The Sons of Kai by Henry Beston
In the canyons of the Navaho country, the silversmith Pesh-li-kai's daughter Kai, called "The Willow" for her grace, is courted by a mysterious voice in the cornfields. The voice belongs to Hah-Tse-Yalti, the Talking God, who reveals himself and marries her. Their union produces twin sons, though the god soon returns to the country of the gods, leaving Kai to raise the boys alone in the cliff village. The twins grow up cherished by the community—taught archery by the war chief, animal lore by the peace chief, and the ancient morning prayer by their mother. At ten, they proudly dance as buffalo calves in the tribe's ceremonial buffalo dance. Soon after, a ground owl warns Kai that the Mischief Maker god is abroad and may harm her sons; she rushes to hide them, but on the day a great cloud-burst floods the canyon, the boys have slipped away to hunt turkeys and are lost in the storm. The Mischievous God traps them in a cave for three days. One twin is crippled in a fall; the other emerges blind. Abandoned in a strange desert far from home, the lame brother leads the blind one toward a distant sacred mountain. They eventually reach a wild valley dominated by Tse-intyel, the Broad Rock of the Gods, rising above the Pool of the Whirling Logs. There their father, Hah-Tse-Yalti, appears, grieved by their suffering, and instructs them to make a pilgrimage to the four sacred mountains—North, East, South, and West—where the tribes will teach them the Healing Song. The god secretly watches over them, leaving food each night as they complete the journey and learn the song. Returning to Tse-intyel, the twins sing the Healing Song before the assembled gods, only to be told they must first bring three sacred stones—Turquoise, Silver, and Shell—kept by the Hopi people. Hah-Tse-Yalti gives them three magic buckskin pouches containing Frost, Cutworm, and Hail, and the brothers travel to the Hopi mesas to work for wages of the sacred stones, promised at spring, midsummer, and harvest. The Hopis mock the lame and blind boys but agree to the bargain, never expecting them to succeed. Each time the Hopis renege on payment, the twins release the pestilence sealed in a pouch—killing frost, devouring cutworms, battering hail—until the desperate Hopis surrender first the Silver Stone, then the Turquoise, and finally the Shell, each time only after the twins halt the damage to their corn. With all three stones won, the brothers make the long journey back to Tse-intyel, protected and fed unseen by their father. At dawn they climb the Broad Rock, present the sacred stones to the assembled gods, and sing the Healing Song once more. The chief of the gods, the God-Who-Is-Stronger-Than-Fear, touches the blind twin's eyes and the lame twin's knee, restoring sight and strength to both. Rejoicing, Hah-Tse-Yalti leads his healed sons to the edge of the rock, points out the trail home, and sends them back to Kai and the cliff dwelling of their childhood. The tale closes by explaining that these twins became great heroes who taught the Navaho people the Healing Song still sung at the fire dance today.
By Henry Beston · First published 1926 · Genre: Mythology, Folklore, Fantasy · 4,699 words
First lines
The country of the Navahos lies south and west of the Rocky Mountains on a great tableland lifted up into the sky. It is a country of canyons and deserts, mountains and wild pasture lands arched over by the bluest sky in all the world. The sun there seems bigger than our northern sun, and he treads the sky each day like a proud Indian god in a feather headdress of gold and fire.
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The Sons of Kai is listed on Textopian as a short story by Henry Beston, dated 1926 CE.
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- Work type: Short story
- Author: Henry Beston
- Date: 1926 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Mythology, Folklore, Fantasy, Indigenous Literature, Adventure Fiction
- Length: 4,699 words
- Structure: 1 section, 97 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Sons of Kai by Henry Beston
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
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Genres
- Mythology — Core narrative structure features Navajo gods, cosmological elements, and sacred mountains central to Navajo spiritual belief systems and worldview.
- Folklore — Presented as transmitted oral tradition with the framing 'the Navahos say,' employing classic folklore narrative patterns and cultural transmission purposes.
- Fantasy — Contains extensive supernatural and magical elements including divine beings, shape-shifting, magical objects, and interaction with the realm of gods.
- Indigenous Literature — Centers Navajo culture, perspectives, knowledge systems, and traditions as primary subject matter, celebrating Native American cultural heritage.
Tags
Navajo mythology · Native American folklore · twin brothers · quest narrative · spiritual journey · desert setting · coming of age · heroic adventure · mythological fiction · courage · adversity and hardship · healing