Finding the Perfect Turkey
Only the slaves or poor people of the town, Mátsaki, had the job
of herding the turkeys. Sunita was a very poor girl, who took the job of
herding the turkeys in town so that she could afford to eat. Sunita was
beautiful but it was hard for anyone to notice. Since she was so poor her
clothes were rags, she was always covered in grime, and her eyes had a dark
sadness to them. No one in town talked with her. Sunita could only talk to the
turkeys. So, she spent her days talking to the turkeys, telling them of things
she wished she had, mainly a companion. Sunita cared for the turkeys very much
since they were her only friends and she treated them with kindness. The
turkeys were very grateful for how Sunita treated them and followed any request
she made. This was how Sunita carried out her days, herding the turkeys to the
fields during the day and back to their cages in town to be put up for
night.
Every year the town held a dance called the Dance of the
Sacred Bird. Sunita became very sad during this time because she could not
go to the dance. She would tell her turkeys, “If only I had nice clothes and
were beautiful, then I could go to the dance. Then I could find a husband. No
one will ever want me with how I look.”
The night of the dance arrived and as Sunita was herding the
turkeys back to town the oldest male turkey stopped. Sunita went over to him
and lightheartedly asked, “What is wrong? Would you like to go to the dance
tonight instead of your cage? Maybe I could go with you.”
To Sunita’s surprise the eldest turkey responded, “I do not want
to go to the dance. But we would like to help you go to the dance. You have
always been a kind mother to us and we would like to repay you. But if we help
you, you must follow the rules I set.”
Confused and a little anxious Sunita agreed but asked, “How can
I go to the dance like this? I do not own any nice clothes. No one will want me
there if I look like this.” She gestured to herself.
The eldest turkey said, “We can help transform you and your
clothes but only for the night. You must promise to be back at sunrise to let
us out of our cages as if nothing happened.” Sunita promised and the turkeys
began their work.
The eldest turkey told the others, “Remove her rags and peck at
them.” Sunita removed her clothes. The turkeys pecked away at the rags until
they turned into a beautiful dress.
The eldest turkey told the others, “Now make a circle around her
and gently brush her with your feathers.” The turkeys encircled Sunita and
began to brush her with their feathers. All of the grime disappeared from her
body and her hair was freshly washed. Her eyes no longer had a dark sadness but
sparkled with beauty and excitement.
The eldest turkey then told the other turkeys, “A beautiful
women like this needs jewelry.” The other turkeys went up to Sunita and coughed
up a necklace and a pair of earrings.
Sunita began to weep and told the turkeys, “I will forever be
grateful that you have helped me go to the dance, if only I did not have to go
alone.”
The eldest turkey pondered Sunita’s comment then called out for
his oldest son, Lusio. He turned to Sunita and told her, “We will change Lusio
into a human for the night. He can accompany you to the dance but when you see
first light of daybreak he will turn back into a turkey and you will turn back
into your old self.”
Lusio walked towards Sunita and as he did he shed his turkey
skin and became human. He was the most perfect man Sunita had ever laid eyes
on. He kindly grabbed her by the arm and said, “Let us go enjoy the
night.”
During the dance Sunita could not keep her eyes off of Lusio. When
the other men of the tribe came up and requested dances, Sunita would watch
Lusio out of the corner of her eye while she danced with them. Lusio seemed to
charm everyone at the dance. As the night was ending, he went over to Sunita
and requested one last dance. As soon as the dance was over Lusio told her, “I
am sad to say the night must be over. We must hurry and get back to the cages
before daybreak.”
Just before the first light of daybreak peeked out, Lusio turned
to Sunita and told her, “No matter what you wear or how clean you are, I have
always loved you and thought you are the most beautiful human in Mátsaki. Your
kind heart is truly what matters.” And he kissed her.
At that moment, the sun finally rose and Lusio turned back into
a turkey. Sunita turned back into her old self. As Sunita gathered the other
turkeys to take them out for the day she silently cried. The turkey she knew to
be Lusio went up to her and gently pecked her hand. Sunita then found the
eldest turkey and asked him, “Please make me a turkey! I will never find
another man like Lusio, nor will I ever find any friends that will be there for
me like all of you have been.”
The eldest turkey did not respond to her and continued walking.
Sunita took this as a sign that she would never be able to be with Lusio again.
She accepted her fate and began to herd the turkeys out into the fields. But…
as she walked with the turkeys out into the field she began to shed her skin
and became a turkey.
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Author’s Notes: This tale comes from the Zuni Native American tribe’s story The Girl and the Turkeys found in Tales of North American Indians by Stith Thompson. Like my story, in the original tale we learn about a poor girl in charge of herding turkeys back and forth from town to the fields. The girl wants to go to the Dance of the Sacred Bird and complains to her turkeys about it. The turkeys hear the poor girl’s wishes and because she treats them very well, they change her into a beautiful woman with new clothes and jewelry. For the first part of my story I kept the plot the same, but the turkeys did not send anyone with the girl to the dance. The girl goes to the dance by herself. The turkeys tell the girl that she had to be back by the morning and not to forget them or they would leave her, and she would be alone forever. The girl enjoys the dance and does not make it back in time. Sadly, the turkeys leave the poor girl to live alone. Since I am not a fan of sad stories I wanted to recreate the ending of the story to a happy ending. I added the character of the turkey Lusio to create a stronger bond between the girl and the turkeys. I wanted to present someone she would fall in love with but I did not want her to end up happy with the people. The only time the girl seemed to be happy was when she was with the turkey so instead of changing Lusio back into a human I changed her into a turkey. I also gave my characters names. I found names of the Zuni tribe, which is the Native American tribe the story originates from. The name Sunita means gracious, a characteristic that the girl shows to the turkeys that help her out. And the name Lusio means born at daybreak, representing when the love between the two of them began. I hope you have enjoyed my story and would love to hear feedback and ideas!
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Image: Turkey. Source: Pixnio by Robert Burton
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Image: Turkey. Source: Pixnio by Robert Burton
