A Legend

How The White-Tailed Deer Got His White Tail
By Shooting Hawk (Mike ) and Soaring Eagle (Ben)

A long time ago all deer were brown. The only problem was that they could not signal each other when a predator came, like Bear, Wolf, Fox, Coyote and people. There were fewer and fewer deer now, and the deer were concerned that they would become extinct. A deer named Bucktooth decided to visit the Great Spirit to ask the Great Spirit for a white tail. If deer had a white tail, the deer would be able to signal each other. They could flick their tails to warn one another that a predator was coming.
So Bucktooth set off for the Great Spirit to ask for help. He got to the Great Spirit in one day and boy was he tired! Bucktooth asked the Great Spirit for a white tail. The Great Spirit said, "Go to the Bald Eagle and ask for two feathers. Soak them in water for one day. Then rub them on the underside of your tail and it will become white as snow."
So Bucktooth went to Eagle and asked Eagle for two feathers. Eagle plucked two feathers from his head. Bucktooth went to a lake and put the feathers in the water for one day. He then rubbed the feathers on his tail. The underside of his tail turned white.
Bucktooth ran back to all the deer and told them about his tail. They all liked it. He told his friends to go to the eagle and ask for two feathers. Eagle told the other eagles to give some of their feathers to the deer. They gave up so many feathers it seemed they might go bald!
All the bucks followed the directions and the undersides of all their tails turned white.
One day, a hunter from the Iroquois was in the woods with his bow and arrow ready. He was hunting for deer. Bucktooth saw the hunter and flicked his tail to warn the other deer. They all quietly ran off and were safe. The deer were thankful that the Great Spirit and the eagles had helped the deer.
That is the story of how the white tail deer came to be, and this story also explains why the eagle is now called the Bald Eagle.

All the bucks followed the directions and the undersides of all their tails turned white.
One day, a hunter from the Iroquois was in the woods with his bow and arrow ready. He was hunting for deer. Bucktooth saw the hunter and flicked his tail to warn the other deer. They all quietly ran off and were safe. The deer were thankful that the Great Spirit and the eagles had helped the deer.
That is the story of how the white tail deer came to be, and this story also explains why the eagle is now called the Bald Eagle.

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