Daughter Spider

A great war chief had a beautiful daughter, who weaved beautiful blankets. Her skills were in high demand and she enjoyed the company of many women from other villages who came to watch her work.

One day Bear decided to visit. He sat and listened as she bragged about how she could turn anything Mother Earth created into a blanket more spectacular than Mother Earth had done herself.

Angered, Bear, Mother Earth’s great protector, challenged her to a contest. They each had to weave a single blanket by the end of the night.

Knowing he would lose, Bear enlisted the help of tricksters Crow and Fox. He told them to tell the daughter that she had won, that she was more creative than Mother Earth and that she should go to the top of the mountain and shout it to all the world.

Soon, everyone heard the daughter’s shout echo down the mountainside and at hearing this Mother Earth turned the daughter into a spider. Daughter Spider still makes her blankets but can no longer brag about how beautiful her work is.