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 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.
中文翻译
很久以前，在南方部族的土地上，鹈鹕少女到了成年的年纪。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，妇女们将鹈鹕少女带到女子屋。她必须在那里待到月缺又月圆。当月亮完成一个周期后，妇女们授予鹈鹕少女象征成年的串珠，戴在她的脖子、手腕和脚踝上。
鹈鹕少女被告知，接下来的几周必须待在村子附近，不得采集食物或弯腰捡拾任何东西。这是年轻少女成年时的习俗。
一天，沙锥姐妹邀请鹈鹕少女去采浆果。经过再三恳求，她的母亲同意了，但提醒她记住规矩。
一整天，鹈鹕少女都遵守着。在疲惫地走在回家的路上时，她落在后面，在小径中央看到一只大鹅。她忘记了承诺，弯下腰捡起鹅放进了篮子。
篮子变得异常沉重。一个男人出现了——朔科，来自北方世界、居住着食火者的强大萨满。他伪装成了那只鹅。鹈鹕少女违背习俗，赋予了他控制她的力量。他拿走了她的串珠，将她掳走，藏在一个舞鼓下方的深坑里。
鹈鹕少女没有回来，智者郊狼推断出了发生的事。他带领一支救援队前往北方世界。
郊狼让小猫头鹰骗北方部族的战士们去睡觉。然后，他将自己人变成老鼠，用袋子带进村子。老鼠们把北方人的长头发绑在一起，并咬断了他们武器上的弓弦和绳索。
郊狼在鼓下找到了鹈鹕少女，她病重虚弱。当他抱着她离开时，不小心踩到了一个睡着的人，惊醒了所有人。但北方人头发被缠住，武器失效，无法阻止他们逃脱。
回到家后，小猫头鹰日夜歌舞，为鹈鹕少女净化食火者的诅咒。她康复了。
后来，鹈鹕少女嫁给了郊狼的孙子鹰酋长。她成为村里女孩们的导师，确保没有人再犯她犯过的错误。