A Story By Maddy (actually posted by her father)

In the days when braves roamed the land, hunting bison, while women scraped hides and boiled maple syrup, there lived a man named Iktomi. Iktomi was a Dakota indian. He was very mischievous and wily, but he was, and always will be, a fool at heart. One spring morning, when Iktomi was sitting in front of his lonely tipi, he was suddenly hit by pangs of hunger. “Ho!” he said regretfully, “Would I love some of that roasted duck from yesternoon! I think I will hunt some more duck for my rumbling belly!” And so Iktomi the fool grabbed his quiver of arrows and his bow, and started off though the woods. Iktomi sidled through the forest, searching for some more tasty duck. But instead of finding duck, he came upon some coal black white-tailed deer. Iktomi was beside himself with glee. “Ha ha ha!” he cackled. “These deer must be better than ducks!” He shot a arrow at them. Nothing happened. He shot another arrow, then another. Still nothing happened. He howled with rage. “Why can’t I shoot my breakfast!” he snorted. Then a plan struck him. Iktomi set down his hunting materials and started to chant. “Feathered peacock, muskrat ear, make myself a coal black deer!” He whispered this chant to the North, South, East and West then walked into the clearing in which the deer grazed.
“Ho!” said Iktomi, now a coal black white-tailed deer. The deer looked up and saw |ktomi. A very large deer stepped out of the herd of deer and said
“Greetings fellow deer! What are you doing in our humble clearing?” Iktomi replied, “I wish to be part of your sacred group, and to be in your delightful
company.” He lied mischievously. The deer were a little doubtful, but they let the so-called deer into their midst. They ate berries, plants and leaves (except for Iktomi, who only ate the berries. Though he looked like a deer, he didn’t have a deer's instincts), and frolicked around until night time, when they all went to sleep. All, that is, except Iktomi and a little deer named Swift Night. Swift Night was about to go to sleep, when he saw the new deer get up and say, “May the gods help me, this hide is an itchy thing!” then leave the clearing. Swift Night followed. He followed this new deer to another clearing, where he watched the deer chant, “Bison wool, amphibian, turn this black hide to skin of man.” And to Swift Night’s horror, a man appeared with a “poof” where the black deer used to be. “Ahhh!” said the strange man, “that’s better! And what is even better is that tomorrow I will be feasting on delicious venison! Those black deer don’t have a chance!” Then Iktomi lay on the ground and went to sleep.
After hearing this horrible plan, Swift Night, as his name implies, ran swiftly back to the clearing, woke his peers, and told them the ghastly plan. “He has tricked us and he will pay!” said the head deer, full of revenge. Then Swift Night said, “I have a plan.” He began to chant,
“Bison wool, amphibian, turn these black hides to skin of men.” With a loud “poof” all the black deer turned into humans.
....
Iktomi woke up in his clearing the next morning with his belly rumbling like thunder. “Ohh, my poor belly!” he cried. Then all of a sudden a group of hunters walked into the clearing. “Greetings Hunters!” Iktomi cried out, “what prey do you hunt?” A small man stepped out of the party of hunters. “We hunt the black, white-tailed deer. My name is Swift Night. And, pray, what is yours?” Swift Night asked. “My name is Iktomi, the great hunter!” said Iktomi boldly, lying through his teeth. “Then become a member of our group, Iktomi the great hunter,” replied Swift Night welcoming him into their group. Iktomi was beside himself with glee. “I will get my quiver of arrows and my bow!” he said excitedly. They found his quiver of arrows and his bow near the clearing and set off. As they walked, Iktomi and Swift Night talked the whole time. “There is a ritual about the hunt of the white tailed deer,” said Swift Night. “What is the ritual?” asked Iktomi, intrigued. “A hunter is bound to a stake either until a deer is killed, or for 3 days. There is also a reward. The hunter receives the pelt, which is very valuable.” Swift Night sighed and said, “And I am to be that person.” Iktomi jumped. “Why are you ashamed?” he cried, “If you are ashamed, then I will be that person!” Iktomi laughed inside his head at the small man. “What a fool! Doing that little for such a prize! The mans an idiot!” Swift Night just answered, “You are sure?”
“Of course I am sure!”
“It’s just that there is more.”
“How much more?” came the confident reply.
“Ohh,” said Swift Night casually, “Just that you have to wear the dress of a woman, paint your face red, blue and yellow with black dots, be covered with maple sap, stuck with bits of rabbit and poison ivy, on a isl...” “And th-thats all, r-right?” said Iktomi, a little bit shakily, for with each word the small man had said, Iktomi had gotten paler, to Swift Nights delight.
“Dear Iktomi, I have not finished yet!”
Iktomi’s face turned a ghastly pale white, which made Swift Night shiver with pleasure.
“All that is left is that you will be stuck on an island, surrounded by man-eating crocodiles.
“Bu...,” said Iktomi. Swift Night continued, but Iktomi, turning paler by the second, interrupted and squeaked “I think I will withdraw my position.”
“Ahh!” said Swift Night, “You cannot go back on your word, my friend. No. But I have not yet finished.” And with that, Iktomi’s face turned from ghastly white to brownish green. He was about to faint when Swift Night shouted, “GOOD THINGS!” At those words, Iktomi’s face turned from brownish green to it’s regular color, and with a sigh of relief, Iktomi said boldly, “What good things?”
“Ohh” said Swift Night cooly, “Just that the tribe will honor you until you die. There will be a feast to honor you after we get back, and you will be able to eat all the venison you want from the hunt. The chief will give you one of his beautiful daughters, and you will be waited on hand and foot, with all the luxuries and food you want for your whole life.” At hearing this, Iktomi’s face lit up with hope (and anxiety) for the grand day when he would have all the glory.
The troop trekked along a worn path until they came to the crocodile-infested river Swift Night talked about. They rowed across with the pole, a woman's dress, a pot of maple sap, and two others of rabbit, and poison ivy. When they avoided the jaws of the crocodiles and had made it to the island safely, they drove the pole into the ground and dressed Iktomi in the very frilly dress. With some rope, they tied up Iktomi, smothered his skin with maple sap, then slapped on the tender, juicy meat, which made Iktomi’s and the crocodiles’ mouths water. Gingerly, they put the poison ivy on. Then they left Iktomi there. When they were out of ear shot, they chortled and cackled! When they reached land, they ran to the forest clearing. Swift Night chanted, “We’ve played our trick, our work is done, turn this skin to black hide, for we are finished with our fun.” And with a loud “crack” they were again black deer.
Meanwhile, Iktomi was left on the island, until when, 3 days later, a group of muskrat hunters came to the river and found Iktomi, dressed in women's clothing, smothered in maple sap, with rotting chunks of rabbit and poison ivy all over him! He was also covered with rope burn, and with red patches from the poison ivy. They believed Iktomi a crazy person and laughed and hollered until they grew hoarse. Iktomi asked, “Did the hunters send you to unbind me?” They replied through fits of laughter, “Ha ha ha! What hunters?”
“The ones who hunt the black deer...”
“Who in Inyan’s name are they?” asked the hunters.
“The ones wh....,” and realizing he had been tricked, Iktomi howled with rage.
“I shall get those deer if it’s the last thing I do!”
“Yah right crazy boy, let’s get you home.”
......
So, Iktomi did not go home to a grand feast, a beautiful wife and all the luxuries and food he wanted. In fact, all he got was burns and much humiliation. Sometimes, if you go to that forest, and listen with all your might, you will hear a peculiar sound. Not a turtle, nor a peacock, or even a wolf. No, it is the sound of black deer laughing.