Only the slaves or poor people of the town, Mátsaki had the
job of herding the turkeys. Sunita was a very poor girl, who took the job of
herding the turkeys in town so that she could afford to eat. Sunita was
beautiful but it was hard for anyone in town to notice. Since she was so poor
her clothes were rags, she was always covered in grime, and her eyes had a
darken sadness to them. No one in town talked with her. Sunita could only talk
to the turkeys. So, she spent her days talking to the turkeys, telling them of
things she wished she had, mainly a companion. Sunita cared for the turkeys
very much since they were her only friends and treated them with kindness. The
turkeys were very grateful for how Sunita treated them and followed any request
she made. This was how Sunita carried out her days, herding the turkeys to the
fields during the day and back to their cages in town to be put up for night.
Every year the town held a dance called the Dance of the Scared Bird. And every yeat
Sunita became very sad during this time because she could not go to the dance.
She would tell her turkeys, “If only I had nice clothes and were beautiful,
then I could go to the dance, then I could find a husband. No one will ever
want me with how I look.”
The night of the dance finally arrived and as Sunita was
herding the turkeys back to town the oldest male turkey stopped. Sunita went
over to him and lightheartedly asked, “What is wrong? Would you like to go to
the dance tonight instead of you cage? Maybe I could go with you.”
To Sunita’s surprise the eldest turkey responded, “I do not
want to go to the dance. But we would like to help you go to the dance. You
have always been a kind mother to us and we would like to repay you. But if we
help you, you must follow the rules I set.”
Confused and a little anxious Sunita agreed but asked, “How
can I go to the dance like this? I do not own any nice clothes. No one will
want me there if I look like myself”
The eldest turkey said, “We can help transform you and your clothes
but only for the night. You must promise to be back at sunrise to let us out of
our cages as if nothing happened.” Sunita promised and the turkeys began to their
work.
The eldest turkey told the others, “Remove her rags and peck
at them.” So, Sunita removed her clothes. The turkeys pecked away at the rags
until they turned into a beautiful dress garment.
The eldest turkey told the others, “Now make a circle around
her and gently brush her with your feathers.” So, the turkeys encircled Sunita
and began to brush her with their feathers. All of the grime disappeared from
her body and her hard was freshly washed. Her eyes were no longer dark but
sparkled with beauty and excitement.
The eldest turkey then told the other turkeys, “A beautiful
women like this needs jewelry.” So, the other turkeys went up to Sunita and
coughed up a necklace and a pair of earrings.
Sunita began to weep and told the turkeys, “I will forever
be grateful that you have helped me go to the dance, if only I did not have to
go alone.”
The eldest turkey ponder Sunita’s comment then called out
for his oldest son, Lusio. He turned to Sunita and told her, “We will change
Lusio into a human for the night. He can accompany you to the dance but when
you see first light of daybreak he will turn back into a turkey and you will
turn back into your old self.”
Sunita stopped crying and agreed. Lusio began to walk
towards Sunita and shed his turkey skin. He was the most perfect man Sunita had
ever laid eyes on. He kindly grabbed her by the arm and said, “Let us go enjoy
the night.”
During the dance Sunita could not keep her eyes off of
Lusio. Even when the other men of the tribe came up to her and requested
dances, she still watch Lusio out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to charm
everyone at the dance. At the night was ending he went over to Sunita and
requested one last dance. As soon as the dance was over Lusio told her, “I am
sad to say the night must be over. We must hurry and get back to the cages
before daybreak.”
Just before the first light of daybreak peaked out, Lusio
turned to Sunita and told her, “No matter what you wear or how clean you are, I
have always loved you and though you are the most beautiful human in Mátsaki.
Your kind heart is truly what matters.” And he kissed her.
At that moment, the sun finally peaked out and Lusio turned
back into a turkey. Sunita also turned back into her old self. As Sunita gathered
the other turkeys to take them out for the day she silently cried. The turkey
she knew to be Lusio went up to her and gently pecked her hand. Sunita then
found the eldest turkey and asked him, “Please make me a turkey! I will never
find another man like Lusio, nor will I ever find any friends that will be
there for me like all of you have been.”
But the eldest turkey did not respond to her but kept on
walking. Sunita took this as a sign that she would never be able to be with
Lusio again. She accepted her fate and began to herd the turkeys out into the
fields. But, as she walked with the turkeys out into the field she began to
shed her skin and became a turkey.
Author’s Notes: This story comes from the Tales of North American Indians
by Stith Thompson, specifically the tale of TheGirl and the Turkeys. Similar to the original tale, a poor girl is in
charge of herding the turkeys back and forth from town to the fields. The girl
wants to go to a dance and complains to her turkeys about it. So the night of
the dance the turkeys change her into a beautiful women with new clothes and jewelry.
For the first part of my story I kept the plot the same, but the turkeys did
not send anyone with her to the dance in the original. The girl is actually
told to be back by the morning and not to forget them or they would leave her
and she would be alone. The girl does not make it back in time and the turkeys
leave her. Since I am not a fan of sad stories I added the character of the
turkey Lusio. I wanted to present someone she would fall in love with but I did
not want her to end up happy with the people. The only time the girl seemed to
be happy was when she was with the turkey so instead of changing Lusio back into
a human I changed her into a turkey. I also gave my characters names. I found
names of the Zuni tribe, which is the Native American tribe the story
originates from. The name Sunita means gracious, a characteristic that the girl
shows to the turkeys that help her out. And the name Lusio means born at
daybreak, representing when the love between the two of them began. I
hope you have enjoyed my story and would love to hear feedback and ideas!
Hey Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI really like the plot twist of this story! The original is so sad. She basically is being punished for a small mistake. It is really sad but the new twist was really great. She did not end up alone in the end and that is most important because really who doesn't like happy endings? Anyways i would just like to add that your Author's note was really great and informative! I cant wait to come back and read some more stories soon!
Hi Ashley!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this story and how much work you put into it! You really gave this story thought on how you would change it differently, the new characters, and their development. I was intrigued to find out what this story was about because of the word "turkey" and now that we've entered the month of November. It was different than what I had expected, and thoroughly enjoyed it. You did a terrific job!
Hi Ashley!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your story. The whole time I read it I was thinking of the story of Cinderella. I like the ending of your version better, because I'm not a fan of sad endings either, especially when it's sad to begin with. I like how at the end you reveal last minute that she becomes a turkey. You definitely did your research as I can see from the names that you gave the characters. Great job!