Madau bou ul

Tem wa pa Yayat James Wallas N'ǝmugʷis (Jems Wóles Nemuguwis), i tom guwacinuk i den kuwakuwa, san.

This story was told by Chief James Wallas N'ǝmugʷis, of the Gwat'sinux tribe of the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw people.

Sa wan i tem wa, Xong so dul bou ul.
O malang ul bei sa wan to, pi in i co ta nai i ul pom xuxáti, om pin na kut pau hip fo me ja hip nei min tap.
A sou seng, u cul i suwan u wein la lu nin.
Ong la yuk dom.
At the time of this story, Wolf was the ruler of the tide.
He always kept the water high, so that the people who lived near Shushartie Bay couldn’t dig for clams or pull mussels from the rocks.
It was winter, and the stores of salmon and berries were dwindling.
Hunger was stalking the village.

Hau seng la fung cai, u in to la yun nit hai xu ta nun i tel i om.
Om san um, ‹mu mim po so Xong madau bou ul wo mim›.
A cold wind was blowing strong, and everyone was sitting around the warm fires inside their lodges.
They said to each other, "can we get Wolf to turn the tide for us?"

Hik san, ‹mi lo ting pang.
Mim to ong. In to ta dom wa ong.
Mi pang a wa. Mi so yam mat.
Sim won mi nun sok, u mi tu cit kok hip mim i te to pil.
Xen a sim so yam hel mi.
San, «hik lo mat. Aya o lang du ong.»
Le a sim on mi so mo›.
Deer said, “I've thought of a plan.
We’re all hungry. Everyone in this village is hungry.
My plan is this. I’ll play dead.
You'll put me in a box, and I’ll hold our sharpest mussel-shell knife.
Tomorrow, you’ll pretend to mourn me.
Say, “the deer has died. He’d been hungry for so long.”
Then you’ll see what I’ll do.

An lan a in'in nou tem.
‹Hik dui da lo pa ong mamat. O ong mat.›
The next day, the people spread the story.
“The big buck deer has died of hunger. He starved to death.”

Om wo o king sok houm i saun maun.
Om ton wa sem sa kit i saun bau i cai.
Hik yon nun sok, pi in im dai o pin hen i di tik.
Ya ta nai i dom sa don om po on mu o wi pa jol.
Om kul fum i sok ta am i wei sam, pi yon kau mou kan.
They built him a coffin of cedar.
They fastened this together with pegs of strong yew wood.
The deer went into the box, and then some people carried him to the edge of the forest.
That was close enough to the village that they could see if he needed to be rescued.
They opened the box's lid three finger's widths, and then went back to their doorways to watch.

Xong a ai ong kai.
O ui le sau hik lo mat.
O yon yung kan, u neng yat o pin sok i hik yet ta nun.
Hik ui xong da ta no, u xim i o i nin hin dik'dik sau.
Wolf was hungry too.
He soon heard that the deer had died.
He went to investigate, and the scent lead him to the box that the deer was waiting in.
The deer heard the big wolf outside, and his little heart started to race.

Xong dan ta yun i sok u bim sol.
O wo son san, ‹mi neng hik ta nun ya. Uwa, wa po a kai aun mi›.
Yo, Xong un wit xom al so im.
O dam wit lau kul, pi cin bou ta nun i sok.
The wolf walked around the box sniffing.
He said to himself, “I smell a deer in there. Hey, this can be my supper.”
Now, the wolf used his tail instead of his paws to do some things.
He pushed his tail through the opening, and then felt around inside the box.

O la ting nu ‹a tin nun ya ye hik›, pi Hik so sau kat wit i Xong sa bak nan i jing.
Xong pa laum mai sa o mun ol so sau lei yon kau.
O xei yu pin na pau kai i so mapon lai ya.
He was just thinking, “there really is a deer in there,” and then Deer hurriedly cut off the wolf’s tail in one clean stroke.
Wolf was so shocked that he ran home as fast as he could.
He was disappointed that he hadn't managed to get such a satisfying meal.

Hik lap no sok, pi dai wit i Xong kau dom.
O cing bei lik wit wo in to, u ling, ‹Xong lu yen kau pau wit›.
Le a o matip ta au i hai.
Deer climbed out of the box, and took Wolf’s tail back to the village.
He held the tail up for all to see, and announced, "the wolf will come back to get his tail”.
After that he hung it over the fire.

Lau nu pi xong nan yen nun dom.
O yam ta mou i Hik u ling,
‹Mi lo yen pau wit i bai mi›.
It was not long before a wolf came into the village.
He appeared at the door of the deer’s house and stated,
“I have come to get my brother's tail.”

Hik iu san,
‹Sa pan mim din wit kau si, si de so lon wo mim.
Mim wi ye si so ul lin not wo mim po jam hip fo›.
The deer answered,
“Before we give you back the tail, you must make us a promise.
We want you to let out the tide so that we can gather clams.”

Bai i Xong ken ting'ting, pi iu san,
‹mim so lin not sa don sim po ja hip nei min tap›.
Wolf's brother thought for a while, and then replied,
“We will let it out enough that you can pull mussels from the rocks.”

Hik iu san,
‹mim po na ha sin hip nei. Mim wi ye ai hip fo›.
O manot wit i fau cung i Xong kam hai.
Hai liu til kam wit, u pin ol na, xe xit hin masum.
Deer answered,
“We cannot live on nothing but mussels. We want clams too.”
He lowered Wolf’s bushy tail towards the fire.
The fire lept up towards the tail, and it did not quite reach, but the smoke started to blacken it.

Bai i Xong lei yon kau bon, pi wo Xong ling mo i Hik san.
O yen kau nidu. O san,
‹Mim so ul lin not ta an nan, u sim po ha pon bo hip fo.
Mim lan pi so lin bei se›.
Wolf's brother ran back to the pack, and told Wolf what Deer had said.
Soon he was back. He said,
“We will let the tide out for one day, and you can eat your fill of clams.
After that we will bring it in again.”

Hik iu o san, ‘mim wi na ye ul lin not ta sin an nan’, u o manot se wit i Xong ta nai i hai.
‘Mim wi ye lin not dei an’.
Tel la pon neng i xo i pa caun.
Deer retorted, “we don’t want the tide to go out for just one day,” and he lowered Wolf's tail closer to the fire.
“We want it to go out every day.”
The lodge was filling with the smell of burnt fur.

Bai i Xong so sau yon min se.
Lau nu pi o yen kau.
‹Bai mi, i a yayat i xong, u si ye wit i o, o cing si din wit kau o, u mim so ul lin not dei do ta an nan.
Ul dau dei do sa lem, u dei do sa lui›.
Wolf's brother hurried off again.
It was not long before he came back.
“My brother, who is the leader of the wolves, and whose tail you have, proposes that you give him back his tail, and we will let the tide out twice a day.
The tide will turn twice during the day and twice at night.”

Den dom lo mam.
Hik map wit i lo sum, u xong yon tul ta di tik.
O ui in im wo o yau,
‹Sa sim nang lon, pi mim kat wit sim to›.
Dom lan pi bang hing kai.
The townsfolk were happy then.
Deer returned the blackened tail, and the wolf went and hid in the forest.
He heard some people shouting after him,
“If you break your promise, then we'll cut off all your tails.”
There was always lots of food in the village after that.