Wŏn and Dûnwa by Jeremiah Curtin
"Wŏn and Dûnwa," collected by Jeremiah Curtin, is a Native American myth featuring three principal figures: Wŏn the Elk, Dûnwa the Stone Woman, and Tcoóks the Crane. The story begins with a young woman living with her grandmother, who repeatedly urges the girl to find a husband. Growing frustrated with her grandmother's nagging, the girl loses her temper, strikes the old woman with a club, and kills her, leaving the body for the crows. Feeling remorse when she sees crows carrying off pieces of her grandmother, the girl sets out on a journey, but the dead grandmother's spirit works against her, causing the ground to soften and trap the girl's legs as she nears her destination. Wŏn, a man living on a nearby mountain with his wife Dûnwa, spots the girl from his high vantage point and notices she has suddenly stopped moving. He descends to investigate and discovers that the earth has hardened around her legs, imprisoning her. He retrieves a leg bone from a pile of bones on the mountain, rubs it against her legs, and the earth loosens, freeing her. Wŏn declares the girl his second wife and warns her carefully about Dûnwa's nature: during the day Dûnwa takes the form of a rock with large eyes, capable of moving and working but monstrous in appearance; at night she becomes a normal-looking woman. Most critically, Wŏn warns the girl that Dûnwa cannot hear spoken words but can read thoughts directly, making private feelings as dangerous as any spoken offense. When Wŏn and the girl arrive at the house, Dûnwa has already sensed what is happening and is violently striking rocks, making a thunderous noise. She cooks an entire deer for the two of them, and when the girl privately thinks she cannot eat so much, Dûnwa immediately detects the thought and erupts in fury, jumping and raising clouds of dust. Living under Dûnwa's roof proves unbearable, and after Dûnwa banishes the new wife to sleep in the bushes, Wŏn and the girl decide to flee. They slip away while Dûnwa is occupied eating, gaining a considerable head start before she notices their absence. Dûnwa pursues them with terrifying force, rolling and flying through the landscape like a massive stone ball, shattering rocks and trees as she goes, the sound of her approach resembling rolling thunder. Wŏn and the girl reach a wide river and find themselves trapped. Across the water, an old man named Tcoóks is fishing near his house. Wŏn calls out to him, addressing him as uncle and pleading for help. Tcoóks initially protests that he has no canoe, but eventually relents and stretches one of his long crane legs across the river as a bridge, allowing Wŏn and the girl to cross safely. He then tells them to shelter inside his house and returns to his fishing. Shortly afterward, Dûnwa arrives at the riverbank in her boulder form, demanding to be taken across. Tcoóks denies having seen anyone, but Dûnwa recognizes the tracks and insists he helped them. After her persistent scolding and threats, Tcoóks again extends his leg across the river. Dûnwa steps onto it heavily, and Tcoóks warns her to take care, as he is not a canoe. Annoyed by her roughness, he twists and shakes his leg to throw her off. She leaps back on. He does this a second time, and again she springs back. On the third attempt, when he shakes her off, she falls into the deepest part of the river and drowns. Tcoóks withdraws his leg, and Dûnwa is gone. With the Stone Woman dead and the threat ended, Wŏn does not return to his former home on the mountain. He and the young woman remain with Tcoóks, settling into a new life beside the river.
By Jeremiah Curtin · First published 1912 · Genre: Folklore, Native American Literature, Mythology · 1,066 words
First lines
CHARACTERS / Dûnwa Stone Woman / Tcoóks Crane / Wŏn Elk
An old woman and her granddaughter lived together. When the girl was grown, the grandmother urged her to get a husband, but she didn't want one. The old woman teased till the girl got mad, struck her with a club, killed her, and said: "Now the crows can eat you!"
What this Textopian page supports
Wŏn and Dûnwa 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, Native American Literature, Mythology, Fantasy, Adventure
- Length: 1,066 words
- Structure: 1 section, 30 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Wŏn and Dûnwa by Jeremiah Curtin
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Genres
- Folklore — The narrative structure, mythological characters (Wŏn the Elk, Dûnwa the Stone Woman, Tcoóks the Crane), and supernatural elements are characteristic of traditional folklore collections.
- Native American Literature — The work was collected by Jeremiah Curtin, a renowned ethnologist specializing in Native American cultures, and the names and themes suggest indigenous storytelling traditions.
- Mythology — The story features anthropomorphic animal characters and supernatural beings with magical powers, characteristic of mythological narratives explaining natural phenomena and human relationships.
- Fantasy — The presence of magical transformations, supernatural abilities (such as Dûnwa's shape-shifting between rock and woman form), and impossible feats (using leg bones to free trapped people) creates a fantasy narrative.
Tags
Native American folklore · Indigenous mythology · traditional tales · oral literature · ethnography · cultural anthropology · myths and legends · supernatural beings · creation stories · heroic narratives · religious beliefs · ritual traditions