An-Ree
This tale was told by a Samish tribe and had been passed down to their children for many generations. Along one of the great coasts of the beautiful Northwest, the sea has an ebb and flow to it that looks like the hair of a young girl is floating back and forward gently in the sea. In the mortal life, this young girl had been the tribal Princess Ko. She was very famous for her beauty and wisdom. Her father was the great chief of the Samish tribe.
This was the time before the white people came. The Samish people were famous fishermen. The Northwest has many dense forests with pure and clear rivers. This was a paradise given to the Indians to protect and look after. The men were often out in their canoes along the Puget Sound. The women would be gathering clams, oysters and crabs. There were always many of these.
One day, Princess Ko waded into the water looking for clams. A strange arm covered with barnacles and seaweed enveloped her. She struggled to get free. Then a voice said, "Do not worry, I will not hurt you. I have admired you for a long time. I am the prince of the sea. Now that I have you, I will never let you go." The princess was very upset. She told the prince that she enter his world and she must go home to her father. The prince made her promise to visit him in the cove from time to time. She agreed and each time she visited him, he would hold her hand longer and longer.
The sea prince finally asked to marry her, but the princess said only her father could decide that because he would choose who she would marry. The princess asked the sea prince to ask her father. The sea prince rose from the sea and followed the princess to her village to see her father. As he entered the village, people gasped because he looked so bad. He was green and had barnacles all over his body. Seaweed hung all over him. He had eyes like a fish and he did not have eyelids. The village people felt very cold as he walked past them.
The people did not like the idea of their beautiful princess marrying such an ugly monster. When the sea prince came before the princess’s father and asked for her hand in marriage, the chief was very angry. He asked how his daughter would live under water and said she would soon die.
The sea prince said she would not die, he told the chief that the princess would become one of his people and he would look after her very well. The chief did not want to hear this and he got angry and told the sea prince to go away and leave his daughter alone. The sea prince narrowed his eyes in anger and announced in a booming voice that the Samish will have bad luck. There would be no more fish, the streams will become dirty and dry up and the people will die of hunger and thirst.
The curse of the sea prince turned out to be true. Everything started to dry up. The people got ill and they were always hungry and thirsty. They became thin and easily cold. Princess Ko went to the cove and called for the sea prince to come out and speak to her. When he rose up from the sea, she complained of his cruelty towards her people. She asked him not to be so cruel. She told the sea prince that if he would take away his curse, she would ask her father to allow them to marry. The sea prince relented a little and things got a little easier for the Samish. Princess Ko went to her father every day to ask to be allowed to marry the sea prince. At last her father said yes on one condition. He asked that she be allowed to visit once a year. The sea prince relented. The bride was dressed beautifully on the day of the wedding.
The sea prince rose from the sea and took his bride. Together they entered the sea. The sea prince was holding the princess’s hand gently as he led her away to her new home. The villagers watched as they saw their beautiful princess disappear into the waves and all that was left was a gentle ripple of the ocean.
The next year, the princess returned. The people loved to see her and celebrated with good food and drink in her honor. They felt she had changed a little though, they felt a little chilly around her. They also noticed that she had a slight green to her face. The second year she came back, the villagers felt very cold as she passed by. They felt too, that she was missing the sea. She had a few barnacles on her hands and was strangely quiet. The third year, She had grown barnacles all over her body and was green like her husband. She walked through the village with seaweed hanging from her. There was a cold chill as she walked by. The fourth year she came back, the villagers were shocked that their beautiful princess had changed into the same monster as her husband. She had big, round eyes and was without eyelids. She missed the sea and the people could tell that she did not want to be on land. They were shivering in her presence.
Her father decided that it was better that she not visit the village again because she wanted to stay with her husband and the people were now afraid of her.
To this day. The Samish people remember their princess and the sacrifice she made for them when they see the moving of her hair on the waves. They feel too that she is looking after them.
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A Miracle on the Shores of Lake Washington
by Casey
Once long ago on the beautiful shores of Lake Washington, there lived two royal families. A delightful family of frogs sat out in the middle of the pond at the edge of the lake, on a palace of lily pads. A family of beautiful salmon, who were cranky and self-centered, resided below. Mr. Hopper, head of the frog family, ruled the shoreline and the adjacent marshy areas and ponds. He coordinated the activities of all the creatures that existed above the water. His lily pad palace had been specially constructed, and every now and then an interesting thing would float by and he would remodel. He had been chosen to be king not because he really deserved the position or because he was any good at it, but because he had just gotten a new high tech bug detector and all the frogs wanted to try it out. Since the majority of creatures living in the marshy areas around the lake were frogs, Mr. Hopper had won easily.
Mr. Hopper, his wife, and their two pollywogs spent the entire day idling away the hours hopping around or searching the weeds for bugs. The most important decision he had ever made had been, "Should I eat this fly for breakfast, or that one? Or both?"
There was also the Omega salmon family, however. Mr. Omega supervised the
happenings that took place below the water’s surface. But he did not own a palace; in
fact, he roamed the waters day and night searching for a place to call home. Fishing was a
favorite pastime of many Seattleites, and swimming from place to place helped to ensure
his safety. Mr. Omega knew that if his school of salmon stayed in one place for too long,
the fisherman would discover them and swipe them up in their huge nets. He was not a very
good leader either, since he was always traveling and was never in the right place at the
right time.
One sunny evening, Mr. Omega happened to be passing underneath Mr. Hopper's palace when he heard excited chattering. He listened closely.
"He is always so cheery," the salmon commented to himself. "If I'm not happy, nobody else deserves to be. Besides, he and his clan are terribly annoying and too noisy. They are always croaking about something or other. I think that Mrs. Omega and I shall pay him a visit and give him a talking to. I will tell him how horribly ugly he is; yes, that is what I shall do! That will shut him up!" Mr. Omega was so pleased with his plan, he began to prepare his speech.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hopper and his family
were just finishing a successful bug-hunting expedition for supper, and were heading home
for some rest. When they reached their lily pad, they were surprised to see two nicely
adorned salmon sitting on one of the adjoining rocks. Now, Mr. Hopper, unlike many other
frogs who thought they were vain and conceited, had no argument with the salmon.
"Good evening, is there anything I can help you with?"
"Actually, I just wanted to say that I think you are a disgrace, and you belong in a jar in some highschool science class. You are extremely ugly and I don't think any of us should have to put up with such an ugly king. Isn't that right, Mrs. Omega?" Mr. Omega practically had sparks flying out of his gills.
"Well, yes," she said, and adjusted her necklace of weeds.
Mr. Hopper
shuddered. All frogs were petrified of landing in a science class. It was the worst, even
more horrible than ending up in a little boy’s pocket, and that was bad enough. He
ordered his assistant to get rid of the two, and then retired to his room. How dare the
salmon be so rude to him? Well, he shall learn his lesson! Mr. Hopper didn't quite know
what he was going to do yet, but he did know it would be something truly inspiring.
The next day he set out to find the salmon. He hopped upon a rock and studied the calm waters of Lake Washington. "Now, where would a salmon go?" Mr. Hopper suddenly spotted a slow moving grayish-colored object swaying back and forth below the surface. "That's him!" he cried.
"Hey! Stop right there!" Mr. Hopper splashed at the creature.
It stopped moving. "What do you want?" It was not Mr. Omega at all, only a large, ugly old sturgeon.
"Oh, pardon me for disturbing you," said the frog kindly, for he was respectful to all of the lake’s creatures. "Have you seen Mr. Omega, the salmon, in your travels lately?"
"No," said the sturgeon. "I must be on my way now."
"But wait, I won't harm you. I just need a word with him." Mr. Hopper looked pleadingly at her.
"Oh? I thought frogs and salmon were enemies."
Mr. Hopper appeared puzzled at the idea.
"Hmmm." She looked at him skeptically. "You know, I don't think anybody really knows what an enemy is. What is it, anyway? Someone you don't want to talk to? Someone you are angry at? Why, half the fish in this lake don't even know about the rivalry. I – "
"Hey, maybe you could help me find him – you spend an awful lot of time underwater." Mr. Hopper became so hopeful he didn't even realize he had so rudely interrupted the old sturgeon. She frowned at him for cutting her off. "Please continue," she said.
He told her all about his encounter with Mr. Omega. She nodded thoughtfully after everything he said, and appeared to have a plan.
"Oh, look! Here he comes now!"
exclaimed the sturgeon, who by the way, was called Gabriella. She disappeared under the
water. You see, Gabriella was magical, and everywhere she went, she left a trail of
happiness and goodwill behind. Nobody knew about this; the old sturgeon liked to keep it a
secret, because she didn't want fish hounding her for favors. Day and night, she swam
around, stopping at odd places and helping to make Lake Washington a better place to live
for all its creatures.
Mr. Omega had already seen the two from a distance and was about to turn around and head back the other way, when Mr. Hopper began to wave him over. The salmon pondered approaching him, and finally decided it was for the best.
Mr. Hopper forgot how angry he had been and appealed to the salmon.
"Mr. Omega, Gabriella has been right all this time. What is an enemy? We are all equal, and I'm sorry if I have done anything to make you unhappy with me."
The salmon was quite taken aback by this, and had no idea who Gabriella was, but in spite of things, he was very touched. "Ah - it is not you who has done anything wrong; I came to your door and insulted you for no reason at all. I am the one who should be sorry." He was not sure of this new insight, but was just now beginning to realize the meaning of trust and friendship. Still, he wasn't accustomed to these feelings and he couldn't resist saying, "How can I be friends with someone who doesn't have any problems, has fun all day and doesn't have any worries whatsoever?" He smoothed his scales and tried to look superior. "I am forced to spend my time evading fishermen and trying to remain safe in these waters."
"Well, I'm hardly perfect. You said so yourself - I am extremely ugly. But you couldn't relate to that. You with your gleaming, sleek body."
"It's true, I am quite lovely," the salmon replied proudly. "Maybe I could help you make the best of what you've got. For one thing, you will be a lot more comfortable and look much better if you moisturize. This damp air is terrible for your complexion. You need to moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!"
"How?" Mr. Hopper knew from experience there was no way to change himself.
"Well, salmon produce fish oil for this sort of thing. I’m sure I have some extra that you could try. It would do wonders for your dry skin……and you do have dry skin."
Mr. Hopper was delighted. "It's just the thing. I must reward you! Where do you live?"
"Uh…uh…I am not currently residing in any specific quarters at the moment, uh…uh…"
"You don't live anywhere, do you?" Mr. Hopper said sadly. Mr. Omega shook his head and looked down.
"If I stay in any one place for too long, the fisherman will catch me and I'll be gone for good. I need to keep on my fins," he said, trying to sound brave.
"Why don't you and your family stay with us? I'll build you an underground lily pad palace! It shall have walls, so there won't be any chance the fisherman will find you! Then, we can tell you when it's safe to come out and swim. It's splendid!"
That afternoon, the entire frog
community gathered at the palace for their makeovers. The salmon were busy putting
together customized lily pads for their home, with the help of Mr. Hopper and the other
frogs. It had been a glorious day; there is nothing quite better than a new friend, a new
home, and a makeover all at once. At sundown, the salmon and the frogs frolicked in the
light of the moon until they couldn't keep their eyes open a moment longer. Gabriella swam
nearby, clearly pleased with her part in all of this.
A new era of
relations between the frogs and the salmon had begun, as a result of this mutually
beneficial relationship. The salmon happily continued to provide fish oil to the frogs, in
exchange for protection. That is why, the salmon fishing is not particularly good in Lake
Washington; however, the frogs are exceptionally glamorous.