Leméis and Nul-We by Jeremiah Curtin
"Leméis and Nul-We" is a Native American myth recorded by Jeremiah Curtin that tells the story of a small boy named Nul-we and his struggle against a monstrous cannibal called Limālimáas, also known as Kókolaileyas, or Bone Necklace. Limālimáas is a fearsome man-eater who lives among the rocks at one end of a long swampy flat. He has killed all the kin of an old woman who lives at the other end of the swamp, save for her little grandson, Nul-we. As a grim trophy of his murders, Limālimáas strings the elbow and ankle bones of his victims on a grass rope and wears them as a necklace, which is how he comes by his nickname. Because his grandmother is too old to dig roots, Nul-we performs this task to keep them both fed. However, Limālimáas has taken to following the boy and eating every basketful of roots Nul-we digs, no matter where the boy goes. If the boy dares to eat even a single root for himself, Limālimáas strikes him on the forehead with a hammer, his keen hearing alerting him to the theft. Nul-we weeps constantly as he digs, heartbroken that he cannot feed his hungry grandmother, and it is his crying out his own name that gives the story its title. Limālimáas makes no secret of his intentions toward the boy. He tells Nul-we openly that he is waiting for him to grow larger and fatter so that he may eat him, and that Nul-we's bones will eventually join those of his father, mother, and all his other slain relatives on the necklace, making it nice and long. Nul-we tries to conceal the true situation from his grandmother, telling her he eats the roots himself and sleeps all day, but she sees through the deception. When he asks her to make him a bow and arrow with a poisoned tip, claiming he cannot hit birds with sticks, she understands enough to press him for the truth. Once Nul-we tells his grandmother everything, she acts decisively. She retrieves his father's strong bow, fits it with fresh arrow points, and then disguises the weapon to look like a small child's crude first bow and arrows so as not to arouse suspicion. Crucially, she corrects the boy's mistaken belief about where Limālimáas keeps his heart. The old cannibal has twice told Nul-we to shoot him in the body, but the grandmother knows the truth: the man-eater's heart resides in the tip of his first finger. Armed with this knowledge, Nul-we returns and feeds Limālimáas generously, giving the old monster all the roots he can eat until he falls into a satisfied sleep. When the boy spots something moving inside Limālimáas' fingertip, he shoots. The heart emerges on the end of the arrow. Limālimáas leaps up and gives chase, nearly catching the boy multiple times, but Nul-we keeps dodging until they reach a dried riverbed strewn with boulders and deep holes. Weakened by the wound to his heart, Limālimáas stumbles and falls into one of the holes. From a safe distance, Nul-we pronounces the cannibal's fate. He declares that Limālimáas will no longer have the power to harm anyone, that he will make a great noise in the world but will only be able to shout on behalf of others when they strike. Nul-we then removes the heart from the arrow, blows it up into the sky, and banishes the old man-eater there permanently. Limālimáas thus becomes Thunder, a force that is loud and startling but no longer lethal on its own terms. With the monster vanquished, Nul-we is free to dig roots in peace and carry them home to his grandmother. The boy who had wept constantly throughout his ordeal no longer has any reason to cry.
By Jeremiah Curtin · First published 1912 · Genre: Folklore, Fantasy, Adventure · 1,338 words
First lines
CHARACTERS / Kókolaileyas The Necklace (Kŏko means bone) / Leméis or Limālimáas Thunder / Nul-we
Old Limālimáas was a man-eater. He lived among big rocks at one end of a long, swampy flat. At the other end of the swamp lived an old woman and her little grandson. Limālimáas had killed all the old woman's kin, except the boy. He had strung their elbow and ankle bones on a grass rope and he wore them for a necklace. People called him Kókolaileyas, (Bone Necklace).
What this Textopian page supports
Leméis and Nul-We is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jeremiah Curtin, dated 1912 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Fable
- Author: Jeremiah Curtin
- Date: 1912 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Folklore, Fantasy, Adventure, Mythology, Fable
- Length: 1,338 words
- Structure: 1 section, 22 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Leméis and Nul-We by Jeremiah Curtin
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Genres
- Folklore — The narrative structure, characters, and moral lessons are characteristic of traditional folklore, particularly indigenous storytelling conventions with archetypal figures like the wise grandmother and the evil monster.
- Fantasy — The story contains magical and supernatural elements including a man-eater monster, enchanted bones, poisoned arrows, and the transformation of a character into Thunder, which are central to the fantasy genre.
- Adventure — The plot centers on Nul-we's perilous quest to defeat the man-eater Limālimáas, involving action sequences such as the chase scene and the strategic planning required to kill the monster.
- Mythology — The story functions as a creation myth explaining the origin of Thunder as a natural phenomenon, and features archetypal mythological themes of good versus evil and divine transformation.
Tags
folklore · mythology · Native American literature · Modoc culture · oral tradition · traditional tale · indigenous beliefs · legend · mythic characters · spirituality · cultural heritage · ethnography