the gray Wolf (Tale 30)

Family: Wolves · Role: rescuer and caregiver · First appears: Tale 30 · The Origin of the Wolf Dance · Part 1

Life events

The gray Wolf dug through to the young man first and took him among the Wolves.(Tale 30 · The Origin of the Wolf Dance · Part 1)
- With: the young man (Tale 30)
- “The Wolf took the boy among the Wolves.”
After the Wolf reached the trapped young man first, the Bear promised to help the young man whenever called.(Tale 30 · The Origin of the Wolf Dance · Part 1)
- With: Father Bear (Tale 30) the young man (Tale 30)
- “When the Bear came through, he found out that the Wolf had already dug through. The Bear stood up, and said, ‘You have beaten me, but this young man shall be my son, and I shall help him whenever he calls upon me.’”

foster-child: the young man (Tale 30) (The Wolf later takes the boy among the Wolves and raises him; the father relation is inferred from that care and the Wolf's statement.) “The Wolf whispered to the boy, and said: ‘I shall dig with this Bear, and you must dig on this side; for if he digs through first he will eat you; but if I dig through first and reach you before he does I shall save you, and you shall be my son.’ So it was agreed between the Bear and the Wolf that they each should dig through the earth, and whosoever should first dig through to where the boy was should claim him.”

Extracted from the original text of Traditions of the Arikara. Made with Rho MD.