The Snow Man

Native American Story Teller - The Story of Snow Man

Native American Story Teller
The Story of the Snow Man

The Native American story of the Snow Man. Learn about the culture, stories, myths and legends of American Indians and their famous chiefs and tribes.

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  • A classic short story of the Snow Man for kids and children of all ages
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  • A Native American Story of the Snow Man to teach kids about Native Indians in a short, enjoyable, easy to read format.
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The Snow Man

The Native American Story of the Snow Man
The Red Indian Fairy Book by Frances Jenkins Olcott
A Menominee Story

The Story of the Snow Man
Once there was a hunter who with his family lived in a lodge apart from the other lodges of his village. And why he lived apart was this:—

One day in the early Spring he was hunting in the woods. The Sun shone warmly, and the snow was melting. As he walked along he heard the lumps of snow go "Snip! Snap!" with a zipping sound.

"Ah! Ha! Master Snow," laughed he, "so you are afraid of the Sun, are you!"

Immediately a voice replied: "Oh, you need not speak that way to me! I come because I am sent by my master the North; he tells me to stay only a little while, and I must obey him. The Sun helps me to disappear. But since you have made fun of me, I will put you to a test. NEXT WINTER, BEWARE!"

The hunter stopped, stared, and listened, but did not see any one. And as he turned to hurry away from the spot, he heard the voice say again: "We shall see who is the greater, you or I! NEXT WINTER, BEWARE!"

The man was frightened out of his senses, and ran home with all speed, and when he reached his lodge in the village, he told his wife and children all about it. After that he went to the next lodge, where lived a very old man together with some ancients, and told them what had happened.

"If you heard the Snow Man speak," said the ancients, "what he said he will do, that he will do!"

But the old man said: "It is no wonder that the Snow Man was angry with you if you made fun of his melting away. But since he has made a wager with you, my Grandson, you must be ready to meet him next Winter. Indeed, all your time from now on must be spent in getting ready."

"What shall I do to get ready?" asked the hunter.

"You must begin now," said the old man, "to kill Deer, Bear, Buffalo, and all other large creatures that you can find. You must press out their fat and oil, and put it all in skin bags. You must also fill some bags with pitch. Then you must cut and lay aside a great deal of gummy wood full of knots. After that you must build yourself a lodge apart from every one, with a door to the south. Take Pine pitch and fill up all the cracks in the walls, and hang a closely braided mat before the door, so that nothing can get through. Inside you must build a fireplace with a small smoke-hole. Then carry into the lodge your supply of wood and the skins full of fat, oil, and pitch. You will need all you can get, for the contest will be long and hard."

"All right, Grandfather," said the hunter. And the poor fellow immediately fell to work, and spent the whole Summer and Autumn hunting by night, and cutting wood and preparing the other things by day. He made a great quantity of grease and tallow cakes and bars of all sizes, and filled skin bags with oil and pitch. And he built his lodge as the old man had told him to do.

Well, as Winter approached, the hunter trembled with fear, and bidding his family good-bye, entered the lodge and shut himself in. At first he made only a little fire, but by and by, as the cold increased, he heaped on more wood.

One night a fierce wind arose, and tore around outside the lodge, shrieking, "Boo-oo-oo-oo!"

"He is coming, now!" thought the hunter. But no one came.

Then the wind blew and blew and blew,&$8212;"Boo-ooo-oo-oo-oo-oooooo!"—and the hunter felt himself getting very cold, so he made a rousing fire. The trees and bushes outside snapped and cracked louder and louder, as the wind tore through them. "He is surely coming, now!" thought the hunter. But no one came.

The hunter stirred the fire, and the cold grew worse and worse, and the wind howled and shrieked, and tore the trees apart. "I wonder what he looks like," thought the hunter. But no one came.

The time seemed very short, but it was already Mid-Winter, and the hunter did not know it!

Well, at last he saw him. In the tightly pitched and chinked lodge, with its closely woven mat over the door, a Manlike-Object-of-Snow walked about. It passed close to the hunter, and at the same moment its icy breath filled the lodge, and the fire began to go out.

But the hunter rose up, and threw on more wood keeping back the better sort. The Manlike-Object-of-Snow sat down opposite him, and stared at him with its icy eyes. The lodge grew colder and colder, and the hunter shook in every limb, and the fire shrank and almost went out. But the hunter remembered what the old man had said, and he piled on more wood.

The time seemed very short, but the Winter was almost over, and the hunter did not know it!

After that he felt his limbs getting numb, so he piled on the best wood, and stirred the fire, and the flames sprang up and threw out heat. And the Snow Man groaned. Then the hunter began to throw the grease and tallow on the flames, and they shot up and blazed and sputtered, and threw out a fearful heat. And the Snow Man groaned again, but still he sat there with his icy stare, and his breath numbed the hunter's limbs.

The time seemed very short, but Winter was just over, and the hunter did not know it!

At last the man began to throw on the pitch, and piled up his largest logs, and the Snow Man groaned horribly, and grew smaller and smaller, and gasped and groaned again. Then the hunter poured on the oil, and soon only a little lump of ice lay where the Snow Man had sat. At that a voice cried out:—

"Ho, my Grandson! You have conquered! You are greater than I, so I give up to you!"

But the man did not stop. He continued to pour on his oil, and throw on the pitch, and heap on wood; and the Snow Man cried:—

"Oh, stop, my Grandson! I have spoken the truth. I will return to the North where I have power. And you shall live in this lodge, and become a great hunter. Your wife and children may always go barefooted in the snow, and I will not hurt them. Your name from now on shall be 'The-Man-who-Mastered-the-Winter.' "

Then the Snow Man disappeared, and the hunter lifted the mat at the door. And, lo, the Sun shone, the grass was green, the flowers were blooming, the birds were singing, for Winter was gone and the Springtime was there!

The Story of the Snow Man
This story of the Snow Man is featured in the book entitled the Red Indian Fairy Book by Frances Jenkins Olcott published in Boston, New York by Houghton Mifflin Company in 1917

The Story of the Snow Man
The Native American Indian Story of the Snow Man provides an opportunity to read about the life and times of Native American Indians and many of their great chiefs and famous leaders. A Classic Short story about Snow Man for kids and children of all ages. This short story of the Snow Man is great to read to kids and children at bedtime. This very short story contains folklore about the famous people of Native Indian tribes.

The Story of the Snow Man for Kids
This short Native American story has been selected to keep the attention of kids and children of all ages. Many of the traditional stories featured in this section are true and others are folk stories or myths and legends. Read our free short story online about Snow Man. Read a free, online short story about the people of famous tribes Native American Indians to increase knowledge and understanding of the indigenous people of North America.

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Snow Man

  • The Story of the Snow Man for kids
  • Snow Man, Culture and Mythology
  • Interesting story about Snow Man for kids and schools
  • American Indian Stories, Folklore, Mythology, Myths and Legends - Snow Man
  • Classic Short story for kids and children
  • Read this free, online short story of the Snow Man

Snow Man - Pictures and Videos of Native Americans
The Story of the Snow Man. Discover the vast selection of pictures which relate to the Stories, History and Culture of Native Americans. The pictures show the clothing, War Paint, weapons and decorations of various Native Indian tribes that can be used as a really useful educational history resource for kids and children of all ages. We have included pictures and videos to accompany the main topic of this section - The Native American story of the Snow Man. The videos on this website enable fast access to the images, paintings and pictures together with information and many historical facts. All of the articles and pages can be accessed via the Native Indian Tribes Index - a great educational resource for kids.

 

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