A long time ago, in the land of the South People, it was time for Pelican Girl to become a woman. A special dance and ceremony was planned to celebrate the event.
All the people of the village gathered for the dance. When it finished, the women took Pelican Girl to the women’s house. She had to stay there until the moon had become small and then grown full again. When the moon had finished its cycle, the women took Pelican Girl out to receive her beads of womanhood around her neck, wrists, and ankles.
Pelican Girl was told that for the next few weeks she must stay close to the village and was not allowed to gather food or bend down to pick up anything. This was the custom.
One day, the Snipe sisters invited her to go berry picking. After much pleading, her mother agreed but reminded her of the rule: "Remember you're not allowed to pick any berries or bend over to lift anything off the ground."
All day, Pelican Girl obeyed. On the way back, tired and lagging behind, she saw a large goose lying in the trail. "Its feathers are so beautiful. My uncles could really use them," she thought. Forgetting her promise, she bent over, picked up the goose, and put it in her basket.
As she walked, the basket grew heavier and heavier until she had to put it down. A strange noise sounded, and a man appeared. "Little girl," he whispered. "I want those beads."
It was Shoko, a powerful shaman from the North World. He had disguised himself as the goose. By breaking her people's custom, Pelican Girl had given him the power to take her. After she threw her beads to him, Shoko spirited her away and hid her in a pit underneath a dance drum in the North World.
When Pelican Girl didn't return, Coyote, the wise one, soon deduced what had happened. "The people of the North World have taken her. We must go there and rescue her."
Coyote led a rescue party. At the entrance to the North World valley, he had Little Owl fly over the hiding fighting men and trick them into going to sleep. Then, Coyote changed his people into mice, put them in his sack, and carried them into the village.
The mouse-people tied the sleeping North People's long hair together and chewed through their bowstrings and spear sinews. After changing back, they found Pelican Girl under the drum. She was very sick and couldn't move.
Coyote picked her up to escape but accidentally stepped on a sleeper. The man woke up and shouted, alerting the others. However, when the North People tried to stand, they fell because their hair was tied together, and their weapons were useless. Coyote and the others escaped.
The North People had turned Pelican Girl into a fire-eater. Little Owl sang and danced for many days and nights to cure her. At last, her body and spirit were cleansed, and she was well again.
In time, Pelican Girl married Coyote’s grandson, Hawk Chief. She became one of the women who taught the young girls of the village how to behave when it was their time to become women. Thanks to Pelican Girl’s experience, none of them ever made the mistake she did.