The Bringing to Life of the Wus Brothers
"The Bringing to Life of the Wus Brothers" is a Native American mythological tale collected by Jeremiah Curtin, centering on themes of revenge, supernatural power, and resurrection among two allied families, the Wus (Black Fox) brothers and the Kaiutois (Gray Wolf) brothers. The story opens with ten brothers from each family living together as kin. When the eldest Wus brother loses his fire drill under mysterious circumstances, he takes it as an omen of approaching danger. His premonition proves correct when a large war party descends from the mountains and massacres nearly all the Wus and Kaiutois brothers, sparing only the youngest Wus brother, who escapes by leaping from the rooftop and fleeing. The attackers remove the hearts of the slain men, mount them on a pole, burn the house, and carry off all the women except for the aged Wus mother, whom they consider too old to be of value. They also take the long-necked Wus sister, a distinctive figure known throughout the world for her unusual physical trait and her diet of deer neck bones. The youngest Wus brother returns to find his mother in mourning and his family destroyed. Rather than despair, he declares his intention to avenge his brothers and recover his sister. He demonstrates his considerable supernatural abilities immediately, conjuring a new house filled with goods and transforming scraps of his mother's rabbit-skin clothing into ten pairs of beautifully beaded moccasins for the journey ahead. He instructs his mother to lay down fresh mats each day and sets out at great speed toward the enemy's territory in the north. Traveling for fifty days and wearing out five pairs of moccasins, Wus reaches a mountain overlooking the enemy village. From this vantage point, using a magical luminous object he creates called a golóbis, he observes the captive women being thrown back and forth across a fire and sees his sister among them, near death. He adorns himself with magnificent clothing and long beaded hair before descending to the village, where he presents himself as a stranger who hates the Wus brothers and is glad to hear of their deaths. The enemy is suspicious but allows Wus to remain, partly convinced by his convincing performance of grief and his willingness to eat their food and join in the ritual dancing over the captive women and the pole of hearts. Wus spends several nights dancing and gradually dulling the alertness and suspicion of the warriors. While appearing to celebrate alongside the enemies, he secretly communicates with the captive women in his heart, strengthening them with each pass over the fire. He manipulates the rhythms of dancing and rest over several days, subtly wearing down the enemy's vigilance until, on the final night of dancing, every warrior falls into an irresistible enchanted sleep. Once the men are fully unconscious, Wus holds up the golóbis, which blazes through the camp and kills them all. He removes their hearts, retrieves the string of his brothers' hearts from the pole, and leads the captive women homeward. On the journey back, he replenishes their moccasins and reassures the grieving women that their slain kin will be restored to life. At home, the old Wus mother takes charge of the resurrection ritual. She boils the hearts of the slain men in a basket with hot stones. As the water heats, the spirits of the dead men begin to speak outside the house and then enter, addressing the women and demanding responses. The women, bound and instructed to remain silent under any provocation, resist all attempts by the wandering spirits to make them speak, understanding that any reply would break the magic and leave only hearts in the basket. After enduring the spirits' pleas, scolding, and pushing, the women hold firm, and eventually all the slain brothers are fully restored to life, returning to their places around the fire. The tale concludes with the reunited family celebrating the return of the long-necked sister, who recounts her suffering among the enemy. The eldest Wus brother acknowledges the power of his youngest brother as the source of their salvation, and the community is restored, with the youngest Wus brother having fulfilled his promise that no lasting harm would come to those who trusted in his abilities.
By Jeremiah Curtin · First published 1912 · Genre: Fantasy, Mythology, Native American Literature · 3,039 words
First lines
CHARACTERS / Kaiutois Gray Wolf / Wus Black Fox
Ten Wus brothers and ten Kaiutois brothers lived together; they were kin. Each man had five daughters, except the youngest Wus brother; he wasn't married. The Wus brothers had a sister; she was nice-looking, but she had such a long neck that she couldn't eat meat; she ate the neck bones of deer; ate five at a time. Everybody in the world knew about her.
What this Textopian page supports
The Bringing to Life of the Wus Brothers is listed on Textopian as a short story 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: Short story
- Author: Jeremiah Curtin
- Date: 1912 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Native American Literature, Adventure, Folklore
- Length: 3,039 words
- Structure: 1 section, 52 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
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- Work identity for The Bringing to Life of the Wus Brothers by Jeremiah Curtin
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Genres
- Fantasy — The narrative features magical elements including supernatural powers, transformation abilities, mystical objects like the golóbis, and the central plot device of bringing the dead back to life through magical rituals.
- Mythology — The story follows the structure and themes of traditional mythological narratives with a heroic protagonist possessing extraordinary powers, supernatural challenges, and lessons about family loyalty and justice.
- Native American Literature — The work is a transcription by Jeremiah Curtin of indigenous oral tradition, featuring Native American characters, cultural elements, and storytelling conventions consistent with tribal folklore.
- Adventure — The narrative contains a quest structure with Wus traveling to rescue his sister, overcoming dangerous enemies, and facing physical and magical challenges throughout his journey.
Tags
folklore · translation · mythology · storytelling · classical literature · cultural narratives · fables · legends · Eastern European · anthropology · oral traditions · narrative prose