ground. The man and his family boarded the boat, but his headstrong brother refused. His brother told him that he would seek shelter in the valley where the his house was. As soon as he left, the water began to rise from the river, and the boat took off. There were many animals that had taken shelter on the boat as well, for the dog had given the man instructions for a boat that could fit them all. The sun did not shine on the Earth for many days, as it was perpetually raining. After some time, even the mountains were drowned by the deluge.

Then one day, the sun appeared from behind the clouds and the water began to recede. Some time after that, the man and his family and all the animal passengers walked on wet, muddy ground. The man thanked the Creator for bringing his family out of the flood alive.

Some days later, as he was walking the new earth, he heard the sounds of a dance. Surely, he thought, there cannot be anyone left after that flood! So he followed the sound which lead him to a valley. Looking down, he saw bones. Countless bones. Strewn across the entirety of the valley. He heard his brother calling him to join their dance. That is when he finally understood the dog's warning about the valley. He went home to his family, and began rebuilding the world.

Author's Note: The original story was more brief in that the man finds the dog which tells him to build a raft, he and his family jump on, it floods, then he has the experience of seeing the bones in the valley. I wanted to blend a little more detail into my retelling. I also borrowed elements from the Biblical story about Noah and his actions during the flood, as I'm tempted to say both the stories had the same source.

Source:Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).

Image: The Valley of Dry Bones (1873); Source: Wikimedia Commons