Week 11 Story: The Attack on the Great Elk

The Attack on the Great Elk

Jona reached the last of the trees and stopped just before he stepped out in the open. Out on the plain the Great Elk lay sleeping. It was a towering beast, capable of leveling mountains and flattening villages in one stride. Not only that, it was a killer. Hundreds of Jona's people had been taken by the beast. It didn't eat them, no, it was an herbivore. This thing killed for sport but that was over now.

Years ago, Jona's mother had prayed to the Spirits for an end to the terrible beast. The Spirits had answered by giving her Jona. His entire life he had prepared for this and now, finally, his training had come to an end. His mother had finished making his powerful bow and his strong arrows. He had taken them up and trekked to the land where the Great Elk dwelt.

Unfortunately, with the large plain between himself and the beast, there was no way to get close enough to kill it. The Elk was said to have impenetrable hide. Besides that, it had a great sense of smell. If it sensed him, one thrust of its mighty antlers would end his life.

Jona was contemplating how he would tackle the problem when he saw the ground tremble beneath him and he realized it was Gopher, the digger of the ground. Jona knelt and tapped the earth until Gopher appeared.

"I need your help," Jona told Gopher, "today I am going to kill the Great Elk but I can't do it alone."

Now Gopher hated the Great Elk. One step of its giant hoof smashed the earth and killed any gopher underneath. He personally knew many gophers who had been lost that way. Therefore, he was eager to help Jona and together they schemed.

Finally, Gopher tunneled his way to the Great Elk and began gently gnawing at its powerful hair.

"What are you doing?" The Elk demanded.

"Just collecting some hair for my nest," Gopher responded before hurrying away. The hair he had collected was around the Elk's chest.

When the Gopher returned, Jona followed the hole until he reached the beast. Then he readied his bow and arrow, aimed for the patch Gopher had created, and fired. He penetrated the weakness in the Elk's tough coat but did not immediately kill it. Instead, the Elk leapt to its feet and in a blind rage it ran this way and that, furrowing its antlers into the ground, creating large troughs and mounds, what are now rivers and mountains.

It ran and ran until finally, it collapsed.

Jona left the hole once it was safe and hurried to the Elk's body. The fur would be perfect, he knew, to wear as armor, Meanwhile, the antlers would be the only weapon there was which would be able to harm his next foe.

Quickly, he skinned the Elk and hacked off its antlers. Then he turned toward the home of man's next nemesis. The Great Eagles.

Author's Note

This week, I have been really busy. I didn't even get to both readings. I am traveling and have exams in other classes so suffice to say it has been a bit hectic. Sadly, I wasn't able to come up with anything super creative. I copied part of one of the stories I read in the Hero Tales. If you are interested, follow the link and check out the original! 

Attack on Giant Elk, from the Hero Tales Unit by Stith Thompson

Photo Credit: wikimedia