The Husband's Promise

There lived in the village of San Juan a young man, Ca-peen, and a maiden, Willow Flower. These two were deeply in love, and on the day of their wedding they promised each other that as long as they were alive, they would never part.

The couple built a home on the edge of the village and lived happily together for three moons, until one day the lovely maiden became ill. The young husband did everything to help her get well, but instead she became worse, and in a short time she was dead.

The young husband was despondent. He could not understand why she had to go so soon, after she had promised that she would never leave him. When many moons had passed, however, he was learning to live with his grief. At night he did not have much to do and would usually visit his parents. One night as he was walking back across town to his own home, he noticed a light burning in the distance beyond the village. For several days he saw the light shining at the same spot around midnight, and it began to bother him. Even during the day as he worked, he would think about it.

One night he said to himself, "I must go to see this light and find out what it is." It took him about an hour to reach the place, and much to his surprise he found a house there. Frightened, but curious to know who lived in it, he decided to peep through the window. He was astounded to see his lovely wife. She was standing by the fireplace combing her beautiful black hair, which came down to her knees.

Ca-peen said, "Aha, at last I have found her! The light was kept burning for me to see. Why didn't I come before? And I wonder where she is going, all dressed up!"

Now his wife finished combing her hair and was putting on her snow-white moccasins.

"I must speak to her before she leaves," said Ca-peen.

Up the stairs he went. Standing in the only entrance to the house, he saw her poised to ascend the ladder that led to the rooftop.

"What are you doing here?" she said immediately. Before he could reply, she added, "You might as well come in."

Ca-peen slowly descended the stairs. He told her how he had seen the light for a number of nights and decided to investigate. "If I had known you lived here," he said, "I would have come sooner."

"Well," said Willow Flower, "you can't stay any longer. You must go."

"I don't understand. What are you thinking? Remember the promise we made when we got married -- that we would never part? And now that I've found you, I will stay."

Angrily Willow Flower replied, "You can't stay here. You do not belong with me, and until your time comes, you cannot be with me. Go, before it's too late."

Ca-peen insisted on staying, and this led to a long quarrel. At last Willow Flower said, "All right; you can stay for the night -- provided that you are a man."

"I am a man," retorted Ca-peen.

"In that case, you will stay with me until the morning. And if you are still here then, I will go home with you to the village. Do you agree?"

"Yes, I agree," said Ca-peen.

Willow Flower prepared a bed on the floor, and they both went to sleep.

About three o'clock in the morning, Ca-peen was awakened by a pungent odour that stung his nostrils. It was coming from the body of his wife. Soon Ca-peen could no longer tolerate the odour of rotten flesh. Slowly he got out of bed and put on his clothes.

He said to himself, "If I leave before she wakes, I will be free."

Very quietly he went up the stairs. Just as he reached the last step, Willow Flower woke up and cried, "Come back, you coward! You have failed to keep your end of the bargain, and now you must pay the penalty."

Ca-peen was not yet ready to join the people of death, so he jumped off the rooftop and ran toward home with all his might.

But Willow Flower was swift as the wind, and in no time she was out of the house and running after him.

As Ca-peen came to the Rio Grande he met the old medicine man from the village, who was on his way to the mountains in search of game. The old man said, "What's wrong, my son? Are you running away from someone? You look as if something awful has happened to you."

Ca-peen could hardly talk, but he finally managed to gasp, "I'm running away from Willow Flower."

"So you are," said the old medicine man. "You've never learned to mind your own business, and now this has happened to you."

"Old Medicine Man, you must help me. You are a powerful one; send me where Willow Flower can't catch me."

The old man said, "There's no place on earth that will hide you from Willow Flower. I'll shoot you into the sky, which has plenty of room for you to run. Come, jump into the shaft of this special arrow."

Ca-peen did as he was told. "Ca-peen, are you comfortable in there?"

"Yes, Old Man."

"Get ready. Now I'm going to shoot you into the sky, where Willow Flower will never catch you."

"Twang!" went the old medicine man's bowstring, and off into the sky flew Ca-peen.

With Ca-peen on his way, the old medicine man returned to his own trail. A few minutes later he met Willow Flower.

"Good morning, my child," said the medicine man. "Where are you going?"

"I am running after Ca-peen. Have you seen him?"

"Yes, I talked to him near the river a few minutes ago."

"You are a powerful one; tell me where he is heading."

"Ca-peen is now in the sky. If you want to catch him, that's where you'll have to go."

"Please shoot me into the sky with your strong bow," said Willow Flower. So the old medicine man put her into one of his special arrows and shot her into the sky.

To this day, Willow Flower is chasing Ca-peen. Tonight if the stars are out, just look to the west and you will see two bright ones about a foot apart. The first is Ca-peen, and the one behind is Willow Flower, chasing her husband.

* Told at San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, in the early 1960s and translated from the Tewa by Alfonso Ortiz