A Lenape Story

How a Dog Earned the Right to Eat from the Table

DogA long time ago there was a man who lived in a big forest. The man lived alone, except for his dog. On many evenings they would talk together, this man and his dog. Then one day the dog said, �All right my friend, let�s go hunting! It seems like I can smell many squirrels toward the north.� So they left to go squirrel hunting, this man and his friend.

While they were walking along a path the dog suddenly heard something making a rattling noise by his path. The dog said, �Stop! Stop! I hear something! It might be a rattlesnake rattling!� Then the dog grabbed the snake, and began to shake him and shook him until he had killed the snake.

Then when they had finished hunting, they went home. The man began to cook, and he fed the dog on the ground. But finally the dog wouldn�t eat; he just had a scowl on his face. The man told the dog, �What�s wrong with you? Aren�t you hungry?� The dog replies, �Oh yes, I am hungry, but I want to what the reason is that you feed me on the ground! Why can I not eat at the table also?� The man said, �Oh well, you can eat with me, you can come and sit right here!� The dog smiled. He began to eat. He was eating with his friend.

0 members like this