English Original
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.
中文翻译
很久以前，在南方人的土地上，鹈鹕女孩到了成年的年纪。人们为她举行了一场特殊的舞蹈和仪式来庆祝。
全村的人都聚集起来参加舞蹈。仪式结束后，妇女们将鹈鹕女孩带到了女子屋。她必须待在那里，直到月亮由亏转盈，完成一个周期。当月亮周期结束时，妇女们带她出来，将象征成年的珠串戴在她的脖子、手腕和脚踝上。
鹈鹕女孩被告知，接下来的几周她必须待在村子附近，不允许采集食物或弯腰捡拾任何东西。这是他们的习俗。
一天，沙锥姐妹邀请她去采浆果。经过多次恳求，她的母亲同意了，但提醒她规则：“记住，你不可以采摘任何浆果，也不能弯腰从地上捡起任何东西。”
一整天，鹈鹕女孩都遵守着。在返回的路上，她又累又慢，落在了后面。这时，她看到小径中间躺着一只大鹅。“它的羽毛真漂亮。我的叔叔们肯定用得上，”她想。她忘记了承诺，弯下腰，捡起鹅，放进了篮子里。
走着走着，篮子变得越来越重，她不得不放下它。这时传来一阵奇怪的声音，一个男人出现了。“小女孩，”他低声说。“我想要你那些珠子。”
他是朔科，来自北方世界的一位强大萨满，那里住着食火者。他把自己伪装成了那只鹅。鹈鹕女孩违背了族人的习俗，从而赋予了他带走她的力量。在她把珠串扔给他之后，朔科将她掳走，藏在了北方世界一个舞蹈鼓下方的地坑里。
当鹈鹕女孩没有回来时，智者郊狼很快推断出了发生的事情。“北方世界的人带走了她。我们必须去那里救她。”
郊狼带领一支救援队出发。在北方世界山谷的入口，他让小猫头鹰飞过埋伏的战士们，骗他们去睡觉。然后，郊狼把他的人变成老鼠，装进他的袋子，带进了村庄。
老鼠们把熟睡的北方人的长头发绑在一起，并咬断了他们的弓弦和矛箭上的筋腱。变回人形后，他们在鼓下找到了鹈鹕女孩。她病得很重，无法动弹。
郊狼抱起她准备逃跑，却不小心踩到了一个睡着的人。那人醒来大喊，惊动了其他人。然而，当北方人试图站起来时，却因为头发被绑在一起而摔倒，他们的武器也失效了。郊狼和其他人成功逃脱。
北方人把鹈鹕女孩变成了食火者。小猫头鹰唱跳了无数个日夜来治愈她。最终，她的身体和灵魂得到了净化，恢复了健康。
后来，鹈鹕女孩嫁给了郊狼的孙子鹰酋长。她成了村里教导年轻女孩成年礼仪的妇女之一。多亏了鹈鹕女孩的经历，后来的女孩再也没有犯过她那样的错误。