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 gave Pelican Girl her beads of womanhood, placing them around her neck, wrists, and ankles.
Pelican Girl was told 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 when a young maiden became a woman.
One day, the Snipe sisters invited Pelican Girl to pick berries. After much pleading, her mother agreed but reminded her of the rules.
All day, Pelican Girl obeyed. On the way back, tired and lagging behind, she saw a large goose on the trail. Forgetting her promise, she bent over, picked it up, and put it in her basket.
The basket grew heavy. A man appeared—Shoko, a powerful shaman from the North World. He had disguised himself as the goose. By breaking the custom, Pelican Girl had given him power over her. He took her beads and spirited her away, hiding her in a pit underneath a dance drum.
When Pelican Girl didn't return, Coyote, the wise one, deduced what happened. He led a rescue party to the North World.
Coyote had Little Owl trick the North People's fighting men into sleeping. Then, Coyote turned his people into mice, carried them in his sack into the village, and they tied the North People's hair together and chewed through their weapon strings.
Coyote found Pelican Girl under the drum, sick and weak. As he carried her out, he accidentally stepped on a sleeper, waking everyone. But the North People, entangled and weaponless, could not stop their escape.
Back home, Little Owl sang and danced for days to cleanse Pelican Girl from the fire-eater's curse. She recovered.
In time, Pelican Girl married Coyote’s grandson, Hawk Chief. She became a teacher for the village girls, ensuring none repeated her mistake.