How the Skunk Got Its Odor
by Casey P.
Back in the days when animals could talk, skunks were odorless, and the only humans around were the Native Americans, who took only what they needed from the Earth, is when this story takes place.
It started on one bitter cold, snowy evening in Pennsylvania. Blackberry, a Striped Skunk, was out trying to find food for his wife and his four baby skunklings.
While he was walking in the woods, he wandered past a Lenni Lenape village. Blackberry saw the Lenni Lenapes sitting in a circle around a fire wearing their warm deerskin clothes and moccasins. The wise elders were telling stories as the youngsters listened intently. He knew that somewhere in this village there lived a teenage boy named Sly Fox.
Sly Fox had a comfortable wigwam that he lived in with his younger sister, Little Bird, his mother Red Sky and his father Spotted Owl. Sly Fox had a sly personality. He had tricked his parents many times and sometimes, if he was feeling especially sly or mean, he would sneak out late at night with his friends. He was disrespectful to his parents, even his mother, who was the head of the family as is the Lenni Lenape tradition. Blackberry had recently overheard awful stories about Sly Fox from a group of men who were out hunting.
It was around this time that Blackberry noticed his feet were getting numb. He decided he'd better hurry and find food for his family before he froze to death. He struggled through a snowdrift to get to a field where he knew mice and other small rodents were plentiful. After he had several deer mice and rats to bring back to his family, he headed home.
When he entered his underground den his wife Ebony called to him, "Why are you back so late?"
"Oh, I let my mind wander a little bit too far," Blackberry admitted.
"Well the children and I were getting very worried that a horned owl had gotten you," Ebony scolded.
"I've got plenty of deer mice!" Blackberry announced.
"Yippee! Dinner!" shrieked a little ball of fluff, which happened to be one of Blackberry's daughters, Polish. (She was named Polish after her thick coat of fur, which shone, like moonlight on water.)
"Calm down!" Ebony told her reprovingly. After everyone had had their fair share of food, the Skunk family snuggled into their beds.
The next afternoon when Sly Fox was finished with his chores he got together with his friends Bear Claw and Black Wind. After a few minutes of thinking about what they could do to cause trouble and find danger, Bear Claw had an idea.
"Hey, I know!" Bear Claw shouted. "Let's go out and hunt for food!"
Now Black Wind obviously didn't think this was a dangerous enough idea because he complained, "And how is that supposed to make trouble?"
"Well, can you think of anything better?" Bear Claw snapped.
"Not really," Black Wind admitted, feeling a little embarrassed.
"I know a way we could include even more danger in our hunting trip." Sly Fox paused to let his friends think about this.
"How?" Bear Claw asked anxiously.
This was just the response Sly Fox wanted. "We could go out at night, when everyone's asleep. And I bet I can catch more than you!" Now, this would anger the Great Spirit, because the Lenni Lenape always hunted for the weakest animals, and killed only what they needed for food and clothing. But these boys were bad.
Later that night, the three boys crept out of their wigwams and met at the edge of the forest. They had their bows and arrows, and knives made out of sharpened bones. The boys moved silently, their footsteps muffled by their soft, deerskin moccasins.
After searching for awhile, Sly Fox walked over very close to where Blackberry's den was. Blackberry wasn't with his family; he was chatting with a very large, old black bear, behind a tall oak tree that was near the trail that Sly Fox and the boys were following.
The bear observed that Blackberry was looking tired, and asked him whether he was getting enough sleep. Blackberry replied, "I didn't get much sleep yesterday. Some of the older Lenni Lenape men came into the forest. They dug traps for a wolf that has stolen food from the village. One of them is right outside my den."
"Aren't you worried you or your family will fall into them?" asked the bear with concern in his voice.
"Oh no. I saw the men set the traps. We will be careful to avoid them. In fact we better warn those children because they're about to fall into one!"
As Blackberry mentioned this, Sly Fox walked right over to Blackberry's den and crouched down so that he was level with it. He had narrowly escaped stepping right into a trap.
"Hey guys! Come here, quick! I think I found something! This has got to be something's den!" Sly Fox shouted. Blackberry focused his eyes on where Sly Fox was and could see that it was his den. With his family inside!
"M-m-my den!" Blackberry stammered. "He's at my den!"
"Do you know who that is?" questioned the wise bear quietly. When there was no reply the bear answered the question himself, "That's foolish Sly Fox and his friends Bear Claw and Black Wind." Blackberry watched as Sly Fox began digging at the entrance hole to his den. He was going to discover Blackberry's family! Then a shout of excitement came from over by the youngest birch tree, which was on Blackberry's left.
"Look!" cried Black Wind. "I think I found the other entrance! Now we've got them!"
Sly Fox replied, "I'm coming over. But first let me close this end so they can't get out."
"There's a trap in between Sly Fox and his friends," Blackberry murmured.
"So what are you going to do?" the old bear asked him with a hint of challenge in his voice.
Blackberry knew that he could either try to save Sly Fox, even though he had tried to hurt Blackberry's family, or he could let him fall into the trap and hurt himself. He knew what he had to do.
Blackberry darted out from his hiding place behind the oak tree, and cut between Sly Fox and the trap. Not exactly sure how to warn Sly Fox away from the trap, Blackberry stopped, growled loudly at Sly Fox, and stamped his front feet on the ground.
Sly Fox stopped, flabbergasted. He yelled to the others, "I don't know what this skunk is doing, but he's really big! I'm going to shoot him!" He picked up his bow and reached behind him for an arrow.
As he did, however, Bear Claw called in a nervous whisper, "S-s-sly F-fox!? L-look behind you!" When Sly Fox turned, he saw the bear, which had broken from cover and reared up on his hind legs. He was about nine feet tall, and the most terrifying sight that the boy had ever laid eyes on. He let out an ear-piercing scream. Then he and his friends dropped everything they were carrying and fled from the forest in fright and shock.
The bear did not pursue, but dropped to all fours and approached Blackberry. Then he changed form and now there was a huge white buffalo standing before the skunk. Now he spoke in a deep, rich voice.
"My noble friend, I am the great god of all the animals. You have done a great deed by rescuing Sly Fox, even though he put your family in danger and you had no weapons. You shall be rewarded for your bravery so that you can protect yourself and your family. The next time you lift your tail, your foes will be sprayed with a strong smelling, unpleasant odor that will force them to retreat. Now I will leave you." He disappeared into a cloud of mist.