In which I feature a story about the Seagulls and Whiskey Jacks

The Seagulls and the Whiskey Jacks  (Cree)

Some people, long ago came to live near the water. 

A large family of white seagulls lived on an island of rock in a bay far from the camp. They were pretty birds and could fly a long time without moving their wings. The people first thought that they were very beautiful.

But if people went near the rock island, the Seagulls would scream and insult them, and fly at them to scare then off.

Closer to the camp was a family of grey jays called Whisky Jacks who lived in the spruce trees. They were never noisy, and when the people walked near their home, the Whiskey Jacks would just say hello.

When the people set nets and cleaned the fish they caught, these two bird families would hear the people working hard with their fish. 

The Whiskey Jacks would come to visit and whistle softly and praise the people for their good fishing and tell the people how lucky they were to catch so many fish 

They jumped from tree to tree, talked quietly, and provided good company for the people, and the people would look up from their work and smile, and throw the birds a piece of fish liver or some fish eggs. The Whisky Jacks, would fly down, politely pick up a piece and fly away quietly.

The Seagulls were quite different.

When they saw the people cleaning fish, they would fly close, screaming and yelling that the fish were not for the people, but were theirs and theirs alone.  

The people would try to be pleasant. Sometimes they would give a piece of liver to the seagulls as they worked.

But each time that they did, the whole bunch of Seagulls would run in, and fight each other for the food.

Many times those that fought lost the food to another while they were fighting. 

After many times like this, the people stopped giving the Seagulls food because it made the people feel uncomfortable. 

They never ever stopped giving the Whiskey Jacks fresh food and they never ever stopped them from visiting the camp. 

In the end, the seagulls only get to eat the scraps that floated on the water.

They are pretty birds, but people know what they are like.