Legend of the Lilly Pad

by Stacey Patriquin

Purple Sage Elem. Round Rock, ISD, fourth grade

The wise one as the campfire glows humming his mid-day tune. When Little Hawk came running by, stopped, and sat next to the wise one (or Shaman). Little Hawk asked the Shaman, "Will you tell me a story?" in his Indian tribe language.

"I would be honored to!", the Shaman replied. "This is the Legend of the Lilly Pad." So the wise one said, This began many months ago when the daughter of the chief Lilly was by a clear pond with a white flower tucked behind his ear.

She was watching the Deer of Life graze on green grass. (The Deer of Life held everything together, so if the Deer of Life dies, everything would die with it.) Then Lilly looked down in the water and she heard a gunshot, She looked up and the deer of Life was lying on the ground.

Lilly was scared and she raced back to the village to get help. But as she started to run, the white flower flew from her hair into the pond. She raced as fast as she could. The wind blew on her face, and when she got to the villagers they were dyin g.

She bumped into healthy Little Bear who had been on a hunt. "What happened to the deer?" he asked.

"The deer was shot by a stranger!" Lilly replied. "We must hurry, the deer..." and with that she started for the forest. Little Bear ran after her.

She ran past the pond, and to the hurt deer. "Is she dead?" Lilly said as she knelt beside the whining deer. Little Bear had just come up, and said the deer was not dead.

Suddenly Lilly began to fall. Little Bear knew she was dying because the deer of Life was hurt. So he knew the only thing to do was to help the deer. For Lilly it was too late, she was half dead.

As he began helping the Deer of Life, by wrapping him with bandages, he began to cry. By the time deer was up on his feet, poor Lilly was dead.

Then he began to go back to the forest. Little Bear had ceased crying, picked up Lilly and began to walk toward the village. Everyone had survived except for Lilly, because she witnessed the hurt deer, and it cost her life for saving the village.

They buried her by the pond, and when they finished burying her noticed pads with white flowers on them. The flower that Lilly had thrown into the water had multiplied, and they named it the Lilly Pad.