Week 10 Storytelling - The Woman Stolen By Killer Whales

Whales at night

One evening a family of killer whales were out for a late-night swim. There was a mom, dad, two sisters and a brother. Of course, the brother loved to pester his sisters, as most brothers do. Tonight was just like any other night. The water was calm, the sky was clear, and there were no boats around. It was peaceful.

Brother wanted to swim closer to the shore so he could get a better look at the sky. He had always had a fascination with the stars. Since it was so quiet out, Mom and Dad agreed. He was so excited to see what constellations would be visible this time. Last time he looked, he saw the Revolving Man and Revolving Woman, as well as the Black God and Great Bear constellations. 

He swam as fast as he could towards the shore, like most kids do when they’re excited about something. Mom and Dad just chuckled as they watched their son light up as he swam ahead. They never minded letting him look at the stars. The thing that always held them back were the people that lived not far from the shore line. They had always heard stories about the people catching whales and not letting them return to the water. Since it was a calm and peaceful night, they decided to let their son follow his passion.

As Brother was looking up at the stars, trying to pinpoint exactly what he was looking for, he heard a rustle in the bushes right off the water. At first, he thought nothing of it. There was a slight breeze so he brushed it off. He continued to admire the sparkle of the stars. With each twinkle, he felt they were trying to talk to him. That was their way of communicating. Their twinkle was a little different tonight. It almost seemed to be panicky, as if they were trying to warn him.

Mom, Dad and the sisters were still a couple hundred feet away. Close enough to see Brother, but far enough not to be near the surface. Sisters were always scared to get near the shore because of the horror stories their friends would tell on the way home from their swims. Soon, their fears were going to be proven correct.

Brother was fascinated with everything he was seeing. It was such a clear night that he could see The First Slender One, Butterfly, Place of Decisions, and many more. As he was trying to hunt down the Coyote constellation, he was suddenly hit by something. At first, he jerked some because it startled him. As he did, he felt whatever hit him wrap around his body. He tried to fight it, but it just got tighter and he couldn’t break free. He called out for Mom and Dad, but they were just far enough away they couldn't reach him in time. As they were swimming frantically towards him, he disappeared out of the water.

There was nothing they could do but to let him go. If they got any closer to the shore, they too could have been captured. Once they were in the hunting area of the people, they were at their mercy. In the water is where the whales are strongest. Mom, Dad and the sisters were devastated. A peaceful night, turned tragic in an instant.

A few moments had passed and the family saw something strange waving around in the water close to the shore. Dad quickly realized it was hands of a human and rushed to the shore to snatch them. Just as quickly as Brother had disappeared from the water, a woman disappeared from the shore. Dad angrily dragged the woman back to their home. He wanted her to pay for what she had done to his son and the impact it would have on his family.

Mom and the sisters swam behind Dad all the way home. They were unsure what his plans were, but they didn’t question his intentions either. As the three arrived home, they couldn’t find Dad or the woman anywhere. They looked all around and there was no sign of them. After a few moments passed, Dad came to them without the woman. He explained that she was now their slave. She would be doing anything they ask without hesitation. Dad said that the woman realized what she had done and was willing to make it up to them by doing so. She felt terribly guilty for what she and her husband had done to Brother.

A few days had passed since the people took brother. The woman was living up to her word. She took care of the chores around the house, hunted dinner for the family and helped the sisters with their school work. Even though it was under tragic circumstances, the family came to enjoy having the woman around. Shortly after she finished preparing dinner, her husband and a shark barged into the whales’ home. They demanded that the family release his wife. Her husband was shocked when she was the one that denied their request. He thought that she would be thrilled to be rescued.

She explained her reasoning for refusing to go home with them. She wanted to make things right with the family.

"We once had a son," she began to explain. "One night we were outside enjoying the clear skies and calm breeze when a group from a neighboring tribe ambushed my son, husband and me."

"They kidnapped my son and we lost hope of ever seeing him again. I couldn't eat or sleep for months afterwards. When I closed my eyes, I could hear my son's screams as they ripped him out of my arms. If I could take back what we did to your son, I would. Since I cannot, I want to stay with your family," she said as she made eye contact with Dad.

She turned to her husband and said, "I want to make things right with them. I will be staying in the water. I know you don't understand, but this is what I have to do."

Her husband remembered the heartache she went through during that time and agreed to let her stay. Though he was heartbroken, he and Shark turned and left the whales’ residence. Little did he know that he would also never see his wife again.

After hearing what the man and woman had gone through with their own son, the whales felt they had a better connection with her. The relationship between them grew to something more than master and captive. Soon, she became one of the family. 

Author’s Note: The original story is about a man and woman that capture a friend of the whales and kill it for food. When the woman goes back to the water to clean her hands, she is then taken by the whale’s friends. They took her back to their home and made her their slave as revenge for the killing of their friend. The woman’s husband then goes into the water in search for his wife. He came to the house of the fish-chief and asked for help in searching for his wife. Shark was the one chosen to help the man in his quest. The two came across the killer whales and the wife. Shark pushed the wife towards the husband and told them to run and he would stay back and fight the whales.

I chose to change the story to the perspective of the whales, to give the reader the other side of the story. I also changed it from being friends to being family as I thought this would give a more solid reason for the whales to take revenge in the way that they did. In the end, I decided to make the woman want to stay with the whales to make up for the events her and her husband played a part. Since the two had gone through the same sort of tragedy, I thought it would be good that she could relate to the whales and want to make it up to them.   

Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson; The Woman Stolen By Killer Whales